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.

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.

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?

I hear from a lot of people, some who have received the Gift of Eternal Salvation and some who have not. Some who are a part of Christ’s Body and others who are stuck in the false church, the so-called “roman catholic church”. Those who have been Saved realize exactly how simple God’s plan for Salvation is. Those who are trapped, who have been misled, who have placed their trust in men and not Christ are usually very confused.

All I have to do is Trust in Christ Alone and I will have the Gift of Eternal Salvation? It can’t possibly be that simple.

And yet, it is. But as humans, we’ve been trained to believe that nothing can be gained without hard work. That we can receive no “reward” without putting in some sort of effort. We forget that Salvation is a GIFT and not a reward. A gift is something that we do NOT need to earn, rather it is freely given. And God gives us Eternal Life because He sent His Son to die for our sins, all of our sins, once and forever.

Here in my catholic Christian blog and Web site I relate my story and try to help those who are confused and misled. I try to explain that man-made churches like the church of rome can do nothing but twist and tarnish God’s Word. The Holy Scripture is pure, there is no explanation or interpretation needed. Instead of relying on man-made churches to tell you what the Holy Scripture means, set aside everything you’ve been taught by men and place all of your Trust in Christ Alone.

God’s salvation plan is a very simple one, yet many “organized religions” try to make it overly complicated. There may be a number of reasons for that, it could be ignorance, it could be tradition, it could be that some groups are actually trying to lead people away from Christ by muddling and confusing God’s message.

As a catholic who later learned that I was on the wrong path, following the wrong church, I first came to understand the salvation plan of my Heavenly Father and then, through that understanding, received the gift of Eternal Salvation.

It is as simple as simple can be. It isn’t complicated, His plan doesn’t have a lot of conditions imposed on it, His salvation plan is one that anyone can achieve through one simple and completely straightforward method:

Trust in Christ Alone.

It sounds much too simple, and in many cases that leads people to look for a more complicated means of achieving Eternal Life. God never intended for His Salvation to be something you had to EARN, but rather it is meant to be a GIFT that you may freely receive, simply by taking that one, simple step. God never, ever wanted you to have to do any works, to behave in any particular way, to have to labor in any fashion, or to make any special self-sacrifice to receive His salvation. That’s what He sent his Son here to do for us. That’s the whole reason that Christ died on the cross for us, for all of our sins: so that they would ALL be forgiven, once and forever.

So to receive God’s Gift of Eternal Salvation, to fulfill His Salvation Plan, there is nothing more for you to do than to Trust in Christ Alone. Trust that His sacrifice is the one and only sacrifice that can ever be made for our sins, that we cannot save ourselves, trust that it is only through His death on the cross that our sin debt was paid in full.

That means letting go of human teachings, letting go of organized religions and their man-made rules, it means letting go of traditions and interpretations of Holy Scripture and it means, once and for all, placing ALL of your Trust in Christ.

If you can do that, right now, then you can receive the Gift of Eternal Life.

As you can probably imagine, I receive many, many e-mails a day. Dozens actually, perhaps as many as one hundred on a very busy day. Many of the e-mails I receive are encouraging, some talk about reading my catholic Christian conversion story and taking great joy in it, others detracting of my message, some saying that I am attacking the catholic church or that my message isn’t a Christian one or that catholicism is superior to my own faith.

Today I received an e-mail from someone who took the rather unusual approach of boasting to me about how much they know about the Bible, and how much more they know about it than I. It was clear that they were intent on acting superior to me, to prove through their claim exactly how much more they knew about Holy Scripture than I do (or my family did or does — combined, as a matter of fact):

“I know the Bible better than your or your parents or even your
grandparents ever did while they were Catholic. And I bet that
I still know it better than all of you combined now”.

Of course this person went on to attempt to lecture to me about what God REALLY meant in certain portions of the Word. Unfortunately for the e-mail’s author, they don’t realize exactly how truly lost they really are. Their statements made it abundantly clear that they do not have the Holy Spirit to guide them in the Scripture, a counselor that everyone who receives the Gift of Eternal Salvation has to help them understand the Word, as He promised us:

John 14:26

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

What this assurance means to all of us who have received Eternal Life is that we (you or I) don’t have to worry about being as learned about the Holy Scripture as some, like the e-mailer above likes to believe — and publicly boast — that they are. God our Father in Heaven knows that we all need help to understand His Word, and what better way for us to understand it than for Him to sit beside us as we read the Holy Scripture and to impart unto us, one at a time, the full meaning and power of His Holy Word?

This person’s boast of Bible knowledge reminds me of a very poignant passage from Matthew…

Matthew 13

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Remember that in Jesus’ day there were many people who were supposedly much more “knowledgeable” about what was written, yet they were incredibly ignorant about the Truth of God. Their Savior stood right there before them, in the flesh, yet they were unable to see it (”because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, nether do they understand).

Just like the e-mail author who pridefully boasted about how much they “know” about the Bible, yet despite all of their “knowing” they do not understand.

Jesus Himself spoke to the common people, He surrounded Himself with followers who believed in Him and placed their Trust in Him Alone for their Salvation and did not attempt to preach to others by lecturing them about how much more they knew about what was written. And when Jesus left us on earth, He left behind for us the Holy Spirit that we may fully understand everything about God’s Word without having to spend our entire lives intently studying every single passage of Scripture.

We are very, very fortunate to have this counsel once we have the Gift of Eternal Life.

My Christian catholic story, which you may read here if you haven’t done so as yet, is my humble exposition of how I made the journey from catholic to Christian. How I was led from the darkness into God’s Wonderful light. I, like the e-mail author who boasted to me about their knowledge of the Scripture, thought that I knew a lot — remember that I even taught the catholic faith as an instructor in the RCIA program — but I never really knew the Holy Scripture, I never really KNEW Him, until I put aside the false teachings that I had received throughout my entire life and allowed myself to Trust in Christ Alone.

This part is something that is very important, and something I only learned once I’d received the Gift of Eternal Salvation: He will fill us with the fullness of His Word, but in order to be filled, we must first be emptied. Until we empty ourselves of the false teachings that obscure His Word and its meaning, we can never truly be filled.

I learned today that Dr. Hank Lindstrom was called home to be with the Lord yesterday, Monday, October 13th. While I was sad to hear that Dr. Hank had led his last soul to Christ, I am comforted to know that Hank has eternal salvation and he will enjoy his reward in Heaven. Dr. Hank will truly be missed here on Earth, he was a leader and an inspiration.

While I have placed my Trust in Christ Alone for my Eternal Salvation, some of Dr. Hank Lindstrom’s discussions on Holy Scripture, and in particular his CD entitled “How Permanent is Your Salvation” were significant in leading me to read the Holy Scripture with a more open mind. Dr. Hank Lindstrom helped point me in the right direction, and I really appreciate his efforts to help others find the Truth of God’s Word.