HOW CAN DEVOUT CATHOLICS AND EVANGELICALS GET ALONG?
J. Grant Swank, Jr.
Are they born again? What do we do about praying to Mary? And purgatory? And the pope being the voice of Christ? And Mary’s perpetual virginity? And so forth and so forth.
So the evangelical Protestants have their points. Yes, they do. The bottom line for evangelicals is that there are teachings of Roman Catholicism that don’t square exactly with the Bible.
Listen up, evangelicals: Catholics have two bases for deciding on dogma. One is the Bible. The other is tradition. Evangelicals have one basis for deciding on dogma. It’s the Bible alone. That dates from the Reformation of the sixteenth century with Martin Luther.
Therefore, with the starting point not the same, there are not going to be ending points that are the same when it comes to Roman Catholics and evangelical Protestants. That’s a given. And I don’t think that any forum is going to change any of that.
With that starkly understood as reality, let’s move on.
What is it that devout Catholics and evangelical Protestants do agree on? They agree on the God of the Bible. They agree on the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus, the reality of heaven and hell, the actuality of sin, Satan and the Final Judgment. They agree that salvation is by way of Christ’s atonement.
With that baseline, let’s proceed. They agree in the power of prayer, the need for worship, the spiritual feeding of devotional literature, and the moral base of Scripture.
Therefore, devout Catholics and evangelical Protestants can work together on that moral base to oppose abortion, practicing homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia and other evils of various categories.
Now there are those evangelicals, particularly of the fundamentalist subdivision, who won’t have anything to do with devout Catholics because of the dogmatic differences relating to Mary, purgatory, the pope and such. Therefore, there is no sharing of common ground of any sort.
However, at this point there is usually a distinction made between fundamentalist Protestants and evangelical Protestants. The former are more rigid than the latter when it comes to fellowshipping with others of various labels. The evangelicals have more "give" in the fellowship option. The fundamentalists often do not.
Now all of this brings me to this point: The Bible informs us that we are saved by grace. In other words, if a sincere Christian, regardless of label, comes to Jesus, repents of his sin, confesses his sin, and promises to live henceforth for Jesus, then that one is considered, according to the Bible, as being "saved." That one is "born again." That one is a sincere believer, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, a child of grace. He may not use exactly those terms, but the reality is in the soul, according to Scripture.
When that individual dies, that soul then stands at the Judgment Seat of Christ to be welcomed home to heaven. Does Christ ask that person if that one has been Catholic or Protestant? Not according to the Bible. Does Christ ask that person to pass a doctrine exam? Not according to the Bible.
Christ looks upon the heart. If that heart has genuinely loved Christ with all that’s within him, then Christ welcomes that redeemed one home to eternal life. In other words, we are not saved by doctrinal exactness. We are saved by divine grace and mercy applied to the repentant soul. That’s the Bible teaching.
Again: we are not saved by doctrinal exactness. We are saved by divine grace and mercy applied to the repentant soul.
After all, there are doctrinal differences, some of them considered major items, within the evangelical Protestant camp.
For instance, some believe in eternal security while others believe that a soul can lose his salvation. Some believe that one has to speak in tongues in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Others disagree. Some believe that all souls are predestined to heaven or hell prior to the Earth’s creation. Others disagree. Some believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. Others disagree. Some believe that musical instruments should not be a part of public worship. Others disagree. Some believe that to be a Christian one must be a conscientious objector. Others disagree. And the list could grow longer.
In other words, among totally sincere evangelical Protestants there are differences regarding doctrine and practice. Yet when a Billy Graham Crusade comes to town, all these evangelicals work alongside one another, not surfacing their differences. They get along. They pray together. They sing together. They just don’t bring up what they don’t agree on.
Now back to this fundamental: We are not saved by doctrinal exactness. We are saved by divine grace and mercy applied to the repentant soul.
Once an evangelical Protestant accepts that truth as workable truth, then the evangelical Protestant can develop friendships with devout Roman Catholics with whom he has doctrinal differences, and vice versa.
As for rebel, theologically liberal Catholics, evangelicals have no common ground for fellowship. None. As for rebel, theologically liberal Protestants, evangelicals have no common ground for fellowship. It’s only the devout of both categories who can find heart-to-heart friendship sharing in Christ.
Now that the world has become increasingly hostile toward Christianity, it behooves the devout Catholics and evangelical Personates to find one another more trustingly.
After all, if the Bible researchers are correct in these being the Last Days, there is going to be an increase in animosity toward true Christian believers. Therefore, this is not the time to fight among ourselves. This is the era, closing out the Church Age, when those who are in love with Jesus must stand alongside one another.
