Category: Identifying and Countering Deception

Are We Smarter than Jesus?

flat earth

I feel sure that none of my Christian friends would ever claim to be smarter than Jesus; however, we sometimes act and speak as if we think so.

One of the greatest lies of our time is that the highest and most certain form of knowledge comes from the scientific realm.

Because we have probed some of the mysteries of biology and physics and have more advanced technologies, we may believe that we are smarter than our ancestors, some of whom we might describe as being “pre-scientific.” To our great loss, we may denigrate other forms of knowledge and wisdom given to us by God, even that found in the Bible.

Jesus taught that God’s Word is absolute truth, of which he is the embodiment.

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:17 (NASB95)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6 (NASB95)

The Bible warns us to never add to or subtract from God’s Word. (Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:6, and Revelation 22:18-19)

Those who reject God’s Word in favor of some other source of knowledge or “truth” are guilty of suppressing God’s truth, which dishonors the Creator and hides his glory.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Romans 1:18–23 (NASB95)

God’s wrath in the form of a descent into lust and perversion always follows the suppression of truth about his creation and his person. I believe that is where we are today as a direct result of our suppressing God’s truth about creation. We have abandoned the Genesis Chapter One account of creation and cosmology in favor of modern atheistic astrophysics.

All creation testifies to the glory of God, if it is rightly understood. 

I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. Psalm 119:99–100 (NASB95)

If we measure all other forms of supposed truth against the benchmark of God’s Word, we will have more understanding than those who abandon God’s Word because they think other sources of knowledge are more reliable.

As a result of elevating supposed scientific knowledge and men’s theories above God’s Word, many interpret the opening chapter of Genesis as a poetic phenomenological description of origins which God never intended for us to regard as factual. But has God authorized us to do that? Is there anywhere in the Bible that we are plainly told that we should interpret Genesis metaphorically?

These same Christian friends who feel compelled to interpret Genesis Chapter One phenomenologically would undoubtedly affirm that Jesus is the eternal Logos (Word) who became flesh through his miraculous conception in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit. They would also stand behind John’s claim that Jesus, as the pre-incarnate eternal Logos, created all things.  

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:1–3 (NASB95)

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NASB95)

As the incarnate eternal Logos (Word) walking upon the earth, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit without measure. He had more wisdom and understanding than any person who ever lived. Being the very embodiment of God’s Word of truth, he had and has the greatest understanding of its meaning. After all, the author of a book knows better what he intended to say than any reader. 

Now here is where it gets very interesting. When Jesus walked on the earth, he understood Genesis to be literally true.

In fact, he taught his disciples that God’s Word cannot be “broken.” (John 10:35) The Greek word “luo” means to loose, untie, or release. Bible scholars extend that meaning to include to annul, break, or destroy. In other words, we cannot release God’s words from the original meaning and interpret them any way we like. God’s Word carries the force of what it actually says, rather than what we might wish it said. 

Therefore, are we not guilty of “breaking” God’s Word if we interpret Genesis Chapter One as less than factually true? 

In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus taught that Adam and Eve were created male and female “at the beginning” , a direct quote from Genesis 1:27.

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? Matthew 19:4–5 (NKJV)

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them...God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.Genesis 1:27, 31 (NKJV)

Jesus believed and knew Adam and Eve were and are real people whom God (he) created on the sixth day of creation. Mark 10:6 also puts their creation at the “beginning,” thus eliminating old earth accommodations to evolutionary dogma and affirming the six-days of creation. Jesus also believed that Abel was an historical figure. The same is true of Noah, Moses, and Jonah. Jesus does not allow us to relegate any of them to allegory or myth.

Neither do we have permission to relegate the six days of creation to mere poetry that is not scientifically and factually true.

The only reason people began to do this is because we fell for the lie that scientific knowledge is more accurate and reliable than God’s Word. We believed the ungodly occult theory that the earth rotates and revolves around the sun. We accepted anti-biblical theories of evolution and the Big Bang that are required if we accept heliocentrism. Now, after 500 years, the heliocentric lie and Newtonian astrophysics seem more reasonable than the truth of God’s Word. We are victims of the greatest indoctrination scheme of all time, which is designed to hide the truth about creation and obscure God’s glory.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 (NKJV)

Should we not heed the warning of John Calvin, who was Copernicus’ contemporary?

copernicus quote

Is it not time for the church to repent of idolizing men’s words above God’s and to admit that we are not smarter than Jesus?

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The Link between Sorcery and Deception

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Perhaps most people would not think a link exists between deception and sorcery, but the Bible affirms that there is. Concerning mystery Babylon in the Book of Revelation, John wrote:

The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The happy voices of brides and grooms will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the greatest in the world, and you deceived the nations with your sorceries. Revelation 18:23 (NLT)

Nahum corroborates these words when describing another powerful city of his time, Nineveh.

All because of the many harlotries of the harlot, The charming one, the mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations by her harlotries And families by her sorceries. Nahum 3:4 (NASB95) 

In another verse, the Bible says that Satan has deceives the entire world (Revelation 12:9). It only stands to reason that he uses sorcery to do it.

Those who take the Bible seriously and know that every word is God’s truth realize that God is telling us that governmental and other types of power in this world are often connected to the satanic and demonic realm. This includes the power to deceive, which is wielded through sorcery.

Consider the power of the satanic lie to seduce Adam and Eve into doing what brought death and destruction. Do we think that the serpent in the garden merely used a logical argument against them, or was something far more powerful and sinister at work? I can almost see the glittering eyes of the serpent as he unleashed the poison of his sorcery against them.

The Book of Enoch, which is non-canonical but is quoted in our New Testament, has some interesting things to say about the occult. It relates that evil angels instructed humans in the wicked knowledge of sorcery. The following is from Book 9.

Thou hast seen what Azazyel has done, how he as taught every species of iniquity upon earth, and has disclosed to the world all the secret things which are done in the heavens. 6. Samyaza also has taught sorcery, to whom thou hast given authority over those who are associated with him. They have gone together to the daughters of men; have lain with them; have become polluted;

I do not ascribe scriptural authority to these verses, but they seem to add detail regarding what is recorded in the first few chapters of Genesis. Whether these words are indeed true, we know that people must gain their knowledge of the occult realm from the devil. Where else would they obtain it?

But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them—I place no other burden on you. Revelation 2:24 (NASB95)

Just as the deep things of God can only be learned from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10), the deep things of Satan come by spiritual interaction as well.

There are only two sides in this cosmic battle between good and evil, God and Satan. There is only one Lord, Jesus, and one pretender to the throne, Satan. It is important for us to grasp that the entire world system is steeped in deception and that the only way of escape is via the truth found in the Bible as revealed by the Spirit of truth. It is also important to know what we are up against – evil people allied with Satan who have access to “the deep things of Satan.” The power of evil is formidable, but no match for the power of the Lord.

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:4–6 (NASB95)

I believe we should understand that there is more deception in the world than we think based on what Jesus said in Revelation 12:9. Governments employ deception on a unimaginable scale through such agencies as the CIA. In an age when the “deep fake” can be easily carried out by modern technology, we must be on guard.

Every other testimony, whether it be scientific, medical, or so-called  “experts”, should be weighed against the testimony of the Bible. When there is disagreement, we must lean toward the Scriptures. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Like the Protestant reformers, we should adopt the motto, “Sola Scriptura” – “only the scripture.” We ought to repent from trusting science or any other human testimony more than God’s Word. This is the only way we will thrive in a world drowning in deception.

