Roman Catholicism

Colossians 1:21-23

COL-162

Hebrews 4:12: "For the Word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

2 Timothy 2:15: "Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth."

Acts 20:32: "I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

Revelation 2:29: "He who has an ear. Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Our subject this morning is "The Reconciliation of the Colossians, number seven in Colossians 1:21-23.

It is a self-evident fact that people who do not esteem the Bible as the Word of God do not like to be bound by what it says and what it teaches. Christians who are faithful witnesses to what the Bible teaches are often considered arrogant in their confidence that they are in the know about the things of God. People of the world treat the Bible as an enigma which no one can understand. So, who can know what God thinks? Well, what God thinks is within the covers of the Bible. What God thinks, that is pertinent to us in time, is within the covers of the Bible. That's why we ask you to bring the Bible to a church service.

Most of the churches in town, and don't get mad at me for saying something that is true truth. Just writhe for a moment in inner turmoil. But the truth of the matter is that for most churches in town, you don't need the Bible. You don't need to bring it, because the church service has nothing to do with the Bible. It has to do with many other things, but not explaining the Word of God.

So, a high point of personal dignity (a thing that we've been making a big issue of) – a foundational point is to always walk in with the Bible under your arm. Always walk in with the Bible in your hand. That is the core of everything.

When I was in Dallas seminary, we had a man named Martin Rojnore. He was from India. And he was, I think, at least 15 years older than the rest of us, certainly than myself. And many of us in that class were people who had just come back from World War II. So, we were already four years older than the people who hadn't been in the war, and who are just coming along. And this man was at least 15 years older. And he's still alive. He's still ministering in India. And I used to notice that every time somebody wanted to take this picture, he would always say, "Oh, wait a minute." And he'd go and grab his Bible, and he'd put his Bible under his arm, and he'd stand there. And he would do it every time. I see pictures of them now, in mission news report letter. And anytime there's a picture of Martin and his wife, he's standing there with his Bible.

Well, it said something. To him, it was a way of testifying that: "My life is the Word of God. And what I'm in the business of as a missionary is to propagate the Word of God." And it was a symbolic gesture on his part that had indeed significant meaning. But the people of the world says, "Yeah, the Bible, but who can understand it? Who can figure it out? Who can say this is what God thinks? Who can say this is what's right, and this is what's wrong?"

On occasion, when I have been speaking to someone who believes something that contradicts Scripture, and I point that out to them, and they are adamant in their position, I have said, "Well, someday we will find out who's right and who's wrong in this matter." And I have, on several occasions, been surprised to have the response that: "That was an arrogant remark" by me; and, "It was an arrogant attitude." And that puzzled me. Why should it be arrogant to say, "Well, we have a difference here? You say, "This is what you believe," and I say, "This is what the Bible teaches. So, what you say is not right, and we're going to find out who's right and wrong someday." Why is that arrogant? Well, it finally hit me that what the accuser was really saying was that I was implying by my statement that there was a definite absolute, and a definite wrong. There were rights, and there were wrongs; and, there was truth, and there was falsehood. And they were not gray. They were clean-cut in each category, and you could know what was right, and what was wrong by divine standards. You could know what was true, and what was false by divine standards. And that's what they thought was arrogant on my part – to say that I know what is true and what is false, and I know what is right and what is wrong, because I have a standard higher than the opinion and the judgment of man; namely, the Word of God, which speaks the mind of God. But people feel that the mind of God is unknowable from the Bible.

So, there can be no definite beliefs on right or wrong; or, on truth or falsehood. All they can have is, at best, human judgment. Then, when they do that, they very much want to have reinforcement. So, what do they look for? They want to find as many people who believe their point of view, to reinforce them into believing that that is the truth. That's where the human race went wrong in the first place, right at the start. Romans 1:28-32 describe that for us: "And just as they did not see fit (the original people of the human race, who had the information from God) to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper." As long as they said, "We're not going to believe the things that God says anymore. They don't seem reasonable to us. We have a better point of view. God said, "Fine." That's just like He'll do to you: "Have it your way. I'll turn you loose to think it as you wish to think. The result was that they were filled with unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They were gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful. What a sorry description. But that's where every human being goes, because that's what's in your sin nature – every one of those things, and it'll pop right out as soon as you give it a chance, as long as you do not say that I have the restraints of the authority of God upon me.

