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Music Music Music Hey man, welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Thank you for being here this morning. We're going to get started with song number 17, One Day. Song number 17, As You Find Your Seeds. Song number 17. And if you're able to, let's all stand together for our first song. Song number 17. We'll see it on that first verse. One day when heaven was filled with his praises, One day when sin was as dark as could be, Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin. Dwelled amongst men, my example is he. Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away. Rising, he justified freely forever. One day he's coming, O glorious day. One day they led him up Calvary's mountain. One day they nailed him to die on a tree. Suffering, anguished, despised, and rejected. Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is he. Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away. Rising, he justified freely forever. One day he's coming, O glorious day. One day they left him alone in the garden. One day he rested from suffering with angels came down, or destined to keep it. Above the hopeless, my Jinger is he. Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away. Rising, he justified freely forever. One day he's coming, O glorious day. One day the grave could conceal him no longer. One day the funeral away from the door. Then he arose over death he had conquered. Now is ascended, my Lord evermore. Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away. Rising, he justified freely forever. One day he's coming, O glorious day. On that last one day the trumpet will sound for his clapping. One day the skies with his glories will shine. Wonderful day, my beloved one is bringing. Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine. Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away. Rising, he justified freely forever. One day he's coming, O glorious day. Amen. Wonderful scene. Let's start off our service with a word of prayer. Dear God, Heavenly Father, we thank you so much. Dear God, you rose again from the dead to conquer death for us, Lord God. All we have to do now is just believe on you. We've got to be saved from that. Lord God, we pray that you please, Lord God, just bless our service, Lord God, this morning. Please bless the singing unto you, Lord God. I pray that you would please, that it would prepare our hearts for the preaching, Lord God. And I also do pray that you please just be with our pastor, fill him with your Holy Spirit, guide him through the scriptures, Lord God, bring to remembrance of the things that he has studied. And I pray that you would just be with us in the congregation, Lord God, as well, that you would please help us, Lord God, to just take this sermon to heart, that we might leave here changed this morning, Lord God. We pray now these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Song number 56. When we all get to heaven, you may be seated. Song number 56. When we all get to heaven. Song number 56. Let's see it on that first verse. Sing the wondrous love of Jesus. Sing his mercy and his praise. In the mansions bright and blessed, he'll prepare for us a place. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory. While we walk the pilgrim pathway, clouds will overspread the sky. But when traveling days are over, not a shadow, not a sign. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory. Let us then be true and faithful, trusting, serving every day. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory. Onward to the prize before us. Soon his beauty will be born. Soon the pearly gates will open. We shall drown the strains of gold. When we all get to heaven, we'll sing and shout the victory. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory. Alright, great singing. Thank you for being here this morning. Just a few announcements here before we sing our next song, which will be 397 if you want to get that ready in your songbooks. 397, little is much when God is in it. If you did not get a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand. One of the ushers can get one for you. Some important information on there. Our services are as follows. Sunday morning is at 1030 Sunday evening at 5 p.m. and then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock. We're currently going through the book of 2 Samuel. Hope to see you then. We are a family integrated church, so infants and children stay with their parents in the service. For your convenience, we do have a mother-baby room located temporarily in the fellowship hall. The back of the building is actually closed until further notice. The fellowship hall is essentially just split from fellowship hall and mother-baby room. We have a screen in there as well as a speaker, so you can still tune into the service and the preaching. Should your child need some diversion, changing tables are also available in there as well. And then you see the birthday breakfast this morning from last week. You got the donuts. You guys happy? You guys were almost ready to stone me last week. You're chiding with me because we didn't have the donuts, but we got them this week. Happy late birthday to you all. And then you see the list of expecting mothers. We do have a new lady on the list, Ms. Rhea, and Brother Chevy are expecting. Give them a round of applause. They're not here, but we're still going to applaud them. Brother Chevy, where's Chevy? Oh, there he is. Congratulations, brother. You see there are the important reminders. And then, of course, the upcoming church events. We have the Ladies Tea Party coming up on Saturday, March 18th. You can see my wife for more details about that. Of course, every activity at our church is free, and so you're welcome to be a part of that. And just see my wife if you need any information on that. Easter Sunday is coming up. Sunday, April 9th, we will be having a breakfast potluck and an Easter egg hunt for the children. I want to encourage you to invite your family, friends, co-workers to that service. Of course, that's a time where a lot of people who don't typically go to church are mindful about going to church. And so I want to encourage you to bring them here, especially if they're not saved. You know, we can get them saved, and, of course, they'll hear a sermon on the resurrection. And Lord willing, we'll be able to break attendance that Sunday, so be in prayer over that. And then, of course, the Ladies Prayer Breakfast is coming up on Saturday, April 1st. You can talk to Ms. Janelle Gonzalez regarding that. And then just a regular reminder at the bottom, no food or drink allowed in the main auditorium except for water and coffee. Please make sure you're not loitering in the foyer or fellowship hall during the preaching service unless you're taking your children out there. And then quiet time is this afternoon from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the whole building. And lastly, please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service, all right? And that is it. Let's go to sing our next song, 397, Little Is Much When God Is In It, song number 397. Song number 397, Little Is Much When God Is In It. Sing it on that first verse. In the harvest field now ripen, there's a work for all to do. The voice of God is calling to the harvest calling you. Little is much when God is in it, labor not for wealth or fame. There's a crown that you can win it if you'll go in Jesus' name. Does the place you're called to labor seem so small? And He'll know it is great if God is in it and He'll not forget His own. Little is much when God is in it, labor not for wealth or fame. And you can win it if you'll go in Jesus' name. Are you laid aside from service, body worn for will and care? You can still be in the battle, in the sacred place of prayer. Little is much when God is in it, labor not for wealth or fame. There's a crown that you can win it if you'll go in Jesus' name. When the conflict here has ended and our race on earth is run, He will say to all the faithful, welcome home my child of God. Little is much when God is in it, labor not for wealth or fame. There's a crown that you can win it if you'll go in Jesus' name. Amen. Wonderful singing at this time. Our ushers, we've received the offering. And please turn your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 12. 1 Kings chapter 12. 1 Kings chapter 12. 1 Kings chapter 12. The Bible reads, And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel will come to Shechem to make him king. It came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, for he was fled from the presence of King Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt, that they sent and called him. Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous. Now therefore, make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, So part yet for three days, then come again to me, and the people depart him. King Rehoboam consulted with the old men that stood before Solomon his father, while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants forever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him. And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us. Thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins, and now whereas my father did laid you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him, and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke. My father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people, for the cause was from the Lord, that he might perform his saying, which the Lord spake by Ahijah the Shilini unto Jeroboam the son of Nebath. So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel. Now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed under their tents. But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was ever the tribute, and all Israel stoned him with stones that he died. Therefore King Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only. And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, and hundred and four score thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and unto the remnant of the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord, You shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Return every man to his house, for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to the part according to the word of the Lord. Then Jeroboam built Shechem the mountain for him, and dwelt therein, and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord of Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their Lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah. And they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other but he in Dan. And this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah. So he offered upon the altar, so did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places, which he had made. So he offered upon the altar, which he had made in Bethel, the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart. And ordained a feast unto the children of Israel. And he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. And let's pray. Hallelujah, Lord God. I wish to thank you for this opportunity to assemble in your house here this morning. Just ask that you would meet with us here now. And please just bless Pastor Mahir with your Holy Spirit. And in Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Amen. Amen. Okay, we are in 1 Kings chapter 12 this morning. And the title of my sermon today is Catholicism, the bastardization of Christianity. Catholicism, the bastardization of Christianity. Now let me say a couple things here before I get into the crux of the sermon. Let me start off by saying that obviously we're a Baptist church, we're a fundamental Baptist. But that doesn't mean that we hate Catholics, okay? In fact, I would say of course we love Catholics. And in my personal opinion, people differ on this. You know, I think Catholics are some of the easiest people to win to the Lord, okay? I was a former Catholic, there's a lot of former Catholics in our church. And when we go out sowing, when we preach the gospel, I would say the vast majority of people that we get saved out there are Catholics, okay? And so the reason for that is because they obviously have somewhat of a decent foundation to kind of help them understand salvation. And that is that they believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, they believe in the Trinity, they do believe in things of that nature. And obviously we're not talking about the hardcore Catholics, right? I'm talking about the hardcore Catholics who actually, you know, they study apologetics and they're part of the Roman Catholic Church in the sense of they're there every Mass and they're there every week and every month. We're talking about those who are essentially kind of backsliding Catholics, okay? The ones who go on Easter and they go on Christmas, all right? Those are the people who are typically the easiest to win to Christ. Now, I'm not saying that there aren't Catholics out there that are very difficult to win, they're very staunch, they're very much heavily embedded with Catholic theology that would impede them from getting saved. We obviously understand that. But in general, in my opinion, those are some of the easiest people to win. And in fact, you know, if you were to tell me, hey, who would you rather witness to, you have one chance to witness to one of these two people. A Catholic or a Mormon, I'd go for the Catholic. A Catholic or a Jehovah's Witness, give me the Catholic. A Catholic or a Pentecostal, give me the Catholic, okay? A Catholic or some non-denom person, I most likely go for the Catholic because of the fact that most of these other people, you know, they're so close to Christianity and they do believe that they're saved and, you know, they have a workspace salvation. Whereas a lot of times, in my opinion, in my experience, Catholics are sometimes very much humble and they want to know the truth. But, you know, they're just not very, either someone hasn't come to them to give them the gospel, they go to the Catholic church because that's, you know, their family, they're Catholics, their grandma's Catholic, they have Catholic idols and they just think that's what religion is, that's what Christianity is. Now let me just also say this is that one of the reasons I want to preach this this morning is the same reason I preached this a couple years ago and that is because of the fact that, you know, the lines, the difference between Christianity and Catholicism, that line is being blurred today, okay? It's constantly being blurred where Catholics claim to be Christian and now even Hollywood is working with Catholics, right, to kind of push these movies, Jesus Revolution and this series or whatever called The Chosen. And yeah, people think, well, those are Christian films. Yeah, they're considered Christian films but, you know, Jonathan Rumi who plays Jesus, he's not Christian. And he's used the fact that he is participating in this movie playing Jesus as an opportunity to propagate his Catholicism because he's actually Catholic, okay? You know, anytime he speaks, he talks about being Catholic and how you're supposed to pray the rosary and do all this Catholic nonsense. And so this unfortunately has grasped a lot of the attention of Christians, Protestants and even Baptists, believe it or not, to the point where they're just kind of going soft on this matter of Catholicism. And you would think that fundamental Baptists would be the ones who are the hardest on this subject but even today in 2023, there's a lot of fundamental Baptists that will excuse the Jesus Revolution of The Chosen because they like it. And now they begin to go soft on Catholicism, soft on what they teach and say, well, you know, maybe some Catholics are saved or whatever, okay? You know, you have Christians saying that now. They say, you know, I think some Catholics are saved, a lot of them are not but some of them are saved. Now let me also say this in regards to that statement, okay? I believe that some Catholics are saved and they'll say that too, right? The Christians will say, I believe some Catholics are saved but we actually mean the exact opposite. What do I mean by that? What they're insinuating is that Catholics are saved because they've gotten saved in the Catholic Church. In other words, they believe that there's enough truth in the Catholic Church about salvation that there are certain Catholics within that institution that have actually gotten saved because of the priest or whatever, you know, whatever doctrine that they have. What I'm saying is that we've gotten Catholics saved and then they remain in the Catholic Church because of the ignorance of the Scriptures, okay? I'm not saying that Catholics have gotten saved in the Catholic institution by a Catholic priest, by other Catholics because they're not saved. They have a different gospel, a different salvation. I believe that there are saved Catholics only because of the fact that we've gotten them saved door to door or we've gotten our family saved, friends saved who are Catholics but they don't get grounded in the Word of God