I am a formerly devout, confirmed Roman Catholic, who served as an altar boy for several years, and later as a lector (reader) at mass. I have visited the Vatican and stood there in the crowd as Pope John Paul gave a general address to the audience back in around 1982. In my previous articles, I have revealed the shocking truth about the Roman Catholic Church from a theological, doctrinal, practical, traditional, and moral perspective. As an insider with first-hand knowledge and experience, I write these things in love, with the hopes that those who are still in that religion would know the truth that will set them free. In this post, I would like to make all those past articles available in one place for those who want to do some in-depth research or share this information with a friend or loved one for their information.
If you will take the time to read each of these posts prayerfully, and do your research in the Bible, in Church history, and in other authentic, verifiable sources to see if these things are really true, you will discover that what I am telling you is the honest truth. When I say prayerfully, I mean you need to pray and ask God to show you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened.
The Roman Catholic Church is corrupt from top to bottom and is run like the mafia, which I can say based on reliable sources within the Catholic Church itself. I am not referring to some isolated incident or some trifling doctrinal difference that I have with the church. This is an occult, Babylonian religion that will lead you down to hell. It is not the true Christian Church that was started by Christ, and which we read about in the New Testament. It's a phony imitation of the Church -- a whore church -- that has satan's fingerprints and designs all over it. It certainly has enough documented, factual evidence of systematic sexual abuse going back over the past thousand years to be considered a perverted sex cult.
Therefore, in my opinion it is not something that we should seek to reform, since its leadership has already had many opportunities to do so in the past and failed miserably. Despite all the precious, sincere, well-meaning people who are a part of it without knowing any better, and who may consider themselves to be true lovers of God, the fact is that it is a satanic sect, which you need to escape from for the sake of your own soul and the souls of your family members. God loves each one of you and doesn't want you to perish.
Think about it. If I am wrong, then when you do your research, beginning with the links above, you can prove to your own satisfaction that I am wrong based on Scripture and historical facts. In that case, you would have nothing to worry about. But if I'm right, which I know I am with God as my witness, then the stakes are high and your soul depends on what I have presented to you here. If you really want to know the truth, then you will not be disappointed. Either way, no matter what you do, you will find out the truth at the judgment seat of Christ. Find out now before it's too late!
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you
repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible
says?
“Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.
He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
At numerous times over the past three decades we have heard news reports about cases of Catholic priests molesting children. This is truly a tragedy of the highest magnitude, when the very religious leaders that these children and their parents trust to be godly examples turn out to be evil predators.
Fr. Edward Avery, former Philadelphia
priest pleaded guilty of sex abuse charge
In the most recently example, a grand jury accused over 300 Pennsylvania Catholic priests of molesting more than 1,000 children. The Fox News report said that the grand jury's "findings echoed many earlier church investigations around the country." What a tragedy! Here is the report, which you should be warned contains graphic allegations of sexual abuse. It says, "The 'real number' of abused children might be in the thousands." According to Fox News, "U.S. bishops have acknowledged that more than 17,000 people nationwide have reported being molested by priests and others in the church."
The victims were mostly boys, but some of them were girls also. The report documents the horrors perpetrated by these priests like anal rape, fondling, oral sex, and child pornography. These sometimes resulted in pregnancies and suicides. In some cases these priests even paid for abortions for girls they raped and got pregnant. They also further abused their victims by seeking to silence them and pay them off.
And rather than punish the priests responsible, the Catholic Church leaders merely move these pedophiles to another parish, where they are free to abuse more victims. The Fox article states that "The grand jury accused Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who leads the Washington archdiocese, of helping to protect abusive priests when he was Pittsburgh’s bishop." As I stated, they named more than 300 of these allegedly abusive priests, and while many of them are either dead or retired, a few of them are still in ministry!
What reproach they have brought upon the name of Christ! What torment for their victims! These are the kind of people that God is against. He does not tolerate hypocrisy, especially among the shepherds in the Church, who are supposed to be feeding the flock, but instead feed only their own carnal appetites. Ezekiel the prophet wrote, "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?"'" (Ez 34:2).
