666 HMS: Helm: Doctrinal Writings - A Response to a Roman Catholic's Criticisms
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Doctrinal Writings
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A Response to a Roman
Catholic's Criticisms

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Pastor Mark Montgomery
Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
Mr. __________,

 Thank you for writing. I appreciate your willingness to take the time to contact us. I hope that you have been challenged by your correspondence with _____. He is a good student of the Word of God, and, as a former follower of Catholicism, he has good insight into the doctrines and practices of your denomination. Because he is knowledgeable, and because he has time (he is retired due to disability), I asked him to respond to your comments. However, since my character has been called into question because of my delegation of this responsibility ("I will judge his character by whether he does respond or not.") , I will respond myself. I do ask your forgiveness for taking so long, but I wanted to be both thorough and accurate.

 I would not normally respond this way, but due to the length of your first letter, I will place responses within your letter at appropriate places. I will put them in a different color, so that they can be quickly identified.

-------------------------------------------------------

LETTER:
My Dear Pastor Mark,

 I am assuming that you know of and have approved of the men who handed out pamphlets and flyers and such at the end of our Catholic Men's Fellowship yesterday afternoon at __________ University. To what goal, may I ask?

RESPONSE:
 Yes, I did approve of this. In fact, I selected the materials that were passed out and I was there myself. The goal was to encourage those attending the conference to read what the Bible had to say. We were not attempting to turn men into Baptists, for there was nothing on the materials that indicated that we were Baptists, and I believe the only reference to Baptists at all was John Rice's statement in "Sermon from a Catholic Bible" that he was a Baptist. We also did not include an invitation to our church. If you went to the website, which you obviously did, then you would find out about the church, but that was not the primary goal. Note what was included in the packet: a sermon preached from a Catholic Bible which involved an exposition of approximately 16 passages of Scripture taken directly from the Confraternity edition of the New Testament; a 4 page tract which consisted mainly of 14 verses from the Bible; a six page tract which consisted of a check list of things that people think will get them into Heaven, followed by 16 verses from the Bible; a copy of the Gospel of John and the Epistle to the Romans straight from the Bible, followed by 5 extra pages that included over 30 additional verses of Scripture; and a card for a Bible Correspondence Course, which is simply a study of the Gospel of John. Obviously, our goal was to get men to read the Bible and see what it has to say. Since Paul wrote in Romans 10:17,

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.",
it is necessary for people to hear and read the Bible in order to understand what It says about salvation so that they can receive Jesus Christ as Savior by faith. Because we have a burden and love for all people, including Catholics, we want to give the Word of God to all that we can so that they can read what God has said and, hopefully, choose to believe Him and accept Him.

LETTER:
 Why would you both say (in those pamphlets) to your fellow Christians (us Catholics) that you fully agree with much of what we believe but that your truth is truer than what we believe? Did we go to your church and greet your people as they left those sermons of yours and tried to tell them that your way and your comments on the bible were not the full truth and that they should instead, come to a Catholic Mass. Did we? Then why did your men do that to me and my brothers as we left the ___________?

RESPONSE:
 Obviously, there is much that we do agree on. We believe in the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection, the existence of Heaven and Hell, and numerous other doctrines. However, we disagree on something that is very foundational: the means of salvation. Simply believing in the existence of God is not sufficient to get to Heaven, for James 2:19 says,

"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
The Devil knows that there is one God, but it isn't keeping him out of Hell.

