My answer:  It’s not just me and my own; it is Christ’s way of liberating people from errors and fallacies! It is from Him we pattern our interactions, especially as he said in MARK 7:7, Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Jesus Christ criticized the man-made doctrines of the Jews! So we also criticize the practices of some – not to waste our time – but for errors and fallacies to be highlighted – so that people will be liberated from their ignorance of Christ’s way.

MATTHEW 15:5-9

5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

6 And honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

7 Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

The Catholic Mass is a man-made doctrine, and so I have compassion for the many millions who were made to believe that it is a commandment of God!

It is always an act of love to show people their errors that they may reform and be saved from shame! If criticizing the belief of others is a waste of time according to you, why are you criticizing our way which is the way of Christ? Aren’t you contradicting yourself? To disapprove of something rightfully being used by others and then approve of what you wrongfully use is utterly against the Bible.

THE ROMANS 14:22

Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. 

Please note that I am not aware of you reading my blogs. I hope that in your doing so, your time is not being wasted!

Another comment from a certain Michael says, “In your church you do it another way, not similar to the Roman Catholic’s but it’s the same way actually.” [Laughter]

How can it be the same when, according to you, “In your church you do it another way….” Understand first the meaning of the simple word, “other” or another before you laugh!

“Other” or another means different, and in no way could they be the same. The intention is different; therefore, the spirit is different.

KU, my reader says: “All religions were invented by men. No one can say one is better than the other. No one religion can guarantee eternal salvation, if ever there is such a thing. Denigrating other religions, whether it’s Roman Catholic, Anglican, Islam, etc, so as to give the impression that yours is better, doesn’t work for me. It’s like when courting a girl. Telling the girl about the imperfections of your rivals only reflects on your own insecurities. Stand on your own. Highlight your good qualities but not on the expense of others.”

The work of preaching is not dictated by men, starting from topics to delivery. You do not compare it, for example, with worldly activities like courting. And there is no system that works for one and doesn’t in another. It is either it is according to God’s will or not.

It is not our principle to stand on “our own” as you said! And we do not “highlight our good qualities at the expense of others!” It is our principle to stand on the faith we learned from the Bible.

COLOSSIANS 1:23

If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

It is your own belief that all religions were invented by men! Where did you base that claim? The Bible teaches a religion established by God and not by men!

MATTHEW 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

JAMES 1:27

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

There are those who have established their own righteousness like you! It is obviously because of a different intention and therefore, a different spirit that works. The Bible says something about submitting to the righteousness of God. In ROMANS 10:3, For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 

As to your charge that I criticize to my own advantage, it is not good for anybody to highlight his own qualities! Mali ka dyan pare! You don’t know me. PROVERBS 27:2 tells us, Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. 

Further, it is not true that we are “DENIGRATING” anybody or any religion! We are telling the truth! Telling the truth so that the people may know is not denigrating. You cannot blacken something already black; you cannot speak damagingly of something already damaged! On the other hand, you must tell the TRUTH! And telling the truth is telling it as it is.

Sometimes truth can hurt us and others, but telling the truth is a duty. That is just what I am doing here. I cannot, for example, greet Godspeed to those who practice their man-made inventions. The Bible says in PROVERBS 24:24, He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: 

Still another reader, Doug Lawrence says: “At Mass, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who IS the perfect and eternal sacrifice for the sins of the world, is NOT sacrificed again and again, but he most certainly is OFFERED UP to God the Father again and again, for the sins of the world … renewing the divine promise of salvation … every hour of every day … every day of every year … in virtually every nation on earth.” 

My question is: Who gave you or your priests the right to offer again and again the Lord Jesus Christ at the altar of the Catholic Church? As you said, “but he most certainly is OFFERED UP to God the Father again and again, for the sins of the world….”

