On one leg of my flight to Brazil (BIL to DFW) I sat next to a Roman Catholic friar (I'll withold his name just for his own privacy). He really was a nice young man. We talked theology for the entire flight. I listened to him give his "conversion" story into the RCC and a defense of RC theology (transubstantiation, apostolic succession, praying to saints, immaculate conception, etc). I countered all of his points with scripture and logic. Nothing really seemed to faze him much until he began talking about...Purgatory.
He explained Purgatory (as much as such a non-existent place can be explained) and its purpose. When he was done I simply opened my LSB Bible app and had him read Romans 8:1 - "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
No condemnation.
Interestingly, that stumped him. He had no answer for that at all. I shared the Gospel with him and pray that the Truth will prevail upon his heart.
Romans 8:1 is a Purgatory killing verse.
Jesus didn't hangout with sinners because He wanted to appear inclusive, tolerant, and accepting.
He spent time with them to show them who He was, and how to live differently.
His goal is to transform lives, not affirm sin.
Consider for a moment that the same God who is slandered as unloving and uncaring and cruel is the God who planned the cross, sent his Son to die on the cross, and even now saves wretched sinners through the cross, welcoming them to unending love and forgiveness.
“There must be an absolute if there are to be morals. If there is no absolute beyond man’s ideas, then there is no final appeal to judge between individuals and groups whose moral judgments conflict.”
—Francis A. Schaeffer
WORLD: live your truth
BIBLE: Jesus is Truth
WORLD: you do you
BIBLE: obey the Lord your God
WORLD: be your authentic self
BIBLE: be who God created you to be
WORLD: follow your heart
BIBLE: you need a new heart
WORLD: love is love
BIBLE: God is love
Jesus provides the ransom. He is the only one who can pay off our debt of sin because he is sinless. So, he takes our sin upon himself, our punishment upon himself. God remains just, and he's the justifier.
Jesus is not just a religious figure, moral teacher or prophet. Jesus is the Savior of mankind. He is the ONLY way to Heaven! Believe in Jesus and be saved!
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
John 14:6
“As Christians we accept one foundational truth - God - and everything else makes sense. An atheist denies God and has to accept incredible explanations for everything else. It takes more faith to deny God than to believe in Him.”
—John MacArthur