 So let's look at what the Catholic church teaches about salvation. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, I am going to Hell. The second Vatican council reaffirmed the following:

"[The Council] relies on sacred Scripture and Tradition in teaching that this pilgrim Church is necessary for salvation. Christ alone is the mediator of salvation and the way of salvation. He presents himself to us in his Body, which is the Church. When he insisted expressly on the necessity for faith and baptism, he asserted at the same time the necessity for the Church which men would enter by the gateway of baptism. This means that it would be impossible for men to be saved if they refused to enter or to remain in the Catholic Church, unless they were unaware that her foundation by God through Jesus Christ made it a necessity." (Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, II, 14.)
Thus, because I am not a member of the Catholic church, I can not be saved. In fact, the Council of Trent declared those of us who believe that salvation comes by Faith alone to be "anathema". Allow me to quote:
"If any one saith, that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ's sake; or, that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified; let him be anathema." (Sixth Session CANON XII).
I do not believe that the Bible teaches that the "seven sacraments" are necessary for salvation. Of course, I believe that because the Bible does not teach that the seven sacraments are necessary for salvation. Thus, according to the Council of Trent:
"If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary unto salvation, but superfluous; and that, without them, or without the desire thereof, men obtain of God, through faith alone, the grace of justification;-though all (the sacraments) are not in deed necessary for every individual; let him be anathema." (Seventh Session CANON IV).
Since the edicts of the Council of Trent have never been rescinded, the Catholic church rejects the Biblical view of salvation which I hold to, and declares me to be condemned.

 Now, let's look at what the Word of God says. The Bible says,

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Titus 3:5 says,
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."
Romans 4:5 says,
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Romans 11:6 states that salvation is either by grace or works. It can't be both (as the Council of Trent taught), because
"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."
Romans 10:13 says,
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Acts 16:31 says,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,"
Romans 10:9-10 states,
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Romans 5:1 reads,
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

 So now we have a problem. If I believe what the Bible says, then the Catholic church says that I do not have salvation. However, if a Catholic believes what his church tells him and rejects the Bible, then, according to the Scriptures, He does not have salvation, for Jesus Christ Himself said,

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18).
John 5:24 says,
"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."
If hearing the Word and believing what God said are requirements for salvation, then rejecting what God said must result in condemnation.

LETTER:
 Why do you get most of what Jesus said but not all of it (for He spoke in His ACTIONS as well as by his WORD)?

RESPONSE:
 You are correct; Jesus did speak in His actions. What did those actions tell us? John 14:11 says,

"Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake."
John 5:36 says,
"But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me."
In other words, Christ's works validated His words. What were His words in John 5?
"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." (verse 24).
"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me" (verse 39).
What was His message in John 14? Verse 6 says,
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me"
(note that salvation comes through Christ, not a sacrament, a ritual, or a church).

LETTER:
 Why do you think that the only truth is what we have in this or that bible and that none of the oral traditions and scripture that were passed down from generation to generation from his very apostles before the New Testament was put onto paper were valid?

RESPONSE:
 I think that because this is what the Bible Itself says. Jesus stated in John 12:48,

"He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
Clearly it was the words of Christ i.e. the Word of God, that was to be accepted or rejected and was going to be the criterion upon which judgment was going to be based. Nothing was said about traditions or "other scriptures". I fact, according to Revelation 22:18-19,
"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: 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."
Once the canon of Scripture was completed in approximately 95 A.D. with the writing of Revelation, there was to be NOTHING added to it. And, nothing was to be removed from it either, whether physically removed or simply ignored and rejected. In John 15:3 Jesus said,
"Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."
We know that there are only two sources of truth according to the Bible. In John 14:6, Jesus is the Truth. In John 17:17 Jesus says,
"Thy Word is truth."
Nothing else can be added to that, or needs to be added to that. According to II Timothy 3:15-17,
"And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."
The Scriptures give us the way to salvation (which,comes by faith), they alone are given by inspiration of God, they alone teach doctrine and right living, and it is through them that a man can come to maturity. Nothing else is offered by God, and nothing else is needed. In addition, may I add that much of the oral tradition that is out there contradicts the Scriptures. This is evidenced by what I wrote above: the Bible doctrine of salvation and the Council of Trent doctrine of salvation contradict each other, and are mutually exclusive. It is impossible for both of them to be correct, for one requires religious works and the other states that trusting religious works nullifies faith. Which are you going to accept? The Bible or the traditions? I find it interesting that in every Catholic service that I have attended (mostly funerals), there is always a reading or two from the Bible, after which the priest says something like this: "This is the Word of the Lord". The congregation responds, "Thanks be to God". Is the Bible the Word of the Lord, or isn't it? If it is, then you can't adopt traditions that contradict it. If it isn't the Word of the Lord, then tell the priest to stop kissing it and misleading the people about what he thinks the Bible is. Jesus warned about this in Matthew 15:8-9,
"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
In Matthew 15:6 he rebuked the religious leaders by saying,
"Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."
When traditions and the Scriptures collide, the Scriptures must win.

