|
My wife Jane died in 1978. She was born a Roman Catholic and died one.
A few months before her death something happened in her life that assured her
that when she left this world she would go immediately into the welcoming
presence of Jesus.
As a result, she departed in great peace. And I was just
as certain as she of her destination. It is hoped that in reading this
episode, the reader will be moved to profit from Jane's experience.
A
few years ago, a Catholic bishop was dying of terminal cancer. Each day for a
number of months, his chauffeur would drive him about his diocese. After the
bishop's death, a statement by that chauffeur appeared in the press which
seemed quite significant. He said that the bishop during his illness was constantly
worrying about what would happen to him upon his death. He hoped that God
would remember that he had devoted his whole life to His service.
The bishop, obviously, was not at all sure of his eternal
destination.
I recall a statement made to me one day by a Catholic
priest. He said that he would be satisfied to squeeze into purgatory when he
died, and work his way up from there to heaven, presumably by suffering. I
wonder how surprised that priest might be one day to discover that there is
no purgatory except in man-made tradition. There is no mention of one in the
Bible. What the Bible does say in this connection is this: And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment {Hebrews 9:27). It will then be either victory
or defeat. No "overtime" period as in basketball.
The term "purgatory" was coined on March
6, 1254 by Pope Innocent IV in a letter to the apostolic delegate in Greece,
twelve centuries after the death of Jesus and His apostles.
There is nothing in the Bible, the Word of God, that says that a man can improve his spiritual status
after death either by suffering in another place, by the prayers and
intercession of others or by any other means. We can believe that if these
things were possible the Bible would not be so thunderously silent regarding
them. The Bible is, after all, the inspired Word of God written for our
instruction, admonition and comfort. It is the plenary record of God's
dealings with mankind, and we may be quite sure that it does not omit
anything important.
Indeed, any precept not set forth in the Bible, especially
if not even mentioned, is nothing more than a man-made regulation or
tradition. And Jesus took a very negative view of man-made regulations and
traditions. (See Matthew 15:7,9; Mark 7:13 and Colossians 2:8)
It is noteworthy that the news item mentioned above
appeared in the bishop's own diocesan newspaper. This would seem to indicate
a prevalence of fear and uncertainty regarding death.
This should not be! The
Bible speaks often and clearly on salvation and eternal life, and how it may
be secured here on earth. One can depart this life knowing that he is
heaven-bound.
Holy Scripture is the voice of God reduced to writing, and
the Catholic Church fully recognizes that. Thus, in 1965, when all of the
bishops were assembled together at the Vatican II Council, they issued a
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation which contained the following:
"Sacred Scripture is the Word of God" and stated that all parts of
the Bible, "have God as their author."
In 1943, Pope Pius XII in his Encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu, speaking of the Bible, said that "the
faithful.. .have a serious duty to make continual
and holy use of this treasure." The church was saying that Catholics are
obliged to read the Word of God, as the Bible is commonly called. Earlier
Pope Benedict XV had said, "The responsibility of our apostolic office
impels me ... to promote the study of Holy Scripture ... We shall ... never
desist from urging the faithful to read daily the Gospels, the Acts and the
Epistles so as to gather thence food for their souls ... Ignorance of the
Bible means ignorance of Christ."
The Living Bible paraphrases the Gospel of St. Luke,
chapter 11, verse 52, in the following pungent, Significant language:
Woe to you experts in religion!
For you hide the truth
from the people. You won't accept it for yourselves, and
you prevent others from having a chance to believe it.
Why, then, do such Papal exhortations to read the Bible
fail to reach down to the rank and file and evidently go unheeded in
seminaries? They apparently do not travel below the bishop.
When I became interested in the Bible in 1976 and went to
my pastor for counsel, he threw up his hands and said, "I can't help
you. They didn't teach us the Bible in seminary." It was quite a
surprise. The shepherd of the flock was not taught the Word of God. Yet Jesus
said that man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word of God
Luke 4:4.
A few years ago while speaking to a patient in a Fort
Lauderdale nursing home, I got into conversation with a woman visiting at the
next bed. She was an intelligent-looking woman of about 40. I found myself
asking her if she read the Bible. Instant indignation ensued. With a touch of
anger in her voice she said, "I am a Catholic! I don't read the
Bible!" It grieved my spirit. With my Catholic background I was sure
that the woman was speaking for many millions of Catholics.
But let me get back to our personal history. In 1969, I
retired from a New York City law firm, and we moved to Florida to begin a
life of leisure and relaxation. A year later, while we were visiting in
Washington, D.C., I felt that my life was in need of new direction and that
without significant change I was on course to hell.
So moved was I that I immediately went to confession to
square myself with God. And on that occasion, as best I knew how, I tried to
turn my life over to Him with a real commitment of the heart.
