Part 2: Questions You Have Always Wanted to Ask
Tom Shrader tackles difficult questions submitted by his congregation, focusing on three major areas: how Anglican bishops can embrace homosexuality while claiming Biblical faith, whether Catholics are Christians, and fundamental differences between Catholic and evangelical doctrine. He examines Biblical passages on homosexuality, emphasizing that Scripture consistently condemns homosexual behavior while offering hope for change through the gospel. The teaching extensively addresses Catholic doctrine, particularly regarding salvation, arguing that Catholic teaching on works-based salvation contradicts Biblical teaching on salvation by grace through faith alone.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, that not of yourself that's a gift of God, not a result of works that no man should boast.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Questions You Have Always Wanted to Ask
Recorded: October 16, 2003
Duration: 42 min
Themes: questions, doctrine, salvation, grace, faith, scripture, truth, gospel, questioning faith, denominational confusion, new believer, seeking truth, pastor, church member, interfaith dialogue, doctrinal uncertainty
Scripture: Romans 1:20, Romans 1:21, Romans 1:24, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Leviticus 18:22, James 2:14, James 2:21, Philippians 2:12, Ephesians 2:8-9
Theological Themes: soteriology, salvation by grace, biblical authority, denominational differences, ecclesiology, church doctrine, works righteousness, justification by faith
Full Transcript
Here's what we're going to do today, next week, and then the week after. We're going to work our way through these questions. Over the last two weeks, there's been so many of these questions that there's no way. What I thought I would do would take this week and look at three questions, and the next week kind of do rapid fire. But I got absolutely bogged down in answering these questions this week.
So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to read you these three questions. These are the three questions we're going to deal with this week and next. Then after that, you're going to have to find these answers on your own. But I'm not going to leave you on your own. I'm going to give you some help.
If you'll get on the web and you'll do a little work, you're going to find a lot of answers to your questions with a little bit of work. GraceTU. G-T-Y. GraceTU.org. That's MacArthur's website. You're going to find specific answers to the literally specific questions that we received. If you'll go on Scottsdale Bible Church's website, and many of you go to Scottsdale Bible, I don't know if you even know that, but there's a little place on there where you can ask Daryl questions, you'll find many of the questions you ask are answered right in there. I'll be happy to try to spend some time with some of you one-on-one to answer them, but there's so many of them, some of them so technical, and some of them just are things that we can answer in the course of a study.
Upcoming Christianity 101 Study
That out of the way, two weeks from today, we're going to start a new study, and that study is going to be Christianity 101. We have not done this series in almost six years. I try to give you as much heads up as I can on Christianity 101. It is a terrific study. I think the tape guys would say it's the study that gets ordered more than any other study from people, and they're using it to give the friends to say, think about these things. Look at these things. Look at these basics.
For those of you, some of you, it will be highly repetitive, and I think it's good. It's fundamental. Gentlemen, this is the football type stuff, how to grip the club. But we'll look at the Bible, we'll look at doctrine, we'll look at Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the church. So I give you two weeks' notice so that you can have at least invitations out to friends who you want to bring them, and this will be the discussion point where you can really begin to input and pour into their lives.
Three Key Questions to Address
Here's three questions that we're going to deal with. The first one, how can an Anglican bishop be a homosexual, have a male partner for 13 years, and still profess to believe in the Bible?
Then, by far, not even close, by far the majority of the questions I got were on the Catholic Church, ecumenicalism in the Catholic Church, is there a difference between Catholics and Christians, are Catholics Christians? I got literally more questions on the Catholic Church than I got on anything else, so I want to address that.
Then, probably second, is I got questions relating to what is Calvinism, what is free will, what's predestination? So I want to deal with these three, and as you can see from the topics, these aren't easy questions.
The Anglican Bishop Question
Let me deal first with the Anglican bishop, because this is an easy question. How can an Anglican bishop be a homosexual, have a partner, and still profess belief in the Bible? I can't really answer how a person could do that. I'm sure that's clear in their mind.
What I want to make sure we get our arms around here is what really is key in this question, and that is the person writing it has a sense that homosexual behavior and the Scripture don't line up. It happens, in this case, to be an Anglican bishop.
I want you to understand, as you look at it, and I think you probably instinctively know, the culture is assaulting us in this area right now. It is everywhere. It is vogue. You've got shows where you've got the four gay guys are going to meet the straight guy and make him over and prepare him for his date. You've got so much stuff.
