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Page 21a: Revised 05/24/2000

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Dilemmas On this page: | Salvation Dilemma | Marriage Dilemma | Unforgivable Sin Dilemma |

Catholic Dilemma: Assurance of Salvation

FACT 1: The Roman Catholic Church declares that you have absolutely no assurance of salvation, thereby nullifying the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Evidence:

CANNON XII "If anyone saith that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sin for Christ's sake let him be anathema (cursed)!

CANNON XV "If anyone saith that a man who is born again and justified is bound of faith to believe that he is assuredly in the number of the predestinate (saved); let him be anathema (cursed)"

CANNON XXI "If anyone saith that Jesus Christ was given of God to men, as a Redeemer in whom to trust, and not also as a legislator whom to obey, let him be anathema (cursed)"

CANNON XXX "If anyone saith that, after the grace of justification has been received, to every penitent sinner the guilt is remitted, and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out let him be anathema (cursed)"

FACT 2: The Word of God declares that your salvation is assured by grace, through your faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Evidence:

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. ¹⁸He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18)

Sirs, what must I do to be saved? ³¹And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)

¹³These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. ( 1John 5:13)

²¹And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)

¹⁰Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ¹¹But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. (Acts 15:10)

⁹That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. ¹²For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. ¹³For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Roman 10: 9-13)

FACT 3: Admission to Heaven requires that our sins be forgiven.
FACT 4: The Roman Catholic priest, in 'hearing' your confession, dismisses you with the words, Ego te absolve (I absolve, or forgive you).

The Dilemma

QUESTION: Do you know that, under the Roman Catholic system of salvation, you have absolutely no assurance of going to Heaven?	Yes	No
QUESTION: Do you know that, if you accept God's Word on your salvation, you are under not one but several curses?	Yes	No
QUESTION: Do you know that under God's system of salvation, you can have absolute assurance of going to Heaven?	Yes	No
QUESTION: Can you see that the Word of God and the words of Rome are antithetical, or mutually exclusive?	Yes	No
QUESTION: How will you resolve this dilemma?	Your Answer?

For another Catholic dilemma on this topic, check out the Scapular Dilemma.

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Invalid Marriage Dilemma

FACT 1: The validity of a Roman Catholic sacrament depends on the "disposition" of the priest who administers that sacrament. If the priest does not have the proper disposition, the sacrament is invalid - no good. (See 'Proof' below for reference to official Roman Catholic documentation.)
FACT 2: The priest who administers a sacrament does not have to be in a 'state of grace' to confer that sacrament.
FACT 3: The recipient of a sacrament must be in a state of grace or the sacrament is invalid - no good.
FACT 4: For a sacrament to be valid, the recipient must have the "necessary disposition."
Proof: The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism, #1120, 1121, 1126, 1128, 1129; John A. Hardon, S.J. Copyright 1981 with Imprimi Potest, Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur (which identify this book has being officially approve by Rome).

SUMMARY: Let's evaluate the sacrament of matrimony in light of these official Roman Catholic teachings. First, regarding what Rome calls 'the state of grace.' You, the recipient, must be in the state of grace, while the officiating priest does not have to be in a state of grace. Second, the priest must have 'the proper disposition.'

Unknown to you, the priest who marries you does not have the 'proper disposition.' That is to say that he no longer believes in the miraculous power he is supposed to have as 'another Christ.' In fact, he's been having an affair with a lovely lass who he intends to marry just as soon as he can write his resignation and send it to the bishop. Today all he is doing is keeping his commitment to you, and doing the job he gets paid to do until he can tie-up the loose ends.

The Dilemma

THE QUESTIONS	Rome Says	You Say
QUESTION: Is this a valid sacrament?	No	.
QUESTION: Are you validly married?	No	.
QUESTION: Are you living in 'mortal sin?'	Yes	.
QUESTION: Do people who die in 'mortal sin' go to Hell?	Yes	.
QUESTION: Will you go to Hell for it?	Yes	.

Do you see your dilemma, my Roman Catholic surfer? According to Rome, you are not married, thus you are living in mortal sin (fornication). Your children, if you have any, will be bastards. When you die you are consigned to Hell because you lived your life in fornication!