Indeed I promised God that I would go to Mass and receive
communion every day the rest of my life. And for about six years I did just
that, faithfully, seven days a week, usually serving the Mass as an acolyte.
In the years following this renewed commitment I spent much
of my time studying Catholic theology, liturgy, the lives of saints, etc.,
guided by reading lists obtained from seminaries. But these led me no closer
to knowing God. In fact the study only frustrated my search for the real
significance of what was needed to change my life.
In 1976, I became interested in the Bible for the first time. My
initial study of the Bible began to open my eyes. I started to understand
what Jesus meant when He told Nicodemus that we have to be born again, and That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is
born of the (Holy) Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). It was at
this time, having understood the truth of God for the first time, that I turned my life over to Him. The Bible told me
that in doing this I would be made a new creature in Christ...all things become new(II
Corinthians 5:17). I acknowledged God as my Father. I became heaven-bound
according to Scripture.
I also discovered how very simple and certain it is to
achieve eternal life while still on earth, and that it is a free gift from
God. Jesus purchased it for us when He died on the cross, The Bible states
this truth in Ephesians 2:8,9:
For by grace are you saved through
faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.
John L. McKenzie, S.J., perhaps one of American
Catholicism's ablest biblical scholars, in his Dictionary of the Bible, says
it this way: "It is a principle of New Testament theology that the works
of man are totally ineffective to achieve the righteousness which saves"
(page 942).
What the Word of God and Father McKenzie are telling us is
that the things we do (going to church, confession, communion, prayer) are
works, and that our works were never meant to bring us to God, or get us to
heaven.
Perhaps my most exciting discovery was that the Bible
assures us of our salvation, here and now. As the Apostle John said in his
first epistle:
These things have I written unto
you that believe
on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life I John 5: 13.
This
verse clearly gives us that assurance.
Jane had always been a meticulously loyal Catholic. She
never missed a Mass on Sundays or on holy days of obligation, she confessed
and communicated often, she read out of her prayer book each day for deceased
friends and relatives. She never doubted what she learned from the cradle:
that hers was the true church.
In the last three years of her life, Jane was partially
paralyzed and bedridden. Frequently in the morning we would watch the
"700 Club" together on television, and on several occasions we
recited the salvation prayer with Pat Robertson, the host.
The Bible tells us that if anyone prays such a prayer,
from his heart, and confesses that he believes and has accepted Jesus as
Lord, he becomes spiritually reborn. He is "born again."
The experience is commonly referred to as the new birth.
Up to that point, one cannot be considered a Christian by biblical standards
no matter how much church-going, or how many so called good works he does.
Jane repeated the salvation prayer, but seemed reluctant
or unable to declare that she had accepted Jesus as her Lord. God gives the
faith to believe but He also requires each of us to make a positive response
to His offer and that is done by declaring Jesus as our Lord. Presumably she
feared that she might be taking herself out of the Catholic Church.
One day she volunteered to make the declaration to her son
the next time he called. To help her, I wrote out a simple statement of faith
and when her son called, I placed the paper on her lap.
With no prior explanation, she blurted out, "I have
accepted Jesus in my heart as my Lord." And immediately she began to
cry. After a few minutes she said, "I can't talk any longer, I'm
crying" and hung up. That simple statement of her new faith had so moved
her to tears that she was unable to continue her conversation.
Most Catholics believe that they merit salvation or God's favor when they
receive baptism or confirmation. Like other Catholic children Jane was
baptized and confirmed but it obviously did not work a regeneration of her
heart. She had to follow the biblical way to salvation, and when she did, she
knew that she had experienced the new birth. It was the Word of God,
witnessed to by the Holy Spirit, that assured her of God's acceptance through
Jesus Christ and that as a result she would go to heaven.
The absolute necessity of the new birth is beyond
doubt. Jesus said in Chapter 3 verses 3-7 of the Gospel of John:
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God ... except a man be born of water and
of the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) he cannot enter the
kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit (Holy Spirit)
is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto you,
you must be born again.
Jesus' statement is clear. It is unconditional.
It admits of no exception or modification. To interpose an alternative is to
signify that Jesus didn't mean what He said and it was necessary for men to
correct Him. Any church which does not teach the new birth (considered so
vital in the New Testament) may well be leading its unsuspecting people into
eternal damnation.
Jesus warned against ..... making the word of God
of none effect through your tradition (church-made laws and
regulations) (Mark 7: 13). He also said that those who were teaching for doctrines the commandments of men were
hypocrites and they worshiped Him in vain
Matthew 15:7,9.
How absurd it is to tamper with the Word of God. In Isaiah
40:8 the Holy Spirit moved the prophet to say that the Word of our God shall stand forever. And
Jesus said that Heaven and earth shall pass
away, but my words shall not pass away (Matthew 24:35).
How lacking in wisdom, how foolish, how tragic, to reject
God's sure way when eternal life is at stake!
