I received a wonderfully uplifting e-mail from a visitor to my site. It was from a woman who had grown up in the catholic church, and was so deeply caring about her religion that she was actually considering becoming a nun. Later, she began to more closely examine the teachings of the church of Rome and found that there were some key differences between the sacred Word found in Holy Scripture and what the so-called “church” was teaching her. I was joyful to see her say that, after spending time with the Scripture and with others who asked her questions about the catholic church, she found her way OUT of the darkness and into God’s wonderful Light.

That’s right, she rejected the false church, the church of Rome, the catholic church, and has joined God’s One True Church and has now converted to Christianity. She has gone from catholic to Christian just as I have and as has been told her in my catholic Christian story. She concluded her e-mail to me with this statement on the so-called catholic church:

“I see such hypocrisy and wonder how I fell for it. I understand how I did.
I praise God that I have a gift, though”.

I, too, praise God for Him sending this woman exactly what she needed in order to escape the clutches of a false religion.

The catholic church says that that tradition is just as important as the Holy Scripture. In fact, you can confirm that for yourself in the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” from which I quote:

“As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.”

Further:

“Tradition is to be distinguished from the various theological, disciplinary, liturgical or devotional traditions, born in the local churches over time. These are the particular forms, adapted to different places and times, in which the great Tradition is expressed. In the light of Tradition, these traditions can be retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the Church’s Magisterium.”

(Link: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c2a2.htm)

So the catholic church insists that tradition and Holy Scripture should be accepted as EQUAL when it comes to Spiritual Truth. It also says that the church can decide which traditions are worth keeping and which can be abandoned. The church of Rome gives itself much power here, to decide for millions of followers what they should believe, even if the tradition runs counter to the Holy Scripture. However…

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”

- 2 Timothy 3:16

There are many debates about the importance of tradition, and many verses of Scripture which can be cited both in favor of and against tradition. But despite all of the debate over whether or not tradition should be integral to Spiritual Truth, we can turn directly to the Words of Jesus Christ Himself to settle the issue about which is more important, Scripture or tradition:

“Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.”

- Matthew 15:1-6

The commandment of God was made “of none effect” by tradition. Very, very powerful words.

Regardless of whether you believe tradition is important in religion or not, no matter which side of the “tradition” debate you might be on, whatever you might say about this passage of Holy Scripture, at least one enduring truth must be observed: the traditions of the religious leaders were subject to the Word of God, not equal to it as the catholic church insists.

I’ve added a link to a very good page which helps those who are laboring under false interpretations of Scripture to better understand one of the key foundations of Roman catholic religion. It is this incorrect (or possibly intentionally misleading) interpretation which the church of Rome has built its authority upon. Please visit this link for a very good explanation of the language and the translation:

Is Peter the rock on which the Church is built?

Of course it benefits the Roman church to provide an incorrect interpretation, and since the Roman church claims sole authority to provide definitive interpretations of Holy Scripture, it prevents the people of its religion from questioning their interpretation, and thus the authority the “church” falsely claims.

Study the information provided in the page above as you explore the catholic Christian discussion. An explanation of the original context of the Greek text makes it much easier to understand exactly what is being said in Matthew 16. Remember that God calls you to be a part of His Church, the Body of Christ, and not a man-made organized religion, a Christian catholic paradox that is a blend of paganism and self-serving Scriptural interpretations.

Just like a government which claims to fairly govern its people but sets up its own laws based on traditions and false historical documents interpreted to provide the necessary power to the malicious government, so has the catholic church set up its own corrupt power base built on falsehoods, misinformation, and possibly outright deception. And because of this, like a malicious government, anyone who dares to question the validity of the authority it has is subjected to the whim of the leadership.

The catholic church only has power over its followers because it gave itself that power, not because Jesus Christ did.

I feel such great joy every time I hear from someone who has read my catholic Christian story on this Web site and they take the time to write to me and let me know how inspiring my message is for them, personally. It is through God’s grace and his wonderful Gift, the Gift of Eternal Salvation, that it is possible for me to share my story with you.