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:31–32 (NASB95)
Prayer

Holy Spirit, we ask you to deliver us from the rampant deception that has enveloped the world. Open our eyes to more and more truth from your Word. If we have been duped by the devil’s sorcery and lies, we ask you to set us free in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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The Prophetic Significance of the Stoning of Stephen for Israel

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IsraelThe stoning of Stephen had tremendous prophetic significance concerning the nation of Israel. Stephen began his final speech to the Jews by giving a short account of Israel’s history with God. Suddenly, he switched gears to pronounce a scathing judgment upon the Jews.

“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” Acts 7:51–53 (NKJV)

We must assume that the Holy Spirit prompted him to pronounce this indictment. His death, witnessed by Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, fulfilled the timing found in one of the prophet Daniel’s visions.

Stephen’s wording was exact. He did not use hyperbole when he said the Israelites always resist the Holy Spirit and never kept the Law. Yes, there were significant men and women during her history who walked with God, but the nation as a whole was steeped in idolatry and did not submit to God. We now know that it was impossible for them to do so and still is, apart from being reborn in the Spirit, for no one is able to keep the Law.

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3:21–24 (NKJV)

The window of opportunity for the entire nation of Israel to repent and confess that Jesus is Lord came to a close when the Jews killed Stephen.

The more complete outworking of that judgment was fulfilled years later when the Roman army sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in 70 AD, thereby ending the sacrificial system forever. 

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. Hebrews 8:13 (NASB95)
 
Daniel’s Vision

I wrote another article about the partial preterist interpretation of Daniel’s seventy weeks, which you can read, if you like, by clicking on the link above. I believe this interpretation better agrees with scripture and history. You can click here to read more about my position regarding dispensational theology. Below I will summarize a section of my article on Daniel’s vision. 

“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. 25 “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. 26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9:24–27 (NKJV)

A generally accepted convention for interpreting prophecy is making a day into a year. Below is a breakdown of how the partial preterist position interprets the 70 weeks.

  • 7 weeks (49 years) – 457 BC (the decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem) to 408 BC, during which time were the ministries of Ezra (rebuilding the temple) and Nehemiah (rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem).
  • 62 weeks (434 years ) – 408 BC to the baptism of Jesus in AD 27 (The anointing of the Holy One.) He was baptized and anointed with the Holy Spirit to carry out the work of the ministry.
  • 1 week (7 years)
    • AD 27 to AD 31: 3.5 years – The time from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry until his crucifixion. He was the the Anointed One who was cut off. The Messiah will be cut off, but not for himself, ending the need for any more animal sacrifices. He, the Messiah, shall confirm a covenant – the New Covenant.
    • 31 AD to 34 AD: 3.5 years from the crucifixion to the stoning of Stephen, after which the door was officially opened to the Gentiles and a door of opportunity shut for the Jews as a nation. Paul was called and commissioned shortly thereafter.
  • 70 AD: the destruction of the Temple by Titus and the Roman army (the people of the prince), effectively ending all animal sacrifices.

The partial preterist view does not put a 2000-year gap between the 69th and 70th week, as does dispensational theology. Therefore, Daniel 9 does not predict what will happen at the very end of time just prior to the Second Coming. If we accept the partial preterist interpretation, it is quite understandable why Daniel was so upset by the vision. God showed him that Israel would reject and murder their Messiah and Jerusalem and the temple destroyed!

Jesus’ Prophetic Warning to Israel

Jesus also foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (Matthew 24:2, Mark 13:2, Luke 21:6, Luke 21:20, Luke 19:43-44), which signified the end of God’s purpose for Israel.

Israel had the glorious role of stewarding God’s promises and the scriptures as well as providing the human pedigree for the Messiah. However, just as John the Baptist’s role was concluded when he introduced Jesus to the nation, Israel’s role sadly reached its end when it fulfilled the scriptures by crucifying the Messiah! 

In Acts chapter two, on Pentecost, the apostle Peter offered those present in Jerusalem for the great feast an opportunity to repent of this great evil, and 3000 did! Unfortunately, the preponderance of the people and leaders continued to resist the Holy Spirit, just as Stephen said in his last sermon.

Jesus prophesied that all this would happen and that the kingdom of God would be given to another people, one that would embrace him as Lord.

“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. Matthew 21:43–45 (NASB95)

This new people was later revealed to be the Church, the “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15) composed of elect Jews and Gentiles who are born again by the Holy Spirit, a new nation and people springing forth from the second or last Adam. (1 Corinthians 15:45-49)

God’s Plan All Along

The surprising emergence of the church had been God’s intention all along, contrary to the claims of dispensationalism. The church was not a “plan B,” but was God’s original intent as revealed in several places in Scripture.

...to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. Ephesians 3:10–13 (NKJV)

From the beginning of Israel’s history, God revealed that he would eventually destroy that nation for its blatant rebellion and raise up another people who would fulfill his will.

The first example was at Mount Sinai. Moses ascended to mountain to receive the ten commandments. Upon his return, he found that the people had quickly abandoned their devotion to God and made an idol for themselves to worship. Here is God’s pronouncement of judgment.

The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10 “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” Exodus 32:9–10 (NASB95)

Why did God say this? Did he have a “short fuse” which made him prone to utter rash words in anger? Of course not! God knew that the nation of Israel, like all fallen humans, had zero ability to keep his commandments and remain devoted to him.

In the passage above God prophetically foreshadowed his plan to raise up another prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15) from whom he would bring forth another people capable of serving him wholeheartedly. This new people would be the New Covenant church, who would be indwelled and empowered by God’s own Spirit. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Again, when the Israelites rebelled against God in the wilderness on their way to the promised land, God pronounced a judgment that revealed his future plan to raise up the church through Christ.

The LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? 12 “I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.” Numbers 14:11–12 (NASB95)

When Israel came to edge of the Promised Land the first time, once again they rebelled against God’s command to enter the land and conquer the inhabitants. Only Joshua and Caleb had faith in God’s promises. The rest were sentenced to die in the wilderness over the next forty years of wandering. Only Joshua, Caleb, and the new generation were able to eventually obtain the promises of God.

The principle is simple, the old fallen fleshly order cannot inherit the promises of God. Only those born of the Spirit can enter by faith.

Interestingly, once Israel heard God’s pronouncement of his rejection of their generation, they rebelled once again and decided they would after all enter and conquer the Canaanites. But it was too late. The door had been shut. Their attempt to enter in their own strength did not have God’s support or blessing. It was doomed to failure. (Numbers 14:39-45)

I believe that the nation of Israel today is like that group of rebels. Until the people of Israel submit to Jesus as Lord, they will not succeed. 

When it came time for Moses to die, he again warned the Israelites of what was to come.

Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may remain there as a witness against you. 27 “For I know your rebellion and your stubbornness; behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the LORD; how much more, then, after my death? Deuteronomy 31:26–27 (NASB95)

Once again, God pointed out that Israel was incapable of pleasing him because that nation was of the flesh, born of Adam, and part of the old fallen order. No flesh can inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50), but only that which is born of God by the Spirit. (John 3:5).

Neither the nation of Israel nor any other human institution or people is capable of pleasing God or inheriting his kingdom outside of the New Covenant transformation caused by the new birth.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB95)

Those whom God so transforms from within are part of God’s elect, the church, the Israel of God. (Galatians 3:7, Galatians 3:29, Galatians 6:16, Romans 2:29, Romans 9:6, Philippians 3:3)

When Joshua was near death, he, too, warned Israel that it was impossible for them to be faithful to God, to which they objected, as we all do before God shows us how hopelessly lost we are without Christ.

Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 “If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” 21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” 22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” Joshua 24:19–22 (NASB95)

The Jews who reject Christ will be judged by the Law, as will we all. (John 5:45)

The law’s purpose is to reveal how hopelessly lost we are. It was never a viable means for us to save ourselves through obedience to it. It only showed how badly we need a Savior.

But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:22–29 (NASB95)

It is so difficult for us to admit that we cannot save ourselves, but until we come to the end of thinking we can, we are not ready to receive God’s offer of eternal life through his Son. If we reject the Son, we do not have the Father either. (1 John 2:23) Jesus warned the Jewish leaders that, rather than being children of God, they were offspring of the devil. (John 8:44) Later in Revelation, he calls them the “synagogue of Satan” in two different places.

I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Revelation 2:9 (NASB95) 

Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. Revelation 3:9 (NASB95)

These are not my words, but our Lord’s. He was not antisemitic, and neither am I. Jesus spoke the truth, and I attempt to follow in his steps.

The nation of Israel today claims to be God’s chosen people, but they are not. God has only one chosen people, the elect, who are known by their faith and allegiance to Christ.

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants...11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, Romans 9:6–8, 11 (NASB95)

For us to believe that the nation of Israel is God’s chosen people is to misunderstand the New Covenant.

We cannot have it both ways. There are not two tracks for salvation, one that pertains only to Israel after the flesh and another that pertains to all other humans through God’s Spirit. God has only one way to be saved, which is through the new birth by faith in Christ’s resurrection and by declaring allegiance to him. (Romans 10:9-10)

To back Israel now as God’s chosen people is akin to when the northern tribes backed Absalom against God’s chosen king.

Those tribes were deceived into supporting a rebel and pretender to the throne. It did not end well. Many died in a vain rebellion against God’s true king. We dare not fall into that trap today by supporting the nation of Israel as it attempts to regain what God stripped from them in 70 AD. They will not succeed.

God will be glorified in Christ and his church through all eternity, not in the nation of Israel. 

Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:21 (NLT)

Only those descendants of Abraham who acknowledge that Christ is Lord will be included in what is called the Israel of God.

When all the elect Jews and Gentiles are finally born again into the church, the end will come and all Israel (the true Israel of God) will be saved. (Romans 11:26)

The stoning of Stephen was a prophetic marker that closed the door to the nation of Israel. Thereafter, the true born again Israel of God would be assembled from every nation under heaven.

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5:9–10 (NASB95) 
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Cognitive Dissonance – Gateway to Repentance

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Cognitive dissonance describes the unease we feel when we are confronted with new information that opposes what we have always thought to be true. It forces us to decide either to embrace the new truth or reject it in favor of what we previously thought. Repentance is the English word that translates the Greek metanoeo, which means to change the mind. It is easy to see that cognitive dissonance often precedes repentance.

Jesus called Satan the “father of lies” in whom there is no truth at all. (John 8:44) Since the Garden of Eden, his master plan for humanity is to deceive us into joining him in his rebellion against God and thereby destroy us. He cannot directly curse us, but he can trick us into sinning and bringing upon ourselves God’s righteous judgment. 

The Bible says that Satan deceives the entire world or inhabited earth (Revelation 12:9); so, we should not imagine we are immune to his lies. The Bible goes on to say that the entire world or cosmos lies in Satan’s power. (1 John 5:19) His lies extend to every area of human thought and activity, not just the religious realm. Morality, science, education, medicine, government, the media, and all human relations also are impacted by the breadth and depth of Satan’s deception. 

The purpose of the devil’s lies is to keep us from seeing and embracing God and his truth, which has the power to save and liberate us. (John 8:31-32) 

In the church and the world, false teachers feed us lies to set us up to see or understand things incorrectly so that when we encounter truth it seems wrong to us. This was certainly true regarding Jesus’ first coming. False teachers taught the Jewish people to expect a Messiah who would restore Israel to its former prominence and glory, overthrow Roman oppression, and be God’s instrument to rule and bless the world. When the real Messiah showed up, those false expectations kept most people from recognizing him. The cognitive dissonance created by Jesus’ not being what they expected from the Messiah required that:

  1. They repent from their false belief and embrace God’s truth, or,
  2. They reject the true Messiah in favor of a false version of reality.

The Bible gives us clear examples of each. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who was steeped in the pride of being part of the ruling religious elite and who had been indoctrinated to see things from a narrow legal perspective regarding all things spiritual. Nevertheless, when he was confronted by the obvious truth that God was behind the miracles Jesus performed (John 3:2), he was open to changing his mind. He decided to talk one-on-one with the Lord, which apparently led to his conversion (John 19:39). In his case, cognitive dissonance prompted him to further investigate the claims that stood in opposition to his former thinking. This is how cognitive dissonance can become a gateway to repentance.

On the other side, we have many examples of those who experienced cognitive dissonance in Jesus’ presence but chose to reject his claims and hang on to their old way of thinking rather than repent. One of the clearest examples is when Jesus healed the blind man in John Chapter 9. When confronted by the obvious miracle, the Pharisees refused to acknowledge God’s hand in it. The man who had been healed called them out.

We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. 32 “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out. John 9:31–34 (NASB95)

The previously blind man could clearly see that Jesus was from God, but those who were educated in the Bible refused to acknowledge the obvious. How ironic. And because they refused to embrace truth when confronted with it, their judgment was sealed.

And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” 40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains. John 9:39–41 (NASB95)

Cognitive dissonance either opens our hearts to repent and accept the truth or it welds shut the gates of our self-imposed prison of lies. What we do when we are confronted with the truth of God’s Word greatly affects our destinies.

This principle holds for all areas of truth. We are tested in our allegiance to God’s Word above all things. When God’s truth confronts long held false beliefs, we are faced with a choice – repent or worship the false idol represented by the lie. May God grant us repentance and a willingness to let go of everything that contradicts God’s Word.

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Are We Being Loyal to the Truth of God’s Word?

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Every day, when we look upon creation, God intends for us to be profoundly impacted by the truth it reveals about him. What God made reflects who he is. This is called general revelation. 

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 (NKJV)

What do we know about the heavens by observing them? Has God given us a way to penetrate its mysteries? Are we left to our own devices, or has God revealed in his Word what we need to know?

Since the Scientific Revolution, modern man for the most part has rejected the Bible as the ultimate source of truth regarding the creation.

Most of modern astrophysics contradicts what scripture says about the earth and heavens. If we naively accept what Bible-rejecting scientists tell us about creation, we are not being loyal to God’s truth as revealed in the Bible.

The Scripture commands us to affirm that God’s Word is true, even if it means we must call every man a liar. (Romans 3:4)

Our meditations on the general revelation of creation will point us to the Creator only if these thoughts agree with Scripture. How can a lie possibly testify to the glory of God? In a similar fashion, our journey to know God better as a disciple of Christ will only be successful if our path adheres to the truth revealed in the Bible. 

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:17 (NASB95)

Most people, even Christians, it seems, have yet to come to terms with how much the world system in which we live lies to us.

We imagine that our government, education system, and scientists routinely tell us the truth, which contradicts what our Lord told us about the world system in the Bible.

We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:19–20 (NASB95)

Since Satan is the master deceiver in whom there is no truth at all (John 8:44), it should not surprise us that the world system he rules consistently lies to us.

The truth testifies to God; therefore, Satan hides truth in every possible way about everything important.