The salvation method is set forth in Romans 10:9-10:
.. .if you confess with your lips
that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so
is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.
(Catholic edition of the Revised -Standard Version).
How simple and easy God has made salvation for us. How
tragic that so few are being taught to avail themselves of it.
How do we obtain this eternal life? By believing in
Christ. God so loved the world, that he
gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have everlasting life John
3:16.
But what does the New Testament mean by
"believing?" It means more than mere mental assent, more than lip
service. One must believe in one's heart and without doubt, and one must act
upon such-belief by trusting God for salvation. Faith is acting on one's
intellectual belief and trusting Christ as one's Savior.
As the late Bible teacher E. W. Kenyon put it:
"Believing demands action, creates action. Mental
assent admires, admits, but does not act."
If the airline schedule says your flight goes to Tulsa,
you have no doubt about it. You believe it in your heart, you have faith in
the schedule, and you act upon that faith by boarding the plane.
Thus, one has to do more than just believe in his head. He must
trust Christ.
Jesus said (John 16:7-9) that after His death the Holy Spirit
would convict or convince the world of three things, and one of them was
"sin." What sin? The sin of not believing in Jesus. According to
the Word of God, it is the sin of unbelief in Christ that sends man to hell.
No matter how good and exemplary a life a man may lead, he will still miss
heaven if he does not make Jesus the Lord of his life.
Let us always remember one vital, all-important truth:
Christianity is a belief in and commitment to Christ. It is not a church, it
is not a creed, it is not in a religion. Religion is
concerned with the outward acts and forms of worship.
Christianity is
a way of life. It is knowing Jesus and having a personal encounter
and relationship with Him. He· is the only way to heaven. The Bible says that
He is the only mediator between God and man(I
Timothy 2:5). No one else, not even a saint, can fill this role.
Jesus made it clear when He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the
Father but by me (John 14::6).
If your church doesn't teach the new birth enunciated by
Jesus Himself, then it would seem to be incumbent upon you as a rational
human being to examine the Scriptures for yourself.
It is very clear that baptism and confirmation by
themselves do not constitute spiritual rebirth. If you have not committed
your life to Christ by believing in Him and confessing Him as Lord, the
rituals are meaningless.
What a difference it makes when Jesus enters one's
life, as so many can testify. In some cases, a wife or husband has
observed a change in the other and wants to have what the other has. Empty
lives have been filled. Many have discovered that alcohol; drugs, striving
for worldly success provide no lasting satisfaction. Jesus has been called
the answer to all problems. Indeed one could safely venture to say that there
is no man or woman living who has not experienced a void that only Jesus can
fill.
Are you tempted to think that you are not bad enough to go
to hell? That is one of the cleverest and most deceptive thoughts ever
planted in the human mind by the devil. But the Bible supplies the correct
answer. For Jesus said it will not be He who will judge us on the last day
but His Word. In short, if we disobey His precept that we must be born again,
there will be no need for Him to judge us. His Word will do the judging and
the judgment will of course be automatic. We would be sending ourselves to
hell. See John 12:48.
And let us remember the warning from Jesus that strait (narrow) is the gate and narrow is the way which leads
to life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7.:14).
Should one not be concerned to find that one's own church
is not teaching the salvation doctrine which Jesus Christ Himself said was an
absolute necessity? And that in the face of warnings in the Word of God such
as this one: ... how shall we escape if we
neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first to us by the Lord,
and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God also bore witness
by signs and wonders and various miracles ..Hebrews
2:3,4
Can there be any doubt that we are flirting with eternal
death when we refuse to prefer the Word of God over the word of men,
especially on so important a doctrine as the Gospel message itself which
Jesus Christ taught. When God directs us so clearly, dare we follow any
other? The foregoing Scriptures are not the words of a man or of a church.
The author is God. Incidentally, the reading of this booklet is ample warning
to you, if any were needed. You cannot be considered to be in ignorance. The
pertinent scriptures have been set before you. Surely you will not let
unscriptural, anti-scriptural, tradition take you to hell.
In any event, what does one stand to lose by heeding God's
Word and making Jesus Lord of one's life?
Let me pause here to ask you two important questions:
No. 1. Have you come to
the place in your spiritual life where you can say you know for certain that
if you were to die today you would go to heaven?
No. 2. Suppose that you were to die
today and stand before God and He were to say to you, 'Why should I let you
into my heaven?" What would you say?
How did you answer these questions?
Especially the second one? What would you say if God asked
you that question? If you are not sure of your answer or would like to make a
sincere confession of your own sin, stop what you are doing, ask the Lord to
forgive you and grant you His gift of eternal life. I invite you to pray to
God with these words:
God. your Word (Romans 10:13)
says that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Accordingly, I now call upon You in Jesus' name as my Lord and Savior.
