According to reports published around the globe, the catholic church has affirmed an apparition, referring to it as “Mary” and stating that the appearance of this unknown entity is “worthy of belief”. Here’s a link to one article:

Church affirms Virgin Mary apparition in Wisconsin

David Laurin Ricken, bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, said last week, the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help is “worthy of belief.” John Doefler is the shrine’s rector and the vicar general and chancellor of the diocese.

According to information published in the report, just outside the small town of Champion, Wisconsin, Adele Brise was visited three times in October 1859 by the vision of a woman in white. In the third vision, as Brise carried grain to a mill, the woman identified herself…

According to accounts, the vision stated: “I am the queen of heaven”.

Affirmation of this apparition by the false church, the church of Rome, is clear evidence that they are doing work that is not of our Father in Heaven, and that is not of Christ. Clearly the church is attempting to leverage the legend of some unknown entity, a vision of something or someone who is not Mary the mother of the Body of Christ, and to use this vision and legend to continue to mislead and fool its followers.

No one knows who this apparition is, if it even ever existed at all, and we certainly know that the apparition is NOT Mary, the mother of the body of Jesus. We know this, as do the catholic church leaders, those in power in the church of Rome, yet they ignore this plain fact in order to continue to obscure God’s Truth.

In fact, according to reports, the apparition reportedly identified itself as the “queen of heaven”. Unfortunately, many who aspire to believe in Christ are misled into believing that the “queen of heaven” is Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus. The Word of God tells us that the queen of heaven is NOT, in fact, Mary the mother of Jesus, but rather some “other god” that was inappropriately the object of worship.

No “church” which believes in the Word of God would under any circumstances identify the mother of the man Jesus as a pagan god whose worship led people to be punished severely by God!

We look to Jeremiah 44 for the truth:

“Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem”

The Scripture says that people rejected the Word of God in favor of their own god whom they worshipped, a god called the queen of heaven.

“Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows. Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth. Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs. And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil”

God punished them for worshipping a god known as the queen of heaven! Surely the church of Rome is aware of this, yet it “affirms” this unknown apparition, opening the door to allow the “queen of heaven” to be worshipped by the modern day members of the so-called “catholic church”.

Those of you who Trust in Christ and those who read my words and aspire to Trust in Him, I implore you NOT to be misled by the wolf in lamb’s clothing, by the false church, by the church of Rome, the so-called “catholic church” for this “church” is intent on leading you away from Him — and this latest affirmation confirms it!

I received this uplifting message from a former catholic woman who converted to Christianity. She discovered true faith and received the Gift of Eternal Life:

“Of course, I thought I was saved. I went to confession every week and hung out with the priests… I thought they had all the answers about what to do with my life. I lived with two extremist catholics and we prayed rosaries… and always talked about Mary. It dawned on me that no one ever talked about Jesus.

I see it [the catholic church] now as a cult somewhat. It takes time to unlearn that stuff. I appreciate your website and to let you know you aren’t alone… I see such hypocrisy and wonder how I fell for it. I understand how I did.”

Because it is only through Faith that we may taste the goodness of God’s Truth. Trust in Christ Alone, my friends. Reject all of what you have learned from men, and place your Trust in Christ Alone and you can have the Gift of Eternal Salvation!

As you probably know, I receive dozens and dozens of e-mails daily and I can’t necessarily respond to every one individually. I get many messages of thanks and good wishes, and sometimes I get e-mails from people who want to argue. I know that I have the Holy Spirit to guide me when it comes to Holy Scripture, so I do my best to guide those who are still lost and try to insist that my “interpretation” (I don’t interpret Scripture, it isn’t meant to be interpreted) is wrong — when I know, because I have The Comforter with me, that the message I get out of the Gospel is from the author Himself.

Today I received another joyful e-mail from someone who has visited my site:

It is not through my words, but through the power of the Holy Spirit that stories of repentance like these occur all the time. Through the Grace of God these people’s eyes are opened and when they Trust in Christ Alone they are able to escape the clutches of a false church and move from darkness into God’s wonderful Light. I am so very joyful that this man’s wife is now a part of Christ’s One True Church.