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
Are they born again? What do we do about praying to Mary? And purgatory? And the pope being the voice of Christ? And Mary’s perpetual virginity? And so forth and so forth.
So the evangelical Protestants have their points. Yes, they do. The bottom line for evangelicals is that there are teachings of Roman Catholicism that don’t square exactly with the Bible.
Listen up, evangelicals: Catholics have two bases for deciding on dogma. One is the Bible. The other is tradition. Evangelicals have one basis for deciding on dogma. It’s the Bible alone. That dates from the Reformation of the sixteenth century with Martin Luther.
Therefore, with the starting point not the same, there are not going to be ending points that are the same when it comes to Roman Catholics and evangelical Protestants. That’s a given. And I don’t think that any forum is going to change any of that.
With that starkly understood as reality, let’s move on.
What is it that devout Catholics and evangelical Protestants do agree on? They agree on the God of the Bible. They agree on the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus, the reality of heaven and hell, the actuality of sin, Satan and the Final Judgment. They agree that salvation is by way of Christ’s atonement.
With that baseline, let’s proceed. They agree in the power of prayer, the need for worship, the spiritual feeding of devotional literature, and the moral base of Scripture.
Therefore, devout Catholics and evangelical Protestants can work together on that moral base to oppose abortion, practicing homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia and other evils of various categories.
Now there are those evangelicals, particularly of the fundamentalist subdivision, who won’t have anything to do with devout Catholics because of the dogmatic differences relating to Mary, purgatory, the pope and such. Therefore, there is no sharing of common ground of any sort.
However, at this point there is usually a distinction made between fundamentalist Protestants and evangelical Protestants. The former are more rigid than the latter when it comes to fellowshipping with others of various labels. The evangelicals have more "give" in the fellowship option. The fundamentalists often do not.
Now all of this brings me to this point: The Bible informs us that we are saved by grace. In other words, if a sincere Christian, regardless of label, comes to Jesus, repents of his sin, confesses his sin, and promises to live henceforth for Jesus, then that one is considered, according to the Bible, as being "saved." That one is "born again." That one is a sincere believer, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, a child of grace. He may not use exactly those terms, but the reality is in the soul, according to Scripture.
When that individual dies, that soul then stands at the Judgment Seat of Christ to be welcomed home to heaven. Does Christ ask that person if that one has been Catholic or Protestant? Not according to the Bible. Does Christ ask that person to pass a doctrine exam? Not according to the Bible.
Christ looks upon the heart. If that heart has genuinely loved Christ with all that’s within him, then Christ welcomes that redeemed one home to eternal life. In other words, we are not saved by doctrinal exactness. We are saved by divine grace and mercy applied to the repentant soul. That’s the Bible teaching.
Again: we are not saved by doctrinal exactness. We are saved by divine grace and mercy applied to the repentant soul.
After all, there are doctrinal differences, some of them considered major items, within the evangelical Protestant camp.
For instance, some believe in eternal security while others believe that a soul can lose his salvation. Some believe that one has to speak in tongues in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Others disagree. Some believe that all souls are predestined to heaven or hell prior to the Earth’s creation. Others disagree. Some believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. Others disagree. Some believe that musical instruments should not be a part of public worship. Others disagree. Some believe that to be a Christian one must be a conscientious objector. Others disagree. And the list could grow longer.
In other words, among totally sincere evangelical Protestants there are differences regarding doctrine and practice. Yet when a Billy Graham Crusade comes to town, all these evangelicals work alongside one another, not surfacing their differences. They get along. They pray together. They sing together. They just don’t bring up what they don’t agree on.
Now back to this fundamental: We are not saved by doctrinal exactness. We are saved by divine grace and mercy applied to the repentant soul.
Once an evangelical Protestant accepts that truth as workable truth, then the evangelical Protestant can develop friendships with devout Roman Catholics with whom he has doctrinal differences, and vice versa.
As for rebel, theologically liberal Catholics, evangelicals have no common ground for fellowship. None. As for rebel, theologically liberal Protestants, evangelicals have no common ground for fellowship. It’s only the devout of both categories who can find heart-to-heart friendship sharing in Christ.
Now that the world has become increasingly hostile toward Christianity, it behooves the devout Catholics and evangelical Personates to find one another more trustingly.
After all, if the Bible researchers are correct in these being the Last Days, there is going to be an increase in animosity toward true Christian believers. Therefore, this is not the time to fight among ourselves. This is the era, closing out the Church Age, when those who are in love with Jesus must stand alongside one another.
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
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