The tragic result is verse 32: "And although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." When you cut yourself off from the Word of God, and you start meandering out there on that human viewpoint sense of values, which is what our society is, then you want as many people as possible on your side. Very often, people will say, and you've heard them say this. They'll declare something that is an opposition they have. And they will say, "And I'm not the only one." So, I say, "Well, who cares? You're not the only one. That makes it right? The majority is usually wrong. As soon as you tell me, "Well, I'm not the only one who has this point of view," that makes me suspect that you're probably really are wrong. And it does tell me that you're not really that sure you're correct. So, you want to reinforce yourself by saying that there are other people that believe your stupidity.

1 Peter 4:3-5 say, "For the time already passed is sufficient for you (speaking to Christians) to have carried out the desire of the gentiles (the world's system of Satan), having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals (drinking parties), and abominable idolatries. And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same of dissipation, and they malign you. But they shall give an account to Him Who is ready to judge the living and the dead." People who want to live a dissipated life of evil wonder why you don't want to have fun with them, and why you don't want to share their evil lifestyle, and why you don't want to get into the world's system and love it, and serve society, and serve humanity, and be in the institutions, and take places of leadership, as if you're going to influence, with your Christian viewpoint, the system that Satan has designed. And people who want to reject the standard of God wonder what's wrong with you: "How do you have any fun in life?" And why don't you join them? Why do they want you to join them? Because they want to be reinforced in what, down in their hearts, they're suspicious of the fact that they're not really right, and what they're pursuing is something that is going to be very costly to them.

People take comfort in feeling that if there is no clear message from God on spiritual matters, they cannot then be held accountable for how they choose to live, even if they displease God. And they much prefer that. They much prefer saying, "Well, you can't blame me, God, because I chose to live like this, and because I chose to use up my life like this. You didn't make it clear. And some of you have told me of your experiences, where people that you have been witnessing to, who do not accept the Bible, say, "Well, if God believes that, He should have made it clear."

Well, here's where the fact of faith comes in. To anybody to whom God is ready to reveal Himself, the Bible is a clearly understood book. What He says is very easily read and understood. But to those, beginning with the gospel, who are not going to be in His new Jerusalem, because he did not choose them to be there, the Bible is going to be an enigma, and they are going to live in the desire to be totally free of it. And they don't realize that God has left them in their just deserts.

So, unbelievers and carnal Christians do not like expository preaching because it makes the mind of God clear to people. It makes it clear that there is true truth. That's why expository preaching is not what churches focused upon, because it becomes very upsetting to the lives of people to have to change; to have to adjust; and, to that to align themselves with the Word of God.

So, when somebody comes along, like yourself, and you are a faithful witness to the gospel and to the full gamut of what constitutes the Christian life, the result is often rage (on the part of the person you're speaking to); abuse toward you; or, ostracism. The teacher of doctrinal truth is rejected because the truth of God is offensive to the carnal Christian and to the unbeliever. And the way to handle that is not to say, "Well, what does the Bible say?" But the way they handle that is to attack the believer.

Now, unfortunately, we have to also recognize that we Christians have to face our real attitude toward the Bible as the Word; the voice; and, the will of God. It's very easy to say that we have a certain confidence toward the Word of God. But as I look at the lives of Christians, very often I find that their words are far from their real beliefs.