God has been opening many people’s eyes over the last few decades to the scope and depth of our own government’s commitment to deception. We are at the point now predicted by a former head of the CIA.

casey quoteI am of the opinion that our government now mockingly shows its hand by making its lies look as ridiculous as possible to test just how gullible and compliant the public has become. We are tested to see if we will embrace that which we know is false, such as the lie that there are more than two genders. Sadly, a huge proportion of the people around the world bought this lie, despite its obvious falsehood.

When we accept the declarations of so-called experts over our own common sense and observations, we become willing slaves to deception.

Once we grasp that those in power routinely lie to us about almost everything, especially the really important things, we must decide who and what we will believe. Is there a source of information that is always true upon which we can completely rely? The Bible is exactly that; yet, so many today distrust the Bible and throw it overboard in deference to what scientists tell us.

I am convinced that God is allowing us to be tested regarding our loyalty to the truth of his Word.

Will we join the Reformers by insisting that God’s Word is the ultimate source of truth (Sola Scriptura), or will we cave to the Scientific Revolution and agree that science trumps the Bible (Sciencia Prima)?

Please keep in mind the warning delivered by our Lord.

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26 (NASB95)

This is our time to shine by declaring allegiance to Christ and to his Word, which invariably pits us against the lying world system. Do we have ears to hear and a heart to understand, or have we been seduced by the devil to agree with him and call God a liar? God forbid!

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Have We Betrayed Our Reformation Heritage?

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Protestant Christians received an valuable heritage from the courageous men and women of the Reformation, which can be summarized by the Latin Sola Scriptura. These words simply mean “by scripture alone.” That world altering revolution against the tyranny of Roman Catholicism began when daring men, often at the expense of their lives, translated the scriptures into the language of the common man. Before that, the Roman church veiled the Bible in the Latin tongue, insisting that the average person had no business reading or interpreting its meaning. Ignorance of the Bible allowed the Roman Church to enslave the masses with the chains of church tradition and papal authority, which often contradicted the Bible’s teachings and obscured the gospel. By putting the Bible into the hands of the common man and insisting that it alone was the supreme authority in our lives, the Reformation effectively wrested power away from the Roman Church, at least for those who believed the gospel.

The Roman Catholic Counter Reformation began in 1540, some 23 years after Luther posted his 95 theses, and was led by Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order. One of Loyola’s strategies was to win people back to Catholicism by focusing on education. If Roman tradition and papal authority could not overcome people’s new reliance upon the authority of the Bible, perhaps education could.

If we recognize that our spiritual battle is not primarily against people, I believe we can see Satan’s hand in this.

The devil has always insisted that education is more important than naive reliance upon what God says.

In fact, in Loyola’s lifetime, what is called the High Renaissance was flowering. It was a return to classic (pagan) roots of civilization, emphasizing literature, learning, and art derived from the Romans and Greeks.

At the same time that God was turning people to the scriptures, the devil was reviving paganism with a brand new twist – the Scientific Revolution.

Interestingly, this revolution is commonly believed to have begun in 1543 with the publication of Copernicus’ book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres). Copernicus derived some of his thinking from the pagan sun worshiper, Tresmegistus. Here is a quote:

copernicus quote

The introduction of the heliocentric theory of the “solar system” was every bit as transformational as the Protestant Revolution, perhaps even more so as far as the world is concerned, not in the least because it set in motion the abandonment of Sola Scriptura by the church. 

The Scientific Revolution led to breakthroughs in many areas and established science as an autonomous discipline set free from the “shackles” or limitations previously imposed on it by the Bible.

Since the temptation in the garden of Eden, Satan has pushed mankind to abandon God’s Word in a quest of for independent knowledge. He set up Eve to see God’s restriction from eating from the one tree in the garden as a much larger prohibition against enjoying fruit from any tree.

That evil spirit always wants us to view God as the Great Restrictor, keeping humanity back from reaching its potential.

This is exactly how those who embraced the Scientific Revolution came to see the Bible. Since that time, it has been largely viewed as an anachronism, perhaps a sort of fairy tale, sadly wanting in scientific accuracy. 

The early reformers, such as Luther and Calvin, rejected Copernicus’ heliocentric theory because they still adhered to Sola Scriptura. Luther used one verse of the Bible to reject Copernicus – Joshua 10:13.

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. Joshua 10:13 (NASB95)

luther flat earthWhen I bring up this argument against the heliocentric theory, my Christian friends usually counter with “God can do anything.” That, in my opinion, is a flimsy excuse for contradicting the plain meaning of the Bible.

Calvin wrote that Copernicus’ teaching originated from the demonic realm.

copernicus quote

 

But those adherents to the authority of Scripture over all other authorities died out, and the education system spearheaded by the Jesuits taught the heliocentric model to succeeding generations, insisting that Copernicus’ theory is a scientific fact, and so it is thought today by those who reject the supreme authority of the Bible.

Satan gained a significant victory over our heritage from the Reformation, Sola Scriptura, by convincing most Christians that we dare not resist the Goliath of modern science. Instead of Sola Scriptura, we now have Sciencia Prima – Science First. Having been intimidated by scientific theories proclaimed as facts, many Christians now find it obligatory to view such science defying passages as Genesis Chapter One through the lens of heliocentrism.

When we take the plain meaning of the Bible and deform it to agree with science falsely so called, it is a betrayal of the heritage we received from the Reformation and proclaims that we think God is a liar.

I believe this makes us like Saul after his battle against the Amalekites. Samuel told him to kill every living thing, but he spared king Agag and best of the livestock. When Samuel challenged him regarding his disobedience, he remonstrated, that he did obey the Lord. Samuel retorted, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears?” (1 Samuel 15:14) God likewise asks us who claim to believe every word of the Bible, “What then is this pagan heliocentrism?” We cannot have it both ways.

And just as Saul’s disobedience, according to Samuel, was as the sin of witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23); so, our departure from the authority of God’s Word has allowed a bewitching spell to be cast over the entire earth, blinding us to God’s truth regarding the world in which we live and the existence of the creator.

We cannot say that we believe the authority of the scripture is supreme when we make the Bible bow the knee to scientific theories.

I have talked to enough Christians who believe in heliocentrism to know that they believe that they still adhere to Sola Scriptura. They see no contradiction in believing Copernicus’ view of the heavens and earth and holding to the authority and truthfulness of Genesis Chapter One. However, they do not believe Genesis is literally accurate. They think that it contains truth but is not the truth and must be interpreted so that it somehow agrees with Copernicus. But this is not how the authors of the Old Testament saw things, and one of the fundamental rules of interpretation is that the scriptures must at least mean what the authors intended them to mean. They believed that Genesis is the literal truth.

Modern Christians who adhere to Sciencia Prima do not realize that Satan effectively undermined the validity of the entire Bible by convincing even Christians that Genesis Chapter One is not scientifically accurate.

Do we really think that unbelievers will be convinced that Christ rose from the dead when they find out we do not even believe that the Bible is literally true about something so fundamental as creation? Yet, we go about preaching the resurrection of Christ, the creation of humans (as opposed to Evolution), and the Noahic flood as being totally believable, while at the same time rejecting Genesis Chapter One. I find this odd.

It seems we have been so divorced from our Reformation heritage that many Christians today are embarrassed when someone stands up to say he or she believes those verses about creation and the earth and heavens are literally true!

Perhaps the biggest test we Christians in the West face today is whether we will be loyal to God’s word. Jesus reminded us that he expects for us to be unashamed of him and his words. (Luke 9:26) John the Revelator was exiled to the island of Patmos for his allegiance both to Jesus and God’s Word. (Revelation 1:9) It is time for us to embrace the Word and scorn the shame that will be heaped upon us by a disbelieving world and church.

Modern astrophysics stands against the Bible like a Goliath, daring anyone to have the courage to defy him publicly. Up to this point, most Christians have cowered in fear, but God is raising up a band of Davids who will take the challenge, disregard our fears of disapproval and persecution, and boldly reaffirm Sola Scriptura.

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Are These the Days of Elijah?

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A popular Christian song a few years ago was titled “Days of Elijah.” It focused on the coming of the Lord, a worthy and relevant topic. However, if these are indeed the days of Elijah, God is calling us to do what Elijah did – to boldly confront idolatry and challenge people to choose between serving God and the devil.

Baal worship was prevalent in Elijah’s day and still exists, but an even bigger and more ubiquitous idol confronting the church in our time is the false god of science.

In Daniel’s day, king Nebuchadnezzar erected a giant image of himself and commanded all his idol of nebuchadnezzarsubjects to worship it in a grand display of devotion, unity, pomp, and ceremony. Any who refused was condemned to death. We know the story of three brave young men who chose to endure the king’s wrath rather than betray the one true God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego courageously stood against enormous peer pressure and the threat of imminent death.

We are faced with a similar situation today, but now the golden idol is called science. Let us consider how we Christians have prostrated ourselves to this idol, perhaps unwittingly.

I think most of my Christian readers will agree that God’s Word in the Bible is true. If we are evangelicals, Sola Scriptura is a motto from the Reformation with which we are familiar. We believe that the scriptures are infallibly accurate and true as found in the original autographs and are authoritative regarding faith and practice. Jesus taught that God’s Word cannot be broken. (John 10:35)

What the Bible says should not be contradicted or changed. It stands against all competitors claiming to be the truth. 

Jesus condemned the Pharisees for altering the Word of God to suit their purposes.

He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. Mark 7:9 (NASB95)

Altering the clear meaning of God’s Word to make it compatible with an external version of truth is a favorite trick of religious people who do not take God’s words seriously. Here Jesus made it plain that changing the meaning of a text is the equivalent of invalidating or rejecting it. 

Whenever we reinterpret God’s Word to make it conform to a tradition or some other standard of truth, even if it is “scientific,” we are in error.

We now call the time when the Old and New Testaments were written as pre-scientific. Science emerged as a false god in the Renaissance when man determined that he is the measure of all things, not God and certainly not the Bible.

Highly esteemed scientists embarked on the scintillating quest of discovering the truths of the universe without being limited by what the Bible says.

This may have seemed like a new idea, but it is as old as humanity. This quest is the same one that Adam and Eve set out on in the garden. They likewise did not want to rely on God for information. They wanted to figure out things for themselves. This desire to gain knowledge without God’s help is rooted in pride and extremely appealing to us. It is the lure of Satan that has taken down multitudes and still deceives the nations, even those who proclaim allegiance to Jesus.

Any time we choose to dismiss the obvious meaning of Scripture in order to accommodate it to the claims of science, we have bowed the knee to a false god.

Here is a relevant example. Genesis Chapter One gives us God’s explanation of how he created the heavens and earth. In this section of the Bible we are told the sequence of creation and how long it took. The authors of the Bible believed this to be literally true, and God’s people thought the same for millennia. But when Renaissance scientists proclaimed that the Bible is not true after all, a gradual transition began to occur. Heliocentrism met with strong resistance at first from such notables as Luther and Calvin, but over time, as these defenders of orthodoxy died out and as the new theories were taught to the young, this new way of viewing the universe ascended to being considered true, not just a theory. This put the church into a crisis of faith.

Would God’s people hold to the traditional and obvious meaning of Genesis Chapter One, or would we reinterpret those verses to accommodate to a new standard of truth called science. I think you know the answer.

For the last five hundred years or so the Word of God regarding the creation and shape of the earth and heavens has been held captive by the false god of science. In a cunning stroke of evil genius, Satan attacked the foundation of truth, the Scriptures, by undermining our faith in the very first chapter.

It is no wonder that so many have chosen to reject God altogether because he cannot be found in the Big Bang universe. Only the true version of things gives glory to God.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 (NKJV)

Today God is peeling back layers of deception and restoring people’s confidence that Genesis Chapter One is literally true and accurate.

Today people are standing up to the monolithic giant in the land called science, just as Elijah stood against the prophets of Baal.

It takes courage to make a stand for God’s truth just as it did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. May God make us bold to proclaim our loyalty both to Jesus and his words, which includes Genesis Chapter One!

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26 (NASB95)
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Why I Am No Longer a Roman Catholic: Part 12 – Conclusion

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My conclusion of this series on why I am no longer a Roman Catholic will attempt to summarize the key points. My motivation for writing is witnessing of late some people I know expressing interest in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Understanding the errors of RCC theology, I find this to be puzzling and disturbing.

I can only conclude that some who grew up in the evangelical church do not understand how far the RCC has digressed from biblical truth.

My purpose in writing this series is to make plain these errors and compare them to what the Bible actually teaches. The more I wrote, the more I realized needed to be addressed. The twelve articles in this series certainly do not cover everything, but they do address what I consider to be the core issues.

I began this series with my own testimony, describing how God pursued and revealed Christ to me in a way that transformed me from being a skeptic to a believer. My spiritual rebirth changed everything in my life. From that time forward, my focus was on serving the Lord. My wife Martha and I have been in some form of ministry for most of our adult lives.

When all this took place on the Duke University campus in 1971, I realized that it had absolutely nothing to do with the RCC or any other church organization. I was told the real gospel for the first time by my wife-to-be, decided Jesus was worth a try, and invited him, if he were real, to come into my life and reveal himself to me. When our Lord actually did this a short time later, it was the most amazing, joyful, and transformative thing that ever happened to me. The RCC never even told me that I could know God in this way or have any assurance at all of salvation. They only focused on my relationship with God through the church, not one-on-one.

Instead of preaching the gospel, the RCC puts itself forward as the means to be saved.

My second article illustrates that the RCC is a legalistic treadmill of false doctrine and rules that must be kept in order to work towards heaven, without any real assurance of arriving one day.

The true grace of God provides eternal salvation as a gift purchased by our Lord Jesus when he died on the cross and rose again.

Paul warned us that anyone who preaches anything other than the true gospel will be accursed and under God’s judgment.

The third article addressed the RCC’s departure from sticking to the Bible as its source of truth in favor of church tradition and the “magisterium,” or official pronouncements of the Pope when he writes or speaks “ex cathedra,” or “from the chair” of papal authority. Isaiah wrote that unless we follow God’s truth in the Bible, we descend into darkness.

Any person or group who rejects the absolute authority of God’s written word will always veer into error, which is exactly what happened with the RCC.

My fourth article addressed the abominable heresy that Christ is re-sacrificed each time the Mass is offered. This doctrine is opposed to the Bible’s clear teaching that our Lord died “once for all.” This is a clear example of syncretism, the practice of blending two or more religions together, in this case the Old Covenant with the New, producing a hybrid that is not faithful to either. This supposed re-sacrifice of Christ is overseen by a new class of priests not authorized by God. The only person sufficient to conduct the sacrifice of God’s only Son was the Son himself, who is the apostle and high priest of the New Covenant (Hebrews 3:1).