LETTER:
 Why do you get part of what Mary is all about but not the fullness of her "Grace" and Her awesome humility. Why don't you think that women should have their own hero among those who no longer walk the earth (the most Blessed of Women) and why do you think that Jesus is not STILL by His mother's side and does not include her in His ministry towards saving our living souls?

RESPONSE:
 I do not deny that Mary was humble, nor do I deny that she was used by God in a great way. I do not have a problem with women looking to her as an example of a godly woman. I do have a problem with placing her on a level where she does not belong. Was Mary sinless? No, because she needed a Savior. Read Luke 1:47,

"And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."
Is Mary a co-mediator with Jesus? No, because the Bible says that there is "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5). Are we supposed to pray to Mary? No, because every prayer in the Bible is directed to God, and when the disciples asked Christ to teach them to pray He told them that they should pray to "Our Father, which are in Heaven" (Matthew 6:9). By the way, this includes prayers to the saints as well. Is there one shred of Biblical evidence that Mary is working with Jesus to save the souls of men? No.

 I have read Catholic articles which claim that Christ always immediately does that which Mary says. However, In Matthew 12:46-50 we see that Mary came along with the brothers of Jesus to get Him. When informed that they were outside waiting for Him, Jesus did not immediately get up and go out. In fact, there is no Biblical evidence that He ever went out to meet with them. By the way, this is a very interesting passage of Scripture. Mark 3:21 tells us that the reason Jesus' family had gone to get Him was because "his friends" believed that He was "beside Himself". Since Mary went along, it is certainly a possibility that she, too, questioned His sanity. When they arrived, as previously stated, not only did Jesus not respond to them, but He placed them, both the brothers and Mary, on the exact same level as those to whom He was teaching. Read Matthew 12:48-49,

"But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!"
It doesn't sound like Mary held a higher position than anyone else.

 We see in Luke 2:48-50 the response of Mary and Joseph to Jesus being in the Temple as a boy. In verse 48 Mary questions why Jesus has done this to them. Note His answer:

"And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?"
This is clearly a rebuke to Mary. And, according to verse 50, neither she nor Joseph understood what He was talking about. It is true that He was subject to both His parents (vs. 51), but it equally true that Mary certainly does not exhibit any traits here that would imply that she was anything more than a humble, well-behaved, Jewish young woman who was given the honor of birthing the Messiah.

 Another important passage concerning Mary is Luke 11:27-28. While Jesus is teaching, a woman in the audience calls out,

"Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked."
If ever there was an opportunity for Jesus to uplift and exalt His mother, this was the time. He could clearly have answered, "Yes, she is blessed, and you should pray to her and follow her because she is going to help me save the world." However, He didn't say that. Instead He responded,
"Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it."
In other words, it is better to be a follower of the Word of God than to be Mary, the mother of Jesus. Interesting, isn't it? Since the Catholic church teaches that the Word of God is insufficient, and that Mary is to be venerated above all others, this would seem to contradict the plain teachings of Christ, wouldn't it?

 In conclusion, as was stated in one of the tracts that we distributed, Mary only gives one command in the Scriptures. It is found in John 2:5,

"His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it."
Of course, as pointed out above, Jesus said that salvation came only through Him, and only through faith.

LETTER:
 Why do you act as if your own ego is more important than what has gone on for two thousand years in our faith and in our Church?

RESPONSE:
 I find this question interesting. I do not believe that my ego is the problem here. I have already quoted for you numerous Bible verses. I do not claim to be the authority; I believe that the Word of God is the authority, and I am simply quoting it to you. However, you claim that the Scriptures, the very Word of God, are insufficient. Your church teaches that the teaching of its leaders, specifically the Popes and councils, can override what the Lord has said. I would ask who's ego is getting in the way of Scriptural truth?

