I know that I have been an imperfect human being, but with the help of my faith, I have tried to right my path. I want you to know, Your Holiness, that in my nearly 50 years of elective office, I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I've worked to welcome the immigrant, fight discrimination and expand access to health care and education. I have opposed the death penalty and fought to end war....I have always tried to be a faithful Catholic, Your Holiness, and though I have fallen short through human failings, I have never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings.
Commending you and the members of your family to the loving intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of wisdom, comfort and strength in the Lord.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.
Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
Catholicism saves no one; Christ alone can. Jesus - not Mary - is the one Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5). The Pope is powerless to grant what God alone can give through personal faith in Christ who redeemed us to God by His blood. "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).
Don't die in a state of delusion. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..." (Acts 16:31).
Amen
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling it like it is. His appeal might have been 10 times shorter, starting with: "God be merciful to me a sinner", and then calling upon the Lord Jesus to save him.
ReplyDeleteWe're all wretched sinners, of course, and only Jesus can save.
Finally, Christians should arrange their funeral to bring honor and glory to Jesus, not themselves.
Indeed, Roman Catholics are the mission field. As one brother puts it, "Catholicism is an apostate, corrupt, heretical, false Christianity..the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ has always understood this...the Reformers have always understood this, with unashamed boldness they understood it, declared it, and faced death for it." Martin Luther has said, "I owe the Pope no other obedience than I owe to Antichrist!"
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting, when Senator Kennedy died, Catholic organization Human Life International issued a statement condemning the praise of him with full honors of a public Catholic funeral. Catholic priest Thomas Euteneuer said, "There was very little about Ted Kennedy's life that deserves admiration from a spiritual or moral point of view. He was probably the worst example of a Catholic statesman that one can think of...one who consistently and publicly advocated for the destruction of unborn human beings...he will not be missed by the unborn who he betrayed time and time again, nor by the rest of us who are laboring to undo the scandalous example of Catholicism that he gave to three generations of Americans."
What is interesting is that this article still hits on the satanic lie that eternal life is something you earn by works. It isn't that there was very little about Kennedy that deserves admiration from a spiritual (or moral) point of view; there IS NOTHING that deserves admiration. "NO ONE," Romans 3:20 says, "will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the Law." Because, "ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
We are all a "scandalous example" in God's sight. The Bible is clear salvation is by faith alone through Christ alone through God's grace alone. When we put our trust in Jesus Christ, God declares us righteous. Not because we are, but because He imputes the righteousness of Christ to us.
The Bible is emphatically clear, you do not obtain heaven by works, Mary, penance, baptism, confession, saying the rosary, or personally knowing the Pope. Going to church does not save you. It makes no difference what family you belong to, how much you pray or read the Bible, if you are a pastor or an elder, how much money you give, how many laws you pass or how many home runs you can hit. Salvation is found only in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
So we ask then, "Is Ted Kennedy in Heaven? I think the answer is found in the question, "Was he Catholic?"
The official teachings of the Catholic church are wrong. But when you talk to some Catholics, they themselves pick and choose which teachings they will follow, and which ones they won't. And so, what happens is that there are Catholics who accept Christ - and then later, the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to issues such as the undue veneration given to Mary, for example. Then they start looking around for a church that more closely follows the Bible.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Eddie. We have to distinguish a "true" Catholic from a "nominal" Catholic. That is to say, a person who embraces the core teachings of the Catholic church - which espouse salvation by works - cannot be a true believer, because such teaching opposes the true Gospel (Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:8-9; et. al.). However, there are those who call themselves Catholics who don't have a clue what the core teachings of the Catholic church are - or at least have never given serious thought to them. Then they hear the Truth as taught in Scripture, and the Lord removes the blinders, showing them the true way of salvation - through faith in Christ alone. Such folks turn from their sin and self-effort, trusting in Christ alone for forgiveness of sin and eternal life. They have repented and believed on the Lord, and are thus truly saved. However, they may remain in the Catholic Church (by way of association or even actual attendance) for some time. But eventually as they grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18), they see the fallacy of Catholic doctrine and are directed by God's Spirit to become members of a church that faithfully teaches the Scriptures.
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