Matthew 25 Sheep & Goats
|
I have an acquaintance named Morty, not his real name, he is a Christian/non-Catholic missionary in another country.
I admire Morty tremendously and in some ways pray I might be more like him. But, in some ways, I definitely would not want to be him.
He claims to be a “Bible” Christian. I say that he claims to be, because many times he will say that the Catholic Church is wrong about something and when I prove to him from the Bible that he is wrong and the Catholic Church is correct, suddenly he is no longer a “Bible” Christian.
He brought up a few points that I would like to share with you. One was how the Catholic Church feeds the hungry, provides clothing, schools and hospitals in the country that he is a missionary. He doesn’t think that they should do that. He went on to say that the largest Christian church in the country where he is a missionary is the Catholic Church. He said that the only reason The Catholic Church is the largest is because they build schools and hospitals.
Is this true?
First of all the Bible says that in order to get into heaven we have to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit those who are sick and in prison. The Bible goes on to say that those who do not will NOT get into heaven! [Matthew 25:31-46 - The sheep & the goats.]
Finally, the Catholic Church will never require that someone convert to Catholicism in order to receive help.
---
Another point that he made was, where, in the Bible, does it say that we have to fast 1 hour before receiving Communion? I said, 1 Corinthians 11:29 “For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.”
He said; “That covers the respect part. Where does it say 1 hour.” I quoted Matthew 16:18-19 “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
St. Peter and his Office that carries on his work through the centuries has the authority to say how Christians should show respect for the “Body & Blood” of The Lord.
---
Which brings us to the “Last Point”. Morty was visibly upset by our conversation. I told him that I loved him and that we had covered all this in the past, so I didn’t think that we needed to cover it again. He said; “That was fine with him but he wanted the last word.”
Out of love for Jesus and my friend of many years I agreed. Although I find it very hard to let him have the last word, after all his “salvation’ and the salvation of all he comes in contact with hangs in the balance.
He went on to say that what Catholics refer to as The Last Supper was actually nothing more than the agape meal, inferring that there was no such thing as a Eucharistic Celebration.
I did not share the following with my friend as he did not want to listen to me, but I will share some information here.
While it is true that the original Passover Feast included the agape meal. It is also true that Our Lord clearly performed the actions that would become central to the Mass: the taking of unleavened bread and wine, the offering of a thanksgiving over them, the breaking of the bread, the sharing of the bread and wine.
Luke 22:19-20 “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 20 And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
Then in St. Paul’s First Letter to The Corinthians he admonishes the believers for their discord in celebrating the “Pasch”, Paschal Feast [1 Corinthians 5:8]. He tells them to separate their eating from the Paschal celebration [1 Corinthians 11:22]. This dictate on the part of St. Paul eventually led the Catholic Church to separate out the blessing and sharing of bread and wine (the Eucharist) from the context of a full meal (agape).
Morty had the last word but he kept bringing up points. In my desire to keep my word I finally said to him; “Resistence is futile!” He did not bring up anything after that.
The fact is many so-called Bible Christians refuse to accept the Bible as their authority. On the other hand, The Catholic Church does accept the Bible as authoritative, more so than many Bible Churches. The fact is that The Catholic Church, in its infancy, wrote the New Testament inspired by God.
For more information on how we have the Bible today, “Where We Got the Bible: Our Debt to the Catholic Church?”