Rescuing Precious Souls from the Bondage of Religion
We can be wrong about a lot of things in this life and still
survive, but if we are wrong about the only way to obtain
forgiveness from God, we will pay for that fatal mistake throughout
all eternity. Our Creator provides only one way to redeem man from
sin and He has revealed it in a divinely inspired message to
mankind. However, it didn't take long for God's complete and
perfect Gospel message to be corrupted by religious leaders. These
men, who say they speak for God, have distorted and perverted this
good news of God's mercy and grace. Their unstated goal has been
to control people by keeping them in legalistic bondage to their
authority. The Lord Jesus revealed the only way of escape from this
bondage. He said: "If you abide in My word, then you are truly
disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).
Establish the Supreme Authority for Truth
Reaching those who are being held captiveby religious
indoctrination must always begin by establishing the Bible as the
supremeauthority for knowing God's Gospel. Christand His Word must
rule over man's religioustraditions because God has exalted His
Wordabove all things (Psalm 138:2). The word ofGod is infallible
and has no equal (Isa. 55:10).The Bible is the most authoritative,
influential and powerful book ever written. It is thestandard for
discerning truth from error(1 John 4:6). It is sufficient to
function as thesole, infallible rule of faith (2 Tim. 3:14-16).The
Bible does not refer us to any other ruleof faith because
everything we must know,understand and believe to be reconciled
toGod is found in Scripture (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
Whenever we are confronted by two or more opinions, we must always
ask, "But what does the Scripture say?" (Gal. 4:30).
What About The Traditions of Men?
Roman Catholics reject the supreme authority of Scripture by
elevating their tradition to the same level of authority. They
defend their position by quoting St. Paul who wrote: "Stand firm
and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word
of mouth or by letter from us" (2 Thes. 2:15). But we must make a
distinction between traditions which had already been taught by the
apostles in the first century and the traditions established by men
over the last 1900 years (2 Cor. 11:2 ; 2 Thes. 3:6).
> Clearly there are certain apostolic traditions recorded in
Scripture that Christians must embrace, but not all traditions are
biblical. Paul encouraged us to make this distinction. He wrote:
"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and
empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to
the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to
Christ" (Col. 2:8). Paul is warning us that we can become ensnared
by the traditions of men when they do not conform to Christ and His
word. Tradition must always be subservient to Scripture because
God's word is divinely inspired while tradition is not.
What About "Infallible" Men?
Roman Catholics also reject the supremeauthority of Scripture
by elevating its "infallible" bishops to be equal in authority.
Inpractice, the bishops actually sit aboveScripture by declaring no
one else can givean authentic interpretation of the Word of God
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 85). Yet the Apostle Paul
commended the Bereans (who were not bishops) for interpreting the
Scriptures to verify the truthfulness of his teaching. "Now the
Bereans ... received the message with great eagerness and examined
the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts
17:11). It is quite clear that the apostle, who penned over half
the New Testament, encouraged his listeners to submit to the
supreme authority of the Hebrew Scriptures. The veracity of every
man's message must be tested with the same Scriptural authority.
Getting the Gospel Right
Once the supreme authority of Scripture has been communicated
to Catholics who are enslaved to another authority, the Gospel of
God can be heralded. It is wise to present God's Gospel in
contrast to Rome's plan of salvation so Catholics can discern the
difference. The distinction between the two gospels can best be
described as the difference between divine accomplishment and human
achievement. The true Gospel describes what God has done through
Jesus Christ to save sinners, while the gospel of Rome describes
what man must do for God. Paul defines the Gospel according to
Scripture alone (1 Cor. 15:1-4). The glorious Gospel of grace is
what one perfect man did 2000 years ago to reconcile sinful man to
God. It has nothing to do with what any imperfect man has done
since, or is doing now. This eliminates all the requirements Roman
Catholics have added to the finished work of Jesus Christ. It also
eliminates Catholic priests making daily sin offerings on their
altars.
Catholics Are Totally Dependent
Upon An Illegitimate Priesthood One of the most controlling
elements of the Roman Catholic religion is its indoctrination
concerning the priesthood. Each Catholic is taught that their
salvation is utterly dependent upon the ministry of their priests.
According to the unbiblical teachings of Rome, it is the Catholic
priest who baptizes infants for their justification and spiritual
birth, the priest who hears confession and demands penance as the
satisfaction for sin, the priest who dispenses Jesus in the
Eucharist, the priest who imparts the Holy Spirit in the sacrament
of Confirmation, the priest who gives Last Rites, and the priest
who offers the sacrifice of the Mass for souls suffering in
purgatory.
What a fatal deception!
There is no longer a need for priests offering sacrifices for
sin because by one offering Jesus Christ has perfected for all time
those who are sanctified (Heb. 10:14). At the very moment our Lord
Jesus gave up His Spirit on Calvary's cross, the veil of the
temple was tom in two from top to bottom (Mat. 27:51). The veil
that separated sinful man from the Holy of Holies was ripped open,
and now, anyone washed by the blood of Christ can come boldly into
the presence of God. When Jesus, our High Priest, offered Himself
once for all sin for all time, he made the sacrificial priesthood
obsolete. Every believer in Jesus Christ has been sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all
(Heb.10:10).
The illegitimacy and obsolescence of the Roman Catholic
priesthood is also expressly noted by the sovereign and exclusive
work of the triune God in saving sinners. It is God the Father who
chooses, calls and draws the lost to His Son (John 6:44; Jas. 2:5).
The Holy Spirit convicts them of their sin and the coming judgment
(John 16:8-11). Jesus Christ is proclaimed through His Word as the
only way of salvation (John 14:6). God gives life to those dead in
sin and grants the sinner repentance and faith (Rom. 4:17; Eph.
2:8-9; 2 Tim. 2:25). Jesus exchanges His righteousness for the sins
of the believer (2 Cor. 5:21). The Holy Spirit seals, indwells and
empowers the justified believer (Eph. 1:13-14, Rom. 8). The Father
adopts, secures and glorifies His children (John 1:12; Rom. 8:30).
Clearly, God alone is deserving of all glory! (Rom. 11:36).
He alone is worthy to be praised!
Peter expressed the bondage that enslaves religious leaders
who exchange the truth of God for the fatal errors of men. He
wrote: "Speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by
fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the
ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they
themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome,
by this he is enslaved (2 Pet. 2:18-20).
How Can We Rescue These Precious Souls?
Paul provides the answer! "The Lord's bondservant must not be
quarrelsome, but be kindto all, able to teach, patient when
wronged,with gentleness correcting those who are inopposition, if
perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of
the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the
snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will"
(2 Tim. 2:24-26). We must take note of the correct way to approach
those who are being deceived by the clever, scheming, and subtle
lies of the devil. We must lovingly confront them with gentleness,
patience and humility and avoid being quarrelsome or argumentative.
As we correct them, we must use the Scriptures and avoid giving our
own opinions, experiences or philosophy. Saving faith comes from
hearing the Word (Rom. 10:17).
Liberty from the bondage of sin and deception is found only in
Christ. The Father sent Him to preach the Gospel to the poor, to
proclaim release to the captives and to set free those who are
downtrodden (Luke 4:18). Jesus also came to give sight to the blind
because a veil of spiritual blindness covers every man's heart.
However there is one condition that must be met: Paul declares:
"whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" (2 Cor.
3:16). This means turning from fallible men and their traditions
and turning to Christ and His infallible word!
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