The Mass denigrates Christ’s sacrifice and elevates the church to the sacrilegious position of overseeing Christ’s re-crucifixion.

The fifth article addressed the sinful exaltation and veneration that is given to Mary, Jesus’ mother. The Bible never encourages us to venerate anyone, something that can easily slide into adoration among ignorant people. The false doctrines associated with Mary position her as “Mother of God” and “Queen of Heaven,” which are both non-biblical. In fact, queen of heaven is a title of several pagan goddesses. Shrines have been erected in her honor, and the church is encouraged to pray to her, teaching that she is a mediator between them and Jesus, which is also false.

There is only one mediator, our Lord Jesus, who taught us to pray directly to the Father.

My sixth article addresses the RCC doctrines regarding the saints. Before a person is recognized as a saint, miracles must be proven to come from praying to these persons after they are dead. Nowhere in the Bible are we ever encouraged to pray to the dead. Neither are we supposed to turn to anyone else to mediate on our behalf with God.

The Bible teaches that all believers are saints, the word meaning set apart unto God.

The seventh article examines the RCC priesthood in light of the Scriptures.

The priesthood is another syncretistic blending of the Old and New Covenants.

God did away with the Old Covenant sacrificial system after our Lord offered himself as the Lamb of God at Calvary. Those Old Covenant sacrifices foreshadowed Christ’s once for all giving of himself on our behalf. Once the reality came, the shadow disappeared. All believers are now priests unto God, but we offer spiritual sacrifices that are enumerated in the Bible – ourselves, giving, hospitality, and praise. The RCC’s new order of non-biblical priests is heretical.

The eighth article is about the papacy, which is an outgrowth of the error associated with the priesthood that there is a divide between common people (the laity) and a clerical order of priests, bishops, and the Pope. The Pope’s words are supposed to be infallible when he speaks officially or “ex cathedra.” Many ex cathedra pronouncements have been heretical because the diverge from biblical truth. He is supposed to be Christ’s representative on earth, the Vicar of Christ, but the Bible teaches that we are all Christ’s ambassadors or representatives. The Bible also teaches that authority in the local church is vested in a presbytery or eldership. Usually one of the elders in a local assembly has a leadership gift and is part of the five-fold ministry mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 – apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher.

Nowhere in the Bible is any one man or woman given supreme authority over the entire church except for Christ himself.

This heresy arose after Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the empire, and the church began to fashion itself more like an earthly kingdom, complete with a king or Pope.

The ninth article shows how the non-biblical and false doctrine of Purgatory detracts from the finished work of Christ by claiming we must expiate our own sins by suffering prior to being pure enough to enter heaven.

The biblical doctrine of justification shows how God gives to us Christ’s perfect righteousness and relationship with God. He became sin so that we are now endowed with God’s own righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

The tenth article addresses the error behind indulgences which are supposed to remove the need to suffer in Purgatory either in part or completely. The Pope is supposed to control what is called the treasury of merit by which he can commute suffering in Purgatory. At the time of the Reformation, indulgences were being sold to ignorant people who believed their offering could free a loved one from suffering. This was one of the errors addressed by Martin Luther. Christ’s once for all sacrifice provided complete forgiveness, justification, and reconciliation to God. Nothing more can be added to it.

The only treasury of merit comes from Christ’s shed blood, which is freely bestowed on those who believe.

The eleventh article examines the RCC doctrine concerning water baptism which conflates justification with water baptism, which is our public proclamation of allegiance to Christ.

Only the blood of Christ can purify a soul and wash away our sins, not H20. 

In this article I outlined the three baptisms listed in the New Testament: baptism into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit which takes place at the new birth, baptism in water when we publicly identify with Christ, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit which equips and empowers us to be witnesses for Christ. I show that water baptism should follow conversion, not be done prior as with infant baptism. Infant baptism is a syncretistic blending of Old Covenant circumcision with New Covenant believer’s baptism, resulting in error.

The last article examines the RCC’s non-biblical elevation of the Lord’s Supper into something that closely resembles, or perhaps is, idolatry.

Their doctrine of transubstantiation claims that the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ. People are supposed to regard a piece of bread as if it were God himself, a very strange misconstruing of Jesus’ use of the metaphor of bread and wine to illustrate partaking of him and the benefits of his sacrificial death by faith. It is sad that in the one instance in which the RCC chooses to take Jesus’ words literally, they should be understood metaphorically.

The Roman Catholic Church has not slightly veered off course. It actually teaches a different gospel, which is not good news at all.

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! Galatians 1:6–8 (NASB95)

Those who read their Bibles will understand how the RCC is incompatible with the scriptures in many areas.

Even though there are genuine followers of Christ in the RCC, their presence is not grounds for overlooking the church’s egregious departure from truth or make it alright to be a Catholic. Instead it is somewhat of an enigma how Bible believing disciples can remain in a church that teaches and practices so much error. I do not believe it is a good idea to remain in it in an attempt to reform it from within. It did not work for Martin Luther, and it will not work for us. My conclusion is that we should pray that God will turn more and more Catholics to the truth, but those Catholics who know the truth already should seriously consider if God wants them to be part of something that is under his judgment for preaching another gospel.

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Why I Am No Longer a Roman Catholic: Part 11B – The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist

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In Roman Catholic theology, the Holy Eucharist is the Real Presence of God, Jesus Christ, body and blood, under the appearance of bread and wine. 1

This sacrament is known also as Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, and the Blessed Sacrament. How did the Lord’s Supper, which began as a memorial meal signifying Christ’s sacrificial death for our sins, become what it is today in Roman Catholic Church theology?

Christ inaugurated this memorial at the Last Supper, which was a Passover Seder meal, with these recorded words.

And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. Luke 22:19–20 (NASB95) —

The Old Covenant Passover meal commemorated God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. God instructed each Israelite family to kill a lamb and spread its blood on the doorposts and lintels of their homes. Every home that had this marking of blood was spared a visit by the death angel, which killed the firstborn sons in those homes not so marked.

The early church understood Christ’s sacrificial death to be the fulfillment of the Old Covenant feast of Passover.

The early church obeyed the Lord by regularly commemorating his death at their gatherings at communal meals as recorded in Acts Chapter 2.

Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, Acts 2:46 (NASB95)

As with any group, problems eventually arose concerning how the Lord’s Supper was practiced, which Paul addressed in his first letter to the church in Corinth in the eleventh chapter. People in the church were so hungry that they began their meal before others, resulting in abuses that subverted the meaning and purpose of the meal.

Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, 21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you. 1 Corinthians 11:20–22 (NASB95)

He ordered them to eat at home, if they were so hungry they could not wait for others, so that proper order could be maintained when the fellowship meal was served.

Fellowship meals continued in association with the post-apostolic Eucharist, as is shown in the Didachē (a Christian document concerned with worship and church discipline written c. 100–c. 140), and in the doctrinal and liturgical development described in the writings of the early Church Fathers little was changed. During the late 2nd century the meal became vestigial and was finally abandoned. The Eucharist was originally celebrated every Sunday, but by the 4th century it was celebrated daily…

Not until the beginning of the Middle Ages did controversial issues arise that found expression in the definition of the doctrine of transubstantiation at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. This definition opened the way for the Scholastic interpretation of the eucharistic presence of Christ and of the sacramental principle, in Aristotelian terms. Thus, St. Thomas Aquinas maintained that a complete change occurred in the “substance” of each of the species, while the “accidents,” or outward appearances, remained the same. During the Reformation, though the medieval doctrine was denied in varying ways by the reformers, it was reaffirmed in the RCC by the Council of Trent in 1551.  2

monstranceThe doctrine of transubstantiation maintains that the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus in a literal sense.

