Truth Provided Broadcast 10-31-01
IS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH A CHRISTIAN CHURCH? part V
Welcome to yet another edition of an ongoing investigation as to whether or not the Roman Catholic church is a christian church. For those of you just tuning in, I have been discussing over the last few weeks all the evidence that supports the fact that the leaders in the Roman Catholic church do not believe in the Jesus Christ of the Bible. It is "another gospel" that is being preached from Rome. So please stay tuned today and the coming weeks, for I hope to share examples and ample evidence that the Roman Catholic church is not a church of Jesus Christ.
As promised in last weeks broadcast, I would like to continue on in the expose of the Roman Catholic chruch. Specifically in the area of the doctrines held by this church. Do the Catholic doctrines really match up with Scriptures? Let start with baptism...
The Bible is rather easily understood when the subject of baptism is researched.
The Bible says "And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? *And Philip said, IF THOU BELIEVEST with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and THEY went down both into the water, BOTH Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him." Acts 8:36-38
*Notice however that in the Catholic Bible and most older versions of the NIV verse 37 from Acts chapter 8 is missing altogether. Also notice that the Bible records verse number 36... and then skips right to verse 38. Even the number "37" has been removed. The reason the Catholic church removed this verse from their Bible and was instrumental in having it removed from the NIV is mainly because this verse proves that a person must first BELIEVE that Jesus is the Son of God BEFORE being baptized. An infant cannot make this statement, so rather than change their doctrine, they try and change the Bible to save face. Didn't they know that God's children would sooner or later find out about this?
This "bogus doctrine" of infant baptism leads itself to other problems as well. Take for example the UNBiblical doctrine called "confirmation" in the Catholic church. How can Catholic dogma state that people receive the Holy Spirit during confirmation?
"Then Peter said unto them, REPENT, and be BAPTIZED every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall RECEIVE the GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST." Acts 2:38
Seems rather plain what the order of events are here. REPENT... be BAPTIZED... and then RECEIVE the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now it is true that all Catholic children are baptized at infancy, this is most definitely before confirmation. However, how is it possible for the Catholic receiving confirmation to ever gone into repentance before baptism? An infant cannot do this, plain and simple. It is impossible to effectively baptize a person without their consent, let alone their knowledge. If you are a Catholic, let me ask you this... "Do you remember being baptized?" I don't remember, nor do I recall repenting before being baptized. So how is it possible for me to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost at confirmation when I didn't follow the method God's Word stipulates as the order of events needed for reception?
Baptism is not something to be taken lightly. It is not just some "ritual". It is a VERY graphic public proclamation of a life changing repentative faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of ones life. To diminish it to some ritual that is "snuck" in without the knowledge of the one receiving is nothing more than a demonic form of "mind control". The infant comes to adulthood and "entertains" the though of baptism later in life because of the simple will of God gently tugging on the heart. However, after "realizing" that this "ritual" took place already, they may walk on without giving it a second thought.
Again, baptism is no "minor" ritual to be toyed with and entertained as a "fad" or a "fix all". Some will attempt to approach baptism today as a way to "stop all the problems" in their life, or to remove guilt. This is not new. They see a bleek horizon and feel if they "jump in the water" they will be spared the wrath approaching. John the Baptist dealt with some like this as well.
Matthew 3:7,8 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
John wasn't going to allow them to sneak in and be baptized without meeting the necessary conditions God had set up in advance for baptism. WHY SHOULD YOU?
After I read the REAL verses # 37 of Acts chapter eight. I realized a person cannot be baptized unless they repented and believe with all their heart, that Jesus Christ is the Lord. This always made me wonder how it was possible for them to baptize me when I was an infant. I couldn't make any decisions for myself at that time. I couldn't even feed myself without help, let alone repent or even make a proclamation of my personal faith in Jesus. The Bible made perfect sense to me here. How can a person be baptized as an infant? Not only is the infant incapable of knowing who Jesus is. The people holding the baby don't know who the infant will grow to become. So how can they make a life changing decision or even speak for this infant as an adult?
The seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic are...
Not only do we not have time to cover all these. We do not have Bible Scriptures to authenticate 5 of them. Fact is, according to Jesus Christ Himself, there are only two sacraments.