In Luke 6:46, the Lord Jesus observed that this same treatment was being given to Him: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?" I call Him "Lord Jesus," but I'm up to my eyeballs living in the world. I call Him "Lord Jesus," but I can't get enough of doing things for the world system. And Jesus says, "Why in the world do you call me Lord? Satan is your Lord. His system is your Lord, not your separation from the world; not your Christian citizenship in heaven; not your walk as a stranger in Pilgrim here; and, not your position as an ambassador (a royal personage) sent from the court of Heaven to this world system as a messenger of God.

Matthew 21:28-31: "But what do you think?" A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, "Son, go work today in the vineyard. And he answered and said, 'I will sir.' But he did not go. And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, 'I will not.' Yet, he afterward regretted it and went. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said, 'The latter.'"

How often are Christians saying, "Yes, Lord, I want to serve you," and then they don't do it. They're serving the world system. Do they want to serve the Lord? Yes, they genuinely do. But they don't have time. They don't have energy. They don't have capacity. One of the things that Christians need to do is just to strip down their live. Sometimes they need to go home, and sit down, and put their feet up on the table or on their desk, and just sit there, and think, and refuse to do anything. They need to strip down their lives so they have some breathing space, and some elbow room, so that it's not wall-to-wall activity. Then maybe they can start serving the Lord. Maybe they can select now, from the limited capacity and time span they have, to be able to do the things that are going to count for eternity.

There's so much hypocrisy of professing esteem for Scripture, and of loyalty to Christ as Lord, while living by the world standards for mere temporal objectives. Christians have lost the principle of separation from the world onto Christ. And it is amazing that that could have happened to Christians – often knowledgeable Christians. They lose the principle of separation from the world, and they're right there, like any other worldling. You can't tell the difference between them in what they do with their lives yet.

And yet, in 1 John 2:15-17, you get tired of hearing it. It's true truth: "Do not love the world." This is "agape" love. Have a mental attitude goodwill toward the world: "Nor the things of the world;" that is, the world system of Satan's organization of life and institutions: "If any one loves the world system, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world system: the lust of the flesh; the lust of the eyes; and, the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world system of Satan. And the world system is passing away, and also its lusts. But the one who does the will of God abides forever." What abides forever? You're not going to be saved because of this. What abides forever is the value of your life. You will not have squandered your potential for eternal rewards because you squandered them in the world system, and didn't have time to get around to do the things that are needed down at the local church and in the work of God.

1 Peter 4:7: "The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit (gravitas – dignity) for the purpose of prayer. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, get your head screwed on straight. Carry personal dignity for the purpose of prayer, because people who pray are people who are going to be on track with doing the will of God. And that's the point.

Then there is Philippians 3:18: "For many walk of whom I often told you, and now tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction; whose God is their appetite; and, whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things." That's the people of the world. They set their minds on earthly things. What do we Christians do? How often the same thing? How can this happen? It's because, when a Christian no longer values the Bible above all else in life, and the knowledge of what's in that book above everything in life, he will eventually get all tied up in Satan's world system of life. He will then have no order in his life. He'll have no time. He'll have no decency. And he'll have no dignity. Such Christians lack the dignity commensurate with their royal position. Soon they're too busy in life to get around to doing God's work instead of fitting the world into God's work, they're fitting God's work into their world life. They get too busy for attending church services. They get too busy for attending church activities. And we don't see them. But the world sure does see them.

God is your priority if the Word of God is your precious life. The less zeal, I have observed, that a Christian has, for the Word of God, and for the knowledge of doctrine, the greater his zeal will be for life in the world of Satan. That is an ipso facto operation. It's S.O.P (Standard Operating Procedure). It never fails. The less zeal a Christian has for the Word of God, so that that's always put first, the greater will be his zeal for the world system of Satan. You will never be without zeal, but rather just what the object of that zeal would be.

Luke 6:46: "You say, 'Lord Lord,' you don't do what I say.

2 Timothy 4:10 addresses this also: "For Demas (one of the associates of the apostle Paul), having loved this present world system, has deserted me, and gone to Thessalonica. Adventures with God are foreign to many Christians because they really don't know God their father. They know their wife. They know their husband. They know their children. They know their friends. They know the people down to church. But they can't say, "I know God" on that same personal basis. God my Father is not my personal friend in that same way. I don't really know God the Creator personally as Father.

The reality of God as father is as distant to many Christians as is the reality of the pagan gods of Greece and Rome. How close are you to Apollo? How close are you to Venus? How close are you to Zeus? About as close as many Christians are to God their Father. They don't live with within. They don't serve with Him. They're not on the line, using up the time of their lives in His service. To such believers, the Bible is simply not the word of the living God, and His will is not imperative in their lives. But they call him "Lord, Lord."

The Bible speaks clearly, but so often a Christian can live as he chooses, and God's work goes wanting, all because of failure to separate from the world.

Now, there are serious consequences for this lack of esteem for the Bible as the voice of God. The lack of treating the Bible as the medium of guidance in life has led even to the willingness to pervert the gospel itself. That's what we want to focus on this morning – the perversion of the gospel itself as the result of considering the Bible something less than the Word of God.

The Roman Catholic Church

Our examples that we've been following in current news is the Roman Catholic Church, which daily demonstrates the debasing of the Bible with its claim to re-sacrificing Jesus Christ in the Mass; and, a salvation plan where Christ paid the penalty for one's moral guilt, but the individual must also pay for his sin with temporal sufferings; with his good works; with the Mass; and with the six other sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. Roman Catholic salvation thus is by works of human merit added to the merit of Christ. Do not be deceived when the Catholic says, "I do believe that Christ died for my sins. He is my Savior, and I have to trust in Him." He does. But he has perverted that fact by the fact that he also believes, on the authority of his church, that he must pay for his own sin in time. He must perform penances to perform certain sufferings for his own sins. If all he has is the death of Christ persons, he will not go to heaven. He has to pay temporal punishment for his sin.

Of course, that is not a grace salvation. That is a works salvation, and that is not God's way in Scripture. Most Catholics, of course, like most human beings, never could suffer enough before death to fulfill all the temporal punishment they deserve. Therefore, a Roman Catholic enters purgatory, to earn sufficient merit so that he can be fit to enter heaven. This is Roman Catholic teaching. It is not Bible doctrine teaching. But that's OK. In Roman Catholicism, the teachings of the Magisterium (the Pope and the Cardinals) is on equal plane with the teachings of the Bible. That's known as the teaching authority of the church. So, if the church says that something is so, it's that way. That makes it truth, even if it's in direct contradiction of Scripture itself.

Only a select number of Catholics are ever viewed as having more than enough merit in life to qualify to go directly to heaven and bypass purgatory. They are called saints. Mother Teresa has recently been in the news, and is being considered for that kind of beatification (that kind of elevation) to sainthood. The extra merit that such a person has, goes into the pope's treasury of merit to be dispensed through him to the benefit of those in purgatory through certificates of indulgences. And the reason for this is to fully purify that person. This is the Roman Catholic teaching of how a Catholic gets into heaven. It is the doctrine of the teaching authority.

Today. I want to, as I promised, let the Catholics speak for themselves. You have perhaps a better appreciation for this if you realize. I remind you, that people who have sat in this auditorium and have been taught the Word of God have become Roman Catholics. Women have gone and married Roman Catholic men, and the mongrel religious system that evolves in their lives is unbelievable and horrendous. So, don't blow this off as something that's unimportant. This is what is happening out there in the religious world where the Bible is not the final voice of God. And it is the lack of treating the Bible with the respect that it deserves.

I'm going to quote from a leading Roman Catholic theologian, Ludwig Ott, and I'm quoting from a book, The Roman Catholic Controversy written by J. R. White. Ludwig Ott says, "The remission of venal sins." These are in contrast to mortal sins. Venal sins are forgivable: "Which are not yet remitted, occurs, as it does in this life, by an act of deriving from charity and performed with the help of grace." You get your vengeance forgiven by your works of charity: "This act of contrition, which is presumably awakened immediately after entry into the purifying fire, does not, however, affect the abrogation or diminution of the punishment for sins, since in the other world, there is no longer any possibility of merit." What they are saying is that once you're in purgatory, the flames hit you and you say, "Oh boy, I am not fit for heaven. I thought I was, but I realized I'm not. This is for real.