and it's for that reason that they remain in the Catholic Church. And in fact, we have people in our church who are saved and prior to even coming to this church, they were going to a Catholic Church for a while whether because of family, a spouse or whatever, ignorance, doesn't matter. At the end of the day, someone can be saved and go to a Catholic Church because they don't have the understanding of doctrine but once you show them the truth though, once you show them what the Catholic Church actually teaches and they're in agreement with that, I would say that person believed in vain, okay? And so this morning, I want to draw the line once again to show that they're not the same. Catholics have a tendency to also claim that they're Christian even though about 50 years ago, they would not say that. They would say, we're not Christian, we're Catholic, right? But now they're like, oh no, we're Catholic Christians and we're the first Christians and they like to flex on the Protestants a lot because of the fact that the Protestants protested the Catholic Church and said that they came out of the Catholic Church. And they try to impose that narrative on Baptists but Baptists never protested the Catholic Church, my friends. We've always been around, okay? So Catholicism isn't Christianity and in fact Catholicism isn't friendly to Christianity either. I mean just study history, Catholics are the ones responsible for martyring millions of Christians. They essentially wanted to keep their congregants in obscurity by keeping the Bible in Latin in order for the common people not to understand the Word of God. They burned Christians at the stake like William Tyndale and others because they were trying to translate the Word of God into the English language. And they had so much behemoth hatred towards Christians that even people who were responsible for translating the Word of God, when they've already died, they were buried, they would exhume their bodies and then burn their bones and render them as heretics. That doesn't sound very friendly of the Catholics to do so. It's just like, yeah, but they're Christians. Well, it's not very friendly of other Christians to do that, okay? In fact, it's not very Christian to kill other Christians and to burn their bones and exhume their bodies, etc. But you know, that's like the dirty little secret of the Catholic Church other than the pedophilia that they don't want you to know about, right? They don't want you to know all of the history behind it. They want to keep people in obscurity and you know, the Catholic Church is essentially the largest cult in this world. There's a lot of cults in this world, right? I mean, Islam is a fast growing religion. Even Pentecostalism is a fast growing religion. But nothing can touch the Catholic Church when it comes to numbers, okay? And so there's many Catholics out there. It's the largest growing religion. It's the largest religion, especially for the longest amount of time. And they do have a lot of conference. So it's important that we remind ourselves as Christians, and maybe you might not even know some of the information I'm going to give to you this morning. It's important for us to remember, Catholicism is not Christianity. Christianity is not Catholicism. It's a completely different religion. And if you're a Catholic, you will split hell wide open when you die. That's the bottom line. And so I'm going to give you a couple things this morning to prove that. You say, well, why did you go to 1 Kings chapter 12 to preach on Catholicism? What does that have to do with Catholicism? Well, look at verse 26 here. Of course, this is referring to Jeroboam and Rehoboam when they inherited the kingdom when it split. And you have Rehoboam inheriting the two tribes known as Judah and Benjamin. And then you have Jeroboam inheriting the 10 other tribes, okay? And it says here in verse 26, and Jeroboam said in his heart, now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. So Jerry here is afraid that the believers or the Israelites will reject him and start worshipping God the way God intended by going to Jerusalem, which is where God intended for his people to go and congregate and make that pilgrimage to in order to worship the Lord. He's afraid of that. He doesn't want that to happen because essentially his authority, his political power is tied into religion, okay? He says in verse 27 that this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord of Jerusalem. Then shall the heart of this people turn again into their Lord, even into Rehoboam king of Judah. And they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah, whereupon the king took counsel and made two calves of gold and said unto them, It is too much for you to go to Jerusalem. Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. So what does he do? He provides an alternative to worshipping God and he doesn't do it by following the Levitical law, by following Exodus chapter 20, by following the commandments of God. He's like, let's just make some false gods and let them try to convince them that they're worshipping God by worshipping these idols. Okay, verse 29 says, And he set one in Bethel, the other he put in Dan. And this thing became a sin, but the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made a house of high places and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. So he began to ordain these men for the office of a priest who were not sanctioned for that office. So what's going on here? Well, what we have is a guy basically creating his own religion, a bastardization of the religion of Israel, in order for him to remain in political power, in order for him to continue to reign over the tribes, and therefore essentially keep the Israelites on his side, those 10 tribes. Verse 32, And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, likened to the feast that is in Judah. So what else is he doing? He's creating new holidays, new celebrations, new holidays. He says he offered upon the altar, so did he in Bethel sacrifice him to the calves that he had made, and he placed one in Bethel, the priests of the high places which he had made. So one advantage that Jeroboam has is the fact that his area is where Bethel is, and Bethel is known as the house of God. That's where originally the people of God would worship. That's essentially where they came from, right? So he has this flex, so to speak, to say, well we are the true place of worship because we have Bethel. You guys see where I'm going with this, right? Look at verse 33. So he offered upon the altar, which he had made in Bethel, the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart, and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel, and he offered upon the altar and burned incense. And of course, God is not pleased with this. He's not satisfied with this. He's not going to look at the children of Israel and say, well, they created an alternative. It's a bastardization of what I originally intended, but it's okay, they still preach Jesus. It's okay, they're still doing some form of sacrifice. It's okay, even though they're worshiping idols, in their mind they're thinking about me or something like that. You know, God's not pleased with this, and in fact, Jeroboam is greatly judged because of this. Israel is greatly judged because of this, because this is not God's original intent to essentially create this adaptation of the religion of Israel and essentially corrupt it, okay? Now what does this have to do with Catholicism? Well, just like Jeroboam degraded the religion of Israel by creating this corrupted adaptation with false gods, their own feast practices, and even their own variation of the priesthood. Well, essentially, this is what the Roman Emperor Constantine did, albeit of course, unofficially, in 312 AD with his miraculous conversion, okay? You know, people like to point to that and say, oh yeah, he was converted to Christianity. Oh wait, hold on, did someone give him the gospel? Did someone preach the gospel that it's by faith, by grace through faith? No, he saw some vision in the sky of like a burning cross or something like that. And you know, he used that to say, oh okay, this is God giving me this vision so I can conquer and remain in office or whatever. And of course, subsequently, towards the end of his life, he gave his reign over to the Bishop of Rome. Now how that goes, we don't necessarily know because of the fact that obviously there was Christians in Rome because we know that Peter was a pastor who was in Rome, which he called in 1 and 2 Peter Babylon, right? But we know