How can we get rid of our sinfulness?

[sanctus]

More fine judging. "If you really were a good catholic" you would do x and y and g and a little bit inbetween...

sigh....even the catholics are judging catholics....not that I am disagreeing with the premise of what you are saying sanctus...you may very well be right...but....

Let's just say that based on Liexpur's(sp) comments, it is clear he is about as Catholic as Billy Graham.

 

[snfu73]

Let's just say that based on Liexpur's(sp) comments, it is clear he is about as Catholic as Billy Graham.

Wait a minute...now I'm confused...I thought you were saying that to L...but it was really a dig at liex?
Very confused.

 

[sanctus]

Wait a minute...now I'm confused...I thought you were saying that to L...but it was really a dig at liex?
Very confused.

Read the posts, clearly this "Linda", as Gilbert indicated, was a guise for our dear friend Liexspur. And if this other person is actually not Liexspur, the comment still stands for the posts indicate this person has about as much awareness of Catholic theology as a fish.

 

[snfu73]

Read the posts, clearly this "Linda", as Gilbert indicated, was a guise for our dear friend Liexspur. And if this other person is actually not Liexspur, the comment still stands for the posts indicate this person has about as much awareness of Catholic theology as a fish.

So, the belief is that liexspur is now linda? Interesting...interesting indeed.

 

[sanctus]

So, the belief is that liexspur is now linda? Interesting...interesting indeed.

Just going by the context of the exchange between Gilbert and L. But that is besides the point. Who-ever it is, clearly that person is not Catholic.

 

[look3467]

I see by his answer that he avoided your question. Clearly and historically the church existed first. Therefore the Bible is subject to the Church, not the other way around.

OK< the shorter version: This is an excerpt from the New Peoples Translation Commentary
. Mat 16:18 -

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. This is the first time Jesus speaks of his church, and here, as not yet founded. Three terms are to be noted: (1) Peter, in the Greek, Petros, meaning a single stone; (2) Rock, in the Greek, Petra, which means the solid, immovable bed-rock, a great mass like a cliff, and (3) church, Greek, ecclesia, those "called out," the fellowship of believers, the organized society of Christ, the kingdom of heaven on earth. There is probably no passage in the word of God that has called forth more discussion. The Papal church insists that Peter is the rock upon which Christ founded his church. The Catholic position is based upon the fact that Peter means a stone (see Joh_1:42), and the Savior's language might be rendered, "Thou art a stone, and upon this rock I will build my church." The Catholic view is untenable, for 1. The Savior does not say, "Thou art a stone, and upon thee I will build," etc., or "Thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build." He changes the word in the Greek from Petros (Peter, a stone) to Petra, a rock, or ledge of rock--a solid bed-rock. 2. Every saint is a stone (see 1Pe_2:5). The Lord declares that Peter is one these living stones, made such by his confession of faith, and ready to be built into the church, the spiritual temple, formed of living stones, and built upon the rock. So is every confessor of Christ. In order to settle what the Savior does mean by the rock, we must consider Mat_16:18-19 together, and keep in mind the entire figure. This figure portrays (1) a Builder, Christ; (2) a temple to be built, composed of lively stones, the church; (3) a foundation for that temple, the rock; (4) the gates of an unfriendly city or power which shall seek its destruction, hell, or more correctly, Hades, the unseen abode of the dead, the grave; (5) a door-keeper of the church, or spiritual temple, with his keys, Peter. Peter's place in the figure is not that of the foundation, but that of the key-holder, or turnkey. The only difficulty is in settling what the Lord means by the rock. Since this rock is the foundation of the church, the central principle, the fundamental idea, we are aided to a correct decision by the teachings of the Word elsewhere. We learn from 1Co_3:11, "That other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." This excludes Peter or any human platform. Christ is often called a stone: "the stone that the builders rejected," "the chief corner stone," "the stone that is the head of the corner," "the spiritual rock which is Christ." Faith in Christ held in the heart, and confessed with the lips is the very foundation of the spiritual life and of the church. This constituted the fundamental difference in apostolic days between Christians and unbelievers, the church and the world. It does still. It is the essence of the teaching of the New Testament that the platform or foundation of the Christian society, the church, is this belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. It is then Peter's grand confession, faith in the Spiritual Rock, the faith that lays hold of Christ, belief that he is the Anointed of God, the Divine Savior, that the Lord pronounces the rock upon which he will found his church. That this view is correct is shown by a correct understanding of the declaration, The gates of hades shall not prevail against it. From the gates of the city always marched forth its armies. The powers of hades are represented by its gates. Hades is not hell (Gehenna), but the unseen abode of the dead that holds the departed within its gates. Just after these words the Lord talks of his death, or entering hades. Six months later the Sanhedrim sent him to death for making the same confession Peter had just made. See Mat_26:64-67. They expected to demonstrate that the confession of his divinity which he had made was false by sending him to hades, which they supposed would hold him and prevail against the confession of the ROCK. He was sent there from the cross, but the gates of hades did not prevail, for they could not hold him, and the living Savior, rising triumphant from the tomb, was the unanswerable argument that his own and Peter's confession was a rock that could never be moved. His resurrection demonstrated that he is the Rock. Hades did not prevail.>>>From the New peoples commentary.