Then it says, "Now you know better, but you can't do anything about it. You cannot earn your way out of purgatory. Somebody else has to do that for you. The temporal punishment for sins are atoned for in the purifying fire by the so-called suffering of atonement; that is, by the willing very of the expiatory punishments imposed by God." So, the long way into heaven is by the flaming suffering in purgatory. That burns up your temporal punishment. But the fast way is through the sacraments of the church being performed in your behalf by the living.

Sola Fide

So, what theologian Ott says is that the principle of the Roman Catholic Church is that nobody goes to heaven; everybody goes to purgatory; and, everybody has to be burned out to get into heaven. So, a Roman Catholic salvation is by works of their own merit added to the murder of Christ, and that never works. The individual must undergo suffering on earth, or in purgatory, to meet the temporal punishment for his sins. So, a Roman Catholic is taught that to enter heaven, he must have Christ's atonement for his moral guilt, and he must have his own atonement for his temporal guilt. This, therefore, does not honor salvation by the grace of God alone. It is not salvation which is "sola fide" (by faith alone). And it is not by "sola fide" because it is not by "sola scriptura." It is not by Scripture alone. It is by human doctrine which has been invented.

This is the same satanic doctrine that is in Mormonism – that there are certain sins that you must atone for yourself. Mormonism teaches that: some sins are so heinous that the blood of Christ will not get those sins forgiven. You must get them forgiven by shedding your own blood, which is why, in the state of Utah, you may be executed by firing squad, so that you may shed your blood to cover your own sins along with the blood of Christ. That is blasphemy right out of hell itself. Yet, it is most sincerely believed.

The Sinner's Good Works

"The sinner must bear," theologian Ott says, "the necessary expiation of temporal punishment in purgatory. This may be mitigated, however, by papal indulgences, paid for by living relatives and friends. The Roman Catholic doctrine calls for one to stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and in his own righteousness of good works. Please understand that both are required. Then you won't be confused. This, of course, contradicts Ephesians 2:8-9, which says, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that (salvation) is not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. It contradicts also Romans 4:1-5, which says that it's of grace or it's of works. It contradicts Romans 11:6, which says that they are mutually exclusive. You cannot be saved partly by grace and partly by works. Those Scriptures are absolutely clear, and they are in contradiction of everything of the Roman Catholic doctrine of salvation. If that's the case, then Catholics never can go to heaven.

Romans 11:6: "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace." And if God says, "I'll save you on grace, and no other way and you say, "No, I'm going to be saved by grace, but I'm going to give you my works too," then God says, "But now you're paying Me for salvation. Then it's no longer grace. Don't try to pay Me. Otherwise I can't save." And you say, "No, I'm going to pay you. My church tells me that." And the result is that millions of Catholics die every day, and they go directly into Hades, awaiting their transfer to the lake of fire – not the fire of purgatory which has some hope for them. When you say, "Well, that's not grace," the Roman Catholics say, "Well, God's provision of purgatory is an act of His grace toward us.

Martin Luther's 95 Theses

Well, of course, there was Martin Luther. We've just been thinking about him. On October 31st, 1517, he nailed his 95 propositions of debate on the church door for the scholars to debate. And the subject was salvation through indulgences – the pope's authority and ability to sell you a ticket out of the suffering. One year after Luther's challenge with the 95 theses for the debate on indulgences, the then current pope, Pope Leo, issued an excommunication for anyone who challenged his right to dispense indulgences for money. Anybody who would challenge the papal authority, and say that the Pope could not sell you an indulgence out of purgatory, that person was put under excommunication. To be put under excommunication means there's no way you can go to heaven: through purgatory; or, any place else.

