he or she was inspired by GOD. So the question is to find the truth of who is and who is not inspired by GOD.
Again, we must not rely on our individual insight, but by the inspiration of GOD through His Holy Scriptures to enlighten us in the truth.
Matthew 7:15-20
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
(16) By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
(17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
(18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit.
(19) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire.
(20) Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.
Go here for much more on this subject of discernment.
Verse #2, 1Timothy 3:14-15
"I hope to come to you soon, but I
am writing these instructions to you so that,
(15) if I am delayed,
you may know how one ought to behave in the household of
God,
which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the
truth."
Wait a minute! If the Bible is the pillar and bulwark of the
truth, then why can't I find that truism in the Bible?
This is
really a profound and serious turn of events to one's thinking.
It
forces a person to think opposite to what they have been taught,
and spawns yet another very serious question:
Since the Bible says that
it is the Church that is the pillar of truth, then which
Church is it?
Well there is an easy answer to that one.
Common sense tells me that it
could only be the one and only Church that was in existence
when Paul
wrote this epistle to Timothy. Now I must search for that Church.
Verse #3, 2Timothy 3:14-17
"But as for you, continue in what you have
learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
(15)
and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which
are able to instruct you
for salvation through faith in Christ
Jesus. (16) All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching,
for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (17)
that the man of God may be complete,
equipped for every good work.
All Scripture! Hmmm, what was 'all Scripture' at the time that 2Timothy
was written?
Hey, those verses can only mean the Old Testament, since there
was no New Testament at that time and not for centuries to come.
Verse #4, 2Thessalonians 2:15
"So then, brethren, stand firm and hold
to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by
letter."
Whew! Here is yet another verse that was missed by so many. I
was taught that we should not follow the traditions of men.
Here Paul said we
must hold to the traditions that were taught by us. Who are us?
Who was Paul? He was an Apostle (Romans 1:1).
So what he really said was to
hold to traditions taught by the Apostles whether they were written
traditions or oral.
What does oral mean?
It means just that, not written, as in Holy Scripture, but passed on by word
of mouth down through the centuries.
Verse #5, Matthew 16:13-19
"And Jesus came into the quarters
of Cesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that
the Son of man is?
(14) But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other
some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
(15) Jesus
saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? (16) Simon Peter answered and
said: Thou art Christ,
the Son of the living God. (17) And Jesus
answering said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood
hath
not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. (18) And
I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock
I will build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (19) And I will
give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
And whatsoever thou shalt
bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt
loose on earth,
it shall be loosed also in heaven."
Well in my search
for 'which Church' from what was learned in
1Timothy 3:14-15 above, I am in a dilemma yet again from
these verses. It is
confirmed by Jesus Himself in verse 18 that He did say "I will build my
Church" and He did not say
Churches. "And the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it" must mean that it still exists to this day.
And look to
whom He gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven? He gave them to Peter and none
other.
Did you notice in verse 16 that it was Simon Peter alone who
gave the correct reply that Jesus is Christ?
My search for 'which Church' has suddenly become
easier and by Holy Scripture alone.
Verse #6, Revelation 14:13
"And I heard a voice from heaven,
saying to me: Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
From
henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours. For
their works follow them."
Oh my gosh! I was taught that works are
useless.
Now Holy Scripture has turned my thinking upside down by its
teaching that my works
will follow me if I die in the Lord.
Verse #7, Romans 10:14-15
"How then shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him of whom they have
not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher? (15) And how shall
they preach unless they be sent, as it is written:
How beautiful are the
feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of
good things?"
Sent? I know who sent me but who
sent him who sent me? Who sent the one before him and so on back through
history?
Verse #8, John 15:4 and 6:56
John 15:4, "Abide in me: and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine,
so neither can you, unless you abide in me."
We must abide in Jesus. If the branch does not abide in the vine then what becomes of it?
It is cut off and thrown into the fire. Ouch! So how then do we abide in Jesus?
The answer to that one again is in Holy Scripture in the following verse.
John 6:56, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him."
Wait a minute! Where is the word 'symbol' in that verse? There isn't any such word.
That verse is very clear and is very simple. Why would anyone try to read more into it than what is already there?
Now I must find the Church that teaches that the Eucharist is not merely a symbol but is
truly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ Himself. Is there really such a Church?
Verse #9, Colossians 1:24
"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in
Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church."
Saint Paul said it. His Body IS the Church. Again, THE CHURCH, singular.
The pressure has been raised on me to find that Church, and the onus has been put upon me from GOD through His Holy Scripture.
How can I resist the Word of GOD? I must not. I cannot.
Verse #10, Luke 1:46-48
"And Mary said, "My soul
magnifies the Lord, (47) and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
(48)
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now
on all generations will call me blessed;"
What's this? Verses that I never did give much thought to...that is
until now.
"All generations" means you and I and everyone who has ever
lived since she said it.
That little word "will" is much more than a suggestion, but a
command, and a firm command at that,
and is yet again right from Holy
Scripture.
"Call me blessed". All of you Bible thumping Christians out there,
have you ever called her blessed even once in your life?
How can you ever say
that you are Bible believers only (Sola Scriptura) if you
do not do what Holy Scripture commands
you to do in such a forceful and
undeniable manner?
Do you pick only the Bible verses that appear at first
glance to reinforce your beliefs and ignore those verses that run counter
to
what you have been taught?
Well there you have it, the Scripture verses that changed the
thinking of Marcus Grodi,
and caused him to resign his Protestant ministry
and to become a member of the only Church which Jesus Christ founded.
What a
beautiful conversion story it is. It shows the power of GOD's word in all
things.
Elucidation:
What we have discovered are truths that have
always been in Holy Scripture but were mis-interpreted, overlooked, or simply
ignored.
1. Verses that have been mis-interpreted frequently are taken out of
context, or the
senses of scripture
have not been heeded.
2. It is easy to see how verses can be overlooked. I
have done that myself.
Every time I go through scripture multiple times I
find things that I missed the first and subsequent times through.
Holy
Scripture should be read slowly and each sentence or phrase should be pondered
upon.
3. Under no circumstances should any verse be deliberately ignored
simply because it does not agree with what you have been taught.
GOD's word
always takes precedence over man's word.
Let us look at the gist of what
we have learned from Holy Scripture as we review the verses listed in this
writing:
1. Proverbs 3:5-6, acknowledge GOD in all things and look
to Him for spiritual inspiration, and not by your own human
initiative.
2. 1Timothy 3:14-15, it is the Church which is the pillar
and foundation of truth, not the Bible, for the Bible tells us
so.
3. 2Timothy 3:14-17, all scripture is inspired by GOD,
but 'all scripture' is only the Old Testament that Paul had at the
time.
4. 2Thessalonians 2:15, hold to the traditions that were taught
by the Apostles and handed down through the ages.
5. Matthew 16:13-19,
Christ founded only one Church, installed Peter as its head, and guaranteed that
it would last forever.
6. Revelation 14:13, good works have an important place in
our salvation, for they will follow us.
7. Romans 10:14-15, a
person has to be sent
with authority from
GOD.
8. John 15:4 and 6:56, in order to be joined to Christ we must
abide in Him through
the Holy Eucharist, and not by symbolism.
9. Colossians
1:24, the Body of Christ is the Church that He founded.
10. Luke 1:46-48 , we
must honor Mary,
the Mother of GOD,
by calling her Blessed.
So what is the obvious message that we are
obliged to derive from what we have learned from Holy Scripture?
We must find
the only Church founded by Christ. which is the only Church that was endowed
with GOD given authority,
the Church which is
the Body of Christ,
the Church which existed at the time the epistles were
written by the Apostles,
the Church that has held to the traditions that were
taught by the Apostles and handed down through the ages.
the Church which
eclipses the Bible as the "Pillar and Foundation of Truth",
the Church headed
by Peter the only one who was given the keys to it,
the Church that exists
to this very day because it was the guarantee of Christ Himself,
the
Church that teaches that the Holy Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus
Christ and not merely a symbol,
and the Church which
has always honored
Blessed Mary, the Mother of
GOD.
To which Church would you think that Jesus Christ would want you to
belong?
Would it be His, or one of the many founded by mere humans who were
without any GOD given authority to do so?
"But Peter and the apostles
answered, "We must obey God rather than men.""
Acts 5:29 That verse
pretty much wraps it up, doesn't it?
Who in his right mind would not want
to be joined to the only Church that Jesus the Christ
founded?
For if a person realizes that the Catholic Church is the true Church,
and fails to join it, then there is no salvation for him. ©
"If a man
realizes that the Catholic Church is the true Church, he must join it if he
wishes to save his soul."
Radio Replies I-536, volume #1 page 116
The
following verses are Biblical proof of the aforesaid statement.
Hebrews
6:4-6
"For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have
once been enlightened,
who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become
partakers of the Holy Spirit,
(5) and have tasted the goodness of the
word of God and the powers of the age to come,
(6) if they then commit
apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up
to contempt."
Hebrews 10:26-27,
"For if we sin wilfully after having
the knowledge of the truth, there is now left no sacrifice for
sins:
(27) But a certain dreadful expectation of judgment, and the rage
of a fire which shall consume the adversaries."
Haydock Catholic Bible
Commentary 1859 edition, for Hebrews 10:26,
Ver. 26. If we sin wilfully. He speaks
of the sin of wilful apostacy from the known truth; after which, as we cannot be
baptized again,
we cannot expect to have that abundant remission of sins,
which Christ purchased by his death, applied to our souls in that ample
manner as it is in baptism; but we have rather all manner of reason to look
for a dreadful judgment; the more, because apostates from
the know truth
seldom or never have the grace to return to it. (Challoner)
Acts 20:28,
"Take heed to yourselves and to the whole flock, wherein
the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops,
to rule the
Church of GOD which he hath purchased with his own blood."
Did
Jesus Christ purchase your church 'with his own
blood'?
Obviously not, seeing again that
the words 'Church of GOD' denotes
one Church only, His, does it not?
Written by Bob Stanley, March 15, 2011
Updated
May17, 2011