In other words, the bread and wine become God. This takes place on the altar during the Mass when Jesus is supposedly bloodlessly re-sacrificed by the priest each time the Mass is offered. (I wrote about this heresy in an earlier article.) When communicants receive the wine and bread, usually just the bread, since the wine is reserved most often for the priest, they supposedly actually consume God. Any bread left over is called the Host and is treated as God himself. After the Mass, the Host is placed in a tabernacle on the altar until the next Mass. When Roman Catholics walk in front of this tabernacle, they are expected to take a knee, or genuflect, and make the sign of the cross in reverence to God’s supposed actual physical presence on the altar. A vessel called a monstrance, pictured on the right, is used to hold the host and to facilitate adoration.

The RCC developed this doctrine of the Eucharist and transubstantiation by turning to its three pillars: the Bible, church tradition, and the authority of the infallible “magisterium” of the church, that is the ex cathedra proclamations of the Pope, which as we have already seen, are subject to change.

By adding church tradition and pronouncements from the magisterium to God’s Word, the RCC violated a biblical principle. (Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:6)

Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. Isaiah 8:20 (NLT)

Jesus told his followers who witnessed his feeding of the 5000 that they should not prioritize eating natural bread.

“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” John 6:27–29 (NASB95)

Jesus taught them to seek first the kingdom of God, which centered on believing in him as the Messiah and Lord. The kingdom of God arrived on earth with the coming of the King. Later in this passage…

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:35 (NASB95)

This verse lays down a very simple principle: we partake of Christ as the bread of life by believing in him.

This became quite clear when Jesus told his disciples that he would send his Holy Spirit to live in them.

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:16–17 (NASB95)

This is the meaning of the parable of the vine and the branches in John 15. This reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit also makes quite clear other teachings of Jesus in which he said we would be one with him and the Father.

I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:20–21 (NASB95)

Later the apostle Paul wrote that when we are born again through faith in Christ our spirits become one with the Holy Spirit.

But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NASB95)

Instead of inhabiting the Ark of the Covenant and later the Temple, God now inhabits a temple made of what Peter called “living stones,” that is, human beings in whom his Spirit dwells.

And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 1 Peter 2:5 (NLT)

Paul wrote much the same thing in his letter to the church in Ephesus.

Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. 19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:18–22 (NLT)

It is clear that the Old Covenant foreshadowed God’s taking up residence in human beings by using the pictures or types of the Ark and the Temple. With the coming of the New Covenant, the shadow was replaced by reality.

It is inconceivable that God would reintroduce the idea that he dwells in a physical tabernacle.

The Old Covenant temple was destroyed in 70 AD never to be restored because the old sacrificial system has been fulfilled in Christ once and for all.

By claiming that God physically dwells in a tabernacle on an altar today, the RCC introduces syncretism by mixing the Old and New Covenants, something it does regularly.

Jesus once told a large crowd of followers that it was necessary for them to eat his body and drink his blood. This supposed command to cannibalize him deeply offended many of his followers who took him literally.

“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.” 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” John 6:54–60 (NASB95)

Jesus understood that his words stumbled many, but he did not walk them back. However, he did give us a hint as to their true meaning.

But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” John 6:61–65 (NASB95)

Jesus often shared mysteries which can only be spiritually discerned. He used physical metaphors to shed light on spiritual realities.

Examples are parables of the sower and the seed, the pearl of great price, and yeast in a lump of dough. In the case in John Chapter Six, people had just eaten bread; so Jesus used the metaphor of bread. With the woman at the well, he used the metaphor of living water. Later in John Chapter Seven (John 7:39), our Lord explained that this well of water referred to the Holy Spirit, but he did not give the woman any such details in John Chapter Four.

Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” John 4:13–15 (NASB95)

Nevertheless, somehow she knew that he was referring to himself. God’s Spirit opened her eyes and enabled her to believe in him. Those who are spiritually blind and deaf cannot see or hear. It is interesting and informative, that the RCC did not make drinking water a sacrament. Even they realized that our Lord was speaking metaphorically. It is regrettable that they did not have the same discernment when it came to the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus spoke of spiritual mysteries veiled to everyone except those to whom the Holy Spirit reveals the truth.

His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. 10 And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND. Luke 8:9–10 (NASB95)

Therefore, it does not depend on how educated or intelligent we are. It all depends on God’s Spirit.

At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. 26 “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Matthew 11:25–27 (NASB95)

He did this so that only those who are enlightened by the Spirit and come to him and be saved by faith.

“But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” John 6:64–65 (NASB95)

Sometimes even his own disciples did not understand. It was only after his resurrection that much of what Jesus taught them became clear. When Jesus said the “flesh profits nothing,” he meant that the physical bread was not the focus. He spoke metaphorically about receiving him by faith. He said that the problem with those who chose to leave was a lack of faith.

Faith is the key to everything in God’s kingdom. Without it we cannot please God. (Hebrews 11:6) Without faith we will never grasp who Jesus, the bread of life, truly is. Without faith we cannot receive him and partake of his life.

Human beings seem to have an innate propensity to create and worship idols, physical objects that represent spiritual realities.

Even though it may be understood initially that these objects represent a spiritual reality, over time the physical objects are worshiped as being the reality.

This is why God forbade his people from making any sort of image of him, the one true God. (Exodus 20:4) The Israelites made golden calves to worship after they left Egypt. Moses had gone to Mt. Sinai to be with God and had not yet returned. It was difficult for the people to trust in an invisible God without Moses’ leadership. Later during Israel’s desert wandering, because of the people’s grumbling and complaining against Moses and God, the Lord sent venomous snakes into their midst (Numbers 21:6), which killed many. In order to save them, God instructed Moses to make a brass image of a snake on a pole. When the people looked at it, the snake venom would not harm them. This was a foreshadowing of Jesus, who became sin for us, hanging on a cross. Those who look to him in faith will be saved from the venom of the serpent, Satan, and sin. This picture of a spiritual reality later became a curse because the people began to treat it as an idol, called Nehushtan, as if it had some power in itself. King Hezekiah destroyed it as part of his spiritual reformation of the nation. (2 Kings 18:4)

Over time in the Roman Catholic Church, the Lord’s Supper, which began as a memorial to Christ’s sacrificial death to inspire us to trust in him and what he did, became an idolatrous transubstantiated Eucharist, a piece of bread which is worshiped as being God himself.

Anytime we are encouraged to turn to anything or anyone besides Christ, it is a distraction at best and an idol at worst. This has happened over and over again in the RCC. As pointed out in an earlier article, veneration of Mary, who is a wonderful example of faith and surrender to God’s will, has been elevated to almost worship. In fact, the people of Mexico, Portugal, and France pay such homage to Mary at the many shrines located there, that it seems to have morphed into idolatry. Roman Catholic church buildings are usually filled with statues of Jesus, Mary, and the saints. Catholics adorn their walls, necks, and rosaries with crucifixes – images of Christ still hanging upon the cross. Relics, pieces of the bones of saints or other holy objects, are often venerated and believed to have power in themselves. All of this can easily become a form of idolatry in which physical objects are seen to have power in themselves that belongs to God alone. Roman Catholics officially protest that this is not so, but the line is very thin between veneration and adoration.

Nowhere in the Bible are we told to venerate anyone or anything besides the Lord.