LETTER:
 Why do you seek to divide instead of unite...

RESPONSE:
 Please remember that Jesus Christ stated,

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household" (Matthew 10:34-36).
Truth has always been a great divider. Jesus said in John 15:20,
"Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also."
Once again He is saying that His Word is the authority, and that those who don't accept the sayings of Christ will persecute those who do. I would love for there to be unity, but Paul wrote that there could be no unity between belief and unbelief (II Cor. 6:15). I can not compromise Biblical truth in order to get along better with those who need to hear and believe Its message.

LETTER:
 ...as if you have more authority than our Pope on this earth?

RESPONSE:
 I have no more authority than the Pope. Of course, he has no God-given authority either. He may be a nice man, and I share his opinions on many social issues, but he has no special authority. Your own history would prove that. Have not Popes disagreed with each other? Have they not issued edicts which contradicted those of previous Popes? Please allow me to give you one example. In 1431, Eugene IV declared Joan of Arc guilty of practicing witchcraft and condemned her to be burned at the stake. In 1919, however, Benedict XV canonized her as a saint. Have Popes not excommunicated each other? History tells us that Clement VII excommunicated both Urban VI and Boniface IX, and they both excommunicated him. Have not some Popes had questionable morals? The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us that John XII was "a course, immoral man, whose life was such that the Lateran was spoken of as a brothel, and the moral corruption in Rome became the subject of general odium" Did these men all have divine authority too?

LETTER:
 Did you ever consider that maybe you are interpreting certain scriptures in a less than fully valid way?

RESPONSE:
 I make no claims of perfection. However, Peter wrote,

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (II Peter 1:20-21).
Therefore, no man has the right to read anything into the Scriptures. The hermeneutic guide that I live by is, "If the literal sense makes sense, seek no other sense."

LETTER:
 The Holy Spirit does wondrous works in both of our churches...I am sure of that...BUT I seriously doubt if the Holy Spirit is moving you personally to pull Catholics away from our Church. Go look in the mirror and see what force pushes you to have men stationed outside a Christian gathering and don't stop looking till you see the force that comes to divide...by lies and arguments and by deceit and ego and pride and all of the other stuff that any of us mere mortals can fall into. The snares of the devil are well named...for snares are hidden to ensnare their prey and I fear that you, my good pastor, have been snared by none other than the prince of liars himself.

RESPONSE:
 Of course, this whole argument is only valid if we were guilty of spreading error. However, since what we were spreading was the Word of God, I believe your argument loses its validity. Please note what Jesus said about being a child of the Devil:

"Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not (John 8:43-45).
Those who were Satanically led rejected the Word of God and the Truth. Once again, remember that Jesus only speaks of two truths: Himself and the Word of God. Note, too, what Paul wrote concerning the snare of the Devil:
"In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will" ( II Timothy 2:25-26).
Those who reject truth are the ones caught in the snare of the devil. Also, you have asked what force drives me. It is this, stated by Paul in II Corinthians 5:14:
"For the love of Christ constraineth us."
I was spiritually dead and condemned to Hell, as was every other person on earth. Christ loved me, died for me, rose again, and saved me. I must share that message with those who have not received it.

LETTER:
 You seek to dilute what the Holy Spirit lifts up...on such a magnificent day as yesterday. We were being told to go out as beacons of light to try and push back the darkness and we were even being told that we must not do harm or look down on our Protestant brothers. And I don't look down on you. Even if you think that some of my comments here are as such...for you and I are loved equally by Jesus. But I will call an ensnared victim an ensnared victim. Such is your plight for handing out those devious pieces of literature to try and lure away Catholic Men to your church. I cannot judge your motive. I can only guess at it. But if you think that that is the work that God is calling you to do...then realize this. Martin Luther wanted the Catholic Church to amend some problems from within. He did NOT want a schism...but that is what occurred. Because Satan never misses an opportunity to divide us. And so he has. Ironically, today...almost every one of Luther's points has been corrected within the Roman Catholic Church.

