Witness to my Roman Catholic Parents

Nimrod,
Use the law of God in witnessing to your parents. Roman Catholicism teaches that one can be "good enough" to merit purgatory and on to heaven. As long as they don't commit mortal sins they are taught everything is o.k. That is the same as our muslim friends, mormon friends, etc. trusting in their own good works to please the Heavenly Father. Take your parents through Genesis chapters 2 and 3. Show them that it was God who provided the Sacrifice for the sin of Adam. Take them to Exodus chapter 20 and show them the commandments, emphasize each one. We have all fallen short of the glory of God and there is none righteous, no NOT one. The law of the LORD is perfect converting the soul. No one will see their need of a Saviour until they realize they have broken the holy law of Almighty God, and for that we must be punished. Once they realize that, then you can tell them the gospel(great news) of our Saviour Christ Jesus. Most Catholics I have come in contact with are proud that they are in the "one true apostolic church". Give the law of God to the proud and the grace of God to the humble. I will be praying for you as you press on in this spiritual battle for the souls of your parents. Remember, you are His vessel. Let Him speak through you.

God bless you, Kenneth

Excellent site on using the law: www.raycomfort.com

[ January 07, 2003, 10:14 AM: Message edited by: The_Narrow_Road ]

 

From the great lack of respect that you show your parents here on this forum, it seems that you have no problem with your own lack of fruits where it comes to honoring your mother and father.

From your behavior in that regard, it appears that you believe being saved is a free pass to sin.

 

Funny, you bolded the part you bolded in your Augustine quote, but you left out the part right before it: "In order to suggest to you that in Peter the Church is to be recognized."

You are interpreting what you bolded outside of the context of the line right before it, and outside of the Catholic belief in the petrine office. Peter was renamed "rock." Why? Look at what happened. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, for he testified that Jesus was the Christ, knowledge that was revealed to him by God, as Jesus states. And what do we believe about the Pope? That he leads the Church with knowledge that is guided by the Holy Spirit, God Himself. Therefore, the Pope himself, as a man, is not the rock, but the Pope by virtue of his office, is the rock. This is why it has nothing to do with the personal sancitity of the man holding this office, but the fact that the Holy Spirit will guide him to Truth and prevent him from teaching falsehoods.

God bless,

Grant

 

Of course Not!. I asked my mother about sin, and she told me "well at least I didn't murder anyone". From her "fruit" I can tell she is not saved and also the very fact that she is in Roman Catholicism. They are lost and they need to hear the gospel so they can repent.</font>[/QUOTE]So if you parents were baptized, received all the sacraments of grace, live in a state of grace and follow Jesus by obeying all that he commanded out of love for him and not because they are under the law but because they are under grace, in your opinion they won't be saved and go to heaven?

 

[/QUOTE]So if you parents were baptized, received all the sacraments of grace, live in a state of grace and follow Jesus by obeying all that he commanded out of love for him and not because they are under the law but because they are under grace, in your opinion they won't be saved and go to heaven?[/QB][/QUOTE]

"were baptized" "received all the sacraments" "live in a state of grace" "follow Jesus by obeying all that He commanded"
All of this is a work's salvation, if that is what those parents are doing or have done. To be under grace means to acknowledge that no amount of your good works will cleanse you from your filth. The only work one can do for eternal life is to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ", and still that is by God's grace. Realizing that we, on our own, are heading straight for hellfire and brimstone and knowing that by God's grace through faith in the Son of God we can have eternal life that brings about True conversion and a changed heart toward the Lord Jesus. Whether it be a member of the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, etc. Church that thinks they can merit salvation by anything they can do, they will fall in the end. Adam couldn't hide from nor cover up his sin and neither can we. Just as with Adam, so too do we need the redeeming power of God to "clothe" us for we are "naked" before Almighty God. Only by "putting on the Lord Jesus" can we be made a "new creature". Not of works...lest any man should boast. It is the gift of God.