Don't get angry with me! I didn't say these things - your church did! This melodrama works out in reality all too often! Just look at the more than one hundred thousand priests now living who have resigned the priesthood! All of which leads to several more question:

QUESTION: Were you married by a priest who did not have the 'proper disposition' according to the laws of Rome? Yes No Don't Know

QUESTION: If 'Yes,' do you have to confess your sin, get a civil divorce-and marry her all over again? Yes No Don't Know

QUESTION: If "I don't know," shouldn't you try to find out? Yes No Don't know

QUESTION: If "Yes," and you are diddling with some cutie at the office, are you committing adultery-or just fornication? Yes No Don't know

QUESTION: If "Yes" can you now dump the wife and marry that little cutie? Yes No Don't know

This perverted teaching of Rome leads to more confusion, more moral dilemmas than most people would care to think about! Here are a few more:

If you are invalidly married, do you confess adultery or fornication when you go to confession?
If you are invalidly married and don't know it, are you obliged in good conscience, to find out?
If you are invalidly married, is it alright to leave your spouse and marry someone else?
Suppose, after ten years of marriage and three children, you discover that you are invalidly married. Suppose as well that you have come to really hate your mate and want to divorce her in civil court. According to Catholic law, you were never married to begin with, so a civil divorce is irrelevant. Will your new priest agree to marry you to another person after that?
Is God constrained to send you to Hell for fornicating with a person you are not validly married to?
Should about-to-be-married Roman Catholics ask their priest for a written statement that he has the 'proper disposition' in light of Rome's laws on the sacraments?

It's something to think about!

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Catholic Dilemma: A New Unforgivable Sin!

FACT 1: God says that there is one, and only one 'unforgivable sin:'

"Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." (Matthew 12: 31-32)

FACT 2: God promises to forgive all our sins if we confess them to Him:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

FACT 3: God's word permits divorce and remarriage under certain conditions: for adultery by the opposite partner, and when an unbelieving spouse divorces you. (See Matthew 5:31-32; 19:8-9; 1 Corinthians 7:12-15). Scripture states that "A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace." (1 Cor 7:15)

FACT 4: Rome treats divorce and remarriage for any reason as an unforgivable sin:

Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery." (Page 573, article 2384 of Catechism of the Catholic church, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Copyright 1994, United States Catholic Conference.)

FACT 5: When a divorced and remarried Roman Catholic goes to confession, the priest is forbidden to give him/her absolution (sic., forgiveness of sin) unless they are willing to either get a civil divorce or to live as brother-and-sister. In other words, that person is "held in bondage" by Rome's system.

FACT 6: When a divorced and remarried Roman Catholic wants to get back into the good graces of Rome - and get married again, Rome insists on a civil divorce!

"Every diocesan tribunal in America requires proof of a civil divorce before accepting a canonical nullity petition." [Page 42-43 of 100 Answers To Your Questions on Annulments; Edward N. Peters, J.D., J.C.D., Copyright 1997 by Basilica Press.]

Imagine that! The Roman Catholic Church refuses to recognize a civil marriage following a civil divorce, but insists on a civil divorce before it will even consider an appeal for one of her annulments (which, for practical purposes is the Catholic equivalent of divorce)! Talk about inconsistency?

So it is that Rome forbids what Gods' Word permits; Rome consigns to Hell those whom God has declared free. By declaring that a civil divorce and remarriage makes one a practicing adulterer(ess), in contradiction to Scripture, and by withholding her forgiveness, Rome has, in effect, created a new unforgivable sin. IF you are a Roman Catholic person trapped between the freedom of God's Word and the bondage of Rome, I urge you to choose God!

The Dilemma

QUESTION: Where did Rome get the right to make a sin of something permitted by Scripture?	Your answer?
QUESTION: Scripture permits divorce and remarriage for specified reasons. Rome does not. Who will you believe, God or Rome?	I believe God	I Believe Rome
QUESTION: Does Rome add to the Word of God by making a sin that which Scripture permits?	Yes	No
QUESTION: Does God curse those who add to His Word? See Revelation (Apocalypse 22:18-19)	Yes	No
QUESTION: Are you free to divorce an adulterous wife or husband?	Rome says No!	God says Yes!
QUESTION: Are you free to remarry if an unbelieving (non-Catholic) spouse divorces you?	Rome says No!	God says Yes!
QUESTION: Since Rome does not recognize civil divorce, why does she insist that a person have a civil divorce before applying for a annulment?	Your Answer?

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QUESTION: Were you married by a priest who did not have the 'proper disposition' according to the laws of Rome?	Yes	No	Don't Know
QUESTION: If 'Yes,' do you have to confess your sin, get a civil divorce-and marry her all over again?	Yes	No	Don't Know
QUESTION: If "I don't know," shouldn't you try to find out?	Yes	No	Don't know
QUESTION: If "Yes," and you are diddling with some cutie at the office, are you committing adultery-or just fornication?	Yes	No	Don't know
QUESTION: If "Yes" can you now dump the wife and marry that little cutie?	Yes	No	Don't know