Should Protestants Try to Convert Roman Catholics?

Should Protestants try to convert Roman Catholics? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us right now with your question. Here's our phone number.

It's 833-THE-CORE. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites. And of course, you can always email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, here's a voicemail from one of our listeners.

This is Carol. I understand the concept. I didn't see anything in Scripture that said that you should forgive yourself first before forgiving others.

So I just wanted to know if you have ever heard that teaching, or if you have, do you have any comments on it? Thank you. Yeah, Carol, I mean, I feel like this is a part of just our therapeutic age, where you get a lot of this kind of language, and you just kind of forgive yourself. That's the main thing. Just forgive yourself.

Here's the thing. We don't give or grant forgiveness to anyone, even ourselves. Forgiveness, first and foremost, comes directly from the Lord, because the Lord is the one who has been sinned against. And so in terms of the forgiveness of sins, we need God's pardon. We need the forgiveness that comes from above, and that's what Jesus Christ gives to us.

That's what he has the authority to do as the Son of God is forgive all of our sins, because he is the one who's been offended by our sins. Now, it's a problem when God has forgiven us, or he's extended us his grace, but we just don't want to believe it. And so we wallow in our sins, and we beat ourselves up. And I think sometimes that's what people are getting at when they talk about, you know, you just need to forgive yourself.

You need to move on from this. Once we've received that declaration of pardon, the forgiveness that God gives to us in his Son, Jesus Christ, we ought to raise our heads and say, thank you, Lord. I don't think that God wants us to be just sort of wallowing in our sin and misery, feeling like, you know, I'm just so bad. Not even God himself could forgive me. My sins are that bad.

But I also, you know, I sort of take a step back and think, okay, what is this person trying to say here? Because at the end of the day, as I already said, we don't grant forgiveness first and foremost as something that God gives. We do forgive each other when we sin against each other, but God is the one who needs to give that forgiveness. And so once we've received it from him, we rest in the promise of his grace and of his mercy. And so appreciate your question, Carol. Thank you for reaching out to us, and may the Lord bless you.

Great response. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We'd love to hear from you. If you have a question about the Bible, the Christian life, doctrine, theology, you name it, we would love to hear from you.

Maybe you consider yourself to be an agnostic or an atheist, and you just stumbled across this program and you're really wondering what this whole Christianity thing is about and why we believe it. Hey, we're open to your calls as well. Here's the number, 833-THECORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Charlie in Missouri. Charlie, what's your question for Adriel? My question is, we've been Christians, my wife and I have been for 30 years, and God has allowed us to be blessed with family, children, and we've done very well. Is the prosperity message being camouflaged today, is it the same as the name of claimant? Is there a difference? Well, no, I think that there's a lot of overlap there between the prosperity gospel, what's being taught in some place on television, on radio, and whatnot with these really popular preachers, and the name it and claim it movement.

There's some overlap there. What you oftentimes find with prosperity preachers is just that call. You've got to name your blessing, claim it. Oftentimes in the preaching what you hear are these assertions that if you do this, if you just sow this seed, give this gift, God is going to bless you. He's going to heal you of your cancer. God doesn't want you to be sick. He doesn't want you to be suffering. When you're really one of God's children, He's going to bless you.

He's going to make you prosperous. That's all sorts of wrong. There are all sorts of issues there. One, oftentimes what they do is they go to passages in the Old Testament, covenant promises that were given under the Old Covenant, and they apply them to believers in the New Testament in a way that they weren't meant to be applied. We aren't promised health and wellness. Actually, Jesus said in this world, right, John 16, in this world, you will have tribulation, but take heart because I have overcome the world. We're going to suffer at times as the followers of Jesus Christ because of our faith in Jesus. One of the great tragedies of the prosperity gospel movement is it's a lie.