it to be Rome. But obviously there's churches that are being started, so there's some sort of amalgamation. There's someone who went apostate in those areas, okay, and became the Bishop of Rome. He gave that over to the Bishop of Rome, his reign, and eventually that's why you had the unholy union of church and state, you understand? Where the Pope became not just this divine messenger or whatever it may be, but also he has this political power, all this authority, creating this compound of Christianity and Roman pagan polytheism. That's why Roman pagan polytheism and Catholicism are so similar, okay? Just as the pagan Romans worshiped false gods, and like man, Catholicism does the same thing. They just switched it over to call them saints, okay? And so Catholicism, in essence, is the bastardization of Christianity. It's a lower grade, it's a corruption, a corrupt adaptation of Christianity. And you know, Catholics like to make this claim, right? They like to make this claim that Christianity came from Catholicism. I mean, they always say this. I mean, even this Jonathan Rumi fellow who plays Jesus, the long-haired Jesus who's not our Jesus, you know, all his interviews and when they talk about the chosen, and he's like praising the Protestants, he's like, the Protestants are doing such a good job, and they're really worshipping God, and it's just interesting because they came from us. So he always likes to throw those jabs into the Protestants or whatever. Are you offended at that? No, because I'm not a Protestant. But I know some good Protestants, I know some saved Protestants, and I'm just like, man, that sucks that he's saying that. Are you going to let him say that to you? I personally wouldn't take that, you know what I mean? But they like to make that claim, and the reason why is because they accredit the founding of the Catholic Church to their so-called first pope, Peter, in Matthew 16. So when you ask them, you know, when did Catholicism start? They're like, it started with the Church of Jesus Christ when Pope Peter, you know, it was given him the keys of heaven, and he was able to bind things in heaven and on earth, and he has all the authority, Pope Peter! Yeah, Pope Peter, that's where Catholicism started, right? But here's the thing, folks, the religion of Christianity didn't start in the New Testament. Hello? There's something called the Old Testament. The religion of the Bible goes all the way back to the Old Testament, you know? And they always like to call Peter the pope, which means father, papa, right? But what about Father Abraham, you know? The father of faith. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. So if they want to do this flex of, oh, we started with the ordination of the pope, Peter, in Matthew 16, well, we got you covered because we started all the way to the very beginning of the Old Testament. The salvation that we preach today isn't different from the salvation of the Old Testament because, yes, Christianity, they were first called Christians in Antioch, my friends, because they knew the name of Christ at that point. However, the religion of the Bible, the religion of the Israelites, the religion of Israel is all the way back to the Old Testament. And so, you know, that's not really a good flex. Matthew 16, that's it. Now go to Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 2, if you would. Acts chapter number 2. So I'm going to give you a couple things, and in fact, this is going to be a two-part series. I'm going to preach this morning, and I'm going to preach tonight. So we're going to take a break on the drama at the church at Corinth. I'm going to talk about the drama of the Catholic Church, okay? And so we're going to go over some different points. But I'm going to talk about what they bastardize as far as the Catholic Church is concerned, okay? Now I went on Catholic Answers, so I didn't make this up. I copy and pasted the answer from some wicked priest, some wicked theologian, Catholic theologian. And here's the thing, I scoured that website just looking at different articles, reading different things. And I would say like 70% of what I've read were priests writing these articles in response to the fundamentalists. Why? Because it's always the fundamentalists who are calling them out on their garbage. Because no one else calls them out on it. You know, the non-denom people, they're for them. They're over here saying that they're saved. They're over here supporting Rumi, you know, in his movie and, you know, the chosen. They have no beef with the Catholics. They think that they're saved. It's the fundamentalists. They're the ones who pose the threat to the Catholics because they expose them for what they really are, okay? So I'm just going to read you what they say. So I'm going to talk about a couple things this morning. First and foremost, let's draw the line here of salvation. Because at the end of the day, that is, my friend, the most important aspect of this discussion, right? This is how you can tell if something is of God or it's not, all right? Is what do they believe about salvation? How do they obtain salvation? How is it that they can get saved? When we go to a person at the door, yeah, we ask them, do they go to church? And typically they'll give us some sort of religion. And based upon their answer, we know this person is saved or they're not saved, right? Like if they, you're not going to door and a person says, well, I go to the Jehovah's Witness, what do they call it? Kingdom Hall, right? You're not going to be like, that's a possibility, he's saved. There's a slim chance he's saved. No, he's not. You can move on with the gospel at that point because the guy is, he's not saved. If they tell you they're a Mormon, they go to the Mormon tabernacle, it's like, not saved. Pentecostal? Maybe. So we ask them about what? Eternal security, right? Non-denom churches? Maybe. So we ask them what do they believe about salvation? Because sometimes some of these non-denom churches like Calvary Chapel, they don't give a clear presentation of the gospel. They don't equip their people with the right terminology. They don't teach their people. And so sometimes you have some that are saved, some that are not. It's like the flip of a coin sometimes, right? But there is a possibility that they're saved, okay? Roman Catholic, not saved. They're like, I am a Roman Catholic, or I'm a Catholic. You know, my grandma was a Catholic and whatever. They start going off on their Catholicism. More than likely, they're not saved, okay? So we base everything off of salvation. So yeah, you know, the Catholic Church may, or Catholics may claim to believe in Jesus, but you know what, we don't stop there. It's not like, oh, they believe in Jesus. They're saved. No. What do they mean by believing in Jesus? Well, they believe that the Bible is the Word of God. Okay, that's great, but hold on a second. What do they believe about salvation? Oh, you know, they believe in the Trinity. Great! But what do they believe about salvation? Because that's the most important aspect of this discussion, okay? So let me read you what they say about salvation. And Catholics, and this article proves it, are really good at gaslighting. Because they'll say, people claim this, and we don't believe this. This is what we actually believe, and it ends up being that. They just word it differently. So let me read this. It says, our point is this. When the Church infallibly teaches extra ecclesiam nulla salus, which is, there is no salvation out of the Catholic Church. That's what they teach, okay? Now, prior to this, I'm not going to read the entire article. I'm going to read the meat of it right here. But prior to this, they're like, you know, some people wrongly accuse us of saying that we teach that there is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church. And they even give this example of some priest in the 1940s who was teaching this to his Catholic congregation, and the Catholic Church called him out on it. And, like, the Catholic Church called him out on it. And, you know, they were in agreement with him. They called him out on it. They're like, hey, this isn't scriptural. You're not going according to the Bible. And they end up excommunicating him from the Church because he was teaching that there is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church, okay? Now, later on, he ended up getting reconciled, and he's no longer deemed a heretic or whatever, right before he died. So they give that example so that people are like, oh, okay. Wow, they excommunicated someone for teaching that. That