FOR MANY ‘GRACE’ IS NOT TRULY AMAZING! ~ DEFINITIONS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD (TO COME) ~ EXPOSING HYPOCRISY ~ Part 10

From the beginning of time, man has determined to go to God his own way, on his own terms. We saw it in Cain, and now in the building of the Tower of Babel. The Lord said, “Fill the earth.” They said, “We will gather together in one place and make a tower that reaches into heaven.” Cain, expecting God to conform to his will, said, “I will worship God my own way.” The builders at the Tower of Babel did the same. Even today, some evangelicals proudly proclaim, “I made the decision to follow Christ back in ____.” Or “I accepted Jesus as my Savior, but I will make Him Lord sometime in the future.” Sure! Who wouldn’t want assurance of spending eternity in heaven while continuing to be master of one’s own life? Can anyone seriously believe they get to live anyway they choose to live but still have the assurance they are going to heaven to live with Jesus for all eternity? Absurd! Not only does man want to worship God on his own terms, even further he believes that he is the one who can initiate that relationship. False religion throughout time has had as its main motto: “We will ascend to heaven to meet God.” This is where the offense of the true gospel comes in. We don’t choose God; He chooses whom He will save.

Works-based religion versus salvation by God’s grace. Think of this, Beloved. All of human history after the Fall reveals that man was created as a spiritual being who innately knows there is something more to this life than just living, dying, and ultimate annihilation. What is even more damning than one individual like Cain who decides to rebelliously do things his own way when it comes to worshipping God is whole religious systems set up to play on man’s greatest fear—systems that make enormous amounts of money off the fear of going to hell. In exposing religious hypocrisy, we must certainly look at the deceived, but even more important is to take a close look at those who are the deceivers, those who teach false doctrine, those dogmas of man that damn. In 2013, there were 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world alone. That is just one false religion. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be deceived, and watching those I love being deceived and buying lies makes me angry and sad! I will say that much of my family are practicing Catholics, so to say that I hate Catholics would be a whopper of a lie!

As stated in “My Journey”, one of the roads I was walking on marked, “This way to heaven,” was in actuality part of the broad road that leads to hell. I praise God that He alone saved me from that apostate system. It is this example of false religion I wish to use as an example here. The Roman Catholic would say he believes the same gospel as I do. He would say he believes in salvation by grace alone through faith alone. But the following demonstration reveals the fact that our definitions of ‘grace’ are very different. I used this in a woman’s Bible study one morning, and I believe it was very effective. I can’t remember where I pulled it from on the internet, so I’m sorry about that.

Supposed Salvation by Sanctifying Grace Demonstration

Bowl, two cups – one with ring top (Roman Catholic) (container #1) one with lid (one saved by true grace alone) (container #2), and a pitcher of water.

1st scenario—Soul is filled with sanctifying grace at BAPTISM. FILL CONTAINER #1.

2nd scenario—Venial sins – little white lies, disobedience to parents, back-talk. You lose some sanctifying grace.  DUMP SOME WATER FOR EACH VENIAL SIN MENTIONED.  You can never lose all by venial sins.

3rd scenario—Mortal sins – adultery, murder, denying papal infallibility, denying the bodily assumption of Mary into Heaven, missing Mass deliberately, killing 100 people, etc. For any of these you lose all. DUMP CONTAINER.  

To get back “sanctifying grace” you must go to CONFESSION and say PENANCE. FILL CONTAINER #1.  (Confession not necessary for venial sins, but one must go to confession at least once a year or be guilty of committing a mortal sin.)

4th scenario—FILL CONTAINER #1. Where a Catholic goes after death depends on how much sanctifying grace they have. A full measure will get them into heaven. Varying levels of lost sanctifying grace will determine how long their soul must suffer in purgatory. (You may show various levels).  No sanctifying grace condemns one to hell for eternity. DUMP WATER.  So the Catholic is always trying to keep his cup full. FILL CONTAINER. That is why one often sees outward appearances of holiness and good works.

