6/19/15
Jack
60
Reaching out to a fellow
motorist at a gas station, I met Jack, who was very critical of his own Roman
Catholic background. As a Catholic he is
typical of the largest percentage of people I encounter on the streets and in
the marketplaces of Chicago, but among Catholics I find three general
categories. The first are those who are
unaware of or choose to ignore the many ways in which Catholic teachings and
traditions contradict the Bible, and are comfortable with the false assurance
that their good and religious deeds will bring them to heaven. The second group would be those who either
sense or know that Catholicism has strayed from its moral and biblical roots
and have now stopped attending and only consider themselves to be nominally
Catholic. They don’t know where else to
turn. Jack was in this category, and
responded to me immediately with criticism and skepticism toward his own
church. Without feeding into the
negativity, I just tried to point out that each of his many complaints were
about ways in which his church had contradicted scripture. I called him to return to the Bible and the
original faith in Jesus that his church was founded on. This made sense to him, and he was very
grateful for our conversation. The third
group are those that clearly have been born again as followers of Jesus, and
though they remain in the Catholic Church they are learning to discern the many
false teachings and traditions in the light of scripture. They realize that the Bible carries the
weight of authority, not the church hierarchy. Some have come to this saving faith in Jesus
through the church but many, I’m afraid, have come to faith in Jesus in spite
of the church. Either way, however, and
no matter what church or denomination, salvation is a work in the heart that
ultimately can only come from God.
1 comment:
Hi Jeff, you said that the majority of people you talk to in your area are Roman Catholic. Of the ones that come to Jesus as Lord and Savior yet continue in the Catholic church, what do they say is their reason to stay where they are?
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