ANSWERS TO 'QUESTIONS FOR CATHOLICS'
Biblical Explanations by Question Number:
1. Matthew 23:9 reads, "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven." Here Jesus is condemning the use of titles such as 'Rabbi' or 'Master' as a matter of pride or superiority. He also condemns the wearing of special vesture in public by priests and states that men only have one 'Master' -- Christ.
2. In Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 the Apostle John and the believers who have died and are now in heaven proclaim that God has made all believers "kings and priests unto God and his Father..." In Revelation 2:6 Jesus commands John to tell the Church at Ephesus that He is pleased with them because, "...thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate." The Nicolaitanes were a group of religious zealots in the early Church who mixed politics with the Church and set up a hierarchy of leadership which separated the 'clergy' from the 'lay' people. Jesus never intended this for His Church, but calls all believers to be ministers and ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) for Him.
3. In Matthew 6:6, Jesus specifically gives instruction to pray privately and directly to the Father for all of our needs. One of these needs, as the Apostle John points out in 1 John 1:9, is the need to be forgiven so that we may have restored fellowship with Him: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." For this purpose, there is only "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus", as Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:5.
4. Sincere prayer is to be offered from the heart of man directly to God Himself, for we are now able to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." -- see Hebrews 4:16. Jesus condemns repetitious prayer committed to rote memory in Matthew 6:7 where He proclaims, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
5. Only Enoch in Genesis 4:24, Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11, and Jesus Himself in Acts 1:9 are recorded as being taken 'bodily' into Heaven. Of these three, Jesus died once and rose again. Enoch and Elijah will return during the Great Tribulation (see Revelation 11:3-10) and will also die in view of all the world. There is no mention anywhere in Scripture of the 'rapture' of Mary, nor is any designation of her as 'Queen of Heaven' every named or implied.
6. The clearest Biblical definition of a 'saint' is found in 1 Corinthians 1:2 where the Apostle Paul writes, "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." Every believer in Christ is a 'saint.' In fact the word translated 'saint' more than 60 times in the New Testament is the Greek word 'huios' which is also translated as 'holy' and 'sanctified' and literally means 'set apart' by God. Paul always refers to believers as 'saints' and the term is never used as a title ('Saint Paul,' e.g.) anywhere in Scripture.
7. In Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8 Jesus rebukes Satan, who is the 'anointed cherub' and therefore an angel created by God (see Ezekiel 28:14), saying that, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Twice in Revelation the Apostle John fell at the feet of an angel to worship him and the angel rebuked him saying, "See thou do it not...I am thy fellowservant..." The Apostle Paul further punctuates worship to God alone in 1 Timothy 2:15 (see explanation #3 above). Scripture never gives any angel or saint the right to be prayed to or worshipped.
8. Not once, but twice in the New Testament the Apostle Paul provides instructions concerning the appointment of 'elders' in the Church. In 1 Timothy Chapter 3 he instructs the Pastor at Ephesus that a 'Bishop' (literally 'overseer' such as a Pastor or other ministry leader) must meet 16 specific criteria in order to be considered for appointment. Specifically, in verse 2 of this chapter he writes, "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach." Again, in verses 4 and 5 he continues, "One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)." To Titus, who was a 'troubleshooter' who traveled to many of the Churches across Asia Minor, Paul also wrote, "If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly." These passages clearly show that God not only does not forbid marriage among leaders in Church ministry, but He actually encourages it and uses it as a means to 'test out' those who desire to be Christian leaders.
9. The second of the Ten Commandments found in Exodus Chapter 20 (verses 4-6) reads, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." God clearly forbids the making of, bowing down to, or praying at any physical object. This includes statues or statuettes even if they are meant to represent people of the Bible or angels of Heaven. God only is to be the object of our prayer, worship, and adoration.
10. According to Scripture the Word of God is not subject to amendment. The Lord Jesus warns in the book of the Revelation, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."-- Rev. 22:18-19. Peter warns in 2 Peter 1:20 that no portion of Scripture is "of any private interpretation." As such, God wrote what He meant and meant what he wrote -- nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. To suggest that any man now has authority over or in addition to the Word of God is to imply that His Word is imperfect or incomplete, however, Psalm 119:89 records, "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." God is unchanging as James writes in James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." The writer of Hebrews also records that Jesus is unchanging as he writes in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Our perfect God does not need imperfect man to reinterpret His Word. He has already blessed us with the keeping and sharing of it, but warns us never to change or amend it.