It tells people, sincere people, that if they're suffering, there's something wrong, when in reality, the people of God, as I already said, we've been told that we're going to experience trials and tribulations in the Christian life. I'm glad to hear, Charlie, that you've been blessed, that the Lord has blessed you with the family that the Lord has provided for your needs. I think of what the apostle Paul told Timothy, I believe it's in 1 Timothy 5, where he talks about those who are rich in this present world with the many blessings that God has given to us, commanding them to be rich in good works, in charity, and seeing all of the good things that the Lord has given you as gifts to enjoy for your good, for His glory, and also so that you can be a blessing to the people around you in the church and outside of the church as well. May the Lord bless you. I'm glad to hear that you're conscious of the errors of the prosperity gospel movement and that you're steering clear of them. I'm glad to hear that the Lord has blessed you. May God bless you in good works, filling you with His Spirit and drawing you closer to Him and to His Son.

Amen. You know, we've talked about this before, there are those prosperity preachers on television, you know, if you just give this donation, I'll send you my prayer cloth and you will be blessed, or if you have enough faith, you need to help me out to buy my new jet. I mean, these are serious theological errors, and I think you've talked about the fact that those individuals who are preaching heresy like that, they are going to have a lot to pay for someday. It honestly, I mean, Bill, it causes me to tremble when I think about how serious it is to handle God's word and to mishandle the word of God, to communicate in a way that God is not, this is not what the Lord is saying, but to use God's word, to twist it, and to profit off of people, off of people who are sincere, who are looking to connect with God, and you're telling them these lies. Yeah, there is a severe judgment that is waiting for some of these quote-unquote preachers who are wolves in sheep's clothing, and, you know, scriptures give warnings again and again and again, in particular in the New Testament, about these teachers who are going to come in and draw the sheep away after themselves. Places like 2 Peter, I think of what Paul said to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, that after his departure, savage wolves were going to come in, not sparing the flock. And so, brothers and sisters, it is so important for us to talk about these things and to have a solid understanding of the scripture so that we don't get caught up in the lie.

So well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adrian Sanchez. We want to take a moment to say thank you to a very special group of people.

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It would mean so much to us. Well, we do receive voicemails here at the core and you can call us 24 hours a day and leave your question for Adriel. Here's the number 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Patricia. I have a question that has really been bothering me. I know a couple of people that accepted the Lord Jesus as their savior. They repented, they asked him to save them. However, they're still attending the Catholic Church religiously.

When they pass on, are they saved or are they not saved? Thank you for all the questions that you answer. Bye-bye.

Patricia, thank you for that question. Here's the thing. Our church membership belonging to a particular body isn't the thing that saves me. It's not that I'm the member of First Baptist Church here or there or the Roman Catholic Church or whatnot. If you listen to this broadcast, you know that I'm not Roman Catholic.

I'm a Protestant minister of the gospel. I have serious disagreements with some of the theology within the Roman Catholic Church, but I know that it's Jesus Christ who saves us. I believe that there are people in the Roman Catholic Church, all over the place, who are truly trusting in Jesus Christ for their salvation, who are looking to Christ, who realize that they can't save themselves, that they're sinners in need of his grace. The theology that's taught in the church, the piety, that's going to affect the way that individuals live, the Christian life, our own understanding and sense of assurance before God. What is it that's propelling us to do good works? Is it this sense of, I need to do this so that God will accept me, otherwise he's going to condemn me?

Or am I serving the Lord out of this place of love because I know that I've been accepted, I know that I've been justified? The theology is really, really important, but as I said, I can't look into this individual's heart. You said that they've repented, that they're trusting in Christ.

If that's true, even if they're in the Roman Catholic Church, I believe that they're going to be with us in heaven. That doesn't mean we don't have conversations about the important differences between Roman Catholicism and Protestant theology, what came out of the Reformation. May God bless you and give you wisdom. Maybe one of the things that you can do, Patricia, is get a hold of some of the resources that we have here at Core Christianity. Maybe the Bible study on the book of Romans or that book that I mentioned earlier, Core Christianity, and ask your friend, Hey, you want to sit down and just go through this with me?

