Why Evangelical Leaders Love Pope Benedict XVI (And His Resignation)
Pope Benedict XVI, who announced his resignation Monday after eight years as head of the Roman Catholic Church, will leave a legacy of strong theology, cooperation with evangelicals and a hardline conservative stance on social issues, evangelical leaders and observers say.
As pope, the German Joseph Ratzinger championed a "culture of life" on issues such as abortion, encouraged the "new evangelism" of the church, and issued the first papal tweet. Benedict, 85, cited age and deteriorating strength as reasons for his resignation.
Benedict stepped into a difficult role as an intellectual and administrator following John Paul II, the first "celebrity pope," said Carl Trueman, professor of church history at Westminster Theological Seminary....
It is noticeable that God's great love, with which he loved us, results in him quickening sinners whom he thus loves, even when they are dead in sins, and brings them into a right relationship with himself, putting them out of Adam and into Christ.
Ephesians 2:4-10 KJV 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Mark 7 6 And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 7 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.' 8 "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men."---NASB
John for JESUS wrote: I have only asked if the Catholic Church should be considered nonChristian and has it always been? The responses I've read here can be summed up with these responses. A. Of course it's heretical, it's the Catholic Church! B. I think it's heretical, here is a link that agrees with me therefore I'm right. C. I can't answer that intelligently, therefore you are a catholic troll! D. I don't know when it began, so I will just pretend it was heretical from the beginning.
John, do you believe the RCC is heretical and can you prove it?
John for JESUS wrote: 1. I question your view that the Catholic Church is totally bereft of the Gospel when it preaches out of the Gospels.
John4 When the RCC (I hate to abuse the word) preaches out of the gospels, they hide the light of the Truth of Christ under the upside down basket of: Tradition The RRC Communion Wafter Maryoloatry Idolatry The Magisterium (Pope etc.) Priestcraft The Mass RC Sacraments Infant Baptism Confession of sins to a priest Ash Wednesday and Lent Purgatory and lets not forget Peer Pressure
What some (I hate to abuse the word) baptist do is hide the elephant in the room of the RCC's upside down basket of false teachings.
But hey if you want to be friends with (in bed with) the world and make yourself an enemy of Christ, go for it. It is after all popular and world pleasing to do so, and many evangelicals will aplaud you too.
Curious wrote: 1. JFJ - can you produce a single instance of someone who was saved but God left in an institution which is not only bereft of the Gospel, but preaches a FALSE gospel? 2. Why do you suppose that historically the RCC has been judged by most Christian movements to be the Anti-Christ and the Pope The man of Sin? 3. You appear not only intransigent, but also quite arrogant in maintaining your stance. Is it not time to either prove your case or shut up?
1. I question your view that the Catholic Church is totally bereft of the Gospel when it preaches out of the Gospels. 2. Not every church body believes that. I suppose that might come from Reformed churches who believe all things Catholic are evil and always have been. 3. I have only asked if the Catholic Church should be considered nonChristian and has it always been? The responses I've read here can be summed up with these responses. A. Of course it's heretical, it's the Catholic Church! B. I think it's heretical, here is a link that agrees with me therefore I'm right. C. I can't answer that intelligently, therefore you are a catholic troll! D. I don't know when it began, so I will just pretend it was heretical from the beginning.
Curious wrote: How or why then would someone converted remain in the RCC?
Curious How?
In disobedience to Jesus Christ and His word, likely with the approval and praise of modern day false prophets, teachers and witnesses ALONG with ones own Biblical illiteracy,
to the hurt of one's self, family and friends and to the provoking of Holy God to jealousy for His child until they surrender in humble faith like a child to His loving holy authority, to do what He tells them and cease from living to do the things they wrongly feel good about.
btw this won't earn them friends in the evangelical ecumenical world but Jesus Christ is worth it, and Biblical Holiness and Separation from false Christians and Teachings despite the cost are a telling part of the witness to the immeasurably genuine worth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, even if that cost is our own lives.
“Man, being a sociable creature, is mightily encouraged to do as others do especially in an evil example, for we are more susceptible of evil than we are of good. Sickness is sooner communicated than health; we easily catch a disease off one another, but those that are sound do not communicate health to the diseased.” — Thomas Manton
How or why then would someone converted remain in the RCC?
Mike wrote: For what it's worth, in my 29 yrs as a Roman Catholic, no one ever referred to me as born again. Nor did I ever hear the phrase used of any RC.
Mike NY
For what it's worth, in the Roman Catholic family I was raised in I heard the words "born again" used in derision along with derision of "holy rollers." Protestants and Baptists being viewed as evil and of the Devil himself.
We were forbidden to attend their churches, except for weddings or funerals (don't know exactly why, except maybe to pay respects to our neighbors at such times) AND one memory that sticks in my my is how my mother forbid me from seeing the movie and likely would have been horrified if I might have seen the play The Cross and the Switchblade
Mike wrote: For what it's worth, in my 29 yrs as a Roman Catholic, no one ever referred to me as born again. Nor did I ever hear the phrase used of any RC.
Interesting, Mike.
I suppose you could call them your "Nicodemus" years? So that even if you had heard about it, it would not register.
John 3:3-7 KJV 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Not unlike the 2nd commandment...they recognized something there that they didn't like as well so they erase two and split ten in half...easy,...next...
Christopher000 wrote: Throughout the web, YouTube, etc, are many testimonies of once by the book, hardcore, once upon a time, Roman Catholic priests who have since been born again. I've listened to many of these and I think many of them may be helpful because they speak your language, addressing the pomp, rituals, and lies that have you chained at the ankles to a religious system that is clearly mentioned in the Bible, specifically Revelation.