The truth is that it is Jesus Christ who offered Himself up according to the Bible! What right do human beings have in offering up Jesus Christ? Is that even commanded for believers to do? Would God accept a Christ being offered up by others? And would Christ allow human beings to offer him up to the Father? What ascendancy do Catholic priests have over having to offer up Christ to the Father – even just once?

Here’s what the Bible says in three references.

HEBREWS 7:27

Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. 

HEBREWS 9:14

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

HEBREWS 9:26

For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 

Note in the preceding verses the following citations! The words “offer himself” and “sacrifice himself” point out that He did the act himself. The verb is reflexive.

…“Who needeth not daily”…

…“for this he did once, when he offered up himself”…

…“offered himself without spot to God”…

…“but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin

by the sacrifice of himself”…

The offering of Christ gives sanctification or holiness, because of the sacrifice he had to undergo. Surely, it does not speak of his body and blood simply given on a platter by human beings in rituals, and then offered up to God. There is sacrifice involved.

…HEBREWS 10:10

By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of

Jesus Christ once for all. 

…HEBREWS 10:10(BIBLE IN BASIC ENGLISH)

By that pleasure we have been made holy, by the offering of the body

of Jesus Christ once and for ever.

It will constitute an insult then to Christ if anybody will offer Him up again and again!

HEBREWS 6:6

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. 

Partaking of the bread and cup as commanded to the 1^st century Christians is not to offer again and again what Jesus Christ had offered “once for all” and “once forever”. It is proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes.

I CORINTHIANS 11:26(REVISED STANDARD VERSION)

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 

I CORINTHIANS 11:26(KING JAMES VERSION)

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come. 

I CORINTHIANS 10:16-17

16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 

We are 100% certain that “this bread” is not the “host” of the Catholic Church!

MATTHEW 15:17

Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 

The host is fed through the mouth and will certainly be cast out into the draught! The bread Christians have to partake is not literal but spiritual!

JOHN 6:50, 63

50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Being a part of the body “or the church” is the way to partake with the bread or flesh and the blood of the Lord Jesus!

I CORINTHIANS 10:17

For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

The body is the church!

COLOSSIANS 1:18

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

MODERN CATHOLIC DICTIONARY (MCD) 

MASS. The Sacrifice of the Eucharist as the central act of worship of the Catholic Church. The “Mass” is a late form of missio (sending), from which the faithful are sent to put into practice what they have learned and use the graces they have received in the Eucharistic liturgy. 

As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, “The same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, is present and offered in an unbloody manner.” Consequently, the Mass is a truly propitiatory sacrifice, which means that by this oblation “the Lord is appeased, He grants grace and the gift of repentance, and He pardons wrongdoings and sins, even grave ones. For it is one and the same victim. 

………………

EUCHARIST. The true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, who is really and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine, in order to offer himself in the sacrifice of the Mass and to be received as spiritual food in Holy Communion.(MCD)

According to the above definitions of the MCD, the Mass is the offering (again and again) of the true body and blood of Jesus Christ! Imagine that! This is contrary to the teachings of the Bible!

When the Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself in the cross, with the intent of redeeming the sins of mankind, He offered a sacrifice whose effect is both retrogressive and progressive. He did it once for all – and once forever! So why should that sacrifice be represented in material things like bread and wine that is taken over and over?

HEBREWS 10:10, 12 (KJV)

10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; 

HEBREWS 10:10, 12 (GOOD NEWS BIBLE)

10 Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of his own body once and for all.

12 Christ, however, offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective forever, and then he sat down at the right side of God. 

HEBREWS 10:10, 12(LATIN VULGATE)

10  in qua voluntate sanctificati sumus per oblationem corporis Christi Iesu in semel

12 hic autem unam pro peccatis offerens hostiam in sempiternum sedit in dextera Dei 

HEBREWS 10:10, 12(DOUAY-RHEIMS VERSION)

10 In the which will, we are sanctified by the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ once.

12 But this man, offering one sacrifice for sins, for ever sitteth on the right hand of God, 

HEBREWS 10:10, 12(REVISED STANDARD VERSION)

10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 

I cited various translations of the Scriptures above, (even those officially accepted by the Catholic Church) to prove that when Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for sins, He offered it once for all and once forever!