The Lord goes on to describe how these shepherds, have slaughtered the sheep, ate the fat, and clothed themselves with the wool. They failed to strengthen the sickly, they have not healed the diseased, or bound up the broken, they have not brought back the ones who were scattered, nor have they sought for the lost; but with force and with severity they have dominated the sheep. They reason the sheep were scattered was for lack of a proper shepherd, and as a result they became food for every wild beast. The Lord says:
"Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 'As I live,' declares the Lord GOD, 'surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them."'" (Eze 34:7-10)
The Lord gave a similar message the Jeremiah the prophet as well. "'Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!' declares the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: 'You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,' declares the LORD." (Jer 23:1-2)
This is what Jesus condemned when He said, "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." (Mt 18:6). It was in this very same context of harming children that the Lord said, "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!" (Mt 18:7).
The latest report proves that the Catholic Church is an organized crime syndicate like the mafia, in light of their systematic cover up of abuses that occurred over a period of 70 years. While the grand jury report covers only six of the eight Pennsylvania dioceses, there were already three previous grand jury investigations into abuses in the other two dioceses - the archdiocese of Philadephia and Altoona-Johnston. Therefore, this is a state-wide problem across all Pennsylvania dioceses.
These crimes were covered up by the Catholic hierarchy all the way from the local diocese to the Vatican. One of the things they have done is try to refer these cases to the Vatican in Rome where they can hold their own secret hearings and investigate themselves. The church has sought to reduce the church's legal exposure and maintain strategies to “avoid scandal.” When state Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the report, he said that now at last “we can begin to understand the systematic coverup of church officials.”
Former Boston Catholic priest Paul Shanley,
Convicted of Raping Boy
This is not unique to Pennsylvania, nor is it the first such scandal to hit the Catholic Church. There was also the controversy in Boston, Massachusetts, surrounding John Geoghan, a convicted pedophile priest, who is now defrocked. He was accused of molesting more than a 100 victims over a period of 40 years. Since that scandal, other dioceses in Massachusetts have come forward and turned over their records of abusive priests to the law enforcement authorities.
Prior to that one, there was also a priest pedophilia scandal in Louisiana, and there was another one in Texas as well. According to Wikipedia, "The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas paid $30.9 million in 1998 to twelve victims of one priest." The Wikipedia article, Catholic Church sex abuse cases in the United States, documents others scandals in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, and other places, but there are also cases reported outside the United States as well. For example, a nun in Argentina was arrested for helping priests rape deaf children. In fact there is a large database of publicly accused priests, which is posted online. Of course, not all of those accusations contained in the database are true, but it helps to show the magnitude of the problem. These are not isolated incidents, but are pervasive throughout the church.
After decades of abuse, the Catholic Church has failed to adequately resolve the issue. But it is taking its toll on the church, because many dioceses have gone bankrupt from fighting the legal battles, and many people have stopped attending the church, as well as withdrawn their financial support. In fact, according to Wikipedia, "Eight Catholic dioceses have declared bankruptcy due to sex abuse cases from 2004–2011." However, as of 2018 the number has now risen to twenty dioceses and religious orders that have gone bankrupt over this scandal. According to Fox News, the clergy sex abuse of children has cost the Catholic Church more than $3 billion.
Furthermore, many Catholic nuns have broken the silence and come forth about the sexual abuse they faced at the hands of priests and bishops, such as sister Charlotte, whose testimony is posted online. She suddenly disappeared two years after giving this testimony.
Priests Who Follow Their Own Sensual Desires
Peter the apostle warned that there would be false prophets who would arise like these priests and bishops have. He said. "Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned." (2Pe 2:2). As a result of the disgraceful acts that these priests have committed, others have blasphemed and spoken evil of the way of truth.
The Pope's Culpability
Pope Francis (L) and Archbishop McCarrick (R)
Ultimately the Pope is culpable, because he oversees the entire Roman Catholic Church universally, and the buck stops with him. He knew about these things, but has not properly addressed them and has actually covered them up.
