Comments on Evangeliku: Today in Paradise

Dear Sassy Granny, First, let me removed some clou...

2009-03-01T08:59:00.000+01:00

Dear Sassy Granny,

First, let me removed some clouds of confusion here:

The Bible is very clear and direct that baptism holds a role in one’s salvation and it is not just a mere symbol, can we ignore the Lord's command to be baptized for the remission of sins?

Repent, and let every one of you be BAPTIZED in the name of Jesus Christ for the REMISSION of your sins..." (Acts 2:37, 38).

“Whoever believes and is BAPTIZED will be SAVED, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16

I would like to add that nobody is adding ANYTHING to Jesus’ “finished work” or anybody to say that Jesus’ death on the cross was not sufficient to purchase of salvation, who is saying that? Nobody, but to imply that baptismal grace was added is not true.…it was Jesus’ COMMAND found in the Bible and not us Catholics… that baptism REALLY holds some punch. (coz’ symbolism doesn’t carry any load whatsoever).

Secondly, with all due respect, I have been noticing that there was a tendency with some people to classify all good works as “worthless, flesh driven, mere” and attaching “boasting, bragging, earning” to refer the catholic doctrine of doing good works to their fellow men. First of all, who is boasting? Or bragging? when true Catholics work, we don’t do it for showmanship or brag to God of our “righteousness”. No, no, no..it is only because of our love for Christ. I haven’t seen any good catholic boasting their work, if there is one, it is up to God to render judgement on his intentions and not us.

Related, our work, if done in humility and love, are not considered “worthless or mere” and be thrown away by God, no! In fact they are very precious and pleasing to God, again just to quote a few in the Bible …..

Heb 13:16, "Do not neglect to do good…for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." How can our sacrifices be "pleasing to God," if we don't merit anything? Shouldn't it say that Jesus' sacrifice is the only sacrifice pleasing to God?

2 Cor 3:18, "And we all…are being changed from one degree of glory to another…" So, with this passage it shows us that we can increase in justification…in glory.

1 Cor 3:14, "If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward."

The good thing about Catholic teaching is the balance between faith and works of love which was again clearly shown in the Bible….

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love" (Gal. 5:4-6).

"He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him" (John 14:21).

A lot more… (Rom. 2:2-8). (Phil. 2:12-13). (James. 2:14-24). (Matt. 19:16-17). (Matt. 7:21) (1 Cor 13:13) (Matt 25:31-46).

And lastly, Mr. Mizzi’s exegesis on James 2:14-24…to be short…in order for a “saving” faith to be genuine it MUST be accompanied by good works or else the faith is dead then adds that only genuine faith is necessary and NOT good works for one’s salvation.

The thing is…however you dissect and slice it… upside down, up, sideways, rear, top the same result would come…you still need good works (cooperation) in order for a “saving” faith to be genuine.

Baptism is not a requirement for salvation, any mo...

2009-02-28T15:19:00.000+01:00

Baptism is not a requirement for salvation, any more than the need to die on a cross would be. It is symbolic, representing the step one takes following the receiving of salvation. We publicly confess Jesus as our personal Savior - - as adults - fully emmersed - as He was.

To add ANYTHING to Jesus' "finished" work, or to the Gospel is to say that Jesus' death on the cross was not sufficient to purchase our salvation. It's to say we must add our own good works and obedience to Christ's death in order to make it sufficient for salvation. It's to add to the scriptures yet one more "unpardonable" sin if not baptized. Jesus' death alone paid for our sins (Rom 5:8; 2 Cor 5:21).

In Bible times, the idea of an un-baptized believer was unheard of. When a person claimed to believe in Christ, yet was ashamed to proclaim his faith in public, it indicated that he did not have true faith.

By the way, Jesus certainly didn't need to be baptized, so the process and related symbolism HAD to mean something far superior to it being a mere "work".

Be blessed!
Kathleen

Is that you, Dr. Mizzi? well you look good.Brother...

2009-02-28T02:59:00.000+01:00

Is that you, Dr. Mizzi? well you look good.

Brother,I totally agree with you in the hour of darkness our confidence is Jesus, the Lord Jesus is my only hope!I will confess, ‘he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy' (Titus 3:5). Amen, brother.

But if your e-letter implies as how the thief on the cross was saved and he had only faith? He was not baptized. He didn't have many good works. How then was he saved?

Two things to consider:

1) The death of the thief happened in the Old Covenant, not in the New Covenant (before the Great Commission). He was a jew and like any person or jew from the Old covenant i.e.. Jacob ,Moses, David they were forgiven by the Lord on that covenant. The sacrament of Holy Baptism (The Great Commission) occurred forty days later at the ascension of Jesus Christ,

” And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

The thief was not required to obey the terms of the Great Commission because he died before it was given. But you and I, and all men today, must obey these terms if we want to be saved.

The Bible teaches that in order for one to be saved today, he must be baptized, believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior, the Son of God and repent of his past sins (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:16; Luke 24:46,47; Acts 2:38; 8:37: Romans 6:3,4).

2) The Catholic Church teaches that God has bound salvation to the sacraments(i.e.baptism), but He Himself is not bound by the sacraments. In other words, God can do what he wants. He can save people in extraordinary ways.

Related, in extreme cases, the Church teaches that at the point of death if the person repented and accepted Jesus as his Savior, he can be save even without the sacraments.

With that in mind, the situation of the thief on the cross (at the point of death) is not the same way as ours, so we are not exempted to follow and do the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.

A few quick comments.First of all, he wasn't techn...

2009-02-28T00:38:00.000+01:00

A few quick comments.

First of all, he wasn't technically in Heaven that day, he was in Paradise, that is Abraham's Bosom (Acts 16:22). Jesus did not die and go to Heaven immediately but rather freed the OT saints in Abraham's Bosom and then took them to Heaven.

The real issue is that 'justification' and 'sanctification' were not separated here but rather instantaneous because he died shortly after repenting, and this goes against the Protestant idea that sanctification comes after justification through good works because he simply didn't have time for that.

This situation doesn't prove anything contrary to Catholicism.