“The Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.” (Catechism #843) (Catholic Doctrine)
“Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, as they know it through the dictates of their conscience-those too may achieve eternal salvation.” (Catechism #847)
By reading this two Catechism’s it disturbs me greatly. And if you are a Believer in Christ Jesus it should disturb you also. Jesus Christ is the Only Savior (ACTS 4:12) you can put your trust in Buddha, Allah, your works, whatever it is it will not save you. The Bible is very clear on how a man can be saved. It is very sad that the Catholic Church believes in these false beliefs. Jesus died and rose again so that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
There is only one truth in the world and that truth is only found in the true Jesus from the Bible. Some stuff might sound good to the Catholic people and also to non-Catholic people but God wants us all believers not to follow our desires but read the word of God and seek Him . Prov. 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” To be saved means that the person believes the gospel and receives the truth concerning the gospel of Christ. To believe without receiving is to remain lost and unsaved
Salvation is in JESUS O- N- L- Y
• Romans 5:18 So then as it was through one offense unto condemnation to all men, so also it was through one righteous act unto justification of life to all men.
• Romans 5:10 For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled,
• John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.
• Romans 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were constituted sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be constituted righteous. And to say that a man can be saved and not know Jesus Christ, well that is a Heresy.
Thank you very much for your thoughtful post, and for clearly expressing your complete faith in Jesus Christ. Be prudent however, and remember also what Jesus teaches us in Matthew 12:31-32: “And so I tell you, every human sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And anyone who says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but no one who speaks against the Holy Spirit will be forgiven either in this world or in the next”. I believe that the ultimate criteria of salvation lies in whether or not one has been faithful to the Spirit of Christ, not simply to His incarnational form, and respectful of His two great commandments: Love of God and love of neighbour. That is the most important thing, and all human beings who live in that Spirit are true to the Word of God, no matter what their religion might be. In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us exactly who the blessed are. Anyone who truly lives out the virtues of humility, mercy, peacemaking etc. is blessed and therefore welcome into the Kingdom of Heaven. In Matthew 25:35, Jesus once again spells out very clearly who will be saved: those who made Him welcome even when he was a stranger, in other words, those who saw His Spirit at work even under unfamiliar guises such as other religions.
So yes, Jesus is the only way to God, but we need to understand what Jesus IS, and that is: the Spirit of Love.
God Bless!
11.10.09 at 11:51 am
Yes..thats is the point ; “but we need to understand what Jesus IS, and that is: the Spirit of Love” . i think if we really UNDERSTSAND what JESUS IS there wont be such doubts of christian beliefs and other religions. Then we will be lead by the spirit of Lord.and that is essentially the spirit of God in any other religion!!
08.15.10 at 2:06 am
@ Sophie
Wow! To say that the Spirit of the Creator God operates in other religions is to show true ignorance of the teachings of the Scriptures. We were even warned against receiving “another spirit” or another gospel, or another Jesus. I pray God will open your eyes. The anti-christ is one who promotes a unity of all religions in the name of Brotherhood of mankind. He will institute the mark, and call it a “Christ-sign” Mark my words. I pray you will search the scriptures prayerfully, that you will call upon the Creator of all mankind and ask Him to reveal the truth to you through His word. I do not mean this in anger, but it really breaks my heart to see so many buying the lie that the Spirit of God is only love in the human understanding of things. The bible states that the gods worshipped by the pagans are demons. Thus, the spirits that operate in those religions are deceiving spirits who operate with the intent of keeping us away from the truth about salvation. I keep all people in my prayers, that God will save all who love Him in Truth, and who love the Knowledge of the Truth
01.04.11 at 12:34 pm
From beginning to end the Bible is a warning against other gods. In the Bible God reveals himself as the only one, and he does this on just about every line. Read it! The other non Judaeo Christian religions are only good so far as they help people to recognize Jesus when he comes. The Magi in Matthew 2 practised astrology, which is forbidden to God’s people, but when the new star appeared they followed it until it rested over the stable and they went in and worshiped him. That is what the other religions are for. Today, two thousand years after the true Light has come, millions of people are still being kept in the dark by religions that do not honour Jesus. This is not, repeat not, the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the word of dark spirits, demons. May all the peoples of the earth find the salvation which is in Christ and nowhere else.
05.16.11 at 5:38 pm