PROMISE KEEPERS CONFUSED ABOUT LABELS

PROMISE KEEPERS CONFUSED ABOUT LABELS

[Distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist News Service. Copyright 1996. These articles cannot be stored on BBS or Internet sites without permission from the author. Any articles which are redistributed by e-mail or print must be left intact and nothing must be removed or changed, including these informational headers. This is a listing for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Our primary purpose is to provide information to assist preachers in the protection of the churches in this apostate hour. If you desire to receive this type of material on a regular basis, e-mail us, tell us who you are and where you are located, and request to be placed on the list. Also include your postal address and the name of the church of which you are a member. Some of these articles are from the "Digging in the Walls" section of O Timothy magazine. David W. Cloud, Editor. O Timothy is a monthly magazine in its 14th year of publication. Subscription is $20/yr. Way of Life Literature, 1701 Harns Rd., Oak Harbor, WA 98277. The Way of Life web site is http://www.wayoflife.org/. (360) 675-8311 (voice), 240-8347 (fax). dcloud@wayoflife.org (e-mail)]

September 2, 1996 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist News Service, 1701 Harns Rd., Oak Harbor, WA 98277) - On the national radio program "Promise Keepers This Week," for August 31, 1996, PK founder Bill McCartney made the following remarks:

"I look for real problems in the future in the area of denominations. I believe that what we've seen has been the grace of God. I believe that - there've been thousands of Catholic men that have come to Promise Keepers, and they've been blessed and they've gone back to their churches, and they've said, 'We want more of this.' And the Catholic churches have gathered, the bishops have gotten together, and they've sanctioned Promise Keepers. They said, 'Go ahead and go. This is something God is doing.' Well, in the meantime, while this has been slow to develop, God's been bringing the various Protestant denominations together. Not all of us are together, but God has sufficiently restored a lot of the body in that respect. Now Promise Keepers is going to have to understand that more and more Catholics are going to participate. And what every guy needs to do is, stop looking at people's labels, and ask this question: 'Does this guy know Jesus? Does he love Jesus with all his heart? Has he been born of the Spirit of God?' And if you see that fruit, then quit making judgments. Just accept him. We're all the same before God, we're all empty, barren, stripped naked. None of us bring anything except the new birth. That's all we got going for us. So let's not start categorizing people. Let's just allow God to be God and he can bless who He chooses to bless. And that's how Promise Keepers is going to grow."

There are many comments which could be made about these statements, but we want to focus on the matter of labels. Bill McCartney is very confused about labels. You see, labels mean something. They are important. I am glad that the pharmacist uses labels. I am glad that the grocer uses labels. I am also glad that Christians use labels. Our labels commonly define what we believe; they define our doctrinal position.

For example, what does the label "Roman Catholic" tell us? How can we find out? Can an ordinary Catholic layman define official Catholicism for us? Can some Catholic apologist define official Catholicism? No, official Catholicism is defined by its councils and catechisms and papal encyclicals. What do the most authoritative councils and catechisms tell us about the "Roman Catholic" label?

1. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH BELIEVES THAT SALVATION IS RECEIVED BY BAPTISM.

"The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. . . . The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are 'reborn of water and the Spirit.' God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism..." (New Catholic Catechism, 1257).

2. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH BELIEVES THAT SALVATION IS THROUGH CHURCH SACRAMENTS.

"The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. . . . The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Saviour" (New Catholic Catechism, 1129).

3. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH BELIEVES THAT CATHOLIC TRADITION IS EQUALLY AUTHORITATIVE WITH THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.

"Sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal . . . Thus it comes about that the Church does not draw her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Hence, both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal feelings of devotion and reverence" (Vatican Council II documents, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, 9).

4. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH BELIEVES THAT SOME SIN CANNOT BE PURGED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST BUT MUST BE PURGED IN A PLACE CALLED PURGATORY.

"The doctrine of purgatory clearly demonstrates that even when the guilt of sin has been taken away, punishment for it or the consequences of it may remain to be expiated or cleansed. They often are. In fact, in purgatory the souls of those who died in the charity of God and truly repentant, but who had not made satisfaction with adequate penance for their sins and omissions are cleansed after death with punishments designed to purge away their debt" (Vatican II documents, Apostolic Constitution on the Revision of Indulgences, 3).

5. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH BELIEVES THAT MARY IS SINLESS, THAT SHE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN BODILY, THAT SHE IS QUEEN OF HEAVEN, AND THAT BY HER PRAYERS SHE CAN "DELIVER OUR SOULS FROM DEATH."

"'Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son ...' The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection ... 'In giving birth you kept your virginity... You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death' (Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion, Feast of the Dormition, August 15th.)" (New Catholic Catechism, 966).

THE LABEL "ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH" IS NOT A MEANINGLESS THING WHICH CAN BE IGNORED. IT DEFINES WHAT THAT "CHURCH" BELIEVES ABOUT JESUS CHRIST, THE GOSPEL, THE ATONEMENT, THE BIBLE, AND EVERY OTHER DOCTRINE OF THE WORD OF GOD. If Bill McCartney believes what the Roman Catholic Church teaches about salvation, he should be admit this publicly. A man has the right to believe what he will, but he should be plain about it. We certainly would not agree with him if he said that he believed Catholic doctrine, but we would respect him for his sincerely held beliefs and for his willingness to acknowledge them. If, on the other hand, he does NOT believe what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, he should admit this and he should be caring enough for the souls of Roman Catholic men to call them out of that false religious system. He should boldly and publicly say, "Every Roman Catholic man is welcome to attend PK meetings in order to hear the one true Gospel and be saved, but we want you to understand that official Catholic doctrine is contrary to the Bible and Promise Keepers rejects it." Likewise, if the Roman Catholics visiting PK rallies do not believe Catholic doctrine, they should be honest enough to come out of that system and join churches which teach the doctrine which they believe.

For our part, we believe the Roman Catholic label means exactly what the Roman Catholic Church tells us it means. We will not mock them by treating their label lightly and claiming that they don't really mean what their councils and catechisms teach. We don't expect every man to agree with us, but this is our sincerely held belief. We believe Rome teaches a false gospel, and the Word of God makes this warning: "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" (Galatians 1:8). We do not hesitate to call every Roman Catholic to true Bible salvation. We commend every man to the perfectly sufficient Savior Jesus Christ and His once-for-all completed Atonement, and to the perfectly sufficient Bible which He has given us by His Holy Spirit. If that is heresy, then we are heretics. There is not a church in the world that can add one jot to the perfect salvation which the Lord Jesus Christ offers to those who believe on Him. "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrew 10:14). Praise the Lord! Glory be to God! Hallelujah!!!!!

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