The sacrifice of the Eucharist in the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church is clearly against the Bible because such sacrifice is unnecessary and thus constitutes an insult. It grossly disregards what the real Jesus had done in Calvary.

Even the Father will not agree to the idea that His Son is being sacrificed over and over again!

HEBREWS 9:24-26

24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;

26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 

Note the connotations of the following:

…..“Nor yet that he should offer himself often”

……“For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world”

…….“but now once in the end of the world” 

All these imply that it is not God’s will that His Son be continually sacrificed – much more in a daily manner like the daily sacrifice of the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church!

No loving Father would want to see a beloved Son being killed and sacrificed daily!

And why is it necessary for anybody requesting a priest for a Mass to pay a particular fee? The sacrifice made by Jesus did not involve money! The sacrifice being officiated by Catholic priests are paid for with a fixed amount of money!

More to come, God willing!

Comments that come show me two opposites: beauty and ugliness. Beauty is in everything created by God. Harmony, orderliness, gentleness and wisdom abide in the totality of all things in the original state of creation! In GENESIS 1:31, And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 

We have to understand that the “very good” condition of everything that was made implies order in movements, harmony in relations, and symbiosis in existence. There is beauty in everything that exists! That beauty came from the Creator, the Divine originator of everything. PSALMS 29:2 states,  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. 

Surely there is beauty in holiness! God in His holiness is the source of beauty in everything He created. Even in things or beings regarded as ugly by others beauty is present. A deep sea creature called fangtooth may look ugly to some but considering the role it takes in nature, it shows how beautiful this creature is! Vultures may look ugly and their ways also, but without these creatures the forest and the wild jungle will stink and will be infested with highly contagious pests hazardous to both humans and animals.

The fangtooth is a menacing looking creature that inhabits the deep waters of the ocean. It gets its name from the long, sharp, fang-like teeth that line its enormous, over-sized mouth. Its gruesome appearance has earned it the name, “ogrefish”. The fangtooth is an extreme deep water species that lives at depths of about 16,000 feet. The pressure at these depths is intense and the water temperature is near freezing. Food here is scarce, so the fangtooth will eat just about anything it can find. Most of its meals probably fall from the upper depths of the ocean.

The fangtooth is found throughout the world in temperate and tropical ocean regions. The fangtooth has a short deep body with a large head and mouth. The body is covered with small prickly scales. The distinct lateral line is an open groove partially covered by scales. There are mucous cavities on the head separated by serrated ridges. The Fangtooth grows to 17cm in length. As the common name suggests, this fish has very long pointed teeth. The lower jaw fangs slide into pockets in the roof of the mouth when the jaws close. This species is dark brown to black. (Source: http://www.allthesea.com/Deep-Sea-Fish-Fangtooth.html)

An online site that discusses vulture extinction in Africa shows a close association between the transmission of disease and scavengers.

Ecological implications of vulture extinction on scavengers and disease transmission

…Scavengers, especially vultures, provide one of the most important yet under-appreciated ecosystem services of any avian group.  Because they feed by scavenging, vultures are highly specialized to rapidly dispose of large carcasses, thus playing a critical role in nutrient cycling, leading other scavengers to carcasses and reducing the risk of contamination by pathogens by quickly consuming decomposing carcasses.  Despite the rate at which vultures are declining, little is known about the potential consequences of the widespread disappearance of these scavenging birds on other scavengers and rates of disease transmission at carcasses.

(http://www.africanraptors.org/ecological-implications-of-vulture-extinction-on-scavengers-and-disease-transmission-darcy-ogada/)

Beauty is in created organisms like plants, flowers, birds, insects, animals, man.

ECCLESIASTES 7:29

Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

Man was made upright! He was made in the likeness and image or beauty of his Creator.

GENESIS 1:26

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 

The beauty in man is very well appreciated by someone who loves him or her. Whether that beauty is physical or otherwise, it is observed, felt and believed. I call on all loving mothers as my witnesses!

Now comes ugliness. Where did ugliness originate?

After quite some time, beauty has vanished in so many things. What was the cause? Corruption!

These are what are stated in THE ROMANS 8:22, 20-21 -

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 

Corruption from the Greek word “φθορά” or phthora, means decay, destruction of the original composition or state of being.

phthora 

From G5351; decay, that is, ruin (spontaneous or inflicted, literally or figuratively): – corruption, destroy, perish. 

* (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, Dictionaries of Hebrew and Greek Words taken from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., 1890.)

How is this related to church? The church in the Bible is symbolized by a bride, a virgin, with Christ as the bridegroom.

II CORINTHIANS 11:2

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 

This is a great mystery in the Bible!

EPHESIANS 5:30-32

30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 

The church in the Bible is a beautiful entity, which beauty is based on sanctity and holiness.

EPHESIANS 5:27

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 

The sanctifying agent that made the Church of God beautiful is the word of God!

JOHN 17:17

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 

The exactness and completeness of the word of God constitute its sanctifying truth.

PSALMS 119:160(RSV)

The sum of thy word is truth; and every one of thy righteous ordinances endures forever.

Truth must not be adulterated by man’s words and ideas!

PROVERBS 30:5-6

5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. 

Truth must not be diminished even by a word!

JEREMIAH 26:2

Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word: 

Adding or diminishing truth will mean perdition to transgressors!

REVELATION 22:18-19

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. 

But the whole truth has been corrupted by additions or teachings of men.

MARK 7:7

Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

SO MANY UGLY CHURCHES EXIST NOW 

The Catholic Church is laden with so many teachings and commandments of men! Its doctrines and teachings are not written in the Bible but are contrary to it as are being observed and believed in, in the Catholic Church! 

Mary is believed to be brought to heaven body and soul.

Whereas, the Bible tells us that flesh and blood or the human body cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

I CORINTHIANS 15:50

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 

For this reason our earthly body has to be changed to a heavenly body for us to be able to enter heaven or the abode of God.

I CORINTHIANS 15:51-54

51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

To enter heaven therefore, our terrestrial body has to be changed to a celestial body.

I CORINTHIANS 15:40, 49

40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Such Catholic doctrine about Mary is contrary to the revealed truth in the Bible! It is an invented teaching of Pope Pius XII who sounds not so pious in his study of the Scriptures. Apparently Mary was dead at the time of the Apostle Paul. Paul greeted many known figures in the 1^st century church and commanded the Christians in Rome to greet them even the mother of Rufus and his’ own mother.

THE ROMANS 16:13

Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. 

If Mary were alive at that time, why would not the Apostle Paul greet her being the mother of his Lord? And why would not he command the Romans to greet the mother of his Lord? And if Mary were taken to heaven after her death, body and soul, why did not the Apostle Paul mention it in his letters to the 1^st century Christians?

The fact that, that teaching of the Catholic Church about the assumption of Mary body and soul was only taught in 1950 at the time of the not-so-pious Pope Pius XII proves that it is an invented teaching!

God Bless.

Biblical prophecies are meant to be fulfilled without fail. The fulfillment proves the existence of the God who foretold them.

ISAIAH 46:9-10

9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 

Only the true God has the power to see the future. No human being by his own intelligence equipped with the most modern technological know-how can predict exactly what will happen in the future.

PROVERBS 27:1(Revised Standard Version)

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. 

God’s prophecy is revealed through the mouth of His prophets, like the Lord Jesus Christ.

DEUTERONOMY 18:18

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 

THE ACTS 3:22, 20

22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 

If in any occasion a pretentious prophet utters prophecies in the name of the Lord and does not come to pass, such is a false prophet!

DEUTERONOMY 18:22

When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. 

Conversely, the fulfillment of an uttered prophecy is the proof that the prophet who said it is sent of God. With this measure many prophets now are the fulfillment of the prophecy about the advent of many false prophets!

MATTHEW 24:24

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 

I JOHN 4:1

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 

Prophets sent by God prophesied that many will prefer to listen to false prophets and their fables:

II TIMOTHY 4:3-4

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 

The word fable in the Greek language is μῦθος (muthos) which means myth or fiction.

moo’-thos

Perhaps from the same as G3453 (through the idea of tuition); a tale, that is, fiction (“myth”): – fable.

* (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, Dictionaries of Hebrew and Greek Words taken from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., 1890.) 

The doctrine of limbo, purgatory, rosary, sign of the cross, mass, the infallibility of the popes, All Souls’ Day, All Saints’ Day and many more are neither Biblical nor sensible! These words, even the very idea they convey, are not Biblical. Nowhere in the Bible can we find the word limbo, purgatory, rosary, mass, sign of the cross, pope, All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day.

If Catholic popes speak infallibly (ex-cathedra) as they claim, why is it that the present pope declared that limbo, which was part of the teachings of all previous popes, is non-existent?

Whether they declare it or not, not only is the doctrine of limbo non-existent. The apostles have not mentioned anything about All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day! The first century Christians did not celebrate a feast for the dead or for the souls in purgatory. Neither can the celebration of “All Hallows Eve” or “Halloween” be found in the Bible!

The Christian faith must be based on the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ – no more, no less. These teachings were written down on the pages of the Bible by eyewitnesses.

I JOHN 1:1-4

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Our learning must not go beyond what was written.

I CORINTHIANS 4:6(Revised Standard Version)

I have applied all this to myself and Apol’los for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. 

What was written was commanded by the Lord to be written.

I CORINTHIANS 14:37

If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 

Any article of faith not written in the Bible falls into fable! Not found in the Bible are limbo, purgatory, novena, rosary, mass, sign of the cross, All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day as in the following:

         LIMBO

PURGATORY

In the writings of Augustine (died, 430 A.D.) the doctrine of purgatory was first given definite form, although he himself expressed doubt about some phases of it. It was, however, not until the sixth century that it received formal shape at the hands of Gregory the Great, who held the papal office from 590 to 604 A.D.

The doctrine about purgatory was proclaimed an article of faith in 1439, by the Council of Florence, and was later confirmed by the Council of Trent, in 1548.

The Eastern Orthodox Church, incidentally, does not teach the doctrine of purgatory.

 (http://home.computer.net/~cya/cy00026.html)

NOVENA

The novena in honour of St. Francis Xavier, known as the “Novena of Grace”, originated as follows: in 1633 Father Mastrilli, S.J., was at the point of death as a result of an accident, when St. Francis Xavier, to whom he had great devotion, appeared to him and urged him to devote himself to the missions of the Indies. Father Mastrilli then made a vow before his provincial that he would go to the Indies if God spared his life, and in another apparition (3 Jan., 1634) St. Francis Xavier exacted of him a renewal of this promise, foretold his martyrdom, and restored him to health so completely that on the same night Father Mastrilli was in a condition to write an account of his cure, and the next morning to celebrate Mass at the altar of the saint and to resume his community life. He soon set out for the Japanese missions where he was martyred, 17 October, 1637. The renown of the miracle quickly spread through Italy, and inspired with confidence in the power and goodness of St. Francis Xavier, the faithful implored his assistance in a novena with such success that it came to be called the “novena of grace”. This novena is now made publicly in many countries from 4 to 12 March, the latter being the date of the canonization of St. Francis Xavier together with St. Ignatius.