How far off am I?




Peace>>>AJ:love9:

 

[talloola]

OK< the shorter version: This is an excerpt from the New Peoples Translation Commentary

A J, what is "your religion", and how does your bible differ from the catholic bible which Sanctus and
other catholics live by.

 

[sanctus]

The Pre-Eminence of St. Peter: 50 New Testament Proofs

THE PRE-EMINENCE OF ST. PETER 50 New Testament Proofs
By Dave Armstrong
The Catholic doctrine of the papacy is biblically based and is derived from the evident primacy of St. Peter among the apostles. Like all Christian doctrine, it has undergone development through the centuries, but it has not departed from the essential components which already existed in the leadership and prerogatives of St. Peter. These were given to him by our Lord Jesus Christ, acknowledged by his contemporaries and accepted by the early Church.
The biblical Petrine data is quite strong, and is inescapably compelling. This is especially made clear with the assistance of biblical commentaries. The evidence of Holy Scripture follows.
1. Matthew 16:18: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
The "rock" (Greek, "petra") referred to here is St. Peter himself, not his faith or Jesus Christ. Christ appears here not as the foundation, but as the architect who "builds." The Church is built, not on confessions, but on confessors— living men (see, for example, 1 Pt 2:5). Today, the overwhelming consensus of the great majority of all biblical scholars and commentators is in favor of the traditional Catholic understanding. Here St. Peter is spoken of as the foundation-stone of the Church, making him head and superior of the family of God—that is, the seed of the doctrine of the papacy. Moreover, "Rock" embodies a metaphor applied to him by Christ in a sense analogous to the suffering and despised Messiah (see 1 Pt 2:4-8; Mt 21:42). Without a solid foundation a house falls. St. Peter is the foundation, but not founder of the Church; administrator, but not Lord of the Church. The Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11) gives us other shepherds as well (Eph 4:11).
2. Matthew 16:19: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven."
The "power" of the keys has to do with ecclesiastical discipline and administrative authority with regard to the requirements of the faith, as in Isaiah 22:22 (see Is 9:6; Jb 12:14; Rv 3:7). From this power flows the use of censures, excommunication, absolution, baptismal discipline, the imposition of penances and legislative powers. In the Old Testament, a steward, or prime minister, is a man who is "over a: house" (Gn 41:40; 43:19; 44:4; 1 Kgs 4:6; 16:9; 18:3; 2 Kgs 10:5; 15:5; 18:18; Is 22:15, 20-21).
3. Matthew 16:19: "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
"Binding" and "loosing" were technical rabbinical terms, which meant to "forbid" and 'permit" with reference to the interpretation of the law and, secondarily, to "condemn," "place under the ban" or "acquit." Thus St. Peter and the popes are given the authority to determine the rules for doctrine and life by virtue of revelation and the Spirit's leading (see Jn 16:13), as well as to demand obedience from the Church. "Binding and loosing" represent the legislative and judicial powers of the papacy and the bishops (Mt 18:17-18; Jn 20:23). St. Peter, however, is the only apostle who receives these powers by name and in the singular, making him pre-eminent.
4. Peter's name occurs first in all lists of apostles (see Mt 10:2; Mk 3:16; Lk 6:14; Acts 1:13). Matthew even calls him "the first" (10:2). (Judas Iscariot is invariably mentioned last.)
5. Peter is almost without exception named first whenever he appears with anyone else. In one example to the contrary, Galatians 2:9, where he is listed after James and before John, he is clearly pre-eminent in the entire context (see, for example, 1:18-19; 2:7-8).
6. Peter alone among the apostles receives a new name, "Rock," solemnly conferred (Jn 1:42; Mt 16:18).
7. Likewise, Peter is regarded by Jesus as the chief shepherd after himself (Jn 21:15-17), singularly by name, and over the universal Church, even though others have a similar but subordinate role (Acts 20:28; 1 Pt 5:2).
8. Peter alone among the apostles is mentioned by name as having been prayed for by Jesus Christ in order that his "faith fail not" (Lk 22:32).
9. Peter alone among the apostles is exhorted by Jesus to "strengthen your brethren" (Lk 22:32).
10. Peter first confesses Christ's divinity (Mt 16:16).
11. Peter alone is told that he has received divine knowledge by a special revelation (Mt 16:17).
12. Peter is regarded by the Jews (Acts 4:1-13) as the leader and spokesman of Christianity.
13. Peter is regarded by the common people in the same way (Acts 2:37-41; 5:15).
14. Jesus Christ uniquely associates himself and Peter in the miracle of the tribute money (Mt 17:24-27).
15. Christ teaches from Peter's boat, and the miraculous catch of fish follows (Lk 5:1-11): perhaps a metaphor for the pope as a "fisher of men" (Mt 4:19).
