What could be any more important to a person than the salvation of their own soul? Think about that for a moment, and meditate upon the truth, that you, as an individual, are going to spend eternity in either Heaven or Hell! Forever is forever, and forever, and there will be no turning back, when all final resuscitation efforts have ceased for the you. Where would you go, if tonight were your final night on earth? We find this passage of scripture in the book of Jude:
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3)
Jude was well aware that there would always be opposition to the Gospel, and he wrote this letter with that in mind. That was written all the way back in the first century, and that truth still applies to all of us who claim to know Jesus Christ today. There are many who claim to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but in reality, they are preaching a different gospel, which in effect is “no gospel” at all. In other words it is not the Gospel that can save a soul. The Gospel of Rome (Roman Catholicism) is one such Gospel. There are some who would think today, that things have changed, and that Rome is not the same as it was say 500 years ago, but that is not true. The Gospel of Rome is a gospel that places their own man-made traditions on an equal level with the scriptures, and that will never change. In fact it is the official doctrine of Rome that their tradition, the Magisterium (teaching office) and the scriptures themselves are so intertwined, that you cannot have one without the other! They teach that all three, play an equal part in the salvation of a soul.
If you take a look at some of the traditions of Rome, especially the Catholic Mass you will see why this is indeed a false Gospel that is being proclaimed. Rome explains the very purposes of their Catholic Mass this way: “to satisfy the justice of God for sins committed against Him.” [The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism, page 173]
So if you ever wondered what the Roman Catholic Mass was all about, there is the answer right there. They teach the millions of Catholics under their authority, that God’s justice is satisfied by what takes place on their Catholic altars. Keep in mind also that only a Roman Catholic Priest has the authority to perform this Mass and their tradition of “transubstantiation” is part of that.The only problem with all of this teaching is that it is not scriptural. This is pure Roman Catholic tradition at it’s best. Listen to what the scriptures teach us, on how any sinner (all people) can be justified before God.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:6-9)
That passage of scripture is so liberating, and it is one of my favorite scriptures. Why? Because it tells me that Christ died for the ungodly, and I know that it most certainly applied to me. What a contrast to the Roman Catholic teaching that God’s justice would be satisfied by the Catholic Mass! This is the very heart of the Gospel, that the blood of Jesus Christ was shed for me! The Jewish apostle Paul understood the importance of teaching this vital truth. He spoke about the love of God toward us, and that we are JUSTIFIED by the blood that Jesus shed for us. That blood was shed at an historical point in time, by a sacrifice that can NEVER be repeated again!
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (Acts 2:22-24)
The book of Acts makes it so very clear that Jesus Christ was slain at a time, that was foreknown by God, and it tells us that Christ has risen from the dead also. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ can NEVER be repeated again. The Roman Catholic Mass and the claim that it “satisfies the justice of God for sins committed against Him” is a betrayal of Jesus Christ Himself. Rome has been preaching a bogus message and showing forth, a bogus Christianity to millions upon millions of lost souls, for centuries now. Jesus Christ said “It Is Finished!” (John 19:30) and to fight against his finished work is spiritually fatal. Rome has been teaching for centuries, that the perfect sacrifice continues on their altars. Rome claims that “Christ through the ministry of the priest, offers Himself to God in an UNBLOODY manner under the appearances of bread and wine.” But the Bible teaches us that it is the BLOOD alone that atones for the soul! (Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22)
Search the scriptures for yourselves and see if you can find the apostles celebrating a Catholic Mass in their gospel preaching. Search the scriptures and see if you find any of the apostle taking the “consecrated hosts” (wafers) and placing them in a little golden (brass) tabernacle as is done in every Catholic church! Search the scriptures and see if you find any of the apostles encouraging their followers to bow down and worship that wafer (host) as if it were the Lord Himself! You will not find it at all. What you WILL find is the followers of Jesus Christ preaching their hearts out, and telling people to repent and believe the Gospel. (Mark 1:15) Every true born again Christian can make the claim that they are indeed called to be an ambassador for Christ. Every true Christian is an ambassador for Christ, with a message of reconciliation to bring to the people all over the world.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
That is the message that needs to be preached everywhere in the world. If a person has been born again of the Spirit, then they are indeed a new creation in Jesus Christ. I was baptized as an infant, and I had my head sprinkled with water by a Roman Catholic priest, but I was not born again at that time. Why do I mention that? Because that is what the Roman Catholic Church had taught me and millions of others, and still teaches to this very day. The apostle Paul also tells us in the above passage of scripture, that we have been RECONCILED back to God, and that He has given us the ministry of RECONCILIATION! Any person who has truly put their faith in Jesus Christ, has already been reconciled back to God. We are at peace with God because of what Jesus did on the cross for us. (Colossians 1:20) Not only that, but EVERY true Christian now has the ministry of reconciliation, and we are able to preach the same Gospel that SAVED us to others.Paul encouraged all true believers to preach the word, never mentioning a Roman Catholic Mass. (2 Timothy 4:1-5) The apostle Paul preached with an urgency as is evident here:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. (2 Corinthians 5:10-11)
Each and every one of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. What will it be like for those who brought forth a false gospel, and corrupted the simple soul saving Gospel of Jesus Christ? What will it be like for those who think that God’s justice was being satisfied every time they attended a Catholic Mass? The apostle Paul knew the terror of the Lord, and the Greek word for TERROR is the word phobos, which is defined: alarm or fright, be afraid, exceedingly, fear, terror. These words are rarely used in this modern day of false unity. Paul knew that the wrath of God was abiding upon every person in the world that did not believe in the Son of God , Jesus Christ! (John 3:36) Paul also knew that the mercy of God was available to all people, and that all had the opportunity to be justified by the blood of Jesus, and be reconciled back to God! That is the ministry of reconciliation, and the only true Gospel that should be preached by all true ministers of Jesus Christ.
Rome absolutely hates the teaching of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) because when you remove their man-made traditions, and the authority of their Pope, their whole system comes tumbling down. You will not find a single instance of any of the apostles praying the rosary (mainly prayers to Mary), making and worshiping graven images (idols), or preaching about a place called Purgatory. That teaching about Purgatory if you do not know, is a place different than either heaven or hell, where people go to be purged before final entrance into heaven is another Roman Catholic tradition. There is no such place as Purgatory. In fact the teaching of Purgatory is also a betrayal of the finished work of Jesus Christ, and it negates the soul saving perfect blood that He shed for us. People still have their local priest say Catholic Masses for their loved ones, some who have been dead for years, so that they might be released from Purgatory. That is heartbreaking. It is truly amazing that the modern day Christians, with all of their spiritual talk about “the anointing”, have no problem in fellowshipping with those who hold those false doctrines! Those same people forget that the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of truth:
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (John 16:13)
Many are caught up in the modern day “revival meetings” and they are hooting and hollering for the Lord to come down. They love to talk about their fellowship with the “Charismatic Catholics” but they fail to recognize that those same Charismatic Catholics, still hold fast to the false doctrines of Rome! I know because I am an ex- Roman Catholic, and I was FORMERLY numbered among them! They are calling for the Lord to send down the living waters, but they ignore the muddy waters of Rome’s false, and MAN-MADE doctrines, that have been flowing freely for decades. They have joined hands in UNITY with a false gospel, and they IGNORE the WARNINGS from GOD’S WORD!
My worship of Mary actually intensified after I joined the Catholic Charismatic movement. I still attended Mass, I still prayed the rosary, and I was still lost. So then, what was it that set me free? It was the preaching of the pure unadulterated truth of the Gospel. I had a decision to make, and it was either the Roman Catholic system with its man-made traditions or the pure unadulterated truth of God’s Word. I thank God that I chose to follow and believe the scriptures, and that is what brought me out from the deception of Rome.