According to FoxNews contributor Raymond Arroyo on 'The Ingraham Angle,' Carlo Maria Viganò, the former top Vatican diplomat in the United States, who is well-respected, has exposed the Pope and called for his resignation. Archbishop Viganò felt he could not go to his grave without clearing his conscience by writing a letter on August 25, 2018 revealing a major cover up of sexual abuse in the Church. He said his "conscience dictates" that he reveal the truth, because the corruption has "reached the very top of the church's hierarchy."
His 11-page letter states that the Pope and other top officials in the Church knew of the allegations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who is the former Archbishop of Washington D.C. In fact, the Vatican was informed in 2000 of McCarrick's "gravely immoral behaviour with seminarians and priests," and was subsequently informed again two more times between 2005 and 2011.
Initially Pope Benedict XVI placed severe restrictions on McCarrick for his behavior, but Francis later lifted the sanctions. According to Wikipedia, Viganò states that "Pope Francis subsequently removed these sanctions and made McCarrick 'his trusted counselor', even though Francis 'knew from at least June 23, 2013 that McCarrick was a serial predator. He knew that he was a corrupt man, he covered for him to the bitter end.'" Viganò reveals a potential motive for this special treatment, stating that McCarrick played an important role in Francis being elected to the papal office.
The Wikipedia article goes on to say that "Monsignor Jean-François Lantheaume, the former first counsellor at the apostolic nunciature in Washington D.C., confirmed that Viganò had told 'the truth.'" Additionally, Joseph Strickland the bishop of Tyler, Texas also made a public statement that Viganò's allegations are credible. According to Edward Pentin of the National Catholic register, reporting from Rome, his sources say that Viganò does seem to have a lot of credibility. Viganò states in his letter that he is ready to reaffirm under oath the statements he has made in his letter, calling on God as his witness. As I have stated, Viganò has called for the Pope and other officials who knew about McCarrick's behavior to resign.
When Francis was questioned about this letter by reporters aboard the papal jet, he answered evasively, declining to comment. On August 29, 2018, ANSA, the top wire service in Italy, stated in an article called Pope bitter over Viganò casethat Francis is "embittered" by Viganò's letter, even though the former envoy has stated he is not acting in revenge. The article states that Francis is not considering stepping down.
In his letter, Viganò revealed that there is a "mafia" style culture within the Roman Catholic Church, and according to a report from EWTN Nightly News from a Catholic perspective, he fears for his own life, which is clearly in danger for coming out with these revelations. He even states in his letter that two other Apostolic Nuncios in the United States* are now both prematurely deceased after informing the Holy See of Archbishop McCarrick’s "gravely immoral behavior with seminarians and priests." One of those Nuncios was Pietro Sambi, whose death came unexpectedly following an incident when he called McCarrick into his office in either 2009 or 2010 and reprimanded him sternly, announcing Benedict's measures against him. It has been reported by multiple sources that Viganò has been forced into "hiding" for fear of his life.
Moreover, the aforementioned ANSA article stated, "Viganò also claimed there was a powerful gay lobby in the Church he blamed for the abuse cover-ups, naming names." I have personally read the entire letter and can confirm that Viganò definitely described this all in detail. He states that there was a certain collaborator of Pope Benedict, named "Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who notoriously favored promoting homosexuals into positions of responsibility." This is not a new revelation, but one that has been known for quite some time. In 2012 Fr. Dariusz Oko, Ph.D., a priest of the Archdiocese of Krakow and Assistant Professor at the John Paul II Pontifical University in Krakow documented his discovery of a “huge homosexual underground in the Church,” which substantiates the belief that there is a "gay mafia" inside the Vatican, known as the "lavender mafia."
While pro-gay forces within the church deny that homosexuality is the root cause for the sexual abuses, Viganò states that "80% of the abuses found were committed against young adults by homosexuals who were in a relationship of authority over their victims." He further corroborates his claims by citing the results of independent studies that have been conducted saying, "Independent Reports by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2004 and 2011...concluded that, in cases of sexual abuse, 81% of the victims were male. In fact, ...in most cases it is a question of homosexual abuse.”
