“ASSURANCE OF SALVATION? Another tragic consequence of the Catholic false way of works salvation is that the Believer is never completely assured of his salvation; he must even endure purgatory before he can attain complete salvation and enter Heaven. In fact, any Catholic that claims assurance of his salvation is actually put out of the church. “If anyone says that in order to obtain the remission of sins it is necessary . . . to believe with certainty and without hesitation . . . that his sins are forgiven him, let him be anathema” (Council of Trent, Six, XVI, 13). This is a burden that the Lord never intended, and it explains why the Catholic feels such a strong compulsion to follow the Roman Church and its traditions. This is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church wants. According to Vatican Council II, at least some of the “saving” works should be directly performed through the institutional church: “For it is the liturgy through which, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, the work of redemption is accomplished. . . .“The church today echoes with eerily similar statements like, “A church family identifies you as a genuine believer” (Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, p. 133). As the Catholic Church emphasizes “saving” action through the church, the modern church says that active church involvement is verification of authentic salvation. Both try to institutionalize salvation. By nature, this way is a form of manipulation used to control the laity which the Lord has called the “doctrine of the Nicolaitanes” and said He hated: “So have you also them who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate” (Rev. 2:15). The true Biblical way of Salvation, on the other hand, provides an ever-present witness of the Holy Spirit to the individual that he is saved. Did you hear that?” “God Himself provides assurance to His Children, so that no man’s religious witness or church government should be able to control them. It is upon belief in one’s desperate state of sinfulness and the need of the saving work of Jesus, that one’s soul can be instantly ripped from the grasp of Satan and placed into the hand of the Lord. “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the Children of God” (Rom. 8:16).”
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 11:46:58 +0000
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