Sacrament # 1 Baptism, Sanctioned by Jesus Himself:
[Matthew 28:19,20]
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Sacrament # 2 Communion, Sanctioned by Jesus Himself:
[Matthew 26:26-28]
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake
it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is
my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to
them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of
the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Jesus, our King, tells us there are only two sacraments that we need to partake in. For the Catholic church to say that the seven sacraments bestow grace upon the person participating, is to say that faith is unnecessary to receive grace. Just to mention one example. I would like to know how getting married to someone constitutes a bestowment of grace. How is it possible to receive grace merely by getting married? Am I to believe that if I myself am a relentless sinner enthrawled in a life of self serving sin, I can receive grace from God Almighty if I merely get married in the Catholic church? See how the error looks in the light of day? Rather blunt, is it not? It is written in Romans 1:5 "...we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith..." The fact is, faith causes us to receive the grace.
Another documented fact found in the recorded councils of the Vatican is...
The decree set forth in the year 1229 A.D. by the Council of Valencia... places Bible on The Index of Forbidden Books. The doctrine withholds "it is forbidden for laymen (common man) to read the Old and New Testaments. - We forbid them most severely to have the above books in the popular vernacular." "The lords of the districts shall carefully seek out the heretics in dwellings, hovels, and forests, and even their underground retreats shall be entirely wiped out." Council Tolosanum, Pope Gregory IX, Anno. Chr. 1229
The church Council of Tarragona ruled that: "No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments in the Romance language, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days after the promulgation of this decree, so they may be burned." D. Lortsch, Histoire de la Bible en France, 1910, p.14.
"Socialism, Communism, clandestine societies, Bible societies...
pests of this sort must be destroyed by all means."
The encyclical Quanta Cura Issued by Pope Pius IX, December
6, 1866
Did the Almighty and ever living God of all Creation write His Bible
for only the hierarchy of the Catholic church? Did you notice that in
the year 1229 A.D. the Catholic church considered those that read the
Bible to be "Heretics"? Did they ever retract this decree?
Did they ever apologize to the Christians that loved to read their
Bibles? No they never did as far as history records. In fact on March
12, 2000 in his "Mea Culpa" the Pope still used the term "heretic"
for those that were not Catholic. Is not the Word
of God for all the sinners to find peace and forgiveness in Jesus?
Was not the Scriptures given to us by a loving and Heavenly Father?
John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
It appears here that Jesus is telling someone to read the Scriptures. Who is Jesus talking to? Is He talking to the Catholic church? No He is not, the Catholic church didn't begin until 538 A.D. upon Emperor Justinian's decree. As a matter of fact, Jesus is talking to NON-BELIEVERS at this time. These were Jews that didn't believe in Jesus, they were getting in His face for healing a man on the Sabbath. And yet Jesus is telling them to read the Bible. If the doctrine of the Catholic church is correct, Jesus would have told them to go to their priests for the answers they sought. Or, Jesus would be in grave danger for speaking the words He did if He came during the time the council of Valencia put forth that decree.
2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
The Bible is now relating the life of Timothy as a child learning the Scriptures. His own Mother and Grandmother taught the Bible to this Preacher. (See 2Timothy 1:5) However, later down the road the Catholic church declares this to be unsanctioned and illegal. So now all the young Timothy's of the future must rely on the Catholic church to teach them instead. The Bible does not teach that.
The decree set forth in the year 1545 A.D. by the Council of Trent... The doctrine withholds and declares that tradition is of equal authority with the Bible.
One of the first decrees affirmed that Scripture had to be understood within the tradition of the church"Council of Trent, " Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
At the opening of Vatican II, Pope John XXIII reaffirmed
his belief in the doctrines contained in the Council
of Trent. Ad Limina Talks, p.68
To put an invention of man before the Word of God is one of the deadliest mistakes a religious organization can do. The trustworthy Word of God has many Scriptures proclaiming this to be a mistake of grave error. Mark 7:13 tells us that it is the same as "Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, " Many true children of God throughout the ages have understood this fact. They have seen many of their religious leaders try to give them puffed up self glorifying theological explanations to the simple Words of God to no avail. They knew who stood before them, they also knew that they must "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." [Colossians 2:8]
I implore you, if you are truly in worship with Jesus you would cling to His Word at all costs. You would forsake all else for His truth in Scripture. Even if your own loved ones were to deny Jesus Christ right before your eyes, you must choose Christ over them as well. Jesus told us in Matthew 19:29 that "every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Before going further, I would like to share with you a series of inventions found in Catholic doctrine. Some have been commented on in an earlier broadcast of October 3rd. Some not at all. All however are definitely inventions that are nowhere found to be sanctioned in the Word of God. Ask a priest to prove them with Scripture, and he will be utterly unable to.
Many of the false doctrines were enacted by the Catholic church years
before their official adoption by the present Pope of the day as
Catholic dogma. It's as if they tried the doctrine out on the people,
and when the people accepted the doctrine, the pope made it binding
upon all Catholics as required Catholic dogma.
