Birds of a Feather Flock
Together
By David J. Stewart
Lutherans,
Catholics Move Toward Following Agreement On Doctrine
Lutherans and Catholics Moving to Unite in Apostasy
The following quote is from THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA, Office
of Public Affairs, July 7,1998:
"Lutherans and Roman
Catholics will be able to move forward and address CLOSER UNITY of the two
faiths now that they have addressed a major doctrinal issue, "justification
by faith," said an expert in biblical studies at The Catholic University
of America in Washington, D.C.
Explaining the issue, the Rev. Joseph A.
Fitzmyer said justification by faith refers to teachings on salvation
through Jesus Christ in the New Testament's letters of St. Paul. 'THERE IS
VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT LUTHERANS AND CATHOLICS HOLD IN THIS
MATTER,' he said. "Both agree that faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for
salvation, but Catholics give greater emphasis to deeds that must flow from
justification."
The churches of the World Lutheran Federation
recently approved the "Joint Declaration of the Doctrine of Justification."
The vote was a significant step toward removing the mutual condemnations
Catholics and Lutherans leveled against each other more than 450 years go
because of disputes over how people are saved - by faith alone, or by faith
and good works, said Fitzmyer. The Vatican approved the document, although
it called for further discussion on several points, including the ability of
the individual to cooperate in receiving God's grace, or to refuse it.
The document stresses that Lutherans and
Catholics agree that salvation is the result of an initiative by God through
Jesus Christ to forgive sinners. Fitzmyer emphasized the importance of
the agreement. Once both faiths have approved the document, future
discussions can address other topics, including "the differing ordination of
pastors and priests, the sacraments, and the whole structure of the church,"
he said.
Since 1967, Fitzmyer has been active in the
Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue, an effort at national and international
levels to discuss and reduce theological differences between the two
groups." (Emphasis added)
SOURCE
How could anyone be a Lutheran? I mean, if
you want to follow Catholicism, then go to the Catholic religion and do it,
because that's all Lutheranism is, DIET CATHOLICISM. There's not a
dime's difference between Lutheranism and Roman Catholicism. So many
Christians have been suckered into Satan's lie that Martin Luther was a true
believer; yet, according to Luther's own words in both of the Catechisms he
wrote, there is NO WAY Luther could have been a Christian. Listen folks,
Baptismal Regeneration is a damnable heresy which teach that a person cannot
be saved without being Baptist, and Luther taught this...
"Baptism works
forgiveness of sin, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal
salvation to all who believe this..." SOURCE: Martin Luther
(Luther's Small Catechism, The Sacrament of Holy Baptism).
Apostasy is a “turning away from God.” Lutherans follow Martin Luther, not God. Lutherans don't read the
Bible, Luther's Small Catechism is their Bible. Likewise,
Catholics don't read their Bibles; but, instead, listen to the Pope and
priests, following the tradition of the Council of Trent, and other
manmade traditions. Jesus clearly warned that such traditions make the
Word of God of no effect, “Making the word of God of none effect through
your tradition...” (Mark 7:13). Is this not apostasy, when men
turn away from the Living Words of God, and cling to lifeless manmade
traditions instead? Yes, it most certainly is apostasy! “God
forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar...” (Romans 3:4).
Lutherans and Catholics Live in Denial
of the Truth
Lutherans are in DENIAL, just as their Catholic
brethren. I've witnessed to many Lutherans who all deny that salvation
is through baptism; BUT, Martin Luther taught exactly that, and every Lutheran
gets baptized in obedience to Luther's teachings. Likewise, I've
witnessed to many Catholics who deny that salvation is through Mary; yet the
words of Our Lady of Fatima (an apparition of Mary) are idolized by the
Vatican and every Catholic, clearly making them liars.
Mary allegedly
appeared to three children at Fatima, north of Lisbon, Portugal, in 1917,
identifying herself as “Our Lady of the Rosary” and giving the following
promises to those who will faithfully recite the Rosary. The following
unbiblical information is from the Roman Catholic website
http://www.fatima.org/promises.html. I just want to quote to you
promises 3, 4 and 5 of the 15 allegedly made by Mary...