really must mean that they don't believe that doctrine, that there's no salvation out of the Catholic Church. So then he goes on to talk about, it does not say that non-Cathics cannot be saved. In fact, it affirms the contrary. The purpose of the teaching is to tell us how Jesus Christ makes salvation available to all human beings. So they're not taking the statement there's no salvation outside of the Catholic Church. They're not doing away with it. They're still going to use it. They're just trying to explain to you what it means, okay? Now, what does it mean? Well, here's the headline. Work out your own salvation. There are two distinct dimensions of Jesus Christ's redemption. Objective redemption is what Jesus Christ has accomplished once and for all in his life, death, resurrection, ascension, the redemption of the whole universe. Yet the benefits of that redemption, you know, like eternal life, getting saved, have to be applied unceasingly to Christ's members throughout their lives. Like, you know, we're not denying that Jesus Christ brought salvation. Of course, he lived, he died, he resurrected, he ascended, he brought salvation. But in order for you to get that salvation, you have to keep it unceasingly. You have to unceasingly be a member of the body of Christ, okay? You have to work out your own salvation. And then it says, this is subjective redemption. If the benefits of Christ's redemption are not applied to individuals, they have no share in his objective redemption. Redemption in an individual is an ongoing process. And then he quotes Philippians 12-13, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. How does Jesus Christ work out his redemption in individuals? Here's the answer, through his mystical body. Now folks, anytime we talk about Christianity, we never want to use the word mystical. That's freaky. What do you mean mystical? Like mysticism? Like that which is contrary to the Bible? So he's saying the way, you know, Jesus Christ objectively brought redemption, but the way you subjectively receive it is through Jesus Christ working in you through his mystical body. Now, then they pose the question, what is this mystical body? The true church of Jesus Christ. Not some invisible reality, invisible reality composed of true believers as the reformers insisted. So they even admit that the Catholic Church is not made up of necessarily true believers. In the first public proclamation of the gospel by Peter at Pentecost, he did not invite his listeners to simply align themselves spiritually with other true believers. He summoned them into a society, the church, which Christ has established. Only by answering that call could they be rescued from the crooked generation to which they belong and be saved. So what are they saying? We're not saying no one can be saved out of the Catholic Church. We're not saying that because Jesus brought salvation for everyone. But the way you can get salvation is you have to be a part of the Catholic Church. That's what they said. Let me just summarize what they're saying here. We're not saying there's no salvation outside of the Catholic Church. We're just saying if you're not part of the Catholic Church, you're not saved. Because the way you work out your own salvation is by exercising it through the mystical body, also known as the Catholic Church. So they expect all readers to just be stupid. I mean, do you guys understand what I'm saying here? Now they quote Acts chapter 2 because they're Pope Peter. He preaches the word of God. People get saved. And they're like, no, he's telling them to be a part of this society, this church. But they always neglect to read this. Look at Acts chapter 2, verse 20. It says, the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and notable day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So it doesn't say whosoever shall become a member of the mystical body is saved. It says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And by the way, church means a called out assembly of believers. It's not a mystical body. Go to Acts chapter 4. Now obviously we're a Baptist church so you know these things already, hopefully. We know these things but it's good to be reaffirmed in these things. It's good to be reminded of these things. Even though you already know them, it's good for you to be reminded what the Catholic Church truly believes. And you know what? They say there's no salvation outside of the Catholic Church. I got news for them, there's no salvation in the Catholic Church either. No salvation. Verse 12 says, neither is there salvation in any other, for there's none other church? For there's none other congregation? For there's none other mystical body? No, for there's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. So folks, and look, we're not teaching here that you have to be a part of this church to be saved. Like you have to be a member of this First Works Baptist Church. You have to be, you know, align yourself with this society and this church and this body of, you know, this invisible believers or whatever to be saved. No, because we get people saved outside of this church and you know there's people who come into this congregation who might not be saved. So going through these doors and other churches that they have a membership they have to fill out, a membership covenant, filling that out doesn't get you saved. Because only believing on Jesus Christ gets you saved. You can get saved at this church, you can get saved at a non-denom church, you can get saved at a Christian church that has the right gospel. You don't need a local assembly of believers, you don't need to be a part of it in order to have eternal life my friends. And so they say, well, you know, we're not teaching, that's crazy, we're not teaching that. This is available for everyone, but if you want to be saved, it's just like, oh, oh, oh, isn't, are you gaslighting me or what? And here's the thing folks, you know, he says, because they say, you know, subjective, objective, they try to use these terms in order to kind of confuse you a little bit. But the Bible also says that he's the savior of all men, especially of those that joined the church. Is that what he says? Especially of those that believe. So it's all based upon our faith in Christ, okay? Go to Matthew chapter 16. So right off the bat, when Jonathan Rumi says that Catholics are saved, when these watered down, limp-wristed, YouTube preacher Christians like Isaiah Saldivar or others like him, these queer looking little sissies get up and try to say that these Catholics are saved, wrong my friends, they're not saved. And in fact, according to them, the people who are saved that they're saved are not saved either. Because if you're not part of this mystical body, you're not saved. Amen. So we see the bastardization of salvation. What do they do? Well, we'll take Jesus and say that he's the savior of the world, that he died, was buried and resurrected. But how do they degrade that? How do they corrupt that? By saying, well, this mystical body, which is a physical body, obviously, the Catholic Church, the Vatican, the universal church, it's all based upon a physical building where they meet. You have to be a part of that in order to be saved. Now let's talk about the bastardization of the final authority for all matters of faith and practice. Now we as Christians, for us, the final authority is the Word of God. I thought Jesus was the final authority. Jesus is the Word of God. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for proof, for correction, instruction and righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works, the Bible says. And so when we want to know what God says on a matter, we don't need divine revelation, we don't need encyclopedias, we don't need commentaries, we don't need some old dude in Rome to tell us what the Bible says. We need the Word of God. Because every saved person has the spirit of truth dwelling within them who the Bible calls the anointing and the unction to be able to know these things. He teaches us all things, brings them into our remembrance. We are given the authority by God to judge the Word of God, to see and decipher what the Bible is saying. But they believe in something called the infallibility of the Pope. Now I had someone, because I made a couple videos on Catholics last week or so, and a bunch of Catholics, you know, you hashtag Catholics and they hop on there. And they're on there and someone was talking about the infallibility of the Pope. And I'm like, you're ascribing divinity to this man. And they're like, no we're not. And I'm like, you're saying he's perfect. They're like, no we're not. I'm like, infallibility means perfect. Like they need to pick up a dictionary and open it up and see what infallibility means. Like when we talk about the infallible Word of God, we mean that it's perfect. Without error. It's inerrant. Right? But they have this doctrine called the infallibility of the Pope. Okay? Let's read what the Catholic answer says about the infallibility. Because you know, people approach them. They're like, are you going to say that the Pope is not a sinner? That he's perfect? And so they have to answer these things. They have to kind of gaslight the sincere Catholics in their congregations. To keep them in there. Right? It says, given these common misapprehensions regarding the basic tenets of palpable infallibility. It is necessary to explain exactly what infallibility is not. Infallibility is not the absence of sin. Nor is it a charisma... I think it's charisma. Charism. I don't even know how to pronounce that. That belongs only to the Pope. I'm assuming what this is referring to because you think of charismatic. It's a word that comes from the word gift. So they say, we're not saying it's a gift that only belongs to the Pope. A gift given by God to the Pope. He says, indeed, infallibility also belongs to the body of bishops as a whole. When, in doctrinal unity with the Pope, they solemnly teach a doctrine as true. Let me explain to you what they're saying here. Okay? They say this isn't a gift that only exclusively belongs to the Pope. Because all bishops have this as long as they're in agreement with one another. And of course with the Pope. So when they're judging a doctrine to be true or false. They're given the infallibility. Okay? To say, well if they all agree on this, then it means that this doctrine is true. You understand what I'm saying? And if the Pope agrees with it, you have all these bishops agreeing with it. Then at that point, it's true. Folks, if a million people say that salvation is by works, they're wrong. Because of the fact that it doesn't matter how many people agree on what... Look, the vast majority of the world agree that salvation is by works. Does that mean it's true? You can get 30 pastors together and have them agree with one another on a particular doctrine. It doesn't make that doctrine true. What makes it true? If the Bible says it. That's what makes it true, right? And here's what's funny about this, okay? Think about this for a minute. Because they're claiming that the bishops have this, along with the Pope. That if they all gather together and they agree with one another, then it makes that doctrine true. Folks, in the Gospels, the disciples never agreed. They're like fighting with one another, who's the greatest? With Pope Peter, in the midst. So they're like, we're not saying that they're without error. We're just saying when they all agree with one another, then it's true. Then it's without error. We have this from Jesus himself, who promised the apostles and their successors, the bishops, the magistrium of the church. And here's their text verse to prove that this is something that Jesus gave them. Luke 10 16. He who hears you, hears me. That is their text verse. He who hears you, hears me. Oh, we're infallible. He who hears you, hears me, infallibility. Say less. By the way, with the Catholic Church, it's always say less. Sometimes it's void of so much information, you just won't find it in the Bible. Let's teach that there's a place after death, not hell, but not heaven, say less. Let's call it purgatory. Even though purgatory is not in the Bible. So their text verse is he who hears you, hears me. Let's keep reading here. So Vatican II's explanation of infallibility. Vatican II explained the doctrine of infallibility as follows. Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, in other words, the privilege of being infallible, they can nevertheless proclaim Christ's doctrine infallibly. So like, hey, you know, the bishops are very humble and they don't enjoy this privilege of being infallible. But, you know, they can proclaim Christ's doctrine infallibly though. I mean, talk about gaslighting. They're not infallible. It's just that when they preach the Bible, they're infallible. They do it infallibly. In other words, they're not, we're not saying they're without error. We're just saying that when they teach the Bible, they don't have error. Oh! This is so even when they are dispersed around the world, provided that while maintaining the bond of unity among themselves and with Peter's successor, and while teaching authentically on a matter of faith or morals, they concur in a single viewpoint as the one which must be held conclusively. This authority is even more clearly verified when gathered together in an ecumenical council. They are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal church. Listen to this. Their definitions must then be adhered to with the submission of faith. What does that mean? When they gather together, they're not infallible, but when they teach the Bible and they agree with one another especially, they're infallible. And because they're infallible, you just need to believe them by faith. It doesn't say believe the Bible by faith. It says believe what they say by faith. This is called the blind leading the blind, right? And folks, that's why when we have church, you have a Bible right in front of you. So when we're reading the Word of God, I'm telling you this is what the Bible says. And look, it's not devised out of my own heart. Read it for yourself. It's right there. Whereas what they say, well, because these men who are not infallible are teaching Christ's doctrine infallibly and they agree with one another, and because that office was given to them by God, you better accept it by faith. Blind faith. Just blind faith in these men, not in the Word of God. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the bishops, hearing by the Word of God. So their definitions must be adhered to with the submission of faith. Let's read on. Infallibility belongs in a special way to the pope as head of bishops. Now, let me say this. Where's that part? So in the beginning of the article, it said the infallibility of the pope is not a gift that belongs only to the pope. But then he says here, infallibility belongs in a special way to the pope as head of the bishops. Matthew 16, John 21. As Vatican II remarked, it is a gift the pope enjoys, quote, enjoys in virtue of his office when as the supreme shepherd and teacher of all the faithful who confirms his brethren in their faith. Luke 22 32. Listen to this. Now this is the coup de grace here. He proclaims by a definitive act some doctrine of faith or morals. Therefore, his definitions of themselves are not from the consent of the church, are just held irreformable. For they are pronounced with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and assistance promised to him in blessed period. What does it say? Well, if the pope gets up and he teaches something, even if the bishops don't agree with them, it's still infallible. They are irreformable. So let me give you an example if that's too much, okay? If the pope gets up and says that it's okay to be a fag, no one can argue with him. As far as the Catholic church is concerned. And didn't he do that? You know, if he gets up and he says abortion is fine and salvation, you know, you can get eternal life by following me on Twitter, which he did a couple years ago. It's infallible. I mean, you hear the ridiculousness of this? Why? Well, because he had the assistance promised to him of the Holy Spirit that was promised to him by blessed Peter, that's why. So yeah, you know, when you have all these bishops gathering together and they are proclaiming God's word and they're in unity, it's infallible. But if the pope gets up and he teaches something, you know, like accept this guy who's the anti-Christ as God, it's infallible. They can't question it, they have to submit to it by faith. See this nonsense? Now, look at Matthew 16, because we're going to look at what they're talking about here, okay? Let's look at blessed Pope Peter, who was the first pope according to the Catholics, right? Let's look at verse 17, it says, And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee by my Father which is in heaven. Verse 18, And I say also unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Okay, so that's their text verse. I say upon this rock I will build my church, the rock referring to Peter, and Jesus Christ gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and so anything that he says on earth is taken as gospel in heaven and vice versa. That's how they interpret this verse, okay? So this is essentially, listen to this, the ordination of Pope Peter. You guys see that? I mean, obviously we don't see it, but this is what they say, right? So whatever he says is taken as gospel. Do you understand? It's infallible. So let's see what he does on his first day in the office of a pope. Verse 22, Then Peter took him, referring to Jesus, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from the Lord, this shall not be unto thee, referring to him dying. Which is what he was supposed to do. Peter already blew it! His first day in office as pope, what's the first teaching you're going to do? Well, I'm going to tell Jesus he can't die, be it far from thee. I mean, the most quintessential thing for Jesus Christ, the reason he came, is to die for the sins of the whole world. And the first thing he does is rebukes our Lord. That means he strongly corrects Jesus Christ. He says, this ain't going to happen to you. Well, that was a bust. But, you know, it's infallible, so, you know, this should be bound in heaven. Right? No, look at verse 23. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan. He calls Pope Peter Satan. He blows it on his first day on the job! On his very first day on the job, he says, You're not going to die. Jesus turns around and rebukes him and says, Get behind me, you little devil. And you know what? Today, in 2023, that's exactly what we need to say to this pope. He's not a vicar of Christ, he's a vicar of hell. Get thee behind me, Satan pope! And I don't care what people say, what they believe, every single pope who has ever lived and died, they're burning in hell in the lowest hell. Because they've led millions of people astray, millions of people have gone to hell because of the pope, and this current pope is going to split hell wide open as well. He's a vicar of hell. And you know what? Jesus Christ rebuked Peter, facetiously calling him Satan, but you know what? This pope is Satan! Thou art an offense unto me, for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. So tell me, explain to me Catholicism, that why is it that your first pope, Peter, can't even do his job right? I'll tell you why, because he's fallible. Not infallible. Peter was a saved man who made a great mistake there, he put his foot in his mouth, and said something really stupid, which is obviously not the first time. And look, they picked the wrong person to make him their first pope. Because Peter is just always getting rebuked. He's always saying dumb things. I mean, he denied the Lord thrice. Right? But you know what? Maybe the pope is just following in his footsteps because he denied the Lord God that bought him. They're like, oh, you deny him thrice? I'll do you, I'll just deny him completely and just not even be saved. So, you know, this isn't the best, this is not a good look for the Catholic church as their first pope. Now go to Matthew 18, Matthew 18. Oh, you're just trying to be funny. You're just saying that, you know, but it still doesn't take away the fact that he gave him the keys of heaven and of earth, and he can bind things on earth and it's going to be bound in heaven. He told them, thou, thou, thou, thou shall have the keys of the kingdom of heaven, if you bind it here on earth, I will bind it in heaven. He gave it to them. Okay, look at Matthew 18, that's a parallel passage to Matthew 16 regarding the keys of the kingdom of heaven and binding things on earth and in heaven. This is not referring to, hey, whatever false doctrine you teach on this earth, I got you, I got you, bro. I got you. I'll change the entire word of God if you say that on earth, I'll make sure, because you know, the word of God is in heaven. So you got some scribe angel over there just erasing everything that's in heaven and just like rewriting it because the Pope said it. This is in reference to church discipline. Look at Matthew 18 verse 15. Moreover, if thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee two, excuse me, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. If he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church. But if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and as a publican. Referring to the fact that church discipline must be instituted in local congregations for offenses, of course, heresies, different things. Here it's referring to an offense of another brother. Verse 18, verily I say unto you whatsoever, I want you to notice these two letters here, ye. So in Matthew 16, which is what the Catholics want to use, they say, oh no, that privilege was given to Pope Peter because he said that he's given thou, thou being singular. Shall have the keys of the kingdom of heaven. But when it's reiterated in Matthew 18, it's ye. And what is he? You all. It's plural for everyone. That's why it's important you have a King James Bible, amen? Yeah, he was speaking directly to Peter because that's who he's talking to at the moment. But when he reiterates this teaching in Matthew 18, there's a greater group of people there and he says, ye, meaning you all have this ability. And it's not infallibility. Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And again I say unto you, if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. He didn't say the bishops. He's referring to believers. Go to Galatians chapter 2, Galatians chapter 2. You know, they want to scream and yell about infallibility of the Pope all day long, but their very first Pope, Peter, screwed it all up. And his first day in office, he messed it all up. But that's not the only time. I mean, we could point to many examples where Peter dropped the ball majorly, right? And you know, why don't they make Paul a Pope? Or John a Pope, right? Because here's the thing, we're going to look at an example where Paul rebuked the Pope. Look at Galatians 2 verse 9. And when James Cephas, referring to Peter, and John who seemed to be pillars perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship that we should go into the heathen and they unto the circumcision. Only they would that we should remember the poor, the same which I also was for to do. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I was stood him to the face because he was to be blamed. Whoa, whoa, whoa, why are you doing that to the Pope? He's infallible in matters of faith and morals. Nah, he was stood him to the face. For before the certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles, but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. As being a hypocrite, you know, like the Pope is a hypocrite. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with them in so much that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked on uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou being a Jew liveth after the manner of the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compelest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? So he just publicly shames Peter because Peter is being a respecter of people. You know, someone needs to tell Paul, hey man, you know, he's enjoying this special privilege and if he says that's okay, then that's fine to do. No, because Peter's not a Pope. And you know what? The Pope's not married and Peter was. Go to Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10. And by the way, the Bible says in Matthew 23 verse 8, But be ye not called Rabbi, for one is your Master even Christ, and all ye are brethren. And call no man father upon the earth, for one is your Father which is in heaven, the Bible says. So it's actually a sin to call the Pope, the Pope, in reference to him being a religious leader that you follow, right? I mean he calls himself that. Now when you look at the Pope today, okay, you know, people are kissing his feet, kissing his ring, they reverence him, they bow down to him, right? And they treat him as some great one, okay? But that's not, you know, Pope Peter didn't do all that. Look at what Pope Peter did. And I'm using that term facetiously, obviously. Look at Acts 10 verse 23. Then came he, or excuse me, then called he them in and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea, and Cornelius waited for them, and he had called together his kinsmen and his near friends, and as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. Good old fashioned Catholic right there, right? Cornelius, he's a Catholic. I thought that's what we do, you know, we worship men. Verse 26, but Peter took him up saying, stand up, I myself also am a man. When was the last time you