Let's talk about the scriptures together and see maybe where some of the differences are. That could be helpful for them and maybe helpful for you as well. Thanks. Good counsel. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We still have a few minutes to take your calls if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life. The number is 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. And a reminder, you can always email us your question at questions at corechristianity.com. Let's go to Dimitri, who's on the line from Missouri. Dimitri, what's your question for Adriel?

Yes. Good afternoon, Jim. I really enjoy your show, Pastor. I have, you know, there's so much Hollywood dramatics and stuff regarding who is going to be the Antichrist, who's going to be the movie star, who's going to be various people. But when I read the small letters to 1, 2, and 3 John at the end of the New Testament, it states that he is an Antichrist, that he is an Antichrist. Let me look up the one verse, please.

Be patient with me. Well, Dimitri, are you just trying to figure out if your question, Dimitri, I'm going to go back to you in a moment, but is your question, is the heart of your question, you know, is the Antichrist going to be this sort of Hollywood figure or is it going to be somebody else? Is that what you're asking? Oh, I think we lost Dimitri. Yeah.

Okay. Well, I mean, it sounded like the question was, who is the Antichrist? It was sort of interesting because that language comes from 1 John and other places, and there it's plural. There are many Antichrists who have gone out into the world already. By which you know, John says, it is the last hour. That is, we are in the end times. There are a lot of people who say, you know, are we living in the end times?

And if you ever are asked that question, you can respond by saying, yes, we are. And John said that we were in the end times there in 1 John chapter 4 when Christ ascended into heaven, right? This is this shift, this cosmic shift, if you will. We are now living in the end times with Pentecost and the sending of the Holy Spirit waiting for the blessed appearing, the return of our Lord Jesus Christ and the spirit of the Antichrist is already at work in the world today. Now, I believe that there is going to be one particular Antichrist figure that shows up at the end of this age. I think Paul refers to him, you know, when he writes to the Thessalonians is the man of lawlessness who is going to be destroyed when Jesus Christ returns. Now, who this figure in particular is going to be, where this individual is going to come from, you know, there are those popular Hollywood depictions. It does seem to be the case that this is going to be an individual who knows the truth very well.

It comes up in and through the church but rejects the truth and leads people into sin and idolatry. For our part, though, as Christians, so many people get caught up with who is the Antichrist and trying to figure out, you know, was it Hitler? Our eyes are supposed to be fixed on Jesus Christ, the Lord. He's the one that we're looking to as believers. And so I think, right, when we look at those scriptures and we're aware of the fact that the spirit of the Antichrist is at work in the world today, and we're diligent, vigilant, wise as we study the scriptures, but our focus needs to be on the word and on Christ and not getting caught up or going down the rabbit hole of, you know, trying to figure out, you know, when is the end going to happen and who is the Antichrist going to be?

I think that we waste our time with that. Our job as believers is to be ready and watching and have our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and it's there that we can have great comfort and great peace. Well said. Thank you for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

Let's go to Jeff, who's on the line in Texas. Jeff, what's your question for Adriel? Yes, sir.

I had a question. I'm getting a gospel that has the apostles rolling across the lake without Jesus, and then they see Jesus walking on the water and they get scared and they say, oh, it's a ghost. Now, I know there's no such thing as ghosts. I know there's demons in disguise, but I guess the apostles believed in ghosts?

Or can you, I would like your perspective on that, please. Thank you. Yeah, well, the apostles were shocked. So you're talking about Mark chapter 6, Jesus walking on the water, verse 45. Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side of Bethsaida. While he dismissed the crowd and after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray, and when evening came, the boat was out on the sea and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them, and about the fourth watch of the night he came to them walking on the sea.

He meant to pass by them. When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. In other words, they're terrified. So they think it's a spirit. Now, the question of, well, did they believe in ghosts? Did they have a theology of ghosts? We're not really told. They don't know what's going on. They see someone, this man, appear walking on the sea and they're afraid.