You need to know that as you're dealing with teenagers, that right now, hot topic, and the thing that is kind of semi-pretty acceptable and normal, is not necessarily homosexuals, but lesbianism. What's a teenage girl experiencing with this stuff? You just need to know that's going on.
What Does the Bible Say?
The issue is, and the question captures it, is what's the Bible say about this? What's the Bible say about homosexuality? There's some principles here. You're going to have to really work hard today, because my thoughts are generally outlined and they could easily be disconnected. So work with me, and you do some work and connect them here.
But look how we approach this issue, it's homosexuality. Look how we approach this issue and apply these principles to every issue that we deal with. What's the Bible say? That's what we want to know. What does the Bible bring to this?
Now I'm going to give you a date, February 2nd of this year, 2003. I did a message at church titled, God's View of Homosexuality. Again, I keep directing you to websites, but it's such an efficient way to work. If you'll go to that website, church website, evbc.org, if you go down to February 1, you'll have the message there, there'll be the notes there, and you can download real audio and hear the message.
But let me really emphasize just some points that I made that day, and then we'll get on to the next question. One author writes this, the church cannot condone what God condemns in Scripture without losing its integrity and coming under His, God's judgment. For the true disciple of Christ, moral boundaries are never drawn by man, but only and always by God. As the church takes a fresh look at the moral question of homosexuality, it must recognize that without God's clear, infallible Word and its pronouncements, Christianity has nothing to contribute on the issue. And that's true of everything, whether we're going to
God's Standards Are Clear
Talk about abortion, it doesn't matter what the issue is. When we're trying, and I know how difficult this is. I know the desire to sit around and say, well, here's what I think, here's what I think, here's what I think. I had a teacher once who said this, my old pappy used to say this, this used to... Those are all interesting antidotes, but ultimately we want to know what this says.
It's very important to understand that nowhere in Scripture do we see homosexuality painted in a neutral light, let alone a positive light. That's a very important truth for us to get our arms around. God has a design for marriage. You have a need. Most people are sexual creatures. Most people have sexual desires. God understands that, and He gives you a legitimate place for expression of that. It's man with woman in a marriage situation.
Now get this, especially some of you that just want... those homosexuals, those perverts, okay? Anything other than what I just described is a distortion. So if you're some guy here, and you're having sex with a gal, and you're not married, that's as perverted in God's eyes as homosexuality. It's a perversion. You see that? It's a perversion of God's plan.
God has a plan for your sexual life, and it's male-female together, monogamous, heterosexual marriage. When you begin to look at God's standards, and you understand that, you see that God is regularly, through His Word, condemning homosexuality. Leviticus 18:12, you shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female. It's an abomination. That in fact, the very activity is dishonoring to God.
The Creator Revealed Through Creation
If you've got your Bibles with you, would you open them to the book of Romans, please? And again, I want to spend some time, and I want to make sure we touch on this and make this clear. I think it is pretty clear. Romans chapter 1, Romans chapter 2, Romans chapter 3, Paul's essentially issuing this blanket indictment of mankind, that mankind is lost and sinful, needs a Savior, and that Savior has been provided in Christ, and I'm saved by grace through faith. That's Paul's point. And then now, how do we live, beginning in chapter 12.
In chapter 1, classic verse, again there are certain verses that we come to again and again and again. We say, man, you better know these. Romans chapter 1, verse 20: "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."
Now, here is what Paul is saying. Creation tells us there is a Creator. The fact that there is a world around us tells us that there is a Creator, and Paul says it tells us a lot about His eternal power, His divine nature. We see that it would take something or some power, some force of great power, intelligence, somewhat of great magnitude to be able, and this is a very important word, to create.
God Creates, He Doesn't Just Build
Let me make this point to you, and I think it's got bigger and bigger and bigger. God did not build the universe. God created the universe. There is a very, very big difference. I'm not mechanical at all. I can't build anything. I don't know how to do it. Susan, that's what I say, Susan, I don't know. The girl, one of the girls called the other day and they said, you know, can we talk to mom? And I said, what do you want to talk to mom for? And they said, ah, well, we've got, something's wrong with the car. And I said, oh, all right, okay, you can talk to your mom. I don't know. I don't know anything, and it's come in very handy for me through my life, frankly, okay? I don't want to know, just not my daily way.
