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NASB | Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace [God's remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; |
Bible Question: Im deployed in Iraq right now and I thought of it as a chance to be in the wilderness. I have ran across many situations and learned from all and shared even more, but now a comrad who says he has been christian all his life and then speaks of Catholicism. I want to speak to him about his viewpoint and hopefully plant a seed but I think it would be important to know where does the Bible give Justification for THE Pope. I understand the 5 fold ministry(Ephesians 4:11), but no pope. In my bible NIV Life Application, the word pope isnt in the word. I want to tell him the the word provides all but how can I say that the only book he knows doesnt support the pope, well to my knowledge...does it? |
Bible Answer: Greetings, Born2LoveHim; I pray that the Lord will keep you safe and bless your witness there, and that you and your compatriots will be able to soon leave Iraq a more peaceful and hopeful place. Thanks for your service. You spoke of one "who says he has been christian all his life and then speaks of Catholicism" as if that were a contradiction. I hope you didn't mean it that way; I assure you that many faithful Christians practice Catholicism. It's true the Bible doesn't mention a Pope. Neither does is mention Primates (Anglicans), Presbyters (Presbyterians), or synods (many). Although there are those who seem to believe that salvation depends on the organizational structure of a denomination (or the avoidance of all formal denominations, the Bible does not say so. Does your comrade know who Jesus is and has he put his faith in him? If not, you have much more important things to talk about than how a denomination is structured. If he is saved, then I'll admit many a rousing discussion can be had about how Catholics do things vs. the rest of Christendom. And if I'm reading unfairly bwtween the lines, I apologize. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |