Once again I must say, that it NEVER ceases to AMAZE me how the modern day church along with it’s “anointed” ministers, have fallen prey to fellowshipping with the false religious system of the Roman Catholic church. In a statement entitled “Pope Francis to the World Evangelical Alliance: “We can learn so much from each other” it declared the following:
Vatican City, 6 November 2014 (VIS) – This morning Pope Francis received in audience a delegation from the World Evangelical Alliance, a network of evangelical churches in 128 nations, based in New York, U.S.A., which has formed an alliance with over 100 international organisations, giving voice to more than 400 million evangelical Christians throughout the world.
The Holy Father began his address to the Alliance by emphasising that Baptism is a priceless gift from God, which we have in common. “Thanks to this gift, we no longer live a purely earthly existence; we now live in the power of the Spirit”.
If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I am a former Roman Catholic, who was delivered from the deception of the Roman Catholic church, along with her “doctrines of devils” 30 years ago. I make no apology at all for what I have written over the years, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord has called me to warn people about that false system, while there is still time. So here we have the “Holy Father” Pope Francis meeting with a delegation from the World Evangelical Alliance over in Rome. It amazes me to see so many political and religious leaders go-a-running to have an audience with the Pope. As a Christian, my first thought about this latest meeting is did any of them give the Pope the real gospel? Did they address him as “Holy Father” or “His Holiness”? Let me stop there for a minute. I would NOT want to be in the shoes of anyone, who would allow themselves to be called “Holy Father” or “His Holiness” when they stand before Almighty God on judgment day. All JUDGMENT has been given to Jesus Christ, and he will JUDGE us on the “last day, “ and he said this about calling any man your “Father.”
And call NO MAN your FATHER upon the earth: for ONE is your FATHER, which is in HEAVEN. (Matthew 23:9)
Any TRUE man or woman of God who has been truly SAVED, and BORN AGAIN of the Spirit, should simply preach the gospel to Jorge (Pope Francis), even as the Lord commanded us to do. If Jorge rejects the gospel, and refuses to REPENT for preaching a FALSE gospel, then move on. I do NOT hate the man, nor do I hate any Roman Catholic person at all. I LOVE them enough to WARN them, so that they might come out from the same deception which I was in. If I was about to drive over a bridge, and a man screamed out a warning that the bridge had just collapsed, would I be thankful for the warning? Of course I would. Would it be loving of me to just go on my merry way and NOT warn others driving toward that same bridge? Of course not, and that is all I am doing here. The gospel of Rome is NOT the same gospel which SAVED my soul from destruction, and an eternity in Hell. The Lord’s mercy is still available for Pope Francis (Jorge Bergoglio), but I assure you that the Holy Spirit will NEVER put his hand of approval upon the gospel of Rome, nor encourage others to join with that system. In the sight of the TRUE Lord Jesus Christ, Jorge Bergoglio is simply a religious man from South America, who needs to get SAVED.
I often wonder how a so called “Holy Ghost filled” man or woman of God can join in UNITY with the Pope and the Roman Catholic church, IF they are truly men and women of the word of God. Do those same people truly believe the word of God, which warns us about false teachers and their doctrines of devils? (1 Timothy 4:1) Have they totally forgotten about those who were persecuted, tortured and slain by the Roman Catholic church? Have they ever read the book called “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs” or “Martyr’s Mirror” which tells the stories of those who stood vehemently against the church of Rome? Have they forgotten that those martyrs made it possible for common wretches like myself, and others like you, might have a Bible in our hand? In fact, it was the precious truth of God’s Word, anointed by His Spirit which drew me out of the darkness of Rome, and it is the Spirit of God that has kept me outside that system all these years. Here is an image of Michael Sattler, a true Christian who stood against the Roman Catholic church, which cost him his life. Michael was murdered in an absolutely unbelievable way, and it was recorded in “Martyr’s Mirror” q
William Tyndale was another man who stood his ground against the wicked system of the Roman Catholic church. We have a Bible in our hands today because of people such as Tyndale. He was eventually betrayed by a man named Henry Philipps, and burnt at the stake. The one thing that we need to remember is that he could have been YOUR relative, if you lived during that time. He is now residing in the glory of Heaven, and YOU will get to meet him, and fellowship with him one day, IF you know the Lord Jesus Christ. You must realize that there were no digital cameras during the times of these faithful martyrs, so people would draw illustrations to capture and remember the event. We can only imagine what it must have been like for the faithful men and women of God, who were surrounded by throngs of shouting people, who often berated them, telling them that they were going to Hell, even until their very last breath! Oh people, please remember the faithful martyrs who stood against Rome!
John Huss (1369-1415) was another great man of God, who was burnt at the stake by the Roman Catholic church. After Rome put John Huss to death, they threw his ashes into the Rhine River. The Roman Catholic church still holds to the very SAME DOCTRINES today (2014), as when they put people like John Huss, William Tyndale and Michael Sattler to death!q
Rome’s False Teaching On Baptism
The Pope began his address to these people by talking about baptism, as being a priceless gift from God, but you must remember that Baptism does NOT save anyone at all. I was baptized as a small infant in a Roman Catholic church, and that is when a Catholic priest sprinkled some water on my head, and I became an official member of the Roman Catholic church at that point. The Roman Catholic church teaches that a person is born again, when they are baptized as an infant, and that is a lie from the pit of Hell. Rome has a gospel of sacramentalism, with their Catholic Mass at the very heart of their FALSE gospel. I was not regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit until I was 36 years old, and that happened AFTER I heard, and believed, the gospel of Jesus Christ! When I was truly born again of the Spirit, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was raised in a church (RCC) that knew NOT the Lord, and I knew that the priests needed to get SAVED themselves. My wife Cathy and I were also members of a Roman Catholic Charismatic prayer group for a short time before we got SAVED, and we preached to them, and told them why we were leaving. After we were born again of the Spirit, our “Hail Mary” prayers ceased, and the “Rosary Beads” were discarded, along with many other religious trinkets. That was the biblical thing to do, and it came naturally without anyone having to tell us to do that. When you read the book of Acts you will learn about people who got saved, and then burnt their idolatrous books, AFTER they had their “spiritual eyes” opened by the word of God. Those people had no desire for their idolatrous books anymore, AFTER they got a taste of true salvation. That should be the NORMAL progression, for those who are set free from ANY false religion, including the FALSE religion of the Roman Catholic church.
And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the WORD of GOD and prevailed. (Acts 19:18-20)
Those people turned away from their idols, unto the Lord Jesus Christ!
For from you sounded out the WORD of the LORD not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye TURNED to GOD from IDOLS to serve the LIVING and TRUE GOD; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which DELIVERED US from the WRATH to COME. (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10)
That is what happened to my wife Cathy and I when we came to know the Lord Jesus Christ. We turned from the religious idols of the Roman Catholic church, to the true and living God. When Jesus Christ came in, the idolatry went out! Previous to my salvation in Christ, I had a desire to purchase a “Mary Statue” and build an altar to Mary, but that desire was totally gone, AFTER I came to know the Lord for myself. I also realized that the Roman Catholic church removed the Second Commandment from their Catechism, which dealt with “graven images” (statues) and now I know why. That whole church system is filled with statues (graven images) from top to bottom. They took the tenth Commandment which dealt with covetousness, (Exodus 20:17-one verse) and chopped it into two commandments (9th and 10th) They took the real Second Commandment (Exodus 20:4-6-three verses) and removed it completely. Do you still want to have unity with a religious system that would do something like that?
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye DIMINISH ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your GOD which I command you. (Deuteronomy 4:2)
When the Holy Spirit comes INSIDE the heart of a person, there has to be some type of revolution inside, because the darkness has left, and the LIGHT has come in. Pope Francis told the Evangelical Alliance, that Baptism is a “priceless gift” that we have in common. The Baptism that the Pope is talking about, is NOT the Baptism that the Bible is talking about. I was baptized AFTER I got saved, BUT I can ASSURE you that the Holy Spirit was ALREADY inside me, BEFORE I went down into the water. In fact I was able to testify at my Baptism, and I gave a brief testimony how I came out of the Roman Catholic church. Can I have unity with a false system from which the Lord Jesus Christ delivered me? Not unless I want to serve the DEVIL again! The DEVIL has already had too many years of my life, and I am not about to give him any more.
The True Cross, and the BLOOD of Jesus Christ
The Cross of Jesus Christ is the very center of the gospel message, because it teaches us that Jesus Christ shed his precious and sinless BLOOD for all mankind. does that mean that ALL mankind is automatically saved? Absolutely not. The Word of God is very clear that salvation comes to those who put their faith in him (believers), and take him at his word. As a Roman Catholic I could recite the “Apostle’s Creed” by rote every Sunday morning, but I never knew that I could be saved and justified by the blood which Christ shed for me. [Romans 5:6-9] I would go to confession on some Saturdays, and confess my sins to the Roman Catholic priest inside the small confessional booth. I would start by saying, “Bless me Father for I have sinned, it as been [number of weeks/months/years] since my last confession.” I am amazed to this very day, that the Lord had such patience with me, before I came to know him in truth. That is why I cannot stand by and just watch, as this FALSE unity with Rome snowballs at a rapid speed.
The Vatican statement by Pope Francis went on to talk about “divisions” among Christians in the following excerpt:
He went on to remark that from the beginning, there have been divisions among Christians and “sadly, even today, conflicts and rivalries exist between our communities. This weakens our ability to fulfil the Lord’s commandment to preach the Gospel to all peoples. Our divisions mar the beauty of the seamless robe of Christ, yet they do not completely destroy the profound unity brought about by grace in all the baptised. The effectiveness of the Christian message would no doubt be greater were Christians to overcome their divisions, and together celebrate the sacraments, spread the word of God, and bear witness to charity”. [Vatican City, 6 November 2014 (VIS)]
So the Pope (Jorge Bergoglio) went on to talk about divisions and how it weakens OUR ability to preach the gospel to all communities. Stop the clock right there. The Pope is talking as IF the gospel that the Roman Catholic church preaches, is the SAME gospel that the Evangelical people are preaching. I know the gospel which saved me, and I know that it was NOT the gospel which the church of Rome preaches, no matter how hard they may attempt to convince you that it is. The Roman Catholic teaching on the sacrifice of the Mass is enough to qualify the gospel of Rome as a false gospel. Here is another article which quotes from their own Catholic Catechism, and teaches that one of the PURPOSES of their Mass is to SATISFY THE JUSTICE OF GOD FOR SINS COMMITTED AGAINST HIM! That means each and every time, a Roman Catholic priest says a Mass, the justice of God is being satisfied, by that same Mass.
