catholics

annunciation, catholics, discernment, esther, immaculate

Comparing Mary’s "Yes" to Esther’s "Yes"

Posted on January 3, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

There is a doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church that has to do with Mary and the Annunciation. When the angel Gabriel came to announce the impending conception of Christ in Mary’s womb, Mary said yes. By the way, did you know that Catholics do not refer to this as the Immaculate Conception? The Immaculate Conception is Mary’s conception, they say she was conceived without sin. Catholics believe Mary was supernaturally preserved from all sin, and so was sinless throughout her life.

Back to the annunciation. Catholics believe that due to free-will, if Mary had said “No” then Jesus would not have been born and the entire Plan of God would have been thwarted. Mary is exalted and elevated to a position that is unscriptural, because really, the Catholics are all breathing a huge sigh of relief that she said ‘yes’. Here are quotes from various Catholic Doctrine sites:

Catholic.com

God permitted the Redemption of mankind to depend on the free-will decision of a human being. Whether or not we would have a mediator was dependent on Mary’s “yes.” Had there been no “yes” from Mary, there would have been no mediator.

EWTN, Global Catholic Network:

St. Irenaeus (late second century): “By obeying, she became a cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.”

From the Archdiocese of Perth, Australia:

“Without Mary’s “yes”,” the Archbishop said, “without her “let it be done to me as God wills”, the Lord Jesus would not have been born and we would not now be preparing to celebrate his birth in just a few weeks’ time.”

In this way, the Catholic Church denies the sovereignty of God.

I’d like to bring your attention to a book of the Old Testament that has some parallels to the Annunciation scenes in Luke. In Esther, we have a young girl, put into a dramatic position with weighty consequences to herself personally and to her nation of people, the Israelites, just as Mary was. Esther is presented with a choice, to become engaged in God’s work in the saving of all Israel, or to decline. Would Esther say yes? Or would she say no?

ESTHER: Andrea Del Castagno (~1450).
Esther was actually a Queen

Esther is an interesting book because it is the only book that has no mention of God. Yet His providential works via His total sovereignty are saturated throughout the book. God’s plan did not depend on Esther. If she had said no…well read the scripture yourself.

For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Deliverance will come from another place. Will. Not “if.” Nothing was dependent on Esther, except her personal obedience and trust of the LORD in whom she had declared faith. She was providentially put into an important moment of time and her answer would say more about her faith than any disruption of God’s plan, which was going to come to pass anyway.

Besides, I don’t recall that the angel Gabriel asked Mary anything. He arrived to tell her what God said will happen.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)

There are seven “wills” in those verses. Not seven “pleases.” If Mary had said no, would Gabriel have had to return to heaven and say, “Sorry God, what you said will happen…won’t happen after all?”

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. (Psalm 33:10-11)

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21)

Mary with the Child 1520-25,
Albrecht Altdorfer.
The biblical Mary is not a queen.

In the same way, nothing about God’s plan was dependent on Mary’s yes. Of course, God’s omniscience was such that He already knew her answer. In addition, His will is irresistible. (Romans 9:19a). His plans will come to pass. (Lamentations 3:37). God hadn’t spent a thousand years organizing the genealogies of each man and each woman and hadn’t providentially preserved each baby birthed in that line of Mary’s forefathers and foremothers from each tribe so Jesus would emerge as the Lion from the Tribe of Judah, just so it could boil down to one teenager’s answer. God wasn’t in the balcony of heaven wringing His hands and wondering if Plan B was going to have to be drafted.

Please have compassion for Catholic believers. If their entire salvation throughout all the ages depended on one girl’s yes then they must not have very much peace of mind, or security. If their god can be thwarted by one moment of time, by one girl, by one answer, then what kind of god do they have faith in? A god that perhaps cannot hold them to His plan, either. Or hold the earth. Or be sovereign over anything.

Do they believe Job when Job says I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. (Job 42:2)

Do they believe Isaiah’s words speaking for God, when it was written, Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ (Isaiah 46:9-10)

I’ve read several of the Catholic Apologetics sites. The Catholic apologists do a good job of using scripture to support their unscriptural stances. They make reasonable answers to these very questions and are well written enough to confuse a weak Protestant or strengthen a weak Catholic. So what is the key to evangelizing Catholics?

Mike Gendron was a Catholic for many years before the grace of God opened his eyes to the truth. His apologetics site is aimed at Catholics and discussing in Catholic issues & doctrines. Under the heading on this “Articles” page, is the essay Evangelizing Catholics.

We have the faith in a sovereign God who providentially makes His will come to pass. There is enormous security and comfort in knowing this God. The Catholic god is not one who completely saves, not one who is strong enough to withstand a girl’s no, and is not strong enough to bring His will to earth. Share our Mighty God with them, in the ways advised at the site above. Show them this God-

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)

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Pope Francis denies Jesus

Posted on May 23, 2013 by elizabethprata

I’ve stated several times on this blog that any person who adheres to the Catholic faith, its creeds, or submits to the Pope as spiritual authority, isn’t saved. The Catholic religion is a false religion. Espousing, believing, or failure to renounce Catholic dogma means you will go to hell when you die. Mother Teresa is in hell. Every pope that ever lived in in hell. Catholicism denies the saving work of Jesus as the SOLE means of redemption. The Pope is a heretic. I hope I have been clear.