RESPONSE:
 You are correct. Luther did not want to cause a schism. His desire was for the Catholic church to return to the teachings of Scripture, for he knew, as did anyone else reading the Bible, that the Catholic church did not follow Its doctrines. Pope Leo X chose to excommunicate him rather than submit to Biblical authority.

 I find it interesting that you state that the church has corrected its erroneous teachings. If the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, and sometimes speaks Ex Cathedra, and the church councils are authoritative, how did the Catholic church ever begin teaching false doctrine in the first place? I read on www.catholic-pages.com the following:

"Dissent from Church teaching (even Church teaching that has not been infallibly declared) is essentially an indication by the dissenter that they understand better what Christ commanded the Apostles than the Bishops to whom Christ promised that knowledge."
The Second Vatican Council declared,
"Bishops who teach in communion with the Roman Pontiff are to be revered by all as witnesses of divine and Catholic truth; the faithful, for their part, are obliged to submit to their bishops' decision, made in the name of Christ, in matters of faith and morals, and to adhere to it with a ready and respectful allegiance of mind. This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given, in a special way to the authentic teaching and authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak EX CATHEDRA, in such wise indeed that his supreme teaching authority be acknowledged with respect, and that one sincerely adhere to decisions made by him."
Jeffrey Mirus of Eternal Word Television Network writes,
"When the Pope (1) intends to teach (2) by virtue of his supreme authority (3) on a matter of faith and morals (4) to the whole Church, he is protected by the Holy Spirit from error. His teaching act is therefore called "infallible" and the teaching which he articulates is termed "irreformable" which means it can never be changed because it is certainly true."
If these last three quotations be true, I again ask, how could anything the Catholic church taught ever need to be corrected? Either the original doctrine was incorrect or the one changing it was incorrect. Since both were declared by a Pope or Council, then one of them must be wrong. Since the church teaches that the Pope and the Council can not be wrong, this creates a real problem.

LETTER:
 Sadly, Satan still seeks to divide us (and, because of your actions yesterday, I must say that I think you do his work in that regard). Our Pope calls for what his predecessor called for...a reuniting of all Christian denominations. A healing of wounds. Not a fanning or reopening of wounds. You seek to divide us in our church...by pulling away those who just have not fully read the scriptures and thus can be pulled away by half truths and spins.

RESPONSE:
 I appreciate what the Pope is saying, but this is contrary to the official position of the Catholic church. Christian denominations that reject Catholic teachings have been declared anathema. Was Pope Paul II, and is Pope Benedict, calling upon Catholics to ignore established, official, and authoritative dogma? Wouldn't this be a problem, perhaps even heretical? I would invite you to go to the following website, written by a practicing Roman Catholic. The address is http://www.romancatholicism.org/101-john-paul.htm. He compares the teachings of John Paul II with the historic teachings of the Catholic church, and shows how different they are. Again, both can not be correct, yet both have equal authority. Since the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the same "yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8), we have another problem. The church defines heresy as

"a stubborn denial of truths which have been defined an proposed by the Church as divinely revealed doctrines" (1917 Code of Canon Law).
It also states,
"Any baptized person who obstinately denies or doubts any of the truths proposed for belief by divine and Catholic faith, is a heretic."
Would that not make Pope Benedict, with his call for unity, a heretic? I know that many Catholics question not only his call for unity with Protestantism heretical, but also his decision to pray at a Muslim Blue Mosque in Turkey in 2006. They say that this is a violation of the Code of Canon Law of 1917 which states,
"It is not licit for the faithful to actively assist at or participate in ceremonies of non-Catholics."
Add to this the rumor that he is going to declare that Martin Luther really wasn't a heretic, and I think the Catholic church has a real problem with its authority structure, don't you?

LETTER:
 I must say here...shame on your efforts. Shame on you for not joining us to stand for God and stand in the same direction to fight the great liar from which the real danger comes at us. It does NOT come from the Catholic Church or the Pope or any of the bishops or our priests and it does not come from our Catholic Magisterium (our Catechism) or our traditions or our way of worshipping the Lord. Our way is our way. You can join us or worship your way. But seeking to negate part of what we believe by spinning parts of the gospel to point to opinions that are obviously more from your own ego is what you will have to answer for when you go to meet with the Lord. He does not want us separated in this upcoming battle...nor does He want us to lessen our love for His mother and her role (which is still active today)...nor the role of any of the saints or archangels)). Our church represents the full heavenly body with Christ at the right hand of His Father and with the Holy Spirit very much alive and doing His work. But you again, in true Protestant form

RESPONSE:
 Unfortunately, most Protestants (and I don't consider myself to be a Protestant. Churches that believe like we believe have been around since the time of Christ. In fact, I believe Christ "believed" like we believe, and the Scriptures above indicate that) don't believe this anymore, either.

LETTER:
think it is just all about the scriptures alone and just listening to the Lord Jesus himself from the WORDS he spoke as if he is up there all alone and no longer speaking actively to us.

RESPONSE:
 I believe I have already given the Scriptural answer to this above.

LETTER:
As if He does not have his army of angels and saints to delve out authority to, to help build us up for this battle.

RESPONSE:
 Where do you find this in the Bible? According to the Scriptures, all believers are saints (Romans 1:7, Romans 8:27 {In this verse the saints are clearly still alive}, I Corinthians 1:2, 6:1 etc.).

LETTER:
He had a family on earth and that family is very much still with Him in heaven. How do you miss these point? His mother is reaching out to millions of us through various visionaries... warning us of terrible evil that is about upon us.

RESPONSE:
 Where do you find this in the Bible?

LETTER:
While Satan plans his final battle (by attacking us Christians on so many fronts that we cannot effectively push back hard enough on them all)...you think that your efforts should be to divide us? Man, If the Lord put me in charge of the troops and you were one of the generals...I would court-martial you in a nanosecond for insubordination through divisiveness.

RESPONSE:
 Actually, when the Commander in Chief gives an order, those who obey that order are to be commended, not rejected. Since His command was to "preach the Word" (II Timothy 4:1), to "preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15), to teach believers "to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20), to be "holding forth the word of life" (Philippians 2:16), and to "study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15), I believe we are attempting to fulfill His command. I'm sure we fail miserably, but there is no question that we are attempting to obey.

LETTER:
 Does your Church even know one half of what is coming? We Catholic Christians are being given amazing glimpses of what is coming and we are seeking to get other Catholics who have become fallen away ex-worshipers to stand up for the Lord and get ready for this final onslaught...and all you can do is attack us at our backside. Hello? Do you yet see how you are lead by the evil one himself to do this...or are you so much in love with your own interpretation of the scriptures that you seek to dismantle our defenses because of your own misguided drive to pull Catholics away from where they were baptized and where they need to take their stand. Get a clue, Mark...this isn't about YOU or YOUR take on the scriptures.

RESPONSE:
 You keep referring to "My interpretation of Scripture". I believe that the verses that we have quoted above are pretty clear. "Not of works"; that's pretty hard to mis-interpret. "By grace are ye saved through faith" is pretty straightforward. It seems to me that it is Catholicism that re-interprets the clear teachings of the Bible, and invents new doctrines, not found anywhere in the Bible, in such a way as to advance the cause of the Roman church.

LETTER:
This is about the end times and what is coming. Satan already did a huge number on dividing us...stop trying to continue that work.

RESPONSE:
 Actually, while I believe that we are in the last times, and Satan does desire to destroy the work of God, the ultimate issue is truth. May I quote the Bible again? John 1:14 says,

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
John 1:17 states,
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
How about John 4:23-24:
"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
Apparently, some people attempt to worship God, but they do not do it according to truth. God demands truth. John 8:32 says,
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
The Holy Spirit is referred to in the Bible as the "Spirit of Truth". John 17:17 states that sanctification comes through truth:
"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."
In Romans 2:2 Paul said that "we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things." According to I Corinthians 13:6, Biblical love "but rejoiceth in the truth". According to I Timothy 2:4, God "will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." Of course, Paul refers to the Scriptures in II Timothy 2:15 as "the word of truth".