He goes on to say, "The seriousness of homosexual behavior must be denounced," and quotes another source who has likewise concluded that "The homosexual networks present in the Church must be eradicated." This is not isolated to a specific case of abuse or to one location. In fact, "These homosexual networks, which are now widespread in many dioceses, seminaries, religious orders, etc., act under the concealment of secrecy and lies with the power of octopus tentacles, and strangle innocent victims and priestly vocations, and are strangling the entire Church." This proves the problem is widespread, and is intentionally being covered up, which challenges the pope's insistence that there is "zero tolerance" for sex abuse and cover ups. It is no wonder this is happening on Francis' watch, since he supports homosexuality.
One of the religious orders that Viganò explicitly calls out for abuse in his letter is the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, of which Francis is a member. Viganò reveals that there is a deviant wing of that order that is part of the church's problem.
He calls out "the grave, disconcerting and sinful conduct of Pope Francis." He has told Francis about specific immoral behavior going on the Roman Catholic Church in America, and the pope was neither surprised, nor did he show any concern. Viganò states: "...in the case of McCarrick, [Pope Francis] not only did not oppose evil but associated himself in doing evil with someone he knew to be deeply corrupt. He followed the advice of someone he knew well to be a pervert, thus multiplying exponentially with his supreme authority the evil done by McCarrick. And how many other evil pastors is Francis still continuing to prop up in their active destruction of the Church!" He concludes that Francis "has divided [the brethren], led them into error, and encouraged the wolves to continue to tear apart the sheep of Christ’s flock."
A Thousand Years of Abuse
This sexual abuse is nothing new for the Roman Catholic Church, but has been going on for a thousand years. In his letter, Viganò cites a letter he once wrote to Pope Benedict in 2006, in which he requested permission to disclose to the pope the details of sexual abuse happening in the US. In that 2006 letter, Viganò said that doing so would be similar to what Peter Damian did in his letter to Pope Leo nearly a thousand years ago. He stated that he wished to document for Benedict the deplorable conditions in the present-day American church "with the same intensity that motivated Peter Damian to lay out before...Pope Leo IX, a description of the condition of the clergy during his time. The problems he spoke of are similar and as great now in the United States as they were then in Rome."
A Wikepedia article about Peter Damian states: "About 1050, during the pontificate of Pope Leo IX, [Damian] wrote a scathing treatise on the vices of the clergy, including sexual abuse of minors and actions by church superiors to hide the crimes. Liber Gomorrhianus was openly addressed to the pope." As we can easily learn from history, Pope Leo failed to address these abuses during those days, and Francis is failing to correct them now. They have never been properly dealt with, but instead covered up. It has been one continuous stream of evil for centuries within this corrupt church. When will people realize that this is a deviant branch of the true Church that for all intents and purposes may be classified as a perverted sex cult.
Idolatry in Vigano's Letter
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not call attention to the fact that Viganò ends his treatise by calling upon the name of Mary for help with this terrible dilemma, rather than the name of Jesus, which goes directly against Scripture. He prays, "Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us! Mary, Virgin and Queen, Mother of the King of glory, pray for us!" This is one of the many Unbiblical Practices of the Catholic Church that I have written about in my article by that name. The Lord Jesus Christ told us that He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father, except by Him (Joh 14:6). Mary is neither the Mother of the Church nor the Queen of Heaven as the Catholics call her, and I have explained this from Scripture in my articles Messages from the Lord for Catholics Worshipping Idols and The Marine Kingdom and Queen of the Coast.
Scripture teaches us that there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5). When Jesus taught us to pray, he said to pray to the heavenly Father, not to Mary. To do otherwise would be in direct disobedience to His instruction to us in the gospels, and to the very first commandment that says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex 20:3-5).
The Matter is Established by Two or Three Witnesses
We should not receive an accusation against an elder, unless it is brought by two or three witnesses (1 Tim 5:19). However, this particular matter definitely has at least two or three witnesses. In fact, there are thousands of witnesses of the horrific abuses and cruelty perpetrated against the Members of the Catholic Church by their shepherds. And now we have this detailed treatise of abuses by a highly placed Archbishop, detailing the scandal with names and places.