Now, what's going on here? We're not supposed to get a sort of theology of ghosts here. I think the Bible is clear that when we die, if you're a Christian, you're immediately brought into the presence of the Lord. You're not floating around on earth talking to your loved ones or haunting them or something like that. And for non-Christians, for those who rejected the gospel, that they go to a place of judgment, a place of perdition. So I don't believe that the Bible teaches that there are ghosts.

I think that a lot of that activity, you think of the fear associated with it, is demonic. What's going on here? Well, note what the text says. He was walking on the sea and he meant to pass by them. Now, that seems like a very strange line. He meant to pass by them? Is he just sort of trying to show them, I can walk to Bethsaida faster than you guys can row?

What's going on there? Well, this is language that's taken from the Old Testament. The language of God passing by was this divine self-revelation. There, in the dark storm, Jesus intends to teach his disciples that he is Yahweh, the Lord, the one who passes by his people. You see this in Exodus 33, 18-23, 1 Kings 19, verse 11, even Job, in the book of Job, Job 9, verses 8-11. God is the one who walks on the waves of the sea, who tramples them down, and here it's Jesus, there before his disciples. And so the takeaway from that text, Jesus walking on the water, is this is this great self-revelation of the Son of God, of his divinity, of his power for the disciples. But of course, as they often were in the Gospels, their eyes are blinded, their heart of heart.

And so God help us not to be. Thank you for that question. Thanks, Jeff, appreciate that. This is Core Christianity with Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can always leave us a voicemail. Our voicemail is operating 24 hours a day at 833-THE-CORE, that's 1-833-843-2673.

If you call, let us know where you're calling from, and we do our best to review our voicemails each day, and we'll try to get yours on the air. Let's go to Carolyn, who's in Missouri. Carolyn, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, Pastor, thank you so much for your ministry. My question is, I see references, especially in Psalms, where God knows when we'll die, but does he determine when we die and how we're going to die? I mean, is that something that he's determined, you know, since, you know, eternity forward and backwards?

And do you have any Bible verses to give me, please? Yeah, well, it's very clear that God knows, and that in his providence, he is upholding and sustaining all of his creatures, all of their actions, all of our actions. Now, if you're asking, you know, is God forcing something or coercing us?

You know, one, at least when we're talking about things like sin, we know that God is not the author of sin, that he doesn't coerce us to do evil, but our lives truly are in his hand. The very breath that we have, it's in his hand, and so I think that the text you were referring to, and this was the one that I would go to in thinking about this from the Psalms, is Psalm 139, beginning in verse 13. You formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance. In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none. And so there is this intimacy, this intimate knowledge that the Lord has of his people, of us, of his creation, of our rising up and our going down every single one of our days.

That's meant to be a comfort. That's not meant to be something that strikes fear into our hearts. It's meant to be something that causes us to say, Lord, you know my days are in your hand. I think especially when we are struck by some tragedy or some diagnosis, a sickness or something like that, and we're caught off guard being able to say, Lord, you knew.

You're not caught off guard by any of this, and I can trust you knowing that you are good and gracious and, Lord, that you're sovereign as well. And so somehow you have all of these things working together, both human responsibility. You think of people who die because of poor health decisions, we might say. They made these decisions throughout their entire life that affected them, that affected their bodies and resulted in sickness or heart attack or something like that.

And then there are situations where you can't point to anything. We just don't know. I think we're oftentimes looking for, especially with this question of death, we're looking for an answer as to why.

What was the cause of this? But so often scripture doesn't just tell us the why question. It calls us to trust in the Lord, to be confident that He knows each and every one of our days and that He's good and that He cares for His people. And so I rest in that text there in Psalm 139, 13 and following, and I think that you can as well. Carolyn, may the Lord bless you and be with you. Thank you for reaching out to us. And of course, the promise of the resurrection is a promise for all of us who trust in Jesus Christ.

Yeah, I mean, absolutely. That is the hope that we have, that death is not the final word for us because Jesus rose from the dead. You and I are also going to rise into eternity. Praise God for that. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.