The Pope's Granting of Indulgences

Dr. Philip Schaff, church historian, wrote, "The traffic in ecclesiastical places and the forgiveness of sins constitutes the very last scene of the medieval church history. On the eve of the Reformation, we had the spectacle of the pope solemnly renewing the claim to have rule over both spheres, civil and ecclesiastical, and to hold in his hand the salvation of all mankind. Yeah, and actually supporting the extravagant luxuries of his worldly court with monies drawn from the trade in sacred things. How deep-seated the pernicious principle had become was made manifest in the bull (the edict) which Leo issued November 9th, 1518, a full year after the nailing of the theses on the church door in Wittenberg, in which all were threatened with excommunication, who failed to preach and believe that the pope had the right to grant indulgences."

That belief and that claim has never been rescinded. It is held by the Roman papacy to this day. The doctrine of indulgences, of course, relates to this business of sainthood, such as Mother Teresa. The Apostolic Constitution on the revision of indulgences was made on January 1st, 1967, not so long ago. It is called in Latin the "indulgentiarum doctrina." And what it does is brings up to date what the Roman Catholic Church believes about the expiation of sins in purgatory. And it crystallized all of the things that Catholicism has always taught on the subject. You have to have this in order to be able to get into heaven. They claim, in this revised statement, that the claim in purgatory and the idea of the treasury of super merit to be distributed by the pope has been church doctrine always. But it has not ever been in the Bible. The concept of sin relative to the doctrine of indulgences declares that sin must be expiated by the individuals.

Quoting from page 187 of The Roman Catholic Controversy: "Sins must be expiated. This may be done on this earth through the sorrows, miseries, and trials of this life, and above all, through death. Otherwise, the expiation must be made in the next life through fire and torments, or purifying punishments. The reasons for their imposition are that our souls need to be purified." This is a declaration of theologian Ott. Our souls need to be purified.

Purgatory

This is their leading theologian telling you the way the church teaches entrance into heaven. The treasury of grace is merit to be released from purgatory. Theologian Ott says, "On the contrary, the treasury of the church is the infinite value which can never be exhausted, which Christ's merit had before God. This Treasury includes, as well, the prayers and the good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even pristine in their value before God. In the Treasury too are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord, and by His grace, have made their lives holy, carried out the mission of the Father entrusted to them. In this way, they attain their own salvation, and at the same time cooperated in saving their brothers in the unity of the mystical body."

Now, when you listen to this, as official declaration of the Roman Catholic Church, you wonder how those brethren among us went out and became Catholics; and, how men and women have married Catholics without their stomach churning in revulsion and horror. This is blasphemy beyond comprehension to anybody who knows anything about the Bible.

Mother Teresa

We enjoy and rejoice in our reconciliation with the Father. Roman Catholics say they must be reconciled to the Father through these acts of indulgences. Theologian Ott says, in fact: "In granting an indulgence, the church uses its power as minister of Christ's redemption. It not only prays, it intervenes with the authority to dispense to the faithful, provided they have the right dispositions, the treasury of satisfaction with Christ and the saints, one for the remission of temporal punishments. Moreover, the religious practice of indulgences arouses again confidence and hope that we can be fully reconciled to the Father." Does that raise your confidence to be reconciled to the Father, by paying for a ticket? I wonder what theologian Ott means, what he says, "Those who have the right dispositions." Does that mean enough money? That certainly is one of the dispositions you better have if you're going to have indulgences.

Ludwig Ott goes on to say, "To gain indulgences, the work prescribed must be done. But that is not all. The faithful must have the dispositions that are necessary. These are they that must love God; hate sin; trusts in Christ's merit; and, believe firmly in the great help they obtain from the communion of saints." Help from the communion of Saints? Help from other people praying you into heaven, out of purgatory? What the Bible teaches is reconciliation by the works of Jesus Christ alone, to believers as a grace gift.

