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Old 03-23-2009, 05:06 PM
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George George is offline
 
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Default Re: " Do Roman Catholics Go To Hell?"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Buck View Post
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"AS I posted in layman words above. You must be born again by repenting to the Lord for your sins."
Aloha brother Buck,

This Post is not meant to castigate or demean you personally in any way, but - REPENTING of one's sins does not save a person, nor are they saved {born again} "by repenting to the Lord for your sins". {Catholics "repent" of their sins often, but if they depend on their "repentance" for their salvation, they are sadly mistaken.}

True Bible salvation is quite simple:

Question: WHAT must I DO to be saved? Answer: "BELIEVE ON the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved".

Acts 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.


When a person "believes" on the Lord Jesus Christ - they believe the "Gospel" (as defined by the Apostle Paul):

1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:


Repenting of our sins does NOT save us - the shed blood, and sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord saves us. He did the "work" - it is up to us to BELIEVE that when He said "it is FINISHED", that there is NOTHING that we can DO, other than BELIEVE on His FINISHED WORK, that can save us (and that includes repenting of our sins).

When a man truly BELIEVES (in his heart) on the Lord Jesus Christ several things happen to him - amongst which are: He is "born again" of the Spirit of God:

John 3:5 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.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.


When a man truly BELIEVES (in his heart) on the Lord Jesus Christ, he becomes a son of God through a supernatural operation of God's Holy Spirit:

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.


There are other things that happen also - the born again child of God is "baptized" (by the Holy Spirit of God into the body of Christ; they are "circumcised with the circumcision made without hands"; they become a member of God's family; they are "sealed" by the Holy Spirit forever more; and much more.

When a person BELIEVES the "Gospel", they are not always aware of the work that God performs in them, they only BELIEVE (in their heart) in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for their sins. (He died in our place - and His blood paid the price that God required for an ATONEMENT for our sins.) - They BELIEVE ON the Lord Jesus Christ (PLUS NOTHING - MINUS NOTHING) that's all that is required - and that is why even a child can BELIEVE and be saved. {What sins does a child commit that need to be "repented of"?}

The "Gospel" of the Grace of God is simple - the work that God performs, the moment a person BELIEVES, is quite complicated; so much so, that many Christians "stumble" at all of the various things that God does at the moment a person becomes "born again". And I doubt if anyone fully comprehends the total operation that God performs at the moment of salvation.

As I said before salvation is simple:

Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.


Please notice repentance is NOT a part of salvation. Some people are saved after deep repentance; others (like myself) were not so much aware of just how sinful we really were until after we were saved, and (as in my case - deep repentance occurred after I became born again). But I repeat, my repentance had NOTHING to do with God's free gift of salvation that He bestowed upon me in October 1958.

There is NOTHING that we can DO to receive God's Grace, other than BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. If there is something that we can DO to ADD to what Christ has already done (like repentance), then we are ADDING to THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST - which is not only Scripturally impossible, but we are, in essence, diminishing the work of Christ on the cross, and questioning whether His sacrifice is complete in and of itself.

I am a simple man. I have not attended a university; college; seminary; or Bible School. It's not necessary to go to "School" to understand the things I have said here - all one has to do is study the Scriptures. Just because I am an elder in a church doesn't make me any "different" than any other born again child of God. I do not subscribe to the "clergy"/"layman" setup that is so prevalent in many churches nowadays. If a person is genuinely saved (i.e. born again) then they have the SAME Holy Spirit abiding in them that abides in me. And as such, there is NO "Clergy" - "Layman" DIVISION between us. We are all brethren - regardless of our education, schooling, or intellect.

1 John 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Brother, the simplicity that is in Christ is simple; God's salvation is simple; the Gospel of the Grace of God is simple {to him (or her) that believeth}. We should be extremely careful that we do not add to it, and either inadvertently or purposely take away from the finished work of Christ. {This is what most Roman Catholics "stumble" at - most of them just won't accept the fact that Christ's sacrifice on Calvary is sufficient for their salvation. They think that there must be SOMETHING (other than Believe) that they must DO themselves to get saved.}

1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

1 John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Last edited by George; 03-23-2009 at 05:28 PM.