Today Pope Francis followed in his papist forbears’ footsteps by explicitly denying Jesus. I am going to post what he is quoted as saying, and then lead you through how it denies Jesus. Pope Francis exhibits the exact nature of the characteristic 2 Timothy 3:5 states we will see in the last days, an appearance of Godliness, but denying its power. Watch and read:

Pope says everyone can do good, regardless of belief

Every human person despite his or her beliefs can do good, and a sharing in good works is the prime place for encounter among those who disagree, Pope Francis said at his Mass today. “The Lord created us in his image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and he does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and avoid evil. All of us,” the Pope taught in his homily May 22 at St. Martha’s residence in the Vatican.

He went on to explain that all human persons are created in the image of God, who is goodness himself and the source of goodness. He emphasized the universality of Christ’s saving act on the cross as a compliment [sic] to the universal call to holiness, regardless of religious belief.

“The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone.” “Even the atheists. Everyone,” Pope Francis stressed. He said that the saving blood of Christ “makes us children of God of the first class. We are created children in the likeness of God and the blood of Christ has redeemed us all. And we all have a duty to do good.”

In reading this, it becomes obvious that the Pope denied Jesus in three ways.

1. Doing good. Psalm 14:1 says there is none who does good. The Pope is talking about a human moral standard of doing good, relativistic and with no absolute benchmark. To men, doing good may mean giving back a lost wallet, or helping an old lady across the street. In God’s view, there is not one person who does good. We cannot achieve any standard of holiness on our own. Yet as the Pope is speaking in his religious capacity at Mass, he is saying we possess within us the standard of goodness that God accepts simply for having been born, because our “likeness” is like God’s.

The bible says none do good. Romans 3:10-12, “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

2. Universal salvation. The Pope said that even atheists are saved because Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood. ““The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone. “Even the atheists. Everyone,” Pope Francis stressed.”” However, only those who repent and believe are saved. Romans 10:9 says “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Also see Acts 126:31, 1 John 4:15, Mark 1:15).

What the Pope is really promoting is universal salvation. Rev. Matt Slick explains what universal salvation is. “Universalism is the teaching that all people will be saved. Some say that it is through the atonement of Jesus that all will ultimately be reconciled to God. Others just say that all will go to heaven sooner or later, whether or not they have trusted in or rejected Jesus as savior during their lifetime.” The Pope’s statement is shocking to Catholics because previously, Catholic dogma stated that only Catholics are saved. They believe that the blood of Jesus atoned for only those who are in the Catholic denomination, excluding Baptists, Lutherans, etc. So the Pope claiming that the blood of Jesus saves all, and that all are saved, is astounding to Catholics. Catholics have pronounced anathema (curse) on all non-Catholics since 1545, but true believers know that the Pope’s words about salvation and redemption are false.

3. Jesus plus works. (Quote from the article: “He emphasized the universality of Christ’s saving act on the cross as a complement to the universal call to holiness, regardless of religious belief.”) According to the Pope, Jesus’s blood PLUS good works, AKA holiness, is the combination one needs for salvation. Worse, believing that the work of Jesus is a complement to anything else is heresy. This is in effect saying that our works is primary and Jesus’s work is a complement as complement is defined here: “Add to (something) in a way that enhances or improves it; make perfect.” His work on the cross is not a complement to anything. He IS the perfect! It is Jesus plus nothing which saves.

The bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.

I hope this explanation has helped you see how influential and pervasive the false doctrines of the Catholic faith are and how much more dangerous they have become with this Mass today by the Pope. I had a terrible feeling when Pope Francis was elected, being a Jesuit. The march toward a prophesied universal faith, AKA one world religion seen in Revelation 13:15-17, just got a lot more real.

catholicism, catholics, false religion, pope resigns, rcc

Catholicism is not a Christian religion

Posted on February 11, 2013 by elizabethprata

I can say with a fair amount of certainty that all popes that have ever pontificated are in hell now.

I do not say this with any sense of glee or happiness. The real fact of hell and people there who had the chance to accept Jesus, but didn’t, and are now in eternal torment, saddens me to the point of tears.

But I said what I said bluntly because I want to cut through the “political correctness” to penetrate the mind of those who give sway to any kind of notion that Catholicism is a true faith. It is not.

I can say without fear and with absolute certainty that Roman Catholic Church is a false religion. Why is it false, I was asked. Here are just a few examples:

Catholics worship Mary as a Queen of Heaven. They believe she intercedes for us in heaven. She does not. Jesus Christ is our intercessor. (Romans 8:34)
Rosary, a meaningless repetition of prayers which are worthless to God. (Matthew 6:7).
Selling forgiveness for money (indulgences)
Additions to and subtractions from the bible
Purgatory, a completely made-up notion. in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.
Pope’s “infallibility”, earthly substitution for Jesus (‘vicar’ of Christ)
Priests forgiving men of sins. Shortly before His ascension, Jesus said to his apostles: “whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:23). The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Christ was actually granting to the apostles the authority to forgive sins, and that the apostles passed on to their successors (supposedly the Roman priesthood) the same license to pardon sin. This position is false.
Different classification of sins (mortal, venial). FMI on the falsity of mortal and venial sins, read here
Deletion of second commandment. It says “You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I The Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My Commandments.” (Exodus 20:4-6 RSV)’ Obviously this presents a problem for the RCC, which indeed makes graven images and bows down to them. So they deleted that commandment.
Transubstantiation, the is the doctrine that, in the Eucharist, the substance of the bread and the wine used in the sacrament is changed into the substance of the Body and the Blood of Jesus. Not true.
Works & tradition related salvation, not faith alone

The Pope is the one who is in charge of protecting and promoting all these false doctrines. When Pope John Paul II died, John MacArthur said, “And the question came up, is the Pope in heaven? And you hear all these people say, “Yes, yes, yes.” People have asked me, “Is the Pope in heaven?” And my answer is, “Is the Pope Catholic?” Isn’t that the answer? I think he is, I think the Pope is Catholic. Does he believe Catholic theology? Yes. He is the guardian of Catholic theology. Do you get to heaven by works, by Mary, by Penance, by Baptism, by confession, by Rosary? No. This is another gospel. This is not the true gospel.”

You can read a more thorough explanation of The Pope and the Papacy and why these are false.

More here about the Catholic religion here at Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry

GotQuestions also has more about the Catholic religion

More here on why a Christian should not partner in ecumenical fashion with the RCC

When the new pope is installed in a few weeks, think on this. It is a comment from John MacArthur at the last pope’s coronation:

“At the consecration of Roman Catholic bishops there is an oath of allegiance to the Pope. Whenever a bishop is consecrated, an allegiance oath is given. Here’s what it says, “With all my power I will persecute and make war on all heretics, schismatics and those who rebel against our Lord the Pope, and all his successors, so help me, God, and these holy gospels of God.” So you swear to make war on anybody who rebels against the Pope. Where is humility in this? Romanism is a gigantic system of Church worship, sacrament worship, Mary worship, saint worship, image worship, relic worship, priest worship and Pope worship. J.C. Ryle was right when he said, “It’s a huge organized idolatry. A man wearing a gold crown, triple decked with jewels worth millions? A cardinal’s garb that costs tens of thousands of dollars?” Peter said, “Silver and gold have I not.” Paul said, “I coveted no man’s gold, no man’s silver, no man’s clothing.” The Pope is surrounded by a dazzling display of arrogant over-indulgence, it is theater, it is nothing more than theater to give the illusion of God, the illusion of transcendence, the illusion of spirituality. It is a pompous display of wealth. It is a lavish indulgence in ridiculous buildings, ridiculous robes, crowns, thrones to cover and mask a sinful system like the whitewashed tombs that Jesus referred to. There was never such a thing as a papal coronation before the tenth century. And now the world has gone berserk over this as it if was true religion.”

I entreat you, please read more to learn why the simple Gospel is the truth. God said, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2). He repeated the warning in Revelation 22:18-19.

Jesus came to seek and save sinners. A a sinner is someone who sins, which means everyone on earth who was ever born is a sinner (Romans 3:23)- EXCEPT Jesus, who is God. Jesus lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15) in obedience to His Father, who is God, and died as a sacrifice to atone for the world’s sin. (Romans 3:25). He shed His blood and took upon His person the wrath of God for sins, which was poured out upon Him on the cross. When the wrath was poured out, Jesus died, saying, “It is finished.” (John 19:30). He was buried, and three days later, by the power of God, He resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:4) and walked on the earth for 40 days, teaching and preaching to His believers. (1 Cor 15:6). On the 40th day He ascended to heaven on a cloud, and this same Jesus will return in like matter (Acts 1:10-11) at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. (1 Peter 4:5).

The time we live in now is called the Age of Grace, when all one must to to be saved is be born again- repent of your sins, believe on the Son. He is not only your Savior but your Lord, Lord of all the earth and heaven. He is coming soon, but this second time to deal with sin and bring wrath then justice upon sinners. If you die before you repent and believe on the Son, you will go to a place that is separate from God and is a place of eternal torment.

Belief in Jesus is ALL that one needs to be saved. He paid the entire price, He did the work, He is in control. Man has no part to play in our own salvation. You can’t work at it like the RCC says, you can’t pay for forgiveness through indulgences, you can’t pray your way into it, you can’t appeal to Mary. It is a simple Gospel: Jesus oriented and pure. Please, if you are reading this, heed the words:

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36)