 

From William Webster's

The Church Fathers' Interpretation of the Rock of Matthew 16:18

An Historical Refutation of the Claims of Roman Catholicism

http://www.christiantruth.com/mt16.html

Augustine

. . . . He was a prolific writer and he has made numerous comments which relate directly to the issue of the interpretation of the rock of Matthew 16:18. In fact, Augustine made more comments upon this passage than any other Church father. At the end of his life, Augustine wrote his Retractations where he corrects statements in his earlier writings which he says were erroneous. One of these had to do with the interpretation of the rock in Matthew 16. At the beginning of his ministry Augustine had written that the rock was Peter. However, very early on he later changed his position and throughout the remainder of his ministry he adopted the view that the rock was not Peter but Christ or Peter's confession which pointed to the person of Christ. The following are statements from his Retractations which refer to his interpretation of the rock of Matthew 16:

[ January 07, 2003, 12:58 PM: Message edited by: LisaMC ]

 

How are they not acknowledgeing Jesus by doing these "works"?

 

FYI, that's "you're" not "your".

True, but why is it then that you do not keep the command to honor your parents?

Spreading gossip about them on the internet is hardly honoring them, now is it?

My statement is anti-Scriptural? My statement concerned your behavior towards your parents and the appearance that it created in my mind. How is this anti-Scriptural?

Repent sinner? What exactly is my sin?

Is an example of the "witnessing" that you gave your parents? If it is, it is not surprising that you did not acheive the desired effect.

BTW, what is your age? The more advanced your age, then the more advanced your parents age, and the greater your sin of not honoring them. (IMO)

 

Let me chime in here and say Praise the lord that Ron doesn't judge our sin.

 

Be honest, Curtis.

Is Nimrod honoring his parents by arguing with them?

Is he honoring them by spreading gossip about them on the internet?

Is he honoring them by talking about them in a poor light behind their backs without the opportunity to respond?

Since you chimed in as you have, I am interested in you opinion on this.

 

I used to argue with my parents about my faith and theirs, because that's the only way we could deal with it, and it was wrong. That is also why I did not join the Church then. I have waited until there is peace in my family before moving forward. They still disagree, but they can now see my maturity in the decision, and we can discuss it without attacking one another's personal beliefs.

In this, I am honoring them, where previously, I was not.

Now, Nimrod...make an analogy.

God bless,

Grant

 

How are they not acknowledgeing Jesus by doing these "works"?</font>[/QUOTE]What is the reason that they or in your case, you are doing the "works"? Is it part of the sacraments of papal Catholicism, or is it because He who is able to cleanse us, has indeed cleansed you and thus the fruits of the spirit are evidenced in your life? Are you "working" out of fear of God or "bearing fruit" out of a changed heart?

"Show me your faith with out works, I'll show you my faith by my works."

Is your faith in the sacraments of Roman Catholicism or any other Catholicism under the authority of the pope? Or, is your faith in the only begotten Son of God and what He has done for you?

If salvation is of works, it is not of Grace. And vice versa.

 

Salvation is not of works, but of grace, and of works done in grace. No works outside of grace are meritorious. Therefore, we are saved by grace, but then must use this gift to honor Him who gave it to us, and we do so by living in that grace.

It's not rocket science.

God bless,

Grant

 

I'm not judging either. I'm saying you have no authority to judge degrees of sin.

 

What? "Salvation is not of works"...agreed. "But of Grace"...agreed. "And of works done in grace"...Huh? So, are you saying that your works done under grace are "meritorious"? Then you are not saved by God's grace but by your own works whether they are done "under grace" or not. You must not use anything to honor Him who gave it to you. When one realizes the grace of God in Jesus Christ, one WANTS to honour Him who gave it to them. That is the difference between Romish salvation and Salvation in Christ by God's grace. I want to please and honour the One who has by His grace saved me from my sins. You as a Catholic under the pope feel it is necessary or that you must live under that grace or you will lose it. The sacraments do not instill more grace upon you, neither does praying the rosary. It is all of God or nothing. It is Grace that has brought me safe thus far, and it is Grace that will lead me Home. Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I claim nothing but the blood of Jesus. I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. Only trust Him, He will never leave thee nor forsake thee.

 

Semantics.

Who said I had no desire to do this? By virtue of that same grace, we have the desire to live in it, and further, have the capability to live in it. And if we don't live in it, then we never really accepted the grace.

God bless,

Grant