5th scenario—Pope Paul VI was once asked whether he was going to heaven when he died. He ignored the question at the time but came back to it later in the conversation.  He responded something like, “I can’t say I am going to heaven when I die.  I am encouraged, though, that 600 million Catholics will be praying for my soul!” For a Catholic to say he is assured of going to heaven, means he has committed a mortal sin of presumption. DUMP WATER.

6th scenario— FILL CONTAINER. The reason it is so hard to witness to a Catholic is that he believes it is a venial sin to question his Catholic faith. (DUMP SOME WATER). It is an even greater sin to seriously question his faith. (DUMP MORE WATER, BUT NOT ALL).  And according to Catholic doctrine if one denies his Catholic faith, he has no hope of salvation! (EMPTY CONTAINER)

7th  scenario—BIBLICAL SALVATION — It’s helpful to use another person (container #2 – cup with lid) to contrast. The world does not contain enough water to demonstrate the outpouring of God’s grace to a Christian. God speaks of this abounding grace in Romans 5:15 (FILL CONTAINER). Ephesians 1:13 tells us that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit (PUT LID ON THE CONTAINER.) Even when we fail God in our daily lives (TILT AND INVERT CONTAINER), His grace remains.

Romans 5:15 —“But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.” 

Ephesians 1:13—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 the promise.

A Catholic wants to be made right with God (to be justified). The Catholic’s journey on the broad road he believes leads to heaven begins here: God infuses grace into you, “infused grace”. The first dose of Christ’s righteousness that is dumped into the Roman Catholic is at infant baptism. That’s why infant baptism is absolutely required because it is the first dispensation of infused grace. It is at that point, according to Rome, that grace is infused into you. That grace then becomes an energy in moving you toward justification, toward righteousness as you cooperate by good works.

STOP RIGHT THERE (AT THE VERY BEGINNING)!  One thing one sees rather quickly when comparing biblical Christianity and Roman Catholicism is the use of similar words with different meanings that are worlds apart. The biblical doctrine of Justification is that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the believer. Yes, Rome has always contended that the basis of justification is the righteousness of Christ, but it’s a righteousness infused into the believer rather than being imputed to him. Because Christ’s righteousness of Rome’s justification is infused into rather than imputed to the believer, those “justified” by Rome’s gospel must cooperate with and assent to that gracious work of God and only to the extent that Christ’s righteousness inheres in the believer will God declare that person justified. Infused righteousness, then, has a sense that one can lose it or gain it according to what he does or does not do. Its emphasis is on the responsibility of humans to cooperate with God’s actions in transforming their lives. Imputed righteousness emphasizes that salvation is God’s gift wholly dependent upon Him.

Rome teaches that it was Christ who purchased redemption by His blood and death, but the salvation He offers was delivered to the Catholic Church to be distributed to men through her sacraments. The gospel of the Roman Catholic Church focuses on the Church, the pope, the priesthood, and the sacraments. Apart from her, Rome teaches there is no other way to access Christ. While Christ died on the cross to purchase salvation for man, one cannot simply receive this salvation by faith directly from the resurrected Christ.

Vatican II Council: “For ‘God’s only-begotten Son...has won a treasure for the militant Church...he has entrusted it to blessed Peter, the key-bearer of heaven, and to his successors who are Christ’s vicars on earth, SO THAT THEY MAY DISTRIBUTE IT TO THE FAITHFUL FOR THEIR SALVATION. They may apply it with mercy for reasonable causes to all who have repented for and have confessed their sins. At times they may remit completely, and at other times only partially, the temporal punishment due to sin in a general as well as in special ways (insofar as they judge it to be fitting in the sight of the Lord). The merits of the Blessed Mother of God and of all the elect ... are known to add further to this treasury’” (ellipsis are in the original) (Vatican II Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Apostolic Constitution on the Revision of Indulgences, Chap. 4, 7, p. 80).