As I wrote in The Power of Two or Three, Jesus said that "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed." (Mat 18:16). Therefore, the matter presented in this article has been duly confirmed. By that I don't mean to say that every accusation that any person ever made against a priest anywhere in the world is true or that every accused priest is guilty, but the fact that so many have made these same kinds of allegations over such a long period of time across such a wide geographical area nationally (and even globally) confirms that this is a pervasive problem throughout the Catholic Church. Such an overwhelming amount of evidence simply cannot be ignored.
Putting it All Together
I hope that this article has helped to expose the pattern of horrible abuses that have taken place withing the Roman Catholic Church, and which may still be taking place today. As John the apostle wrote in the book of Revelation:
"I heard another voice from heaven, saying, 'Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.'" (Rev 18:4-5)
If you are still in the Catholic Church, then come out of it. One of the things the Lord said through Ezekiel the prophet was that He is going to go after His lost sheep Himself and gather them back. The Lord Jesus loves you. He wants to be your Shepherd, feed you, care for you, and heal your wounds.
For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. "As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. "I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. "I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. "I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest," declares the Lord GOD. "I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment." (Eze 34:11-16)
And the Lord said in the gospel of John:
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." (Joh 10:10-15)
Jesus Christ laid down His life for you. He is not like those priests and bishops, who are actually wolves in sheep's clothing. He is the good Shepherd and He desires a personal relationship with you. He died on the cross so that you could be made whole, forgiven, washed, cleansed, and have a personal relationship with Him.
I have an important question for you below, so don't go away.
Footnote: *Nuncio is an ambassador from the Vatican to the United States or another country.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you
repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible
says?
“Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.
He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church, which I came out of when Jesus Christ came into my heart and set me free from sin. The Roman Catholic Church places a great deal of emphasis on traditions. In fact, their own catechism teaches that equal devotion and reverence must be given to tradition and Scripture.
However, in that religion, tradition is actually placed above the Word of God. In other words, if there is a question about something in the Bible, they follow tradition, rather than the Bible. Some examples include the veneration of Mary, her "immaculate conception" and her bodily "assumption into heaven." There is also the apocrypha, transubstantiation, praying to saints, the confessional, penance, purgatory, and more. This is not to single out the Catholic Church, but it serves as an example of what many of the traditional religions do.
Yet Jesus taught that the commandments of God take precedence over man-made tradition. Any religion that does not put God's Word above tradition is in direct contradiction to the words of our Lord Jesus.
The Pharisees and teachers of the Law were concerned about His disciples breaking their tradition. They kept many traditions, which you can read about in the Mishnah, the Talmud, and the Midrash. These were oral traditions that were written down. They asked Jesus about it, saying: "Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." (Mat 15:2)
But Jesus responded by asking them why they broke the command of God for the sake of their tradition. In order to follow their traditions, they had to break God's commands.
Here is a chart showing the difference between how these people viewed themselves and how God viewed them:
Their perspective
God’s perspective
They were teachers of God’s Law, experts in it.
They were teachers of mere man-made rules and traditions (Mt 15:9)
They worshipped God
They worshipped God in vain, in other words, to no purpose (Mt 15:9)
They honored God with their lips
Their hearts were far from God. They were a great way off and kept themselves distant from him (Mt 15:8)
They were sincerely devoted to God
They were hypocrites or mere stage players (Mt 15:7)
They kept the traditions of the elders
They broke God’s commands (Mt 15:3)
They ceremonially washed their hands before eating and only ate with clean hands, so that nothing unclean ever went into their mouths. They were undefiled.
Their hearts were full of unclean things like evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and slanders. They uttered these things from their mouths and defiled themselves. Washing their hands did nothing to keep them from being defiled (Mt 15:10, 17-20)
They taught people the path of righteousness
They were blind guides, leading the blind into a pit (Mt 15:14)
This was like another conversation Jesus had with a group of Jews, which is recorded in John 8. Once again, there was a sharp contrast between how they viewed themselves and how God viewed them. The following chart shows the differences:
Their perspective
God’s perspective
They were children of God (Jn 8:41)
They were children of the devil (Jn 8:41, 44)
They heard God’s Word
They did not hear God’s Word spoken by His Son (Jn 8:43)
They honored God
They dishonored the Son of God, who honored the Father (Jn 8:49)
They were of God
They were not of God (Jn 8:47)
They were Abraham’s descendants (Jn 8:33)
They were not children of Abraham (Jn 8:39-41)
They were free (Jn 8:33)
They were slaves (Jn 8:34-36)
They believed in Jesus (Jn 8:30-31)
They would only be His true disciples if they continued in His Word (Jn 8:31)
Likewise, many religious people today see themselves as children of God. They consider themselves free and feel like they honor God. They think they worship God, and with their lips they do so. They consider themselves sincerely devoted to God. They avoid eating things that would defile them. They teach the importance of their religious traditions and they also teach from the Bible. They feel like they are teaching the path of righteousness.