If you would like, you can get a free copy of this list in the transcript of this weeks broadcast. Copy it to your computer from off the website and print it out. Then bring it to your priests and ask them to show you in the Bible where these things are said to be of God. PLEASE NOTICE that they will be totally unable to do so. Some "might" go so far as to twist a Bible passage here and there to try and make 10% or maybe even 15% of these "traditions" to be of Christian Truth. But when you investigate the ENTIRE meaning of the passages they give, you will find demonic error in their theology. All one needs do is read the verse BEFORE AND AFTER the verses they give to understand what's up. Cross reference them as well so as to solidify it in your mind that the Truth you realize IS found throughout the Word. Problem with Catholic theology is it cannot be verified in cross referencing of Bible facts. The Bible can only confirm TRUTH throughout its pages. It cannot carry lies as well. A "twisted" theology can only be backed up by man's traditions, lies, opinions, and ideals. That is why Catholicism uses heavy explanations to every utterance they preach. They cannot use heavy verses that embrace that which they speak simply because they cannot get that many verses out of context on the same subject without being found out by even the youngest babes in Christ. So they opt rather to dazzle you with fancy words, shallow lies, pretty phrases, and self glorifying holy utterances. However, it is written that the Elect CANNOT be deceived. So don't worry... be happy :)
So... ask them. Where is this in the Bible? And remember! Isaiah 8:20, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
By the way... for the sake
of time I will only mention a few of these Catholic doctrines from the list.ear
Year
IYear
Invention
2
nd Century Elders were first called priests by
Lucian.
3 rd Century Sacerdotal mass instituted by
Cyprian.
300 AD Prayers for the deceased.
300
AD The sign of the cross
adopted as beginning and ending of prayer.
320 AD
Wax candles.
375 AD Veneration of angels, dead
saints, and images of same. (Veneration
=
profound respect,
reverence, worship, adoration,
idolization)
394 AD The mass becomes a daily
ritual.
431 AD The first official exultation of Mary as the "Mother of God" applied
by Council
of
Ephesus.
500 AD Priests began wearing special clothing.
538 AD Official beginning of Roman
Catholic Church as a church and state combined (Against the
will of God)
593 AD Purgatory first enacted as
binding doctrine upon all Catholics by Gregory the great.
600 AD
The now unknown language of Latin used in
worship.
600 AD Prayers offered to Mary, dead
saints and angels.
610 AD First man proclaimed as a pope. (Boniface III)
709
AD Kissing of the pope's feet.
750 AD Temporal power of popes, conferred by Pepin, King of the
Franks.
786 AD Veneration of crosses, statues, images,
and relics authorized.
850 AD Holy
water created by a pinch of salt, chrism, and
a priest's
blessing.
890 AD Veneration of Saint
Joseph.
927 AD College of Cardinals
begun.
965 AD Baptism of bells instituted by
pope John XIII.
995 AD Canonization of dead saints
by pope John XV.
998 AD Fasting on Fridays during
Lent.
11 th Century The Mass developed gradually as a sacrifice, attendance
was
made obligatory.
1079 AD Celibacy of
priests declared a necessity.
1090 AD The Rosary
adopted from pagan beliefs by Peter the Hermit.
1184 AD The Inquisition instituted by Council of Verona.
1190
AD Sale of indulgences.
12 th Century Seven
sacraments, defined by Peter Lombard.
1215 AD Transubstantiation, (turning wafer into Jesus Christ)
defined as binding doctrine by pope Innocent III. Denial of same punishable by
death.
1215 AD Auricular confession (Rite of
reconciliation) of sins to a priest instead of God, instituted by pope
Innocent III.
1220 AD Adoration of the wafer
(Communion host), decreed by pope Honorius III.
1229 AD Bible forbidden to laymen, and
placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Council of Valencia.
1251
AD Scapular invented by
Simon Stock of England.
1414 AD The cup forbidden
to the laity at communion by Council of Constance.
1439 AD Purgatory proclaimed as a dogma by the Council of
Florence.
1545 AD Tradition declared as being equal
authority with the Bible by Council of Trent.
1546 AD Books of the Apocrypha are added to the Bible by the
Council of Trent.
1560 AD Creed of pope Pius
IV imposed as the official creed in place of
the Apostle Creed.
1854 AD Immaculate Conception of Mary (to be utterly without
sin) proclaimed by pope Pius IX.
1864 AD Syllabus of
Errors proclaimed by pope Pius IX and ratified by the Vatican Council;
condemned freedom of religion, conscience, speech,
press, and scientific discoveries which are disapproved by the roman
church; asserted the pope's temporal authority over all civil
rulers.