LETTER:
 Let me give you a small taste of what is to unfold. There are evil men (and women) in high places around the world...who meet in secret (under various names, like the Committee of 300) and who have become so depraved in their thinking (depraved meaning nonfunctional) that they would fit right in at one of Hitler's inner circle meetings in the late 30s and early 40's of the last century.

RESPONSE:
 I agree.

LETTER:
These people believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that great calamity is coming upon the earth because of overpopulation and they have decided that it is up to them to be Gods (because they don't have a clue as to who the real God is anymore and because they don't get that they are literally doing Satan's bidding).

RESPONSE:
 I agree.

LETTER:
So they are seeking and planning to do a major reduction in the world's population. From the current 6.2 billion (give or take a few million) ...to 1 billion. How, you might ask? Well,...that is the devil's little set of secrets. He pulls the strings here and there and these nut jobs (the elitists in banking and government and educational institutions) jump. Global Warming ( a lie from the pits of hell) will be used as a major tool to begin this.

RESPONSE:
 I agree.

And so will the collapse of the dollar (Satan HATES the "In God We Trust" on every dollar and thus has sought for some time to destroy it).

RESPONSE:
 I agree.

LETTER:
And if you know anything about the economy...you can see the manipulations all over the globe to help effect this collapse of the dollar and it's replacement with the Amaro. These kinds of sinister thoughts are contrary to any real Christian...for we know the sanctity of life and that God would NEVER let us die of starvation or overpopulation or anything else that these supposed smart people do concoct in their little craniums. But they don't get that at all. They don't get that if we all became Christians...we could easily have a world population of 20 billion without ay serious problems.

RESPONSE:
 I agree.

LETTER:
I am a marine biologist and I get this for real. But that belief requires selfless people...not selfish people. And the depraved ones are selfish to the extreme.

RESPONSE:
 I agree.

LETTER:
They plan this so that they can remain among the living. They talk about neutron bombing this city or that as if it is no big deal...and they would blame those bombings on the terrorists. They seek to set great diseases out among the general population and then keep the antidote to themselves. They have so many plans and they have been thwarted again and again in this set attack or that because there are still enough of us praying to help negate these things. Mary is busy for Her Son... getting the message out that prayer is VERY important (we can slow down the coming evil or even negate this or that attack through prayer and there are prayer houses set up worldwide that are doing just that 24/7...and the same with adoration...24/7) and that is what we are doing. Prayer is the ammunition that is being used in this battle. But you diss Mary and say that it is all "only about Jesus". Well,...He IS the King...but He cares far more for His mother (go look at the role of the Queen Mother in the kingdoms of the middle ages)

RESPONSE:
 I would rather look at the Bible

LETTER:
than He does for you personally...because in part, you slander His Mother. She is not God.

RESPONSE:
 The Catholic church claims that she is sinless, and in some churches she has replaced Christ on the crucifix. Since Christ Himself said that there is none good but God ( Mark 10:18) and Paul wrote that that all men have sinned ( Romans 5:12), then what does that make her in the eyes of the church?

LETTER:
None of us Catholics say that. But She is much farther up the chain of Command than you are. And even further than this buck private here (yours truly).