-
"The Rosary shall be a powerful
armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat
heresies."
-
"It (the Rosary
prayed to Mary) will cause virtue and good
works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God;
it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its
vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that
souls would sanctify themselves by this means."
- "The
soul which recommends itself to Me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall
not perish." (emphasis added)
You've got to be kidding! The Catholic
Church is literally teaching it's followers that salvation can be obtained
through Mary, by reciting the Rosary (which is nothing less than the "vain
repetitions" which God condemns in Matthew 6:7, “But when ye pray, use not
vain repetitions, as the heathen do...”). Obviously, Catholics
don't read the Bible, not even their own Douay Bible which says the exact same
thing.
Lutherans and Catholics alike have bought into
the lie of the Devil. I love people and God knows my heart that I do not
intend to be unkind. I don't get paid to do this. I care about you in the
Lord, whoever you may be. The truth is important. It is tragic how most people
attend church and spend their lives getting involved in church functions, and
yet they've never even heard about what it means to be born-again by the
Spirit of God. Jesus said, “Ye must be born again (John 3:1-7).” No one will
ever go to Heaven who hasn't been born again!
While they deceitfully speak of “justification by
faith,” Catholics and Lutherans are BOTH woefully guilty of ADDING to the simple plan of God's
salvation, which is faith ALONE in the Lord Jesus Christ. The only
difference is that Catholics have Seven Sacraments and Lutherans have Two
Sacraments. I'm not making this stuff up or twisting anything. Go read martin
Luther's teachings for yourself. In fact, you don't have to, because I've just
shared them with you.
Jesus clearly
said in John 14:6 and 7, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth,
and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known
me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and
have seen him.” Jesus said that He was the Father in human flesh. Colossians 2:9 teaches that Jesus was the physical manifestation of the
Godhead, and that the Godhead dwelt in Him fully. Jesus is Almighty God. And Jesus said that salvation could ONLY be obtained through Him; not Mary,
not Martin Luther, not Catholicism, not Lutheranism, not the sacraments, not
the Catechisms, not the church, not religion, not baptism, not good
works... BUT THROUGH JESUS THE CHRIST! If you ADD anything to faith, then
you are bound for Hell.
The Great Deception
Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into
living the Christian life without ever being born-again. I would like to quote again, a statement from the
larger quote made at the beginning of this article by Mr. Fitzmyer, in which he says...
"The
document (The Joint Declaration of the
Doctrine of Justification) stresses that Lutherans and Catholics agree that salvation is the result
of an initiative by God through Jesus Christ to forgive sinners."
So the Lutherans and the Catholics got together
and made this agreement in writing, calling it the “Joint Declaration of
the Doctrine of Justification.” And in this agreement, they stated
that they both agreed in justification by faith in Jesus Christ. This
document was the starting point of Lutherans and Catholics eventually uniting
(or, the harlots coming back to their mother). This is
what the ecumenical movement is all about, the building of a ONE WORLD
RELIGION, the preparation of the Beast System for the coming of Antichrist. Like expendable pawns on the battlefield, Satan is manipulating the minds of
those who are woefully ignorant of the truth of God's Word to do Satan's will.
Satan knows that the most effective lie is the
half-truth, because in part it can be defended with incontestable logic. The
“Joint Declaration of the Doctrine of Justification” truthfully states that
salvation is by God through faith in Jesus Christ to forgive sinners. The lie
is that the Lutheran minister or the Catholic priest has the God-given power
to forgive people's sins. Please read, “Who
Can Forgive Sin?” The Bible teaches in 1st Timothy 2:5 that Jesus Christ
is the ONLY Mediator between God and men. Any Catholic priest or Lutheran
minister who claims to have the power to forgive sins is a liar and of the
Devil. Catholics and Lutherans hypocritically claim to trust Christ, while
placing their trust in water baptism.