Multitudes of people in so-called Christian religions, as well as non-Christian religions see themselves this way. Yet God calls them hypocrites, those who honor Him with their lips, but whose hearts are far from Him. He says they worship Him in vain. He says they teach mere, man-made rules, yet break God’s commands. He says their hearts are still full of evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and slanders. He calls them blind guides, who are leading blind people into the pit. He says they are slaves and still children of the devil.
The Lord has warned those practicing the traditions of men. Those who attend festivals in the name of worshiping idols or in remembrance of anything, He shall crush them and cast them into the lake of fire (Mt 15:1-28). In fact, to those worshiping idols in any way, especially the Roman Catholics, the Lord says you should stop doing that or else He will crush you and cast you from His sight into the lake of fire, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and their smoke shall rise forever.
My friend, please check yourself to see if that is you. Are you following after religious traditions, yet breaking God’s commands? Be sure these things are not true of you. Make sure that your perspective of yourself is consistent with God's perspective of you. And if God's perspective of you is one of those listed above in the right-hand column of these charts, then please repent and make it right with God.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes to the Father except by Him (Jn 14:6). Your traditions are not what matters to God. Jesus said that if you continue in His Word, then you would truly be His disciple. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
References: Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 77, 88, 82, and 97.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you
repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible
says?
“Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.
He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
It seems that everywhere these days I hear people saying, “We’re all the children of God.” And if something is repeated often enough, it becomes generally accepted as true. I have even heard this taught in the Christian church from the pulpit. It seems like such a nice teaching, embracing all of humanity as our brothers and sisters. Those who hold this viewpoint believe that whether you are Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, you are a child of God. You are my brother and my sister. Some would even go so far as to say that no matter what you believe, even if you are Buddhist, Hindu, or atheist, that you are a child of God. Others believe that everyone who calls himself a Christian is a child of God.
Does the Word of God address this? If so, what does the Scripture teach about it? Is everyone a child of God by virtue of being part of the human race? If not, then what are the conditions, if any, that a person must meet in order to become a child of God?
You must receive Jesus
In the gospel of the apostle John, we read: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (Joh 1:12-13)
From this passage we learn several things. First we learn that you must be given the right to become a child of God. And only those who receive Jesus are given that right. Receiving Jesus is defined here as believing in His name. And finally, you must be born of God, which is defined as something entirely separate from being born of blood or of the will of your parents. So that one passage makes it abundantly clear whom the children of God are.
The apostle Paul affirms this. He wrote to the Romans, “That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.” (Rom 9:8) He made it clear that the children of the flesh are not the children of God. In this passage, he was referring to the nation of Israel and the natural descendants of Abraham. He referred to Abraham’s descendants as the children of the flesh and he said that they were not the children of God.
This means that even those who were from the very bloodline of Abraham were not God’s children, even if they could prove it through their genealogy! Rather it is the children of the promise who are regarded as descendants of Abraham and children of God. The promise he referred to was God’s promise to Abraham that He would multiply his descendants. God made that promise when Abraham was very old and his wife Sarah was beyond childbearing years. Abraham believed God, and by faith his wife bore him a son Isaac. It’s that same faith in God that we need to have in order to become children of the promise.
Jesus affirmed this when He spoke to the Jews seeking to kill Him. He said, “’I know that you are Abraham's descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.’ They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus *said to them, ‘If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.’” (Joh 8:37-40). Jesus said that theses descendants of Abraham did not have the same Father as He did.
They did what they heard from their father, the devil. And Jesus came right out and told them so. He said, "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Joh 8:44)
The children of God are from many nations
When the elders among the Jews were discussing what to do with Jesus, the high priest made the following comment. “But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.’ Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” (Joh 11:49-52)
Without realizing what he was saying, Caiaphas was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation of Israel, and also that He would die for all the children of God scattered abroad. This indicates that God does have children in other nations besides Israel. It also shows that Jesus needed to die so that God’s children would not perish. Without His death on the cross, there would be no salvation and all would perish.
We are made in God’s Image
We know that God made man in His own image. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Gen 1:26-27)
In this sense, it is true that all human beings bear the image of the Divine Creator. As the apostle Paul said to the idol worshipers in Athens, "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.” (Act 17:29).
Why did Paul say, “Being then the children of God”? Did he really believe that all men were God’s children, including these idol worshipers? Certainly not!
If you read the entire passage, Paul was quoting one of their own poets. He said to them, “For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'”(Act 17:28). So he was trying to use their own language in order to reach them. We cannot use this passage to teach that we are all God’s children.
In this case, Paul was trying to reach them with the message of the gospel. If you read the entire passage, he told them that God is not like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. He went on to say, "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." (Act 17:30-31)
It’s very clear from the context that these people, who considered themselves God’s children, had need to repent of their sins. He told them that God would no longer overlook such ignorance and that He would soon judge the world in righteousness through His Son Jesus. If we understand this passage properly, we will see that Paul did not simply accept these people as children of God who would all go to heaven if they simply continue in their ignorance.
The Spirit testifies
So how does a person know whether or not he or she is a child of God? Once we have true saving faith in Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul wrote: “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Rom 8:16) The Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God. This provides the assurance we need.
Prove yourselves to be children of God
So we know that we become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and we know that the Spirit of God Himself testifies to our spirit that we are His children. So what’s left for us to do? Paul said you must “prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.” (Phi 2:15). In other words, you have a part to play. If you are a true child of God as you say you are, then act like one! Your blameless and innocent conduct, living above reproach, will cause you to appear as lights in the world to this crooked and perverse generation.
The world does not know the children of God
The apostle John showed that there is a direct connection between the love of God and being called His children. He wrote: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” (1Jo 3:1).
John also taught here that since the world did not know Jesus, that is why they also do not know us, His children.
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. (1Jo 3:2) There are the children of God and the children of the devil
How do we know if someone is a child of God or a child of the devil? John said, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” (1Jo 3:10). John went on to write: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.” (1Jo 5:2)
This is just as the apostle Paul taught how our actions should confirm that we are God’s children. If you love the children of God, you’ll love God and observe His commandments. This passage also teaches us that if you are not a child of God, then you are a child of the devil. The world is comprised of both types of people, so not all humans are children of God.
Consider another occasion where Jesus spoke about His mother. "While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, 'Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.' But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, 'Who is My mother and who are My brothers?' And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, 'Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.' " (Mat 12:46-50). So Jesus taught that those who are truly His brothers, and come from the same Heavenly Father, would do the will of the Heavenly Father.
Putting it All Together
As we see from Scripture, the popular belief that all human beings are children of God is simply not true. While all humans are made in God’s image, the world is comprised of the children of God and the children of the devil. The children of the devil do what they hear from their father the devil. They do not recognize the children of God.
In order to be a child of God, you must sincerely repent with a broken heart, and receive Jesus by putting all your faith in His Name. Then God in His love for you will give you the right to become His child. Then the Holy Spirit will testify to your spirit that you are a child of God.
And you will experience a glorious freedom when you become a child of God. You will know it has happened. You will no longer be a slave to sin, but will be free to love, free to live righteously. This is how you can recognize a child of God. He or she will love God and obey His commandments.
This is such good news to know that it is possible to be saved and become a child of God. I hope this encourages the children of God to go on and prove it by living blameless and innocent lives above reproach. Then we will appear as a light in the midst of a perverse generation. And let’s avoid falling into the common belief that all people are God’s children.
Author's note: You may access more of my articles on the Main Directory of this blog, as well as my
complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you
repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible
says?
“Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in
the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and
believe.
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.
He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as
well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who
multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of
planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United
States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