In plain language that is ABSOLUTE HERESY, and an offense to the TRUE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, and HIS finished work upon the Cross. In fact it was the TRUE GOSPEL that saved my wretched soul. I do not apologize for telling you, that the church of Rome preaches a FALSE gospel which has the CURSE of God upon it.
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach ANY OTHER GOSPEL unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be ACCURSED. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach ANY OTHER GOSPEL unto you than that ye have received, let him be ACCURSED. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:8-10)
The Jewish apostle Paul held nothing back when he preached, and he preached with such a fiery passion, because he was deceived himself for so many years. Paul was an absolute monster in his persecution of TRUE Born Again Christians UNTIL the day of his conversion when the Lord Jesus Christ revealed himself to Paul, from Heaven above. (Acts 9:1-24) When the Jewish people heard about Paul’s conversion they wanted to KILL him! The Roman Catholic Pope preaches a FALSE and soul damning gospel, and I say that as a former Roman Catholic. Pope Francis went on to talk about divisions, and how those divisions weaken the ability to fulfill the Lord’s commandment to preach the gospel to all peoples. The Pope failed to mention that his Roman Catholic church still teaches that there are over 100 anathemas (curses) upon people who DO NOT BELIEVE their teachings. Now that is certainly going to bring a whole lot of division, and I know that those same curses are resting upon me as I write. Can you imagine me having unity with the Roman Catholic system, which has placed over 100 anathemas (curses) upon those who do not believe Rome’s teachings. Hello, lets go evangelize the world together, even though I know that there are over 100 of your curses upon me! No, a thousand times no, we are NOT to be evangelizing the world TOGETHER with the Roman Catholic people, but we are to be PREACHING the gospel of Jesus Christ TO the Roman Catholic people! I thank God that the Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed me, and JUSTIFIED me by his BLOOD, so I am not concerned by those man-made curses at all.
So while Pope Francis is preaching against divisions, his own Catholic has placed an anathema (curse) upon ALL who disagree with their teachings! Those curses were issued during the Council of Trent, and were UPHELD by the Council of Vatican II. Those curses were not left behind in the Middle Ages, but they are current, and part of the Roman Catholic church teaching. Sorry Jorge Bergoglio, but the TRUTH of God’s Word has always brought divisions, and that is why Paul’s own Jewish people wanted to KILL him AFTER he got saved. They had NO desire to put Paul to death BEFORE his conversion, because Paul was still as DECEIVED as they were!
When the Lord Jesus Christ comes into a household there are bound to be divisions, if in fact a person has been truly saved, and born again of the Spirit! Listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ said here:
Think not that I am come to send PEACE on earth: I came not to send PEACE, but a SWORD. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. (Matthew 10:34-36)
Many times a household becomes totally upset after one of the members gets genuinely saved. I have heard stories about drug addicts getting genuinely saved, and born again of the Spirit, and their own parents telling them, that they liked them better before they got saved. There is a WAR on for souls folks, and it begins in the households, and it goes out into all the world also. There have always been divisions between the FALSE gospel of Rome, and the TRUE Gospel which is backed up by the Word of God (the scriptures). Multitudes of TRUE Christians were slain and tortured by the Roman Catholic church, and we have a Bible in our hands today because of their faithfulness to the Lord, and the truth of his Word. Were there divisions between them and Rome? Of course there were, and they were God ordained divisions which divided the TRUTH from the FALSEHOOD of Rome! I wonder what would have happened if the Pope stated reading off those anathemas (curses) one by one, until he reached about a hundred. How many of those ministers from that Evangelical Alliance would have remained? Would they still seek a UNITY with such a religious system? So as the apostasy, and the downward slide toward Rome continues to gain tremendous momentum, do not forget what you read here today. There have been many big names who have “muddied the waters” over the past 60 years, through their gross compromise with the FALSE church of Rome, but the TRUTH of God’s word still stands as true today as it ever has. For further understanding of this issue, I encourage you to watch the video “Satan’s Masterpiece: The Roman Catholic Church”
Beware of FALSE PROPHETS, which come to you in SHEEP’S CLOTHING, but INWARDLY they are ravening WOLVES. (Matthew 7:15)
If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, DOTH HE NOT KNOW IT? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? (Proverbs 24:11-12)
Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? He that planted the ear, SHALL HE NOT HEAR? he that formed the eye, SHALL HE NOT SEE? (Psalms 94:8-9)
The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath MADE even both of them. (Proverbs 20:12)