RESPONSE:
 I agree that prayer is vital. God said,

"Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not" ( Jeremiah 33:3).
I have discussed the Biblical teaching about Mary above. However, let me add one thing which I hope is an encouragement to you. Jesus loves you every bit as much as He loves Mary. He died for her sins, and He died for your sins, and the Bible tells us,
"greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

LETTER:
 So please get a clue and stop trying to divide us Christians...for the real fight is happening on many, more obvious fronts...like the Gay activists who seek to punk America into letting fully 1/2 of us become Gay (go read their play book...:"After the Ball" (Kirk and Madsen)...where they even admit that their punking method is derived directly from Hitler's Mien Kampft)...and against all three of these current presidential candidates (who will all support the Hate legislation to help the gay punking movement and to silence our priests and pastors (like you) at the pulpit) and the evil ones in power who seek to carry out this great decrease in the human population. Hitler was a mere foreshadowing of what Satan now intends to unleash against us (ALL of humanity). And the abortion industry (the greatest holocaust ever seen on earth). And against the lukewarm Christian whose real God has become this or that sports team or car or status symbol and who no loner sees what is real and what is just made for us (the earth). We need prayer warriors to help push this great evil more into the future. We were told at that rally that unless we start to get the bigger picture...we will continue to be wimps...in our families and in our daily lives.

RESPONSE:
 You are correct about all of this.

LETTER:
 We real Christians either continue to walk towards the gate or the Light in the distance (and thus towards the gatekeeper, Jesus Christ),

RESPONSE:
 This may simply be a matter of semantics, but Jesus is the Door, not the door Keeper (John 10:7-9). There is a great difference between being the Door and the door Keeper. The Keeper allows people to go through the door. The Door is the actual thing that you go through. Thus, Christ is the only way to salvation. He is not simply the One Who opens the door so that we can walk through our own way. Unfortunately, I believe this is something that Catholicism teaches. The church seems to teach that Christ died on the cross so that He could open the door of salvation, and then people could actually go into Heaven via the church or their good works. The Bible teaches that people can only enter Heaven through Christ alone. He isn't a part of salvation, He is salvation

LETTER:
or we veer off as Satan wants us to (to miss the narrow gate at the end of our journey) so that when our individual time is up on earth and the Lord asks us if we walked towards him or off towards a different gate or artificial light source...we will become fodder for the devil himself by having to admit the truth and thus we get to hear those famous lines ourselves, as Jesus closes the gate before us and tells us "away with you, for I don't know you". If you don't stop leading others astray from the real gate because of your own ego...you too will have to face that sentence. The realm of Hell is full of well intentioned priests and pastors

RESPONSE:
 I agree with this last statement. Just because you are a clergyman does not mean that you are going to Heaven. It is all a matter of whether or nor you have been born again. Jesus said,

"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:22-23).

LETTER:
for their task is much greater than that of the ordinary citizen and they have been given much more to accomplish that task and their reward or penalty will be that much greater as well.

 I will know the character of you by your response. I am a major sinner who has put down many a sin and is still doing just that with the remaining ones (one by one) as I walk straight towards the gate. Too bad I took so long in my own life to begin to do so (started seeing the greater spiritual reality when I was 52 and I am 58 now), because I had sunk way down into the evil clutches of Satan through many of his snares...but now, because of that, I know so much more about those snares and thus can do much to help others to get out of those snares.

RESPONSE:
 I am thankful for any changes that you have made in your life. However, allow me to conclude with one question: Have you been Born Again? Christ said,

"Ye must be born again"
in order to enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:3, 7). Birth is not a process, it takes place in a moment of time. If you are saved, then I rejoice in that. If you have never been born again as the Bible teaches, then I do pray that you will come to Christ as He commanded. It would be a shame to have made all those improvements in your life, and still wind up in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15).

LETTER:
Stop judging us Catholics...for by your own judgment, you may just be sealing your own fate. Only God is allowed to judge our own hearts.

RESPONSE:
 I can not judge what is going on in a man's heart, but I can judge a man's actions and teachings in light of the Scriptures. This is why Jesus instructed us to "judge righteous judgment" ( John 7:24).

LETTER:
Let go of the rivalry and Let God open your eyes.

Your Brother in Christ,

RESPONSE:
 Remember, your church has declared me to be anathema.

-------------------------------------------------------

Sincerely,

Pastor Mark Montgomery
Ambassador Baptist Church
Pittsburgh, PA
ambassador.montgomery@gmail.com



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