The Lord’s Supper is supposed to inspire us to remember what Jesus accomplished on our behalf by his death, burial, and resurrection. It is sad that the RCC converted this into something so different. Roman Catholics believe that consuming the Eucharist, which they believe is actually physically God, imparts God’s life to them. Only God’s Spirit can do that, whom every believer already has received by putting faith and allegiance in Christ.

1 https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/eucharist

2 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eucharist

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Why I Am No Longer a Roman Catholic: Part 11 – The Sacrament of Baptism

deception

According to Roman Catholic theology, sacraments are outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification (Catechismus concil. Trident., II, n. 4, ex S. August “De catechizandis rudibus”).

According to the teaching of the Catholic Church,… the sacraments of the Christian dispensation are not mere signs; they do not merely signify Divine grace, but in virtue of their Divine institution, they cause that grace in the souls of men…The Council of Trent solemnly defined that there are seven sacraments of the New Law, truly and properly so called, viz., baptism, confirmation, Holy Eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders, and matrimony. 1

Most of the sacraments can only be administered by ordained Roman Catholic priests or bishops. There is still controversy about how sacraments confer grace, but it is accepted that they do. I will examine two of the sacraments, baptism and Holy Communion or the Eucharist. This article will focus on baptism. The next one will address the Eucharist.

Water baptism is the gateway into membership in the RCC. The church practices infant baptism to remove the stain of original sin, thus giving a person a “blank slate”.

It was believed that infants who die without being water baptized could not go to heaven but went to a kind of halfway station called limbo, but that doctrine has been officially abandoned as of 1992, when the term was removed from the catechism.

Such instability regarding doctrine will always happen when the Bible is not our basis for truth.

According to RCC doctrine, water baptism accomplishes five things.

  1. It forgives all sins that may have been committed prior to a person’s baptism including original sin, mortal sins, and venial sins, and it relieves the punishment for those sins.
  2. It makes the newly baptized person “a new creature.”
  3. It turns the person into a newly adopted son of God and a member of Christ. Baptism incorporates a person into the Church, which is the body of Christ.
  4. It brings someone into the flock of the faithful and brings them to share in the royal priesthood of Christ (1 Pet. 2:9-10). Catholic baptism gives a share in the common priesthood of all believers and it also brings about the sacramental bond of the unity of Christians. Paragraph 1271 of the Catechism says it best:
    Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: “For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they, therefore, have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church. Baptism, therefore, constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn.”
  5. Last, but certainly not least, baptism leaves an indelible spiritual mark (character) of belonging to Christ on the soul. Nothing you can do will take away this mark even if you sin a million times. Those sins may prevent you from being open to the salvation God offers through baptism, but you will always carry the mark of a Christian on your soul, therefore making re-baptism impossible. 2

Let’s examine these points from a biblical perspective. I will show how Roman Catholic theology conflates the three baptisms found in the Bible into water baptism, which is largely what causes the confusion.

There is only one remedy for sin – the blood of our Lord Jesus.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace Ephesians 1:7 (NASB95)

His one sacrifice forgave all sins for all time for those who put their faith and allegiance in Christ.

With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Hebrews 9:12 (NLT)

To say that water baptism removes sin gives water more power than Christ’s blood.

A way to clear up this confusion is to understand that the Bible teaches that there are three baptisms:

  1. Baptism into the body of Christ,
  2. Baptism into water, and
  3. Baptism into the Holy Spirit.

I cover these in more detail in other articles. You can click on the previous links connected with each form of baptism above to read more. Here I will give a short summary.

Baptism into the Body of Christ

The baptism into the body of Christ takes place at the new birth.

The Holy Spirit performs this baptism and plunges us into Christ, whereby we become one with him and other believers in what is called the Body of Christ or the church.

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13 (NASB95)

This baptism, coupled with our profession of faith and allegiance in Christ, is what saves us. Our sins are forgiven. We are made right with God (justification) and given eternal life via the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is an invisible baptism done by the Spirit. The medium is Christ, and the evidence is a changed life. This baptism makes us “new creatures” in Christ.

When a person becomes a Christian through being born again and baptized into the Body of Christ, God seals us with his Holy Spirit.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13–14 (NASB95)

This seal is a permanent mark identifying us as belonging to Christ. Water baptism does not do this, but the new birth does. We are sealed because Christ purchased us with his own blood and gave us his Spirit.

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Acts 20:28 (NASB95)

For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:20 (NASB95)

The idea that we are permanently marked by water baptism but do not permanently belong to God is a strange and false doctrine.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB95)

In conclusion, the baptism into the body of Christ is a spiritual baptism performed by the Holy Spirit at the time of the new birth and is what makes us a child of God.

Baptism into Water

Baptism into water is our public declaration of faith and allegiance in Christ before witnesses.

It is meant to take place after we initially confess Jesus as Lord, which is why it is called believer’s baptism.

There is absolutely no evidence in the New Testament that supports infant baptism, which is a syncretistic rite extrapolated from Old Covenant circumcision.

Water baptism is a public and formal confessing of Christ as Lord, much as public wedding vows consecrate a marriage. Couples may privately pledge mutual fidelity to each other, but public vows are much better because they are before witnesses who will hold us accountable.

Water baptism “saves” us in the sense that it is an act of obedience to our Lord whereby we confess him publicly before witnesses. This salvation is part of our sanctification, about which I have written elsewhere. The confession of Christ as Lord is what eternally saves us, not the water baptism that is meant to immediately follow. If water baptism actually saved us in the eternal sense, the apostle Paul would certainly have majored on it. However, Paul did not focus on water baptism, but on the preaching of the gospel message.

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. 1 Corinthians 1:17 (NASB95)

Water baptism is an important act of obedience, but not the source of justification or eternal life.

It is performed by another believer in the medium of water. The evidence, quite naturally, is getting wet, since the meaning of the word from the Greek root word, bapto, is to submerge. In biblical Christianity, water baptism is regarded as an ordinance, something Christ commanded, rather than a sacrament.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is performed by Christ himself upon a child of God into the Holy Spirit. Its purpose is to equip and empower us to be his witnesses. The evidence of receiving this baptism is speaking in tongues and prophecy.

John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke 3:16 (NASB95)

Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:4–5 (NASB95)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NLT)

All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47 “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” Acts 10:45–47 (NASB95)

When one comes to an understanding of the three baptisms, it clears up much of the confusion associated with trying to make water baptism actually save us in the eternal sense.

The RCC doctrine that water baptism clears away all sin led some to delay receiving it until just before death in order to enter heaven with a “clean slate” and not have to spend much time in Purgatory. This doctrine flies in the face of the Bible’s teaching that Christ’s one sacrifice provided forgiveness once and for all. Justification declares that we are not guilty before God, having received Christ’s very own righteousness as a gift.

By attempting to make water baptism more than it really is, it shifts the focus from faith in Christ to the act of receiving a sacrament.

This means that people who have no faith relationship with Jesus can be told they are children of God after being water baptized!

Water baptism is not a gateway into heaven. Rather, it is a testimony of the faith in Christ we already have.

The sacrament of baptism also makes people dependent upon the church for salvation instead of upon our Lord directly. This is a recurring problem with RCC theology, which works to keep people permanently in bondage to non-biblical doctrines of men (or demons – 1 Timothy 4:1).

The Lord came to set people free, not create a new form of bondage.

The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, Luke 4:18 (NLT)

 

1 https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/sacraments

2 https://www.aboutcatholics.com/beliefs/a-guide-to-catholic-baptism/

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