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NASB | Romans 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 3:28 For we maintain that an individual is justified by faith distinctly apart from works of the Law [the observance of which has nothing to do with justification, that is, being declared free of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]. |
Bible Question:
Greetings Brian! I was doing some research to find out why the Catholic Church believes that Peter was supreme among the other apostles. I found this quote: "For this position he had already been designated (Matt., xvi, 15 sqq.) on an occasion previous to that just mentioned: at Cæsarea Philippi, Christ had declared him to be the rock on which He would build His Church, thus affirming that the continuance and increase of the Church would rest on the office created in the person of Peter. To him, moreover, were to be given the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven -- an expression signifying the gift of plenary authority (Is., xxii, 22). The promise thus made was fulfilled after the Resurrection, on the occasion narrated in John, xxi. Here Christ employs a simile used on more than one occasion by Himself to denote His own relation to the members of His Church -- that of the shepherd and his flock. His solemn charge, "Feed my sheep", constituted Peter the common shepherd of the whole collective flock. (For a further consideration of the Petrine texts see article PRIMACY.) To the twelve Christ committed the charge of spreading the kingdom among all nations, appointing the rite of baptism as the one means of admission to a participation in its privileges (Matt., xxviii, 19)." (Full article can be accessed at: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03744a.htm) I have two main problems with this presentation. 1) We do not see anywhere in the New Testament that Peter functions as the chief of the apostles. In fact, a stronger case could be made for James than for Peter. Peter is shown in Acts as presenting his case before the other apostles and waiting for their decision. Peter is opposed by Paul. Even the historical references to the early church structure (I think the article did a good job of summarizing these) affirm that structure existed, but none of them name Peter as head of anything. 2) I also have problem with the interpretation presented of Mt. 16:18. The text says, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." The problem here is that there are two different words used in the Greek text. Jesus said to Peter, "You are 'Petros'." However, He said that it would be upon the 'petra' that He would build His church. I am not trying to force you to defend an entire faith. I am simply curious as to how you would address these concerns. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
Bible Answer: Tim I accept it because it is what the Catholic Church tells me is true. It is more important to me that I live in a house united and I will trust the leaders of this house. Have you ever heard a parent say to their arguing child: "I'm right, because I'm your father(mother) and I said I'm right, now quit arguing." In any form of government, we need a leader and that leader needs to be able to make a final decision and then everyone can move forward from that point. Just as the parent above, there is a time for discussion and debate, which the Church allows, and then the time comes in which a final decision needs to be made, so the family can function as one, instead of living in the seperation created by constant arguing and challenging of each other. Someone in a family must be a leader and the other members of the family must accept that person. The acceptance of that person as the leader may be called by some, as submission. Other may call it trust in the leader of the family. Some may accept that persons leadership out of humility and some may accept that persons leadership and decisions on the basis; that they know the leader is only concerned about making the right decision for the good of the family. The Pope is the leader of a Church. The Pope is a man. The Pope is not God. The Pope is a man. When making a decision, we are hopeful that the Pope is seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit, in the same way a congregation is hoping that their Pastor is seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit. In this forum, there has been discussion regarding the responsibility a Bible class teacher has to his/her students. If the teacher is not teaching God's law properly, the teacher is doing a grave injustice to the student, who is relying on this knowledge and guidance to properly serve God. The role of the Church is to insure proper understanding of God's law in order to properly educate its members. Look at all of the different Churches which have been formed by people leaving the Catholic Church and think of all of the time and energy spent fighting the Church as the enemy. The Church is not the enemy, Satan is. Focus your hatred and distaste towards the true enemy and unite with those who are fighting the same enemy as you. Satan is successful in dividing the House of Jesus among itself and keeping everyone's attention on infighting, rather than on him. I realize that the members of this forum are dedicated and commited to God. Would we not have done a better job of serving God if we had taken the 100-200 man hours spent here debating Papal infallibility and instead, spent this time serving God, by reaching out to our fellow man to fight Satan. Aren't we falling into Satans trap of dividing our house to fight each other, instead of fighting Satan. Luke 11: 17-18 17: Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 18: If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? Today, we are seeing the birth of a new sin - probably the greatest sin ever tempting man - taking the life of an unborn baby and selling it for a profit to prolong the life of another. Who will join this Catholic in fighting Satan on this sin rather than debating each other on who is the better Christian. Can we unite our house of Christianity to serve God? Is anybody up for a really good fight? - Let me know. |