1. Matthew 23:9 reads, "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven." Here Jesus is condemning the use of titles such as 'Rabbi' or 'Master' as a matter of pride or superiority. He also condemns the wearing of special vesture in public by priests and states that men only have one 'Master' -- Christ.
2. In Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 the Apostle John and the believers who have died and are now in heaven proclaim that God has made all believers "kings and priests unto God and his Father..." In Revelation 2:6 Jesus commands John to tell the Church at Ephesus that He is pleased with them because, "...thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate." The Nicolaitanes were a group of religious zealots in the early Church who mixed politics with the Church and set up a hierarchy of leadership which separated the 'clergy' from the 'lay' people. Jesus never intended this for His Church, but calls all believers to be ministers and ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) for Him.
3. In Matthew 6:6, Jesus specifically gives instruction to pray privately and directly to the Father for all of our needs. One of these needs, as the Apostle John points out in 1 John 1:9, is the need to be forgiven so that we may have restored fellowship with Him: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." For this purpose, there is only "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus", as Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:5.
4. Sincere prayer is to be offered from the heart of man directly to God Himself, for we are now able to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." -- see Hebrews 4:16. Jesus condemns repetitious prayer committed to rote memory in Matthew 6:7 where He proclaims, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
5. Only Enoch in Genesis 4:24, Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11, and Jesus Himself in Acts 1:9 are recorded as being taken 'bodily' into Heaven. Of these three, Jesus died once and rose again. Enoch and Elijah will return during the Great Tribulation (see Revelation 11:3-10) and will also die in view of all the world. There is no mention anywhere in Scripture of the 'rapture' of Mary, nor is any designation of her as 'Queen of Heaven' every named or implied.
6. The clearest Biblical definition of a 'saint' is found in 1 Corinthians 1:2 where the Apostle Paul writes, "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." Every believer in Christ is a 'saint.' In fact the word translated 'saint' more than 60 times in the New Testament is the Greek word 'huios' which is also translated as 'holy' and 'sanctified' and literally means 'set apart' by God. Paul always refers to believers as 'saints' and the term is never used as a title ('Saint Paul,' e.g.) anywhere in Scripture.
7. In Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8 Jesus rebukes Satan, who is the 'anointed cherub' and therefore an angel created by God (see Ezekiel 28:14), saying that, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Twice in Revelation the Apostle John fell at the feet of an angel to worship him and the angel rebuked him saying, "See thou do it not...I am thy fellowservant..." The Apostle Paul further punctuates worship to God alone in 1 Timothy 2:15 (see explanation #3 above). Scripture never gives any angel or saint the right to be prayed to or worshipped.
8. Not once, but twice in the New Testament the Apostle Paul provides instructions concerning the appointment of 'elders' in the Church. In 1 Timothy Chapter 3 he instructs the Pastor at Ephesus that a 'Bishop' (literally 'overseer' such as a Pastor or other ministry leader) must meet 16 specific criteria in order to be considered for appointment. Specifically, in verse 2 of this chapter he writes, "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach." Again, in verses 4 and 5 he continues, "One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)." To Titus, who was a 'troubleshooter' who traveled to many of the Churches across Asia Minor, Paul also wrote, "If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly." These passages clearly show that God not only does not forbid marriage among leaders in Church ministry, but He actually encourages it and uses it as a means to 'test out' those who desire to be Christian leaders.
9. The second of the Ten Commandments found in Exodus Chapter 20 (verses 4-6) reads, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." God clearly forbids the making of, bowing down to, or praying at any physical object. This includes statues or statuettes even if they are meant to represent people of the Bible or angels of Heaven. God only is to be the object of our prayer, worship, and adoration.
10. According to Scripture the Word of God is not subject to amendment. The Lord Jesus warns in the book of the Revelation, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."-- Rev. 22:18-19. Peter warns in 2 Peter 1:20 that no portion of Scripture is "of any private interpretation." As such, God wrote what He meant and meant what he wrote -- nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. To suggest that any man now has authority over or in addition to the Word of God is to imply that His Word is imperfect or incomplete, however, Psalm 119:89 records, "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." God is unchanging as James writes in James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." The writer of Hebrews also records that Jesus is unchanging as he writes in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Our perfect God does not need imperfect man to reinterpret His Word. He has already blessed us with the keeping and sharing of it, but warns us never to change or amend it.
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