Some of you, very, very handsy, maybe you can do it. I could put you in a room, this is the illustration I like to use, put you in a room and say, okay, here's all the parts and stuff, build me an engine, and you could build me an engine, right? But if I put you in a room, and I've got four walls and a ceiling and a floor, and there's nothing else in there but doorknobs, and I said to you, now, build me an engine, and they said, well, I can't build you an engine, I've got to have gaskets and rods and pistons and all that stuff. You see the difference? In the one instance, well, I've got to create an engine. God did not build the universe, He created the universe. He spoke it into being. That's the point that Paul's making here in Romans 1.
The Decline Away from God
Then He begins to explain to us that people didn't respond. What do you have to do to be ungodly? Well, the answer's right there in verse 21. You don't have to do anything. Don't give thanks. Don't give honor. Professing to be wise, they became fools. They turned down true wisdom, true knowledge that's found in Him, God. They turned to their own ways.
God gave them over. Look, verse 24. God gave them over to their own lusts of their hearts, their impurity, their bodies are dishonored, and they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, and God gave them over to their own degrading passions.
And again, what Paul's depicting here is the decline of a man, of a woman, of a person. He's showing a slide away from God and into a sinful life, and He begins with, verse 26, they gave them desire, degrading passions, for their women exchanged natural functions for unnatural. In the same way also, men abandoned their natural function of a woman and burned in their desire to one another.
Evidence of Sinful Man
When I begin to look at this issue of homosexuality, never viewed in a positive light, it is viewed here as evidence, evidence of a sinful man. Paul writes, 1 Corinthians chapter 6, very direct, He's writing to this church, it's a church that lives in a town that's filled with all sorts of perversion, and He writes this: "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? They shall not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminists, nor homosexuals, and thieves and drunkards..."
none of those will inherit the kingdom of God. I don't want somebody to say, oh, you're a homophobe, that's the problem, you're homophobic. We're xenophobic. That's the whole point here.
We're for the sake of this discussion going to talk about homosexuality, but do you see, he's saying the same thing about a fornicator. He's saying the same thing about a swindler. He's saying the same thing about somebody who's a drunkard. He's saying if you're involved in ongoing, unrepentant sin, heaven is not your destination.
The Hope of Transformation
Now, a radical verse for us in our culture is 1 Corinthians 6:11. Right after that, Paul, speaking to this church, says, "and such were," past tense, "some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified."
You're living in a time where getting shoved down your throat is, "I'm a homosexual, I was born this way, there's nothing I can do about it." I've watched TV, and I've watched these guys get on there and say, "God made me this way, God's happy this way, I'm celebrating my sexuality and it's pleasing to God." No, it's not. It's an abomination to God. Whether you were born or not born that way, that issue's irrelevant. The issue is this: can you change? And the idea is absolutely yes. "Such were some of you." There's a position of hope.
There are thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of men who've been actively engaged in a homosexual lifestyle, who've walked away from it, who are married, who are citizens that we would uphold in the Christian community and say these are men of God. Just as there are with gossips and slanders and all the others. Do you get that point? That's the point that I want to make. That's the answer to that question.
We've almost reached a point, I'm afraid, where as the church, we're willing to call homosexuality the unpardonable sin. We've made like that the ultimate sin. And God sees sin as sin that way. Sin is sin, and we would reach out and we would share the gospel with a person. We're not homophobic. We're sinophobic, if anything. The solution or the answer is Christ and the gospel.
It's a very important question. How could an Anglican bishop be engaged in this lifestyle and believe in the Bible? I don't know, other than to do some extraordinary gymnastics in interpreting the Bible. Or somehow put it subservient to some other sort of teaching, or to His own interpretation. We could do more on that. Again, I encourage you to listen to the website. It was February 2nd of this year.
The Question About Catholics
By far, by far, the most frequently asked question we got in these questions is, what about ecumenicalism with Catholics? Are Catholics Christians? What's the difference between a Catholic and Evangelical? By far the most important question.
This is a tough question to answer in an environment like this for this reason. I want you to know that I'm very sensitive to this. There are 1 billion Catholics in the world. That's about 7% of the population. My assumption is that there are people in the church now who are Catholic. And you come in here, and you're comfortable in here, and you hear words and thoughts and things similar to what you hear in church. While it's different, there's some sense of comfortability between one and the other, and you can move back and forth.