While some have written to tell me that my site is attacking catholicism, this is far from the truth. I’m not setting up a catholic vs Christian battle here, the intent of this site is to share the good news of God’s Word and to help those who are stuck in a false religion to see God’s true and simple Plan for Salvation.

Recently, I received a wonderful e-mail from a reader who said:

“I really appreciate you posting this information. I have a
situation that will not be easy. I am feeling much like you
did the day you confronted your mother. I know my confrontation
has to take place. The truth has been revealed to me in the scriptures
and through prayer. I have to pass it on to those loved ones that are
being misled. I ask that you keep me in your prayers, and thank you
again for sharing your story.”

The only thing I would say is that when speaking to your loved ones who are trapped in the false church or some non-Christian religion (such as the Church of Rome), you should approach these conversations not as a “confrontation” but instead as a sharing of the Holy Spirit.

See how powerful our Heavenly Father is?

I’m often asked a question:

What is the difference between catholic and Christian?

I understand why there would be confusion. On the surface, the question may sound odd or even silly. Many folks will respond: there is no difference between catholic and Christian. Catholics believe in Christ, that makes them Christians.

Well, unfortunately, that answer isn’t necessarily accurate. First, simply “believing” in Christ isn’t sufficient to make on a Christian. It goes a lot deeper than that. If you wish, you can read a post of mine on the subject, called Believing in Christ Doesn’t Make You a Christian.

No, belief is not enough. So what else is there? What more must one do to actually become a Christian? The key word is:

Trust.

You must TRUST in Christ. And not only trust in Christ, but you must trust in Christ ALONE for your Eternal Salvation. You must trust that His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary paid your sin debt in full — which it did — and trusting in that payment means releasing your own need to have to “pay” for something that Christ Himself has already paid. His death released you from your debt.

It isn’t about “accepting” Christ or “believing” in Christ or “asking Christ into your heart”. It is only about trust and placing your trust FULLY in Him, your Savior. So what is the distinction between belief and trust? My brother likes to describe it this way:

“You believe in the chair that you are sitting on. You trust that the chair will carry your weight and support you”.

It wasn’t until I actually TRUSTED in Christ Alone that I received the Gift of Eternal Life. If you haven’t yet read my story, please take a few minutes to do so. That moment was a life-changing event, for both my earthly life and my eternal life.

So then what is the difference between catholic and Christian?

Most catholics have placed their trust in things other than Christ for their Salvation. This isn’t necessarily their fault directly, they’ve been raised that way. I know, I was raised that way myself and I was totally and completely sincere about my belief in Christ and that He died for my sins. But, like most other catholics, I also believed that I had to trust in the church of Rome for assistance in achieving Eternal Salvation. I had to trust in the leaders of the church to provide me with proper doctrine, in the priest in the confessional to ensure that I received absolution for my sins, in the wafer of bread that was supposedly transformed into the Body of Christ (something I now know is preposterous and not supported by Scriptures), and trust in the church of Rome’s claim to apostolic succession (read my post: Dispelling the Myth of the “Rock” Peter) to provide the authority to dictate to me what I must believe.

Catholics believe in Christ, as do true Christians. Christians TRUST in Christ Alone. Catholics, most of them anyway, trust in Christ plus, plus, PLUS. The Body of Christ is the one True Church and not a wafer of bread. Do not place your trust in something or someone other than Jesus Christ for your Eternal Salvation. It is through His sacrifice alone that you may have (not “will have” some time in the future) Eternal Life.

John 5:24

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

But here we see the word “believeth” and haven’t I just been writing about how it is TRUST and not belief that is the key? Well this is where we must take the time to look a little deeper. All “translations” of the Holy Scripture have flaws, even the version that I most favor, the King James Version. So let’s look at John 5:24 and see what the original Greek text used for the word “believe” in this instance. We find that the word used here is: “pisteuo” which has a definition (including: “to be intrusted with a thing; to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity; to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something; to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in) that is clearly much closer to the word “trust” for us who speak English.