Your Word states: if you
confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart
and so is justified. and he confesses with his lips
and so is saved Romans 10:9,10.
I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
and that He died on the cross for my sins and was buried. I believe in my
heart that on the third day God raised Him from the dead for my
justification.
Dear God, I repent of all my sins,
and I ask your
forgiveness in Jesus' name. And, here and now, I receive
and acknowledge Jesus as my personal Savior, and I ask
you to come into my heart and be the Lord of my life. Amen.
If you have just prayed to the Lord and were sincere in
your confession of your sin and desire that Jesus be your Savior and Lord,
you have just taken the most important step in your life.
However, this first step needs to be followed by other
steps. God wants you to grow in your walk with Him. What you have just done
means that you have been born again, an event never to be repeated. Your
spiritual growth however is a process - the process of becoming the person
God has designed you to be. Your spiritual maturity continues until you are
fully formed in Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote (Philippians 2:12) that we are to continue to work out your salvation with fear and
trembling. He was not talking about entering the Kingdom
of God by good works. The Bible never tells us that by good works we can work
our way into the good graces of God. He does talk about the process through
which each of us moves as we grow in Christ.
There are several basic steps which you must take to grow
as a Christian.
1) Pray
daily and pray regularly. This is to be the most basic expression of your
life, a conversation with your Heavenly Father. It might not be natural at
first, but will become so as you make it a part of your life.
2) Bible
reading. This goes hand in hand with your times of personal prayer. Bible
reading is absolutely central to our lives. Inasmuch as it is the Word of
God, we know that by reading God's Word our faith in Him will grow and, in time,
establish the standard for our lives. You can only know of God's desire for
your life by reading His Word.
3) Steps
one and two will have no meaning unless you begin to put into effect
those things about which the Lord speaks to you. The term "in
Christ" is used His times in the New Testament. Why so often? The
writers of the Bible are telling us that to be in Christ means essentially to
"be" with Him, to walk with Him, and perhaps more importantly, to
"obey" Him. Living a life of obedience to Him insures our growth as
a Christian. Jesus said so in so many words, If you love me, you will obey what I command John 14:15.
4) The
three steps outlined above will begin to produce something more. If you
are at all faithful in praying, reading your Bible and obeying the words of
our Lord, your life will begin to reflect the life of Jesus, your Savior and
Lord. In John 15:1 Jesus refers to Himself as the vine and those who follow
Him as the branches. If we stay attached we will bear fruit and our lives
will be a testimony to those who see and know us.
Another word must be added here. As important as it
is for you to give witness to your Lord through your actions and behavior,
you also need to back up that witness with your conversation. Actions can too
easily be misinterpreted. Speaking about Jesus should come as naturally as
telling others about a person you love. God will give you the right words and
will direct you to the right people as you commit yourself to Him.
F i n a l l y, if you are
serious about believing in God and identifying yourself as His follower, you
will need to begin one of the most difficult parts of a Christian life:
trusting God for every detail of your life. This will take some doing because
until now you have trusted almost everyone else, including yourself, but not
the Lord. The Bible is full of illustrations of people who trusted (or failed
to trust) God with their lives. This does not mean that you put your mind
into neutral and never think for yourself. It means that since you have
placed your life in the hands of your creator, you need to live out that
commitment daily by trusting Him with your life and all its details.
The Bible contains many examples of how God blesses and
helps those who put their trust in Him and who obey His commandments. While
we do not earn eternal life through obedience, we please and honor. God by
living according to His Word. Growth and obedience are perfect partners in
the spiritual maturing experience.
These are the basic steps you need to take to begin to
grow as a Christian. There is much to learn, and much to enjoy as you start
your new life in Christ. Your growth, however, almost presupposes other
Christians will help you grow. We're talking about those who know and love
Jesus Christ, and are themselves growing. God has made it clear that we need
other believers to help us mature. If you are not in such a relationship with
other believers, you need to find one. If you have no such friends, ask the
Lord to help you and start looking. God answers prayer.
May God richly bless you.
THE PROLOGUE TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without
him was not anything made
that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of
men. And the
light shineth in the darkness, and the
darkness comprehended it not.
There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John. . He came
for a witness, to bear witness of
the Light, that all men through him
might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness
of that Light. That was the true Light, which Iighteth every man that
cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made
by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and
his own
received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which
were born, not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and
we
beheld his glory, the glory as of
the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
About the author:
Mr. Monacelli practiced law in New
York City until 1969 when he retired and moved to Florida. He now lives in
New Jersey. He holds degrees from the University of Norte Dame and from the
Georgetown University Law School. He served two terms as president of the
Norte Dame Association.
 Evangelism
Explosion International, Inc.
P.O. Box 23820 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33307
 
Return to L'Chaim - To Life! Page.
To return to MENORAH'S HOME PAGE
|