Romans 5:10-11. A Catholic has this in his Bible. What does he do with it? "For if, while we were enemies of God (unsaved) we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son." Period. I am adjusted to absolute righteousness through the death of His Son, when I accept His offer of salvation: "Much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."

Then it says, "Once we're reconciled to God's standard, we can never be unreconciled. We may sin, but we're going to go to heaven. And not only this, but: "We also exalt in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received the reconciliation." We have now received the reconciliation. But a poor Roman Catholic is told that he has to hustle to be able to earn the reconciliation of Christ over a period of time. And somebody who knows this, goes out of this fellowship, and becomes a Roman Catholic?

2 Corinthians 5:18-20: "Now all these things are from God, Who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." It isn't the pope and the cardinals who can reconcile you. You people are the ones who can reconcile people to God, because you know the gospel of the grace of God. That's what reconciles them: "Namely, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. And He has committed us to the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were entreating through us. We beg you, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."

The Roman Catholic Church says, "No, you Christians cannot reconcile people to God. Only the church can do that. But the Word of God here says, "No works of merit are necessary – only the merit of Christ."

Let me give you a couple of verses. The Roman Catholics say, "We know that we're right because the Bible teaches the doctrine of purgatory." Where? "Why, in Matthew 12:32:" "And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." The Roman Catholics interpret this passage to say that it is possible to have sins forgiven in the age to come. You can have sins forgiven after you die. Is that what that Scripture is saying? What Jesus is teaching is that the possibility of forgiveness for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not to be found anywhere; anytime; or, anyplace. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a fatal sin. And when it says, "The age to come," it is not referring to purgatory. What the Lord is stressing is that there is no forgiveness, anytime, for anyone, anyplace, for blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. It's not talking about forgiveness in purgatory.

Let me compare this for just a moment in Mark 3 – this same statement as the Holy Spirit recorded it in Mark 3:29: "But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of eternal sin." He never has forgiveness. What in Matthew is "nor in the age to come," in Mark is, "never has forgiveness." So, the very Scripture that they use says that there is no forgiveness beyond death.

Then they say, "Well, OK. How about 1 Corinthians 3:10-13. That teaches about purgatory. Well, you know this passage: "According to the grace of God, which is given to me as a wise master builder, I lay the foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be careful how he builds upon it, for no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now, if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble (straw), each man's work will become evident. For the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire. And the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work, which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned, he shall suffer loss. But he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire."

Now, you know very well that this passage deals with rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ for divine good work service that you have performed in your life. You have not wasted your life being part of the world system. You have incorporated yourself into God's life system as a stranger; a pilgrim; and, a citizen of heaven. And you have served Him night and day with your mission. And accordingly, there will be rewards. But the concept here is, in Roman Catholicism, the word "fire" catches their eye there. It's the fire of God's judgment indeed. It's a symbol of judgment, but this is judgment of a believer relative to his rewards, not relative to his entrance into heaven. And they associate this fire with purgatory suffering, so that they can have full purification. In fact, the passage deals with the value of the Christian's works relative to eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ. It does not mention the issue of sin, for all our saved.

John 5:24 declares very clearly the issue of who is saved: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but is passed out of death into life. You trust in Christ as Savior, and you're home free.

Well, OK. The Roman Catholic will say that Colossians 1:24 teaches about purgatory. I'm going to give you the four main verses on which purgatory is structured scripturally by the Catholics. Colossians 1:24 says, "Now I rejoice in my suffering," Paul says, "for your sake. And in my flesh, I do my share, on behalf of His body, which is the church, and filling up that which is lacking in Christ's affliction." The Roman Catholic Church claims that the apostle Paul here is saying that he is suffering to complete the suffering of Jesus Christ for salvation for himself and for others who are in need of that. He is saying that Christ suffered, but he has to complete his own suffering to complete the salvation that Jesus Christ provided. Do you see how blasphemous this is? To complete the salvation of Christ requires his own suffering, and that he will suffer for those who need suffering – the treasury of merit again.

Well, the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world. And what He suffered for, in this past (what Paul is talking about) is suffering for truth – the thing we started off this morning with. This is the suffering because you're telling people what the Bible says, and the Bible was written in plain, ordinary, everyday English. You understand what it means. Therefore, you know what God is saying. Paul says, "Christ suffered when He stood before the Pharisees, and He declared to them the truth of God." It enraged them. They hated Him. And they finally killed Him for it. And Paul says, "I'm doing my share in suffering for the truth because I'm proclaiming the truth of the grace doctrines of the church, and the Jews hate me, and the gentiles despise me for undermining their way of life." And that is the suffering that he's talking about. Paul is not saying that he's suffering for salvation that Christ provided. He's saying that he's suffering for declaring the truth. There is no reference here to the merit of saints for indulgences in this passage.

Paul cannot suffer for someone else to satisfy the justice of God for that person. Christians are already reconciled to God. They have no need for indulgences through the merits of Mother Teresa. You may look up Romans 5:8-11 Romans 3:25:1, 1 John 2:2 (He's out propitiation now), Hebrews 2:17, and Hebrews 7:24-25. All those passages make it clear that we have all the merit we need for heaven.

Now, we do sin. 1 John 1:9 takes care of getting us back into temporal fellowship.

So, these three primary passages are provided by the Roman Catholic Church as biblical defense for purgatory in addition to the teachings of the church.

Well, a man told me recently that the Bible does not teach that anyone is a saint. And he was trying to say that the Roman Catholics only talk about some people being saints as a certificate of honor. They want to respect them. Well, of course, everybody in the group that heard him say that was outraged, and said, "Oh, yes, the Bible does teach that some people are saints." And that is exactly the truth.

I'll show you one passage. We don't have time for more. 1 Corinthians 1:1-2: "Paul, called an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, to the church of God, which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who, in every place, call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours." Who is a saint? Anybody who is a Christian; anybody who is born again; and, anybody who trusts in Christ as Savior. The same thing is reiterated in Colossians 1:2, Ephesians 1:15, Ephesians 3:8, Ephesians 3:18; and Ephesians 6:18. Every one of those make it clear that those who are born-again spiritually are saints. What does a saint means? The word "saint" has to do with "holy." What does the word "holy" mean? It means "set apart." A saint is one who is set apart to eternal life. It does not mean that he has great personal super merit. It means that he is under the merit of Christ.

So, the word "saint" means "set apart to God." It's not a matter of your character. It's a matter of the character of God. Sainthood, of course, is by divine calling only. Romans 1:7 says that the only people who are saints are those that God has called. The Roman Catholic Church defines a saint as one who is super-holy in conduct; self-sacrificial in character; and, who performs miracles. The Roman Catholic Church also uses several verses in Revelation as their fourth basis for purgatory. But these are all perverted from what those passengers are really saying about the judgment of God upon the wicked on this earth, and in eternity in the lake of fire. They have been perverted by Roman Catholic teaching.

A Roman Catholic saint, is to be venerated. He is to be prayed for, for favors – especially the virgin Mary. Yet, some of us have become Roman Catholics? Some of us have married Roman Catholics? I hope now you know better. It's grace; and, grace; and, grace all the way.

I love the words of the hymn "Saved by Grace:"

"Someday the silver cord will break, and I no more as now shall sing,
but O the joy when I shall wake, within the palace of the King.

Someday my earthly house will fall. I cannot tell how soon t'will be.
But this I know, my all it all, has now a place in heaven for me.

Someday, when fades the golden sun, beneath the rosy tinted west,
my blessed Lord will say, 'Well done,' and I shall enter into rest.

Someday, till then I'll watch and wait, my lamp all trimmed and burning bright,
that when my Savior opes the gate, my soul to Him may take its flight.

And I shall see him face to face. And tell the story – saved by grace.
And I shall see him face to face. And tell the story – saved by grace."

God, our Father, we rejoice in the words of that song because they referred.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1995

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