Christian and Catholic!Exemplo

Apples to Apples

I've discovered that if you look closely and honestly, comparing Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity really is comparing apples to apples. Some are red. Some are green. But all are apples. Paul said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person... but all are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).  While there are real differences between Catholics and Evangelicals, if we are "in Christ Jesus" we are one in what matters most. 

Are You "In Christ Jesus?"

I've discovered that we can be Catholic and be "in Christ Jesus."  I've seen it and I've lived it. 

I've discovered that we can also be nonCatholic Evangelicals and be "in Christ Jesus." I've seen that and lived it too. 

Of course, we can also attend a Catholic or Evangelical Church, even with regularity, and still be outside of Christ Jesus. I've seen and lived that as well.

You see, being in Christ Jesus has less to do with which pew we sit in at which building on Sunday and everything to do with letting Jesus sit on the throne of our hearts when we're in those pews and buildings.  There are valid reasons to choose one pew and building over another. And I respect those reasons enormously.  But I've learned that Christ is able to meet us anywhere that he is personally welcomed. He also can't meet us when he is being personally rejected, regardless of the pew or building we are in. 

No Trap Doors

So be at peace. This devotional is not a trap to make Catholics into Protestants or Protestants into Catholics. It's simply one person reflecting upon his story of meeting Christ in both communities, with the hope that it would help us all be more deeply "in Christ Jesus" and therefore more "one."

Disputable Matters

The Apostle Paul said, "Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters" (Romans 14:1 NIV). There are many "disputable matters" Christians in different churches disagree on.  We need to ask ourselves: are we quarreling over "disputable matters" that are not essential to share faith in Christ?

The identity of Jesus as our God and Savior is not a disputable matter. To be a Christian is to believe that Jesus is who he says he is and welcome him personally. Salvation by God's grace is also not a disputable matter because if salvation was possible by any other means, the cross of Jesus would not be necessary.  

Salvation by grace alone received by faith apart from our works is an essential Biblical principle and not a disputable matter.  Our works are important because they demonstrate the reality of our faith and can even help us grow in our personal 'yes' to God that welcomes grace.  However, our works don't cause God to love us.  As imperfect people, our works also cannot make us worthy of Heaven by their value because none of us can offer God the complete lifetime of perfect works Heaven requires.  

We need a Savior.  We need a God who treats us better than we deserve. We need undeserved grace given as a free gift of unconditional love from God apart from our ability to deserve it. And that is what grace is: undeserved love given to us on the cross despite our imperfections.

Faith Alone

Did you know that the Catholic Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification which says, "Justification takes place by grace alone, by faith alone; the person is justified apart from works?" Did you know that Pope Benedict XVI said, "Luther's phrase 'faith alone' is true if it is not opposed to faith in charity, in love... In a faith that creates charity the entire law is fulfilled?"

The great Catholic theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas also wrote: "Justification is not found in the moral and ceremonial works of the law, but in faith alone; we consider a human to be justified by faith without works of the law."  Similarly, St. Ambrose wrote: "This is the ordinance of God, that he who believes in Christ should be saved without works, by faith only, freely receiving the remission of sins." 

In fact, if you read the Council of Trent (the Catholic Church council right after the Protestant Reformation) closely, the Catholic Church never condemns the phrase "faith alone" by itself, but only when it could be used to mean that Biblical worship and a moral lifestyle have no significance or role to play in our relationship with God. That understanding or application of the phrase "faith alone" would be opposed by both the Apostles Paul and James as well as any Biblical person. It is as Martin Luther said: "We are saved by faith alone, but faith that saves is never alone." 

How about You?

Are there any potentially disputable matters that God may be asking you to set aside for the sake of a greater oneness with Christian brothers and sisters in different churches? 

How can you better live these words of Thomas Aquinas when he said: "We must love them both, those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject, for both have labored in the search for truth, and both have helped us in finding it?"

Ask God to personally show you how he wants you to see your personal relationship with him and your fellow Christians, regardless of what church you attend, in a new light based on what you read in his Word now.