“For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help towards salvation, that the fulness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the people of God” (Vatican II Council, Decree on Ecumenism, chap. 1, 3, p. 415).

There is so much wrong here. First, Christ IS THE TREASURE! He is our salvation! Second, Peter was not the first Pope or any pope at all. Christ has no vicars on earth. Vicar comes from the Latin word “vicarious” which means “instead of”. A vicar is the representative of a higher-ranking official with all the same authority and power that the official has. To call the pope the “Vicar of Christ” is to say that he has the same power and authority that Christ had over the church. Jesus is our high priest forever who does not need to offer sacrifices day after day first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for the sins of His people once and for all when He offered Himself (see Hebrews 7 and 8). The “Blessed Mother of God” is a whole other topic that has been distorted by the RCC. There is no other name by which men can be saved than Jesus (Acts 4:12)(1 Timothy 2:5). Mary needed the sacrifice of Christ for salvation for her own sins. The only true Vicar of Christ on earth is the Holy Spirit. To claim that the pope is the “Vicar of Christ” is to reject the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ’s priesthood, and grants to the pope roles that Christ Himself declared only belongs to His Spirit. To call the pope the “Vicar of Christ” is blasphemy.

Supposedly, ‘infused grace’ is given first in the sacrament of infant baptism. Then every time one goes to Mass, does penance, repeats the Rosary, goes to confession, etc. that one is infused with more grace. This is religion operating under fear, by people who are indebted to the Church, not to Christ.

As one continues on the road the church has laid out for him, he might commit either a venial sin or a mortal sin. Venial sins supposedly don’t count against the congregant as much as mortal ones. When one commits a mortal sin, however, he is back to zero in the process of justification.

When I gave the above illustration, the girls in the group who had been born and raised Catholic had no idea this was true. One woman left the group for about six months. I feared she had gone back to the Catholic church offended by what I had said. One day she just showed up again. I was thrilled. I told her how much I had missed her and wondered where she had been. She said she began to really study what her church taught. She confronted her local priest who only gave her run-around answers to her many questions. She said it was a wake-up call for her.

If you are working really hard to get to heaven, you can be assured that you are participating in a false religion. It is absolutely heart-wrenching to know that someone may come to the end of his life in his 70’s, 80’s, or 90’s and commit a mortal sin believing he is back to square one. That one, according to the Roman Catholic Church, will spend a very long time in Purgatory.

Purgatory comes from the word “purge”. The ones in purgatory didn’t make it to justification. You may have been considered a good guy who tried really hard, so because the church doesn’t want to send you to hell, a place must be invented for you to go for maybe a couple hundred years to get yourself purged. Once you are purged, you can go to heaven. Hey, and don’t sweat it too much, there are people on earth who can help you get to heaven. They can give money to the church, say prayers for you, light candles for you, and have masses said in your name. Further, there were some who died with more than enough righteousness, and they are willing to share with those whom the church deems worthy. Their extra righteousness was put into the “treasury of merit” when they died. At His discretion, through the church, God can take some of that out and give it to you to speed up your time in purgatory.

Some may be saying about now, “Surely you jest.” I would never joke about this because the success of this system depends upon their ability to deceive by instilling fear in people—and that of the worst fear known to man. Spending eternity in hell.

What does this system teach, ultimately? That God only justifies the righteous. You can never be right with God until you have achieved righteousness with the help of the Catholic Church. The Bible says God justifies sinners. Roman Catholic theology says you will get justified when you get righteous, and that can only happen when you put your full weight of faith in the Catholic Church. The ‘grace’ the RCC gives is not amazing grace…it’s not grace at all. It is a life on earth of burdensome toil that leads to eternal death. The Bible offers amazing grace saying you will get justified when you fall on your face and acknowledge you are a sinner and put your full weight upon Christ to save you. That grace is the free gift of God that leads to an abundant life in Christ and eternity with Him.