1870 AD Infallibility
of the pope in matters of faith and morals proclaimed by the Vatican
Council.
1930 AD Pope Pius XI condemned the public
schools.
1931 AD Pope Pius XI reaffirmed the doctrine that Mary is "The Mother of
God"
1950 AD Assumption of Mary (Bodily ascension to Heaven without
dying) proclaimed by pope Pius XXI.
1965 AD Mary proclaimed the "Mother of the Church" by Pope Paul VI.
How can the priests claim their religion was taught by Jesus? If this was the true church of Jesus Christ, these so called doctrines would have been enacted all on DAY ONE of the church. Why is it they were enacted years apart from each other? Some even hundreds of years apart. Wouldn't Jesus have sanctioned them as soon as the church began? When Jesus bowed His head on Calvary and said, "It is finished" [John 19:30] He meant just that. Does not the Lord say clearly in Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I change not;" It seems that the Catholic church is constantly changing though. Yet the Word of God, and the method of worship in the REAL and TRUE church of Jesus hasn't changed one iota since it's beginning. Thank you Jesus for keeping faithful to your Word!
Moving right along,
Cardinal Newman admits in his book that; the
"temples, incense, oil lamps, votive offerings, holy water,
holidays, and seasons of devotion, processions, blessings of the
fields, sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure (of priests, munks and
nuns), images, and statues... are all of pagan origin."
The Development of the Christian Religion Cardinal Newman p.359
Does not the Word of God warn us that to practice these traditions is to make void the Word of God? Didn't John warn, "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God... If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." [2 John 1:9-11] There are astronomical amounts of errors within the Catholic church. So many in fact that thousands of books have been written exposing them. I can in no way illustrate them to you in just one book, it is that corrupted. If there were one or two errors they could be corrected with little prayer and direction from the Lord. However, to have as many faults located under one roof can only bring one to the conclusion that it was planned this way. The devil has taken complete and utter control over this church of billions. This I am sorry to say, is NO MISTAKE. It was planned long ago to work this way so as to confuse the people of the world into false worship. Isaiah puts it so very simply "Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion" [Isaiah 41:29] The fact of the matter is, the Lord God Almighty would never be inconsistent with His Word. He wrote His Word to let us know what He expects of us. He would never write one thing and then suggest we do another. In doing so, this would become confusion in its most basic form, and that would be uncharacteristic of the God of all creation, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace..." [1 Corinthians 14:33] It is a blessing of untold riches to know the Lord is faithful to His Word. For His Holy Word declares that "God is faithful..." [1 Corinthians 1:9] "Faithful is he that calleth you..." [1 Thessalonians 5:24] We must always rely on the faithful Word of God as our anchor in every storm of life. No matter what comes our way we know that "the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil" [2 Thessalonians 3:3] No matter how weighty someone's error filled explanations may seem. If they are in conflict with God's Word in any way, we must ignore them. They would have us believe them over the Creator Himself, suggesting that they are right and the Almighty Omnipotent God of the entire Universe is wrong, or out-dated. We mustn't shrink back and accept their gilded and polished words. We have a God that loved us so much that He gave us His Word, in more than one way. And this is a "God, that cannot lie." [Titus 1:2]
We must look at these Preachers and Teachers of error in the way they are seen by God "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." [Titus 1:16] Most of all we must continue to pray for them. They too were created by an Almighty God. They too can find peace in Jesus. For it is written that "The Lord... is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." [2 Peter 3:9]
The final doctrine I would like to discuss in today's broadcast is in fact the Roman Catholic sacrament of penance. The Roman Catholic church declares they have the authority to "bind and loose" as is written in Scripture regarding the sins of man. But is that a correct definition of that which is written?
Matthew 18:15-20 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear [thee, then] take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell [it] unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
The conditions are...
Three conditions that
are NOT met by simply stepping into a "confessional". The Bible is plain here.
When a person is in sin you kindly bring it to their attention. If they agree
and repent, they have been "loosed" from their sin. If they ignore you the next
step is to let them know that more than ONE person has noticed their sin and
that they are concerened for them. Still, if they ignore you, bring it to their
church family. If after seeing that their entire church family is in agreement
that they are in sin. Then it is obvious that they have decided not to be part
of the church family and are deciding to live in sin. Then and only then are we
authorized by God to "bind" them in the sin they have chosen.
So often the verse # 18 is the only verse used to acknowledge the authority
of the Priest in confession. However, when you read the ENTIRE series of verses
above, and below this verse, the TRUTH is made clear. I pray wholeheartedly that
ALL Catholics get used to going to their Bibles before and after they ask a
Priest for advice. This is what will open their eyes. It's what opened mine.