 (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11141b.htm) 

ROSARY

MASS

Sacrifice of the Mass

Catholic Encyclopedia 

The word Mass (missa) first established itself as the general designation for the Eucharistic Sacrifice in the West after the time of Pope Gregory the Great (d. 604), the early Church having used the expression the “breaking of bread” (fractiopanis) or “liturgy” (Acts 13:2, leitourgountes); the Greek Church has employed the latter name for almost sixteen centuries.

SIGN OF THE CROSS

ALL SAINT’S DAY

ALL SOULS DAY

All of the preceding doctrines and articles of faith are the embodiment of the fulfillment of the prophecy about the advent of false Christs and false prophets that will turn the ears of their followers from truth to fables!

All these teachings come to the mind of Catholic mentors many hundreds of years after the death of the apostles, which simply means that they are not apostolic.

II TIMOTHY 4:4

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 

If there is anyone who can cite verses to prove these teachings are Biblical, you are most welcome.

EFS

Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.

All Scriptures inspired of God are profitable for:

•        Teaching

•        Reproof

•        Correction

•        Instruction

These are the main concerns of every Scripture inspired of God! Historical wise, Scriptures teach, reprove, correct and instruct in righteousness.

The long history of the Israelites as a people teaches every generation thereafter with correction, reproof and instruction.

I CORINTHIANS 10:6, 11

6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

Prophetic wise, all Scriptures inspired of God, convey the same thoughts and intent.

DEUTERONOMY 28:47-48

47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;

48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 

JEREMIAH 25:11

And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.  

All matters of faith must be learned from the inspired Scriptures, no more, no less! 

I CORINTHIANS 4:6 (REVISED STANDARD VERSION)

I have applied all this to myself and Apol’los for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. 

“…that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written…”

Why not go beyond?

Because they were written by the commandment of the Lord.

I CORINTHIANS 14:37

If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 

REVELATION 21:5

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 

Any article or matter of faith not written in the Scriptures should not be accepted by a prudent servant of God.

GALATIANS 1:8

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. 

Beliefs not written in the Scriptures come from satan!

II CORINTHIANS 11:3-4, 13-15

3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 

Teachings coming from satan through his ministers are camouflaged to make it appear as though they were of God!

Alleging that the doctrine of purgatory is in the Latin Bible is a clear manifestation of doctrinal bankruptcy! It’s clear that it is not in the Hebrew and Greek Bible, the original languages used in the writing of the sacred Scriptures! And to claim that the Bible is a book owned by the Catholic Church, is another blatant stupid claim. The official name of the Catholic Church only formulated in the late 19^th century is, “The Holy Roman Catholic Apostolic Church”.

Why is the original Bible not written in the language of Rome but instead in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic which were never the official language of the Roman Catholic Church? The answer is inevitable: the Bible is not a book owned and written by Roman Catholics! It will be a pity to all Bible-believing people if Roman Catholics were the ones who wrote it!

Sins are purged not in the afterlife but here on earth!

The word used by Paul in his writing to the Hebrews, in the Greek Scriptures is καθαρισμός. 

HEBREWS 1:3

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

καθαρισμός

katharismos (kath-ar-is-mos’)

From G2511; a washing off, that is, (ceremonially) ablution, (morally) expiation: – cleansing, + purge, purification, (-fying).

The Hebrew synonym (because he was writing to the Hebrews) is כּפר

kâphar (kaw-far’)

A primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel: – appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).

* (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, Dictionaries of Hebrew and Greek Words taken from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., 1890.) 

Whether in Hebrew or in Greek, the phrase, purge our sins, translated in Latin as “purgationem peccatorum” means an act of atonement, the cleansing or ablution of sins, not a place which the Catholics were made to believe as “purgatory”.

HEBREWS 1:3 

 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 

Before sitting on the right hand of the Majesty on High, “when He had by himself purged our sins,”means, that the purging was done while He was still on earth.

