Catholics are a conundrum and can be difficult to witness too, I know this not from having read what others have written or said, but from having talked with Roman Catholics myself. I just realized the other day what the conundrum I speak of is, and it has come about through a combination of the word of God and my own conversations with a Roman Catholic man, by the name of Mr. Camille, during or time witnessing at the abortion mill. (Where Babies Are Murdered at the Hope for Women Medical Group, 210 Kings Hwy, Shreveport, LA). I tell you the name of this place and where it is located, to expose to the world what they do, "Babies Are Murdered Here!".
The first time I talked to Mr. Camille I made a mistake; I asked him, " Do you believe in Jesus, are you trusting in Jesus?" He became very very angry. As angry as I've seen any unbeliever. It reached a point to where I said to him, "your actions reveal your heart, you need to repent and trust in Jesus!" That did not go over well, he was stopping others and complaining to them about me.
A few months passed in which I saw him at the mill but had not talked with him. Then one day my wife and I were at the mill, a young man was there in front, I went over to get set up to start preaching. My wife sparked up a conversation with the young man, he is Roman Catholic and was there to pray as the others do, but was a little more proactive than most. He had flyers for the local CPC, and a backpack full of fetal models.
Side note: (On a later date this same young man would be cuffed in front of the mill, put in the back of a squad car while the police attached explosives to his backpack and blew it up. He had left his backpack unattended while he talked with some people, so the mill called the police.)
My wife and I had finished up for the day and were about to leave, this young man and Mr Camille were talking, so we stopped as she spoke with the young man. So as we all talked about abortion and the people going in and out of the mill, I said to Mr. Camille, "Can I ask you a question?". He said, "Ok". I asked him, "How are you made right with God?". He didn't have an answer, in fact the question seemed to cause him to ponder. So this lead to a much less volatile discussion on sin, righteousness, and judgment than we previously had; ultimately to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Camille said something to me like; "there is only one church." I said to him, "that is correct, there is only one church." He said, "But you don't believe in the Catholic Church." I said, "That is not correct, I do believe in The Holy Apostolic Universal Church, that is, every single person from all of time who has repented and believed in Jesus Christ alone as both Lord and Savior. But what I don't believe, is that Rome is the authority of the Church. I believe that Jesus Christ alone is the Leader of the Church, and that scripture alone is the authority of God among men." This lead into a discussion about the sacraments of the church, tradition, and Papal authority. He brought up Matthew chapter 16 as proof that Jesus had made Peter the Pope and established Papal authority as the rock upon which he would build his church. I explained to him that is not what that text says at all. I said, "The rock upon which Jesus said He would build His church was the confession of Peter, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!'" Look at this conversation between Jesus, his disciples, and Peter in context.
Peter’s Confession of Christ
Matthew 16:13-20 (nasb)- "Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ."
Those who know me, also know that I enjoy going on long runs; and while on these runs I talk with The Lord, recite scripture, and formulate many of my open-air sermons. On one particular run this past Friday I was reciting John Chapter 6 and meditating on it. Then I came to this passage: John 6:54 - "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."
I realized, that this is the conundrum in witnessing to Roman Catholics. Most all cults deny the deity of Jesus Christ ("You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!'") and do not trust alone in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as payment in full for there sins. Most cults that is except Roman Catholics. Some will be offended by my saying this, but here it is, Roman Catholicism is a cult, and has developed in to what it is today over a long period of time, gravitating away from biblical Christianity. While most all cults deny both the deity of Jesus, and His sacrifice as payment in full for there sins, Roman Catholics are different; they do not deny the deity of Jesus as other cults do, but they also are not trusting alone in His blood sacrifice on the cross as payment in full for their sins.
They believe and teach "that Jesus is the eternal Son of God who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross, was raised from the dead and will come back to judge the living and the dead." ~ Mike Gendron
That's not the problem, in fact all that is good about Roman Catholics, in fact, in a way it makes us like half brothers. What do I mean by half? "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." To eat the flesh of Jesus means to believe in who He is; the Christ, the Son of the living God, and to drink His blood is to trust alone in His blood sacrifice on the cross as payment in full for your sins.
You see Roman Catholics, at least the ones I've talked to, believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, but are not trusting alone in the shed blood of Jesus on the cross as payment in full for there sins. So what then are they trusting in, the church, that's right, the church; they are trusting in the sacraments of the church and tradition to make themselves right with God. You see a Roman Catholic sees righteousness as being infused; Christ began the work on the cross and you must be sanctified over a lifetime through the sacraments of the church in order to enter into heaven. In other words, salvation to a Roman Catholic is Jesus plus your own works done through the sacraments of the church.
But that is not what the bible teaches is it? The bible teaches, imputed righteousness, justification by grace through faith.
Justification by grace through Faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Romans 1:16-17 - "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “ But the righteous man shall live by faith.”"
Romans 3:21-28 - "But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law."
This wound up being a much longer note than I had intended it to be, but in order to fully impart what I wanted to say it needed to be. I bring this up because I love Roman Catholics like Mr. Camille and others; I want to see them come to repentance and faith, trusting alone in Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior. So when you witness to a Roman Catholic remember this; they eat the flesh but do not drink the blood.
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ
