The Gospel According to Rome Session 3 Final Destiny

Transcription

1 The Gospel According to Rome Session 3 Final Destiny A Survey of How and Why the Roman Catholic Church Has Departed From Biblical Truth and Authority 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

2 To better Objectives understand: for this Course what the differences are between Roman Catholicism and biblical Christianity how Roman Catholicism departed from biblical truth how to evangelize Roman Catholics by helping them to know the truths of Scripture why ecumenical efforts by Catholics and biblical Christianity based on biblical error must be avoided Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Psalms 119: , Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute 2

3 We are here Course Schedule 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute Session Date Topic Material Covered 1 5/19/2013 Introduction Course and text overview 2 5/26/2013 Salvation - Justification TGATR, pgs /2/2013 Salvation Final Destiny TGATR, pgs /9/2013 The Mass and Sacraments TGATR, pgs /16/2013 The Role of Mary TGATR, pgs /23/2013 Church Authority - The TGATR, pages Pope and Bishops 7 6/30/2013 Church Authority - The Magisterium TGATR, pgs /7/2013 Church Authority - Tradition TGATR, pgs ; /14/2013 The Vatican and the United States DVD 10 7/21/2013 The Roman Catholic Bible and the Apocrypha TGATR, pages /28/2013 Sola Scriptura TGATR, pages /4/2013 Ecumenical Outreach TBA 13 8/11/2013 TBA TBA 14 8/18/2013 Review and Exam Lectures 3

4 Salvation - Catholicism vs. The Bible Roman Catholicism Teaches 1. Justification is a transformation of the soul in which original sin is removed and sanctifying grace is infused. Catechism Initial justification is by means of baptism (of infants or adults) Adults must prepare for justification through faith and good works The justified are in themselves beautiful and holy in God s sight. 1993, , Justification is furthered by sacraments and good works. 1212, 1392, The Bible Says Justification is an act of God in which He declares a sinner to be righteous in His sight, having forgiven His sins and imputed to him (or her) God s own righteousness (in Christ). Ro. 3:21-4:8 Justification is by faith alone (and is instantaneous at the moment of rebirth or spiritual regeneration apart from water baptism). Ro. 5:28 God justifies ungodly sinners who believe (at the moment they believe and trust in Christ) Ro. 5:4. Good works are the result of salvation not the cause (of it). Eph. 2:8-9, Ro. 3:20. The justified are (and remain) in Christ, holy and blameless before God. Eph. 1:1-14 Justification is the imputation of the perfect righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). In Christ the believer has been made complete (nothing else is needed for justification). Col. 2:10 6. Justification is lost through mortal sin. 1033, 1855, Justification cannot be lost. Those whom God justifies will be saved from the wrath of God. Ro. 5: Catholics guilty of mortal sin are (must be) justified again through the sacrament of penance. 980, Salivation from the eternal consequences of sin is a lifelong (uncertain) process , Salvation is attained by cooperating with grace through faith, good works, and participation in the sacraments. 183, 1129, 1815, Faith is belief in God and the firm acceptance of all that the Church proposes for belief , Sanctifying grace is a quality of the soul, a supernatural disposition that perfects the soul There is no second justification. Those whom God justifies He also will glorify. Ro. 5:9. Salvation from the eternal consequences of sin is an instantaneous and secure act of God, coinciding with justification. Ro.5:9 Salvation is attained by grace (a free gift of God) through faith apart from works. Eph. 2:8-9. Good works are the result not the cause of salvation (and lead to rewards in heaven). Eph. 2:10, Heb. 11:6, 2 Jo. 8 Saving faith is the entrusting of oneself to the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Ro. 10:8-17. Grace is the undeserved (unmerited) favor of God (that He gives freely to those who believe). Eph. 1:7-8. 4