saw the Pope do something like that? It's nonsense, my friends. And so, you know, Peter is not the first Pope. Peter was a bishop, which means pastor in the Bible. And the reason they want to accredit that to Peter is because Peter's church was in Rome. Which is where all that nonsense took place, the amalgamation of Christianity and Roman pagan polytheism, which ended up turning into this union of church and state, and that's why the Pope was given so much power. So they want to accredit that to Peter, but Peter never was a Pope. He never experienced any of these things that the Catholic Church talks about. He never practiced them. In fact, he did the exact opposite. You know, thank God that Peter screwed up so much. I'm out of time here, but let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 3. They also bastardized the office of a bishop. Bishop meaning pastor, okay? So they took this honorable office of a pastor, and they just completely degraded it. They destroyed it, they corrupted it, they turned it into just these den of perverts and, you know, pedophiles. So when they asked them, like, hey, how come your bishops don't marry? Or the priests, how come they don't marry, you know? Well, the reason, it says, the reasons Latin Rite priests can't marry are both theological and canonical. Theologically, it may be pointed out that priests served in the place of Christ, and therefore, their ministry specially configures them to Christ. As is clear from scripture, Christ was not married. Except in a mystical sense, there they go again with that mysticism, to the church. By remaining celibate and devoting themselves to the service of the church, priests more closely model, configure themselves to, and consecrate themselves to Christ. Yeah, as they molest children for just hundreds of years, obviously. As Christ himself makes clear, none of us will be married in heaven. By remaining unmarried in this life, priests are more closely configured to the final eschatological state that will be all of ours. So they're a little bit ahead of the game, you know? They're just like, well, we're not going to be married in the millennial reign, so let's just not be married now, okay? Paul makes it very clear that remaining single allows one's attention to be undivided in serving the Lord. He recommends celibacy to all, but especially to ministers who, as soldiers of Christ, he urges to abstain from civilian affairs. Canonically, priests cannot marry for a number of reasons. First, priests who belong to religious orders take vows of celibacy. Second, while priests do not take vows, they do make a promise of celibacy. Third, the church has established impediments that block the validity of marriages attempted by those who have been ordained. Canon 1087 states, persons who are in holy orders invalidly attempt marriage. This impediment remains as long as the priest has not been dispensed from it, even if he were to attempt a civil marriage, even if he were left in the church and joined a non-Catholic sect, and even if he apostatized from the Christian faith altogether. Basically what he's saying is this, we don't really have a verse to back this up, this is just what they do, okay? Now they pull out these other verses that show people being celibate like Paul, but Paul wasn't a pastor. And Paul in 1 Corinthians 7, okay, literally says, have we not power to marry? Basically saying like, I can get married if I want to, but I'm not going to. And you know the last time I checked, all the other apostles were married, who were pastors like John and Peter. Does that prove that? Well look at 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1. This is a true saying, if a man desired the office of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop that must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach. And of course it says in verse number 4, one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. Go to chapter 4, chapter 4. And look, I'm not saying that these Catholic priests don't exist in the Bible, they're in the Bible. The Catholic priests are in the Bible, my friends. What? They are! Look at 1 Timothy 4 verse 1. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron. Verse 3, forbidding to marry. I mean didn't we just read the article where they said they make them take a vow and even if they leave the Catholic Church they're just forbidden to ever marry? Well that's what it says in verse 3. Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats on Good Friday. Only eat fish. I remember I was in Baptist history class one time and I heard about this Baptist pastor who was converted from Catholicism. He hated Catholicism so much that every convert he had he would have them bring their crucifix on Good Friday and they pile it up in front of the Catholic Church, they burn it and cook steaks on it. And then just preach against the Catholic Church. Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it were received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God in person. So yeah, Catholic priests are in the Bible. They're right there. Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats, something that God did not command. So I'm out of time, I'm going to finish part 2 tonight but what is the message this morning? Here's I hope what you got out of this message. Catholicism for sure is not Christianity and vice versa. It's polar opposite. It's a bastardization. It's an adaptation, it's a corrupted adaptation of Christianity in order to confuse, deceive the masses which they successfully done. Make them think that they're serving Jesus Christ and God and believe the Bible while they're actually practicing paganism. That's what it is. Let's pray. Father we thank you so much for your word and I pray Lord for the hearts of those Catholics out there that don't know the truth but they want the truth and they've just been deceived by the Catholic Church. That you would work in their hearts Lord and I pray you'd lead us to them so we can get them saved. Give them the gospel Lord and come out of the Catholic horror Lord. I pray that you'd bless us as we go on our way and bless the soul winning and the service tonight in Jesus' name. Amen. Song number 216, Surely Goodness and Mercy. Song number 216, before we sing this song I just want to instruct the congregation real quick. If you look there in your hymnals of song number 216 we're right there where it says DC on your hymnals and it carries on where it says, And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We're not going to sing that last part until the last verse. Alright so just follow along and just sing along with us. Sing on that first verse. A pilgrim was I and a one dream, In the cold night of sin I did roam, When Jesus the kind shepherd found me, And now I am on my way home. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, All the days, all the days of my life. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, All the days, all the days of my life. On that second verse. He restoreth my soul when I'm weary, He giveth me frankly my day, He leads me beside the still waters, He guards me each step of the way. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, All the days, all the days of my life. On that last verse. When I walk through the dork, lonesome valley, My Savior will walk with me there, And safely His great hand will be, To the mansions He's gone to prepare. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, All the days, all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever, And I shall feast at the table spread for me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, All the days, all the days of my life. We have a baptism. Son, go ahead and tell us your name. Bruce A. Love Mejia, have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? Upon your public profession, I'm going to now baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, going to cross your arms over your chest. Here we go. Buried in the likeness of His death, raised to walk in theness of life. Let's pray and we'll be dismissed. Father, we thank you so much for today, Lord. Thank you so much for the fact that salvation is not based upon what church we go to, but based upon who we're placing our faith in. And I pray that you help us to take the heart, the teachings today. I'm thankful for my son getting baptized today, Lord, and what a blessing it is to be a Christian and to be able to enjoy that privilege and see that. I pray, God, that you bless us as we go on our way. Bless the soul winning and all there is in Jesus' name. Amen. You are dismissed.