Indeed, I echo this e-mailer’s closing statement: all praise, honor, and glory to God.

Did you know that in 2005, the pope (the leader of the so-called “catholic” church, the church of Rome) claimed that Eternal Salvation can be by those who lack Biblical faith? Quoting from Zenit:

“Whoever seeks peace and the good of the community with a pure
conscience, and keeps alive the desire for the transcendent, will
be saved even if he lacks biblical faith, says Benedict XVI.”

You can read the full article here:
“Pope Says Non-Believers Can Be Saved“

So, essentially, the pope (erroneously) tells his unfortunate followers that just being a “good person” will Save someone, even if they lack the Faith described in the Holy Scriptures. Anyone with even a small amount of Scriptural study knows that this position is patently false, and is another of the dangerous teachings of a man-made religion that keeps people AWAY from Christ rather than lead them to Him.

I will rely on the Holy Scripture for the definitive answer to this issue, and respectfully refer the pope to this:

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

- John 14:6

I think that’s about clear as it can get. So what do you think? Do you think that a pure conscience and a desire for peace and good things in the community are enough to Save someone for all eternity? If you do, perhaps you’re reading a different Bible than I am. Maybe the pope doesn’t believe that the Word of God is is the final say-so on matters such as these.

I get lots of beautiful e-mails from people who read my site and share my witness with others in need of help to find their way into God’s wonderful light. As you can imagine, I get a lot of e-mail from catholics, members of the church of Rome, who attempt to defend their organized religion despite the overwhelming amount of Holy Scripture which plainly shows that their church does not behave in the way Christ’s One True Church would behave. Those of us who have placed our Trust in Christ Alone for our Eternal Salvation read the Holy Scripture with the counsel of the Holy Spirit and so we are completely enlightened to the meaning of God’s Word.

Sometimes the meaning of His Word is harder to grasp for those, like practicing catholics, who are probably not Saved.

One of the e-mails I received from a catholic who professes to be a Christian made reference to the catholic practice of confession and communion, explaining that he knows he has received Salvation after receiving the communion wafer (a coin-shaped piece of unleavened bread, nothing more) on Sunday. Confession on Saturday, communion on Sunday, and he has his Salvation. Of course he also believes that if he should fall into sin on Monday his Salvation is then lost, he has fallen away, and he can then “repent” again and renew his salvation through another round of confession and communion.

Saved on Sunday, lost on Monday. Saved again on Sunday, lost again on Monday.

Is this the inevitable cycle that a so-called catholic Christian must endure under God’s Salvation plan? Obviously not. First, it doesn’t even make sense that God would give us a Gift only to take it away from us again, then give it back and take it away, over and over again. That action alone destroys the entire concept of the “Gift” of Eternal Salvation. A true Christian ignores the phony teachings of a false man-made church and understands that a free “gift” is something that is given without conditions — if you must “do” something to earn a gift or keep a gift, then it isn’t a “free gift” at all, is it?

Romans 5:16
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

God’s free Gift is Christ’s Sacrifice for our sins… ALL of our sins!

But here’s the part that catholics generally don’t like to hear when they talk about gaining and losing, gaining and losing, gaining and losing Salvation. To do so is impossible, and the Holy Scripture tells us that in complete clarity:

Hebrews 6:4
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Even if you believe, as catholics usually do, that Salvation can be gained and then lost, Hebrews 6 should tell you in no uncertain terms that it is IMPOSSIBLE to renew yourself unto Salvation because you would be attempting to crucify the Son of God again, unto yourself, which — as the Holy Scripture states — means you would be trying to publicly disgrace Christ Himself.

Christians who have Trusted in Christ Alone for their Salvation and put aside the false teachings of man-made religions further understand the full meaning of Hebrews 6:4, which is that is that man cannot lose his Salvation because he could never, ever, crucify the Son of God again.

In a previous post I talked about the correct meaning behind the message James was sharing with the Saved regarding how to behave and to display their faith so that it is not separated and set apart. To read the entire post, visit “Faith without Works is Dead“.

Now how can we be SURE that James is NOT saying that works are required for Salvation? Very simply (and this is the beauty of Holy Scripture) we know, FOR SURE, that James is NOT saying that works are necessary for Salvation because he specifically references Abraham. And, since Scripture is always read in light of Scripture, we can easily see the reference that James is making…

Romans 4:
“WHAT shall we say then that Abraham hath found, who is our father according to the flesh. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice. Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt. But to him that worketh not, yet believeth in him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reputed to justice, according to the purpose of the grace of God. As David also termeth the blessedness of a man, to whom God reputeth justice without works: Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin.”

Holy Scripture is not meant to be interpreted. That’s why all Bible translations are flawed (even the King James Version which is my preferred version) and why the Lord sends to us who are Saved the Holy Spirit to help us understand His Word. Since there are so many out there reading my site who need a more “plain English” version of Scripture to help them until they have received the Gift of Eternal Salvation, I’ll share the NIV version of Romans 4, which should make it VERY clear…

“Abraham Justified by Faith: What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’

‘Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.’”

Had James intended to say that works are required for Salvation, he would have never referenced Scripture which says exactly the opposite.

Isn’t Faith amazing?

Many people attempt to promote the notion that a person’s actions contribute to their Salvation. Those people are either simply misguided or intentionally misleading others. It is ONLY through Christ’s sacrifice that we are Saved. So what does James mean, then, when he says that “faith without works is dead”?

First, we’ve got to read the entire chapter before we can fully understand the meaning. If you like, you can read it here.

To begin with, we see that James starts by writing: “My brethren…” which means, we know, that this particular passage is addressed to those who are SAVED. Those who already have the Gift of Eternal Salvation. We know this because James refers to “brethren” and of course to be a Brother in Christ to James, one must be Saved. Therefore, the people to whom James is speaking here clearly DO have faith, since they have Eternal Life.

So now that we know that James is speaking to the Saved, let’s take a close look at what he’s saying.

Death in the Bible always is used to mean “separation”.  To that end, physical death is the separation of the spirit and soul from the body.  The “second death” is the separation of the spirit and soul from God, in hell forever (”And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Revelation 20:14).  Now that we fully understand this definition of death, we can better examine the phrase “faith without works is dead” with fuller insight.

Since we now know that death speaks of separation and not of the end of existence, we see that illustrated definitively in James 2:26, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Obviously James knew that the spirit lives on without the body — so he would not use this analogy to illustrate “death” in this context to mean that something doesn’t exist at all. He knew, as we know, that if anyone who has Eternal Salvation should physically die, then their body would cease to function but their spirit would go on to be with the Lord.  They would still be alive, of course, because they have Eternal Life. Eternal Life = being alive, forever. But their body would cease to function and would not display any signs of life, and thus this “death” is a separation — a setting aside — the action of this body being alone.

In the same way, James says, “faith without works is dead.” The meaning here is now quite easily understood: works are to faith what the body is to the spirit.  The body, through its functions of breathing and walking and moving, outwardly displays life. Works, as James clearly tells us here, are an outward display of faith. Note here that James never, ever says that faith without works does not exist. In fact, James is saying exactly the opposite. James clearly tells his brethren that someone who has faith (as do his brethren) should, through their actions, display their faith.

If a person has no works, does that mean that they have no faith? Or course not. Common sense tells us that. It would be like saying that if I die physically, I would no longer exist. We know that if we have Eternal Life, then once our body dies our spirit continues to live on. If a person has faith but no works, he simply is not actively demonstrating to others that he has faith.  It now becomes very clear that is the point James is making when he says:

“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

A vine may become “dead” because it bears no fruit, but the vine continues to live because it grows and remains green and vital. It is “dead” because is does not show outward signs of its life by bearing fruit. So James tells the Saved that “faith without works is dead” not because their faith doesn’t exist (the fact that they’ve received the Gift of Eternal Salvation proves otherwise), but simply that their faith is “dead” (alone) because it is not on display, it is not being fruitful.