So a question like this just produces this visceral reaction in you. You have a gut reaction to this question. And I understand that. I'm very sympathetic to this based on my own background. I went to Catholic grade school, Catholic high school, Catholic college. Members of my family, still deeply involved in the Catholic church. And so I understand the potential volatility of this question.
Everything in me wanted to take this large group of questions and set them aside for that very reason. But the fact that so many of you ask the question, my responsibility, I think, to you as a group supersedes my own discomfort with the topic. So let me deal with this. I hope you hear my heart on this whole process. I want to give you what I think the Bible teaches and what the truth is, and I want you to hear it in love, and I want you to understand my sentiment.
A Personal Encounter
Sunday, when I was teaching, I can't remember what it was, because I only did it in one service. I was talking about something, and we were talking about sacrifice, and I was making a point about the Mass, the Catholic church and their belief in the Mass. I said something to the extent that they are sacrificing Christ every time there's a Mass. When I was done, there was a lady who came up. She was very angry. Eyes were dilated. She's ready to rumble. She's about 60. I think I could have taken her. So I was ready to go. Wasn't intimidated by her, but she was very angry.
When I saw it, I thought, uh-oh. She said, "I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I'm here. I'm a Catholic." My heart started to break. I said, "Boy, I'm glad you're here. I'm sorry. I frankly didn't even remember much of the comment I made." She said, "What you said today is absolutely wrong. You have a huge responsibility here. You're teaching your church something that's inaccurate."
I said, "Well, I don't believe I do. I mean, if I do, I tremble, because I know God's going to judge that." She said, "I teach the Baltimore Catechism. I know more about the Bible than you do." I said, "I'll bet you do. Lots of people do." She said, "I teach. We do not believe that Jesus is being sacrificed. We believe that the Mass is a reenactment."
I said, "You know what? It's been a long time since I read the Baltimore Catechism, but I don't remember reenactment in there anywhere." She said, "I teach it. I know this. You're a proud, arrogant..." I said, "You know, I hope not. I hope that's not the case." She said, "You know, anathema to you." Which is, she wasn't happy.
Well, I went home, because that stuff shakes me. I take this seriously. So I got out the Baltimore
Catechism. Let me read you the questions and the answers from the Baltimore Catechism. You listen closely for the word reenactment. What is the Mass? The Mass is the unbloody sacrifice, the body and blood of Christ. I don't hear reenactment. Is the Mass the same as the sacrifice of the cross? This is question 920. Answer: The Mass is the same as that of the cross. No reenactment.
How is the Mass the same as the sacrifice of the cross? The Mass is the same as that of the sacrifice of the cross, because the offering and the priest are the same. Christ is our blessed Lord, and the ends for which the sacrifice of the Mass is offered is the same as those of the cross. Now that may sound a little muddled to you. This next question clears this up.
What are the ends of the sacrifice of the cross that are offered? The ends for which the sacrifice of the cross are offered were to honor God, glorify God, to thank Him for all the grace bestowed on us, to satisfy God's justice for the sins of men, and to obtain grace and blessing. What this is saying is, on the cross, here's what Christ was trying to do, and in the Mass, here's what we're doing, and we do the same thing.
The Core Issue with the Mass
The lady was wrong, and I knew she was wrong when she was standing there. The belief is not that this is a reenactment. This is the unbloody sacrifice. It's the same thing. Price is being paid for the judgment of your sin.
So when Jesus said, "It is finished," what He meant was, it's finished for now. It's finished for a while. It's finished until we do another Mass, and then another Mass, and then another Mass. See, this gets at the core of the cross. That's why this is a big issue.
Moving to the Heart of the Matter
In my discussion with the lady, I said to her then, "You know what? Maybe I am wrong. I don't think I am. Maybe I am. But what about salvation? How were you saved? What do you have to do to go to heaven?" Because that's even more important.
I'll have people all the time want to talk to me. They'll know I'm a Catholic by background, and they'll want to talk about, what about Mary? What about this? What about that? You know what? I don't care. Those aren't my deals. We'll figure that out.
You understand, I presume, the slightest familiarity with a Catholic church will tell you that they have an unbiblical view of Mary. December 8th, they have a holy day called Immaculate Conception. I've won lots of bets with Catholics on what that is. Immaculate Conception is the belief that Mary was born without sin. Well, there's no biblical support for any of that, as you understand, and it's a relatively new belief, even within the church itself.
I'll lay all those things aside. Get all those things out of the way. What do you have to do to go to heaven?
The Real Test of Christianity
One of the authors writes this. He's answering the question, are Roman Catholics Christians? They are if they've trusted Christ alone for forgiveness of sin. If they believe they're saved by God's grace and their works, they're not saved. Even if they believe that their works are done by God's grace, since they deny the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice.
While we're talking about the Catholics here, you can put Baptist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Bible Church, Community Church, any person in there. I like this paragraph, and I wanted to bring it in just so it helps us work our way through this.
Being a Christian does not mean being a member of the Roman Catholic Church. It means being a member of the body of Christ, which is accomplished by faith and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. It means that you do not add your works to His works.
The Irrelevance of Sincerity
Sincerity doesn't forgive sin. Let me camp there for a second, because I'll hear it a lot. You hear it from people. They're so sincere. This person is so sincere. I'm not talking about Catholic specific, I'm talking about that person is so sincere about their faith. Absolutely irrelevant.
I mean, there are some people in here that are very sincere about their Christian faith. But they're no more sincere than those 19 guys who flew those planes into the World Trade Center. Those are sincere. You want to talk sincere? Those are sincere cats right there. They believe by doing that, based on their faith, they're going to heaven. Are they sincere? They bank their life on it.
I guess sincerity may not be that important, is it? Because I could be, get this now, sincerely wrong. If I got a question and 2 plus 2 is 5, or 2 plus 2, and the one guy writes 5 and he absolutely believes it, and the other guy is a little unsure but writes 4, I'm going with the unsure guy that writes 4. Do you see this?
The Problem with Subjective Truth
We live in a world that elevates these traits that are irrelevant to this discussion. Tolerance. Unimportant. Why would we be tolerant of something that's deviant? You don't want your teacher who's teaching your kid to be tolerant of 5 when the answer is 4.
You don't want to go to a doctor that says, "You know, I'm just tolerant. All diseases are alike. I want to be tolerant." No. I don't want a tolerant pilot. I don't want a pilot that says, "Gee, I don't know. Maybe the instruments say this, but my gut tells me that it's not right."
Why do all of a sudden when we move into the issues of faith, we make them so subjective?
What Actually Forgives Sin
Let me just keep reading here. Membership in the church doesn't forgive sin. Doing works of penance doesn't forgive sin. Praying to Mary doesn't forgive sin. Forgiveness is received in the faithful trust and acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. You must trust Jesus, God in the flesh, for the forgiveness of sin. It's not a man-made ritual, or certainly not the saints.
Even though the Catholic Church affirms the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and His physical resurrection, it greatly errs in the doctrines of salvation by adding works.
One of the magnificent things about this lady was her candidness. You don't always get this, because when I said to her, "Okay, how are you saved? Are you saved by grace alone?" She
Scripture Out of Context
I've had many Catholics come up to me and say, "How about Philippians chapter 2, verse 12?" Let me read it to you: "So then, beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling." They said, "There it is. You're working out your salvation."
Well, what Paul's saying, and the original language indicates it clearly, is he's saying it's not work it out to earn it, it's work out the result of it. I'm not working out my salvation in order to earn that salvation or even keep that salvation. I think the Bible teaches, and I think it teaches it very clearly, that if I'm a Christian and I'm saved—we're using that term to mean if I'm going to heaven, if I'm delivered from my sin, if I'm saved—I will indeed be in heaven. There's no one who has been a Christian, been saved, and now isn't. You may see people around you who fit into that category, but the obvious answer is, then they've never been saved. If I've been saved, look, my Father has these sheep in my hand and no one can snatch them out of my hand.
The Role of Works
We're not talking about works. Works are very, very important. This is a gigantic difference between fundamental evangelicalism and Catholicism. Both would acknowledge works are important—I would anyway. The Catholic, however, is going to say they contribute and maintain my salvation. So work out my salvation—all He's saying is do the things that result from it.
In James chapter 2, and understand, it's important when you read a book—and I'm not saying the Bible can say anything you want it to say, but you can pretty much get it to say a lot of different things. I can take you to the book of Ecclesiastes, I can quote you a chapter and verse that says exactly this: money is the answer to everything. I don't think that's true. I don't even think the Bible teaches that it's true. But the Bible makes that statement, doesn't it? So we better understand context.
Understanding James's Context
James is writing to a group of believers who have been scattered. They're under persecution. That's why when he begins, he says, "Count it all joy when you encounter various trials." He's writing to them, and as they're scattered, he begins to deal with problems in their church.