5 12. The sacraments are necessary channels for the continual infusion of grace. They bestow grace in virtue of the (sacramental) rite performed. The child of God (he or she who believes) is the constant object of the Father s (continuous) grace. Ro. 5: Grace is merited by good works. 2010, Grace is a free gift (of God). Ro. 11:6, Eph. 2: Venial sins do not incur eternal punishment. 1855, Every sin is punishable by eternal death (unless one has salvation in Christ) Ro. 6:23, Ro. 3: Serious sins must be confessed to a priest Sin is to be confessed directly to God. (There are no priests in the New Testament church). Mt. 6:12, 1 Jo. 5:14-15, Ezra 10:11, 1 Jo. 1:9, 1 John 1:8-2:2, Ps. 32: The priest forgives sin as a judge. 1442, No one can forgive sin (against God), but God. Mark 2:7; Act 26: When the guilt of sin is forgiven, temporal punishment remains Acts of penance make satisfaction (or expiation) for the temporal punishment of sin. 1434, Indulgences dispensed by the Church for acts of piety release sinners from temporal punishment (in this life and purgatory) Purgatory is necessary to atone for sin and cleanse the soul Poor souls suffering in purgatory can be helped by those alive on earth offering up prayers, good works, and the sacrifice of the Mass. 1032, 1371, 1479, When God forgives sin, He completely forgives. (No punishment remains). Col. 2:13, Is. 43:25. Jesus (though His death on the Cross) made perfect satisfaction (propitiation) for all sins (of the believer). No penance is needed by believers. 1 Jo, 2:1-2. (No indulgences are needed). Jesus releases believers from their sins (and the punishment of sin) by His blood (His sacrifice on the Cross). Rev. 1:5 Purgatory does not exist. Jesus made (complete and final)purification for sins on the Cross. Heb. 1:3. Those who sleep (have died as believers) in Christ need no help. To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord. 2 Cor. 5: No one can know if he will attain to eternal life. 1036, The (any) believer can know that he has eternal life by the Word of God. 1 Jo. 5: Eternal life is a merited (or earned) reward. 1821, Eternal life is the free gift of God. Ro. 6: The Roman Catholic Church is necessary for salvation There is salvation in no one but the Lord Jesus Christ,..for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12. (Salvation is by belief in the Lord Jesus Christ 5 alone. Acts 16:30.)

6 Final Destiny - Determined According to Roman Catholicism at the Particular Judgment (Text, page 91) For a Catholic, death is the moment of truth. In the death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God. [997] There the individual learns whether or not he has attained to eternal life. This is a private and personal event called the particular judgment. It is when God declares a person s final destiny. [1005, 1013, 1022, 1051] 6

7 The Threefold Communion of Saints Drawing at right shows the Roman Catholic view of the Church Triumphant in Heaven, the Church serving on earth, and the suffering Church in purgatory with the mass central to the work of the Church. Note that the Mass is central to the Communion of the Saints. It is the means to heaven whether one is in this present life or in purgatory. Masses are often said on behalf of the dead to gain them entry into heaven. 7

8 Final Destiny Is Uncertain in the Roman Catholic View Text, p.106 no one, as long as he remains in this present life, ought so to presume about the hidden mystery of divine predestination as to hold for certain that he is unquestionably of the number of the predestined. Council of Trent AD. Souls purified before death At Death Souls with venial sins Heaven (Eternal) Purgatory (Temporary) Souls now purified 1 John 5: And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. Souls with mortal sins Hell (Eternal) 8

9 What the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about I. The Particular Judgment 1022 Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven through a purification 594 or immediately, 595 or immediate and everlasting damnation. 596 (393, 1470) III. The Final Purification, or Purgatory 1030 All who die in God s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. 606 The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent (1563AD). The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire: 607 (954, 1472) 1 Cor 3:15; 1 Pet 1:7 9

10 Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great AD) as quoted in the Catechism in support of 1031 As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come. 608 Gregory the Great s interpretation of Matthew 12:31-32 Written in 593AD formally establishing the practice. Mt. 12:31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (ESV) 10

11 Second Vatican Council ( ) Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum Secundum Text, page 92, The truth has been divinely revealed that sins are followed by punishments. God s holiness and justice inflict them. Sins must be expiated. This may be done on this earth though the sorrows, miseries, and trials of this life and, above all, though death. Otherwise, the expiation must be made in the next life through fire and torments of purifying punishments

12 Depictions of Purgatory by Catholic artists 12

13 Dedicated to the Suffering Souls in Purgatory "Alas! how feeble is our faith! If a domestic animal, a little dog, falls into the fire, do you delay to draw it out? And see, your parents, benefactors, persons most dear to you, writhe in the flames of Purgatory, and you do not consider it your urgent duty to relieve them; you delay, you allow long days of suffering to pass for those poor souls, without making an effort to perform those good works which will release them from their pains." Fr. Schouppe, from his book: Purgatory, pp , 1893 Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat Our Lord told St. Gertrude the Great that the following prayer would release 1000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said: "Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most precious blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory. Amen." 13

14 (Text, page 93) Roman Catholic theologians are not in agreement as to the nature of suffering in purgatory. Some teach that the pain of purgatory is chiefly from a sense of loss in being separated from God. Others, following Thomas Aquinas, teach that souls in purgatory suffer intense and excruciating physical pain from fire Summa Theologica Thomas Aquinas AD Dominican Doctor of the Church 14

15 Prayer for the Dead Catholic teaching regarding prayers for the dead is bound up inseparably with the doctrine of purgatory and the more general doctrine of the communion of the saints, which is an article of the Apostle's Creed.,,, The most efficacious of all prayers, in Catholic teaching, is the essentially public office, the Sacrifice of the Mass. Catholic Encyclopedia 2 Timothy 1:16-18, is often wrongly cited in support of praying for the dead. Paul prays for the Onesiphorus, who has died: 2 Tim. 1: May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain; 17 when he arrived in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me 18 may the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! And you know very well how much service he rendered in Ephesus. NRSV. See also 2 Tim. 4:8 and 1 Cor. 3:13 15

16 Primary Text Supporting Prayers for the Dead (text, p ) 2 Maccabees 12: For if he (Judah, leader of the Maccabean army, were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. 45 But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin. NRSV There is no mention of praying for the dead in Old Testament! Judah was the leader of the Maccabean army in its 166BCE revolt against the Seleucid Empire, a Hellenistic state centered in Macedonia. 16

17 Earliest Mention of Prayer for the Dead Tertullian 160 c. 225 AD Heresy. Early Christian apologist against heresy. Never canonized by the Roman Church. Lactantius AD Advisor to Constantine, First Christian Emperor. Held in high regard by early church fathers. The earliest mention of prayers for the dead in public Christian worship is by the writer Tertullian in 211 A.D. However other early Christians considered this wrong. Lactanticus said, It is clear that those who pray for the dead do not act as becomes men. They will suffer punishment for their impiety and guilt. Rebellion against God. They have violated every sacred law. Lactantius Praying for the dead is a common practice in many pagan religions! 17

18 The Lighting of Candles at the Altar Catholics traditionally light candles to accompany their intercessory prayers to saints in heaven or to Mary or on behalf of the person for whom the prayer is intended. An offering typically accompanies the lit candle. (Candles introduced in 320AD) The light is symbolic of the constancy of the person s prayer. Some see it as extending the efficacy of the prayer. 18

19 What the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about prayer s for the dead 1054 Those who die in God s grace and friendship imperfectly purified, although they are assured of their eternal salvation, undergo a purification after death, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of God By virtue of the communion of saints, the Church commends the dead to God s mercy and offers her prayers, especially the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist, on their behalf It is by the Eucharist thus celebrated that the community of the faithful, especially the family of the deceased, learn to live in communion with the one who has fallen asleep in the Lord, by communicating in the Body of Christ of which he is a living member and, then, by praying for him and with him. 19

20 The Sacrament of Penance, p After baptism, if a Catholic sins, he or she must do penance for their sin before they satisfy God and receive full pardon or absolution for the sin Catholic Catechism on Penance Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must make satisfaction for or expiate his sins. This satisfaction is also called penance. (2412, 2487, 1473) Priests impose acts of penance usually a number of prayers (Our Father or Hail Mary) The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: (958, 1371, 1479) 20

21 Indulgences, text p Roman Catholicism teaches that the Church has the power to dispense indulgences that cancel temporal sin from a vast reservoir of merit called The Treasury of the Church. Text, McCarthy, p. 94 The treasury of the Church is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted which Christ s merits have before God. Second Vatican Council Catholics can earn indulgences by doing good works, After earned, they can be used in multiple ways. The selling of indulgences was a common practice in the Catholic Church for centuries and was a major cause of the Reformation. 21

22 Spiritually Alive Spiritually Dead The Gospel According to Rome page

23 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute Sharing Your Faith With Catholics To the Catholic Reader p. 311 To the Non-Catholic Reader - p. 313 Pray for Catholics p. 315 Develop Friendships p. 315 Stimulate Thought p. 316 Promote Bible Study p. 316 Address the Real Problem p. 317 Encourage a Clean Break p. 317 Anticipate Trials p. 318 Continue to Learn p. 318 Oppose Ecumenism p. 319 Each week we will briefly review one of the guidelines for sharing our faith with Catholics Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. Romans 10:17 23

24 End of Session 3 Thank you for your participation! The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8 24