The earth is our home in this age, and the world to come will be our home in eternity.

Our home in this present age is:

THE ACTS 17:26

 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 

Our home in eternity will be:

JOHN 14:1-3 

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 

2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 

REVELATION 21:1-2 

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

Our earth or our home on this present age is the right place for the purging of our sins. This is the very reason why He came to this earth!

MATTHEW 1:21 

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 

How did He purge the sins of His people? By offering His body as a ransom for our sins.

HEBREWS 10:12 

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; 

HEBREWS 10:10 

 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 

Being baptized as the Lord Jesus commanded is the way for us to be covered by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.

THE ACTS 2:38 

 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

THE ROMANS 6:4, 6 

4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 

The purging of our sins must be done in this life on earth for us to be prepared to enter the abode of God and the Lord Jesus.

ECCLESIASTES 9:10 

 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. 

REVELATION 21:22, 27 

22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. 

Souls of God’s servants rest in God’s domain and are not being purged in purgatory!

REVELATION 6:9-11 

9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 

11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. 

Will there be a stopover in purgatory? NONE! Why? Because there is no purgatory!

Reply:

Purgatory is biblical. It comes from latin; Purgationem Peccatorum.

Heb 1:3 “qui cum sit splendor gloriae et figura substantiae eius portansque omnia verbo virtutis suae PURGATIONEM PECCATORUM faciens sedit ad dexteram Maiestatis in excelsis”

Translation:

Heb 1:3 “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself PURGED OUR SINS, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

By merely looking at the verse and using 5% of the 100% capacity of our brains to discern and understand things, you can easily notice that the person who posted his defense in favor of the Catholic Church’s doctrine of purgatory is inane, insane!

Does the Latin term “purgationem peccatorum” mean purgatory? Translated into English, it is “purged our sins,” not purgatory! And who purged our sins? According to the verse, “He” referring to Christ, purged our sins. Aren’t you implying now, whoever you are, that Christ is purgatory? Oh, come on!

And notice the verse that says, after purging our sins “He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Will that imply now that purgatory is in the throne of God? Come on! Catholic doctrine defines purgatory as a place between heaven and hell so it cannot be sitting in the throne of God.

Take note that it is the Council of Trent of the Catholic Church, not the Bible, that asserted the doctrine of purgatory!

The greatest of the Malayan race, Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal, in his famous book, Noli Me Tangere, said categorically after reading the whole Bible that there is no purgatory in the Bible! Mind you, Dr. Rizal speaks more than 22 languages. He surely is knowledgeable of Latin and Spanish. And he said purgatory is not in the Bible as Rizal is neither inane nor insane.

The Catholic doctrine of purgatory is not founded on Biblical teachings. The alleged mention of praying for the dead in the book of Maccabeus, (this book is not part of the Bible until the Catholic Church included it in 1546) does not in any manner imply that there is a purgatory!

Praying for the dead was never a part of the Christian doctrine! The Lord Jesus Christ, or anyone of His apostles, never taught any idea of it!

I CORINTHIANS 4:6 (REVISED STANDARD VERSION)

I have applied all this to myself and Apol’los for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.

The word purgatory cannot be found in the writings of the apostles nor have the slightest idea of it!

If Christians are to be purged from their sins, it has to be in this life and not in the hereafter. It is through the atoning power of the death of Christ that we are purged from our sins, not in purgatory.

HEBREWS 10:10-12

10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;

ISAIAH 53:3-5

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

“and with his stripes we are healed” not by purgatory!

I CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;

The sufferings of Christ and the offering of His body is sufficient to purge our sins!

THE ACTS 13:10

And said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

The cohorts of the devil will even use lies to attempt to destroy the indestructible truth of God!

MATTHEW 5:11

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

But the truth, in whatever angle you look at it, will be the truth!

JOHN 17:17

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

The truth is fact! And here are the following facts. Let us look at things the biblically mathematical way, the biblically logical way, and the biblically sensible way that can be understood by the wise and the biblically prudent people!