Many have “believed” that Christ existed, but how many place their full TRUST in Christ as John tells us?

Is it possible for a practicing catholic to be a Christian? Of course anything is possible with God, but I would have say it is unlikely. Why? Because I was there, I was a part of that church, I was an educator in that church, and once I received the Gift of Eternal Salvation and received the counsel of the Holy Spirit, I saw that the catholic church as we know it is not Christ’s One True Church and as someone who had become a true Christian I realized that I had to remove myself from it to be a full part of the One True Church, Christ’s Body.

Again, if you haven’t read my Christian catholic journey, please check it out.

Organized religions make salvation complicated. People in general seem to want to make salvation complicated. Well, the fact is that God has never meant for salvation to be complicated. In fact, He made salvation as simple as it could possibly be. He sent His only Son to earth, in human form, to die for our sins.

That’s it.

Because of His incredible sacrifice, all of our sins are forgiven. He died once and for all, and that was sufficient for our forgiveness. There is nothing more that we can do, as human beings, that will be greater than His dying for our failings.

When I talk to people who don’t understand salvation, they often get hung up on the issue of exactly which sins He died for. They believe that there is something more that they must do to gain forgiveness. They think that forgiveness is something they get at some point, then they go out and sin again, and they have to seek forgiveness all over again. Usually, they’ve been taught this by their “church” and sadly, they’ve been misled.

God’s plan is very simple and not at all complex: He died for ALL of our sins. Every single one of them — past, present, and future. At no point along the way did He say anything at all resembling: “Okay, this sacrifice is going to cover you until you’re 18 years old, after that you’re on your own”.

He died for our PAST sins.
He died for our PRESENT sins.
He died for our FUTURE sins.

Apparently, the last one is the one that seems to trip so many people up. They say: “I know that Christ died for my sins. But how could He have died for sins I haven’t yet committed? How do I know that He died for my FUTURE sins?”

The answer, my friends, is as simple as God’s plan: we know for an absolutely undisputed certainty that Christ died for our FUTURE sins as well as past and present sins because none of us were alive when Christ died on the cross. Not a single, solitary one of us. ALL of our sins — even our past sins — were “future” sins when Jesus Christ made His incredible sacrifice.

Every single one of them.

Sadly, I was once as misled as millions of others about this. If you read my Catholic Christian story, the story of my transition from Catholic to Christian, then you know my background and how entrenched in the church of Rome I once was. So firmly entrenched that not only did I believe everything that this man-made religion told me, but I also taught it to others. That false church taught me that I constantly had to go back to the church to be forgiven for my sins — that I had to confess my sins to a priest acting as a conduit to God — in order to be forgiven. And when I went out and sinned again, my only hope was to turn back to their priests in order to receive forgiveness once more.

Do you see how the church of Rome is intent on keeping its followers so tightly controlled? How that so-called “church” is dead set on locking a person in and forcing them to behave in a way that makes their participation (and their financial support) a necessity?

It’s wrong, and completely against God’s Word and His plan. God makes this completely clear to us:

Hebrews 10:

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,

This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

Simply Trust in Christ Alone, for His sacrifice is sufficient to save all of us.

If you have a chance, I’d encourage you to visit this Web site:

(UPDATE: When Geocities went down, the site went with it, but I managed to capture an image of the page which I share here)

http://www.catholic2christian.com/iptr.png

It provides an excellent examination of the Holy Scripture and how the catholic church (or should I say, the church of Rome) has used a self-serving interpretation of the Word to support their structure and power base. It is on this false interpretation that the catholic church expresses their false claim to authority over Christ’s Church. Those of us who have already received the gift of Eternal Salvation and have the counsel of the Holy Spirit already know that the catholic interpretation is, at best, flawed and is, at worst, intentionally wrong and intended to mislead and obscure the Truth.

Peter was NEVER named “the Rock” by our Savior. There is only ONE Rock, and that is God Himself.