Look at chapter 2 at the beginning: "Don't show partiality." Here's what they were doing. If some guy came in with fancy robes and lots of rings—it was a sign of wealth—they would say, "Come here, come here, buddy, right up front. We got a seat front and center for you." Some guy would come in dressed and looking like I do, they'd say, "Go over there in the back. Get out of the way." And James is saying, "I don't want you showing this partiality." They had people who had needs in the church, and the church wasn't meeting those needs.
Faith and Works Demonstrated
So James poses this question, 2:14: "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" And then he says, if you have a brother in need, meet the need. But someone may say, "You have faith, I have works, show me your faith without the works and I'll show you my faith by the works." That's the entire point.
How do I demonstrate faith? It's this intangible. How do I tangibly see saving faith? Through works. Right? That's why he says, "The demons believe and they shudder." What he's charging these people with is saying they believe, but there hasn't been a lifestyle change.
And he gives them an illustration. Look at this. It's Abraham. Abraham is spoken about. James 2:21: "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac on the altar?"
A Perceived Contradiction
I remember a time, I remember when I first read that, because I had been reading and studying Romans 4. Romans 4:2 says, Paul writing, "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about. Not before God." But not before God. "Abraham believed and it was counted to him as righteousness."
And I remember calling Larry. I hadn't been a Christian very long and I said, "Larry, have you read this whole thing? Have you read this whole Bible?" He said, "Yeah, I think so." I said, "Well, let me tell you something. I found a contradiction." He said, "Wow, that's something. What is it?" And I said, "Paul says Abraham was saved by faith. James says Abraham was justified by works." He said, "Man, that's a real dilemma." And he hung up. "You figure it out." He hung up.
Context Resolves the Confusion
I'm saying, "Oh, well, there must be some..." I have to understand the context and the audience. I have to understand what Paul's saying. Paul's saying, "Listen, Abraham believed he was righteous. It was declared to him as righteous at that moment." James is saying, and the whole context of chapter two is, "You're saying you're believers. How can I see that?" There's a tangible, visible way.
How did I know that Abraham truly believed? He already believed. He was already declared righteous. How did I know? When God says, "Give me Isaac" and he's got the knife and he's ready to go and God says, "Okay, that's enough." Before man—not before God, before man—was the evidence of his salvation. Do you see that? That's the important issue here.
The Clear Truth of Salvation
For a second, forget the Catholic part of this. We're talking about how is a person saved? It cannot be any more clear than Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. We'll close with it. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8. Paul's been talking about...
how we were in sin. He's been talking about how lost we were. You were dead in your sins and trespasses, but God, verse four, being rich in His mercy because of His love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive. Verse eight, for by grace you were saved through faith.
How am I saved? I'm saved by grace. I'm saved by God's grace. When I'm dead in my sins and trespasses, when I as a natural man cannot understand spiritual things, God opens my eyes to see this truth and He infuses me with saving faith. That faith is evidence of God's grace in my life. It's not distributed to me through a sacrament or through an action.
You want to know what position works play in your salvation? Paul cannot make it any more clearly stated than this: for by grace you have been saved through faith, that not of yourself that's a gift of God, not a result of works that no man should boast. It can't be any more clear. I am not saved by anything, very important, by anything I do or anything anyone else could do.
Understanding Different Definitions
And here's this, because you will find not all Catholics are going to be as cooperative as this lady was in answering that question. They're going to say, no, I'm saved by Jesus' death. I believe in Jesus. Jesus died for my sins. Don't say that. You have to understand something. Same words, different dictionary. Jesus died for my sins, but there's a but to it.
Paragraph 2027 from the Catholic Catechism says this: no one can merit the initial grace, which is the origin of conversion. But moved by the Holy Spirit, we can merit—let me stop there for a second, what's our definition of grace? Unmerited favor. So we're already, unmerited favor by definition can't be merited. The minute I can merit it, it isn't grace, right? So whatever it is, it isn't grace. Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can merit for ourself and for others all the graces needed to retain eternal life. No, no you cannot.
The Movie Luther and Works-Based Salvation
The other day, Friday, we were on our way, we were going to go to a baseball game, and it got rained out. So God answered prayer. And so on a rainy day, I reverted to my old salesman days, on rainy days, I love to go to movies. So I said, let's go to a movie. And I said, I've heard a lot about the movie Luther. Have any of you in here seen Luther? A few of you? Okay. I said, I've heard a lot about the movie, not shown in a lot of places. I said, let's go.
So I grabbed Tyler, I called Suze, I said, hey Suze, we're going to a movie. Are you busy? Well, that's not true. I said, are you busy? She said, yes. I said, we're going to a movie. She said, pick me up. Okay. So that's how this went. We go.
And that movie does such a magnificent job of bringing you face to face with the bondage that these people were in as a result of works salvation. You had Luther and others giving money, doing penance to try to get grandma out of purgatory. The very existence of purgatory in the debate tells you, you don't believe salvation by grace alone, through faith alone. Otherwise you don't need to take me to auto body world and punch out the dents. I'm either in this thing or I'm out of this thing. You see that?
And this may sound like it's critical of the Catholic church and it is to some extent, it's critical of all beliefs that would teach anything contrary to this. Anything contrary to this. I'm saved by grace through faith. Very important.
The Council of Trent's Declaration
The Council of Trent, it's a date in the Council of Trent about 1550-ish, somewhere in that area. The Council of Trent declared in the—the wording's a little tough because it's dated, but see if you get this. Okay. And if you don't, it'll be my reading. You're listening. Trust me. Okay.
If anyone sayeth that by faith alone, the impious is justified in such wise as to mean that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to the obtaining of grace of justification. And that is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will. So here's what he's saying. If anybody says he's saved by faith alone, let him be damned anathema. And Vatican II didn't change that. Nothing has changed that teaching in the Catholic church.
The Heart of the Matter
So here you go. And this is very painful, but let's net it out. Somebody will say, my mom, my dad, my grandma's a Catholic. Are they Christians? Here's my aunt. I don't know. I don't know your mom. I don't know your grandma. Don't know their heart. I'm not in that business.
I can tell you this. If they believe the fundamental teaching of the church, they aren't. If they believe what the church teaches, then they believe that they've earned or are earning or can earn their own salvation. And that's contrary to the very teaching of the Bible itself. And obviously that's how a Catholic church gets itself in trouble and trouble and trouble and more trouble. When all of a sudden you've got Mary born without sin, where does that come from? It certainly doesn't come from this book. This book teaches exactly the opposite, doesn't it?
A Personal Plea
And my intent here, and you've got to know, I approach this topic with fear and trembling. I have personal investment in this. I have family invested in this. I have friends invested in this. I'm sure there's many of you who over the years have said, boy, I love that old study over there. And now you're coming from a background, and this is like fingers on a chalkboard. I'm pleading with you. Get me out of the picture. Your argument is with God.
God says you're saved by grace through faith, not a result of works. Your church is sacrificing—this is your catechism. It isn't mine. I'm not making this up. This is your catechism, that you're re-sacrificing Jesus daily for the satisfaction of your sin, that you can lose your salvation, or you earn that salvation and keep that salvation based on works. And that is absolutely contrary to what the Bible teaches.
And we broaden it out, we're done. And that relates to anything. It doesn't matter to—
This is serious stuff. You mess this up, and I don't care how good you are, you'll be one of the nicer people in hell. And that's serious business. I don't say that to be flip or for you to laugh, even though you'll chuckle when you hear it. I say it so you come face-to-face with how serious this is. At least you see how serious it is.
Well, if we didn't alienate you there, I'm sure we can next week. We're going to next week talk about what is Calvinism, what is free will, and all that stuff. And so, the four or five of us that are left two weeks from today, we'll start Christianity 101.
Closing Prayer
Father, help us see this. And God, we come before You and we confess. I confess to You. I literally shake when I talk about this stuff, because I understand how weighty it is. I understand the stakes of this. And I understand how somebody could be sitting here listening to this and saying, I've got my priest, and I've got my cardinal, and I've got my bishop, and I've got my pope, and I've got my history, and you're a broken-down, drunken real estate salesman. Who are you?
And the answer is, I'm nobody. But this is what Your Word says. Father, thank You that when Jesus said, "It is finished," it was done. And there's nothing anyone has to do to add to His work. We're saved by grace through faith, that and out of ourself. Father, thank You for that truth. Let it change our hearts.
I pray for those who listen to this, and it's, again, so difficult. God, don't let them close their ears, don't let them close their hearts to Your Word and Your Spirit. I pray it in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great week. We'll see you next week.