Don't think for one second friend that Lutherans
and Catholics are saved because they profess justification through faith in
Christ. Satan is VERY subtle and deceitful and he's smarter than you
think. Satan came to Eve, misinterpreting the Word of God. Satan
came to Jesus, misinterpreting the Word of God. Satan NEVER tells a
direct lie, he ALWAYS cloaks his damnable lies in Truth. Did you get
that? Satan ALWAYS twists the Truth of God's Word to deceive people. 2nd Peter 3:16 reads,
“...which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest,
as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
We read in 2nd Corinthians 11:13,14, “For such are false apostles,
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Why
is it so hard for people to understand that Satan appears as the good guy, a
religious leader? Why is it so hard for people to realize that Satan has his
own “ministers” who appear just as God's ministers? The reason
is because most people (and I mean 99%) don't know the Word of God.
Satan is so tricky that even many Independent
Fundamental Baptists think that Martin Luther was a righteous man. Martin Luther was a heretic who taught damnable lies.
According to the CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA,
under “Lutheranism”:
"Lutheranism dates from 31
October, 1517, when Luther affixed his theses to the church door of the
castle of Wittenberg. Although he did not break with the Catholic Church
until three years later..."
(emphasis added) -SOURCE
If Martin Luther had truly found salvation, then
why did he wait three more years before breaking ties with Rome? The
truth is that Martin Luther protested many of the practices of the Catholic
Church, but Luther never placed his faith SOLELY in Christ. This is the
GREAT DECEPTION today amongst Catholics and Lutherans, that is, they BOTH profess the
necessity of placing their faith in Jesus Christ, yet they require human
effort for salvation. BOTH religions believe that Jesus
shed His blood to pay for our sins, yet they BOTH add works to faith.
Eternal Life is a Gift That Simply
May Be Received
BOTH religions profess to believe in
justification by faith; yet, they both teach that no one can be saved who
doesn't get water baptized. They BOTH ADD
works to faith in Christ, which is no faith at all. If I say I'm
trusting you 100%, but then have someone check up on you... that is not trust. Likewise, if you say you are trusting Jesus Christ 100%, but add anything to
it, then it is NOT faith. If I say I am trusting a shaky ladder to hold
me up, while simultaneously holding on to a secure rope in case I fall, then I
am NOT trusting the ladder. Remember, eternal life is a FREE GIFT
(Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 5:15). Of course, who would be foolish enough to place
their faith in a shaky ladder? But the Word of God PROMISES us that if
we trust upon Jesus Christ to forgive our sins and save us, we will NOT be
ashamed (let down).
Romans 10:11, “For the scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” This Verse is a quote
from the Old Testament, Isaiah 28:16, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD,
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious
corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” This is a prophecy concerning the Precious Savior, the Stone which the
builders rejected, Who is become the Cornerstone (Matthew 21:42). If we
simply place our complete trust in Christ to forgive our sins, because of the
blood that He shed for our sins, then we will be saved eternally.
1st
peter 2:7 reads, "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto
them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the
same is made the head of the corner." Isn't it ironic that the
Jewish religious leaders rejected their own Messiah, the One upon Whom their
entire religion was supposedly built? Jesus is the Cornerstone. What does that mean? Well, anytime you build anything, the foundation
must be accurate or else the whole structure will be crooked. Thus, if a
church or religion is wrong on the plan of salvation then they will be wrong
on everything else too. Everything that Catholics and Lutherans build is crooked, because their foundation is
crooked. The Lutherans and Catholics have built a crooked religion. Jesus
Christ is the only sure foundation, which they do not have (1st Corinthians
3:11).
The Lutheran
religion is built upon the heresies of Martin Luther. The Catholic
religion is built upon the heresies of the Council of Trent, et cetera. We
should base our beliefs solely upon the Word of God, which liveth and abideth
forever. 1st Peter 1:23, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” The
Popes throughout history have all died. Pope Benedict XI will die too. Every Lutheran minister will die. Why? Because they are
all sinners like you and me
(Romans 6:23). But, as we read in 1st Peter 1:23, the Word of God will
live forever. Jesus is the living Word of God (John 1:1-3.14; Revelation
19:13). Jesus is the Living Word, the Bible is the Written Word. Who would you rather trust, God or man?
Psalm 118:8 gives us the answer,
“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”