I CORINTHIANS 10:15

I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

DANIEL 12:10

Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

The facts are:

1. The Lord Jesus built a church.

MATTHEW 16:18

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

2. It is not His own church that He built.

HEBREWS 3:4

For every house is builded by some man; but He that built all things is God.

3. He is talking and acting according to the instruction of the real builder and owner of the church which is God.

JOHN 12:49

For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

JOHN 5:19 (RSV)

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing; for whatever He does, that the Son does likewise.

JOHN 14:10

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

4. The church built by the Father through Christ is the Church of God.

II CORINTHIANS 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

I TIMOTHY 3:15

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

5. The true church first existed in Jerusalem and the nearby areas of the Holy land.

ACTS 8:1

And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

6. Jerusalem is the designated starting point of the preaching of the church and salvation, and not Rome.

LUKE 24:47

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

7. The Lord Jesus can see the hearts of all people even beyond the boundaries of the Holy land.

JOHN 2:24-25

24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,

25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he 

knew what was in man.

8. The Lord Jesus know that there are people considered as His sheep outside of the church, both within Jerusalem and beyond.

JOHN 10:16

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

ACTS 26:17-18

17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

9. Not all people, especially the Gentiles, will hear the teachings and the law of Christ before they die, but will be justified. These certainly are not members of the true church, but because they have done the good things of the law, they will be saved come judgment day!

THE ROMANS 2:13-14

13  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

MATTHEW 25:32-40

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, 

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

These are not brethren in the church, but considered as sheep (those at the right hand) and have done good to the brethren of Christ in the church.

The sheep in the fold and those “other sheep” which are not of the fold will be brought by Christ and they all will have one shepherd.

JOHN 10:16, 3

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

The one shepherd mentioned is not anybody but Christ, the Lamb that will shepherd all those that will be saved.

REVELATION 7:17

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Manalo has no pinch of capability to shepherd all the sheep of the Lord, even to call them by name, for no human can remember all the names of all those that will be saved, save the Lord Jesus who knows all men!

JOHN 2:24-25

24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,

25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

REVELATION 7:9, 13-14, 17 (RSV)

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?” 

14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

10. The present population of the world can still be numbered.

World Population:

has reached 6 billion in 1999 

is predicted to reach 7 billion on October 31, 2011

has doubled in 40 years from 1959 (3 billion) to 1999 (6 billion)

is currently growing at a rate of around 1.15 % per year

growth rate reached its peak in the late 1960s, when it was at 2%

growth rate is currently declining and is projected to continue to decline in the coming years

average annual population change is currently estimated at over 77 million

world population will nearly stabilize at just above 10 billion persons after 2200

a tremendous change occurred with the industrial revolution: whereas it had taken all of human history up to the year 1800 for world population to reach 1 billion, the second billion was achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third billion in less than 30 years (1959), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), the fifth billion in 13 years (1987), the sixth billion in 12 years (1999) and the seventh billion in 12 years (2011). During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion.

Sources for the world population counter:

 HYPERLINK “http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm” \t “_blank” World Population Prospect: the 2010 Revision Database(United Nations Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs) – May 3, 2011

 HYPERLINK “http://www.census.gov/population/international/” \t “_blank” International Programs Center at the U.S. Census 

( HYPERLINK “http://www.worldometers.info/” http://www.worldometers.info/)

Those sheep that will be saved cannot be counted by any human.

REVELATION 7:9

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

No established religion has reached this proportion of membership! Meanwhile, the members of the Catholic Church can easily be counted by an ordinary man with the aid of the computer! Even all the great religions of the world (great in number but not in any manner of truth and sanctity) can claim an innumerable membership, to wisely conclude, (except for insanity) that outside of their church there is no salvation! 

See the logic?

Just me, but sincerely yours,

Bro. Eli