Quite so, Christopher. Funny how the Vaticanus greek text (highly revered by some, including Westcott & Hort, and used for many modern versions) has the Book of Revelation strangely absent.
Perhaps they recognised themselves there. Especially with all that scarlet colour and Rome specifically mentioned.
Very disappointing, John. I'll give you the benefit and assume that the day is still a bit early for you. By the way, I've been meaning to mention that I believe you have become a bit softer since I came on the board. Not because of me, but I'm comparing then to now. You seemed a little more prickly and combative then but you seem much more easy going now. But who knows, maybe I just got used to you...ha-ha.
Throughout the web, YouTube, etc, are many testimonies of once by the book, hardcore, once upon a time, Roman Catholic priests who have since been born again. I've listened to many of these and I think many of them may be helpful because they speak your language, addressing the pomp, rituals, and lies that have you chained at the ankles to a religious system that is clearly mentioned in the Bible, specifically Revelation.
JFJ - can you produce a single instance of someone who was saved but God left in an institution which is not only bereft of the Gospel, but preaches a FALSE gospel?
Luther started out wishing to reform the RCC, but in the struggle came to realise that reform was impossible because corruption was too widespread and ingrained and he and his followers came out.
Just as the RCC sought to persecute him and his followers, so they she has done throughout her history. Why do you suppose that historically the RCC has been judged by most Christian movements to be the Anti-Christ and the Pope The man of Sin?
You appear not only intransigent, but also quite arrogant in maintaining your stance. Is it not time to either prove your case or shut up?
John for JESUS wrote: JOHN UK... I believe some Christians who were born again within the Catholic church would be more likely to fall into error than you. They listen to the priest who teach false doctrine who themselves learned it from their predecessors.
John FJ, let me see now. Let us look at your scenario:-
Less than one mile from me is a RCC, where people go. They hear false doctrine from a magic-show priest, who learnt it from his predecessors. They are baptised into the RCC and told they have been born again, which experience was taught by Jesus in John 3. The magician priest taught them wrongly, but they believed him and so are deceived into thinking they are born again.
Now ...... "the wind bloweth where it listeth..."
Suppose the Holy Ghost comes to one of these baptised (born again) Catholics? And HE, in accordance with the will of God, brings that one to a GENUINE new birth, enlightening them and convicting them of sin, quickening and converting them, bringing them to faith in Jesus Christ and repentance from dead works, baptising them into the body of Christ.
Can you now imagine their thought processes after such an experience of God? Work it out, listen to those Catholics who left their church, being guided by God.
John for JESUS wrote: I was giving an example of believing Pharisees, but I think Lurker was referencing Pharisees somewhere else in scripture.
I've come to believe you are a theological black hole but since you raised a valid point, I'll give you a biblical answer.
Paul taught that everyone who is called of God should remain in the state in which they were called (1 Cor 7:18-24). That is, the Jews should remain in circumcision of the flesh and be circumcised in heart (Deut 30:6) aka the everlasting covenant while the Gentiles should not become circumcised in the flesh but in the heart only.
The Jews you alluded to in Acts 21:20 were indeed zealous of the law as they were supposed to be and they kept the law (Acts 21:24) by loving the brethren (Rom 13:9-10) which is also the indwelling, imputed righteousness of God through the Holy Spirit.
The Pharisees I was referring to believed in Christ and were also zealous of the law (Acts 15:1-5) but, like Paul (Saul) before his calling, they were zealous for the deeds (letter of the law which kills... 2 Cor 3:9) and their own righteousness (Rom 1-3, Phil 3:9) which to God are but filthy rags.
The latter is the extension I spoke of from the 1st century Pharisees to the magisterium of the RCC.
How come I know so much more than popes, priests, cardinals, theologians of the RCC who got "visits" from Peter and Paul et al?
Interesting question, John. We all know that God says those who outright reject, or teach/believe another gospel, etc, are willfully ignorant but I think it's amazing that anyone would either mislead others or allow themselves to be mislead when we have the Bible as our instruction book. When it comes to ones eternity, why is it that people will exhaustively research reviews before buying a new TV set, but when it comes to their eternal destinies, they are willing to put their eternal trust into whatever happens to spew out of the mouths of sinful men? We all have God's very word at our disposal so we can discern between what's right and wrong, and seperate the wolves from the sheep but so many just allow it to collect dust and live their lives never being able to seperate fact from fiction. Anyway, when it comes to the Popes and the Priests, they too are willfully ignorant, even with the wealth of knowledge they have. Seems to me that they have to work very hard to support their doctrines, dogmas, and rituals, when in reality, this should be a very simple thing to do if they were in agreement with clear biblical doctrines. The support they usu
"Assurance we may have; infallible certitude we may not" http://www.catholic.com/tracts/assurance-of-salvation
This RC website deals with assurance. RC's have no infallible certainty as they do not possess the witness of the Holy Spirit-Romans 8: 14-16.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Notice the text. Verse 14 the sons of God are LED by the Spirit of God.
(The Spirit of TRUTH will always lead out of the RC institution as untold numbers of former priests and nuns will testify!)
verse 15 have received the Spirit of adoption (SOMETHING YOU CAN NOT LOSE!)
verse 16 possess the witness of the Spirit of God that they are children of God.
Is that not infallible certainty?
Yes! Hebrews 6:18 "...in which it was impossible for God to lie."
Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?"
If you have the Christ of Scripture you KNOW! I John 5:10-13
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Dr. Alan Cairns | 8/3/2009
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