16. Peter was the first apostle to set out for, and enter, the empty tomb (Lk 24:12; Jn 20:6).
17. Peter is specified by an angel as the leader and representative of the apostles (Mk 16:7).
18. Peter leads the apostles in fishing (Jn 21:2-3,11). The "bark" (boat) of Peter has been regarded by Catholics as a figure of the Church, with Peter at the helm.
19. Peter alone casts himself into the sea to come to Jesus (Jn 21:7).
20. Peter's words are the first recorded and most important in the Upper Room before Pentecost (Acts 1:15-22).
21. Peter takes the lead in calling for a replacement for Judas (Acts 1:22).
22. Peter is the first person to speak (and only one recorded) after Pentecost, so he was the first Christian to "preach the Gospel" in the Church era (Acts 2:14-36).
23. Peter works the first miracle of the Church Age, healing a lame man (Acts 3:6-12).
24. Peter utters the first anathema (Ananias and Sapphira) emphatically affirmed by God (Acts 5:2-11).
25. Peter's shadow works miracles (Acts 5:15).
26. Peter is the first person after Christ to raise the dead (Acts 9:40).
27. Cornelius is told by an angel to seek out Peter for instruction in Christianity (Acts 10:1-6).
28. Peter is the first to receive the Gentiles, after a revelation from God (Acts 10:9-48).
29. Peter instructs the other apostles on the catholicity (universality) of the Church (Acts 11:5-17).
30. Peter is the object of the first divine interposition on behalf of an individual in the Church Age (an angel delivers him from prison—Acts 12:1-17).
31. The whole Church (strongly implied) prays for Peter "without ceasing" when he is imprisoned (Acts 12:5).
32. Peter presides over and opens the first council of Christianity, and lays down principles afterward accepted by it (Acts 15:7-11).
33. Paul distinguishes the Lord's postresurrection appearances to Peter from those to other apostles (1 Cor 15:4-5).
34. Peter is often spoken of as distinct among apostles (Mk 1:36; Lk 9:28, 32; Acts 2:37; 5:29; 1 Cor 9:5).
35. Peter is often spokesman for the other apostles, especially at climactic moments (Mk 8:29; Mt 18:21; Lk 9:5; 12:41; Jn 6:67).
36. Peter's name is always the first listed of the "inner circle" of the disciples (Peter, James and John—Mt 17:1; 26:37, 40; Mk 5:37; 14:37).
37. Peter is often the central figure relating to Jesus in dramatic Gospel scenes such as walking on the water (Mt 14:28-32; Lk 5:1, Mk 10:28; Mt 17:24).
38. Peter is the first to recognize and refute heresy, in Simon Magus (Acts 8:14-24).
39. Peter's name is mentioned more often than all the other disciples put together: 191 times (162 as Peter or Simon Peter, 23 as Simon and 6 as Cephas). John is next in frequency with only 48 appearances, and Peter is present 50 percent of the time we find John in the Bible. Archbishop Fulton Sheen reckoned that all the other disciples combined were mentioned 130 times. If this is correct, Peter is named a remarkable 60 percent of the time any disciple is referred to.
40. Peter's proclamation at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41) contains a fully authoritative interpretation of Scripture, a doctrinal decision and a disciplinary decree concerning members of the "House of Israel"—an example of "binding and loosing."
41. Peter was the first "charismatic," having judged authoritatively the first instance of the gift of tongues as genuine (Acts 2:14-21).
42. Peter is the first to preach Christian repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38).
43. Peter (presumably) takes the lead in the first recorded mass baptism (Acts 2:41).
44. Peter commanded the first Gentile Christians to be baptized (Acts 10:44-48).
45. Peter was the first traveling missionary, and first exercised what would now be called "visitation of the churches" (Acts 9:32-38, 43). Paul preached at Damascus immediately after his conversion (Acts 9:20), but had not traveled there for that purpose (God changed his plans). His missionary journeys begin in Acts 13:2.
46. Paul went to Jerusalem specifically to see Peter for 15 days at the beginning of his ministry (Gal 1:18), and was commissioned by Peter, James and John (Gal 2:9) to preach to the Gentiles.
47. Peter acts, by strong implication, as the chief bishop/shepherd of the Church (1 Pt 5:1), since he exhorts all the other bishops, or "elders."
48. Peter interprets prophecy (2 Pt 1:16-21).
49. Peter corrects those who misuse Paul's writings (2 Pt 3:15-16).
50. Peter wrote his first epistle from Rome, according to most scholars, as its bishop, and as the universal bishop (pope) of the early Church. "Babylon" (1 Pt 5:13) is regarded as code for Rome.
In conclusion, it strains credulity to think that God would present Peter with such prominence in the Bible without some meaning and import for later Christian history—in particular, Church government. The papacy is the most plausible (we believe actual) fulfillment of this.

 

[sanctus]

How far off am I?




Peace>>>AJ:love9:

Very far...

 

[look3467]

Very far...

Of course.

Peace>>>AJ:love9:

 

[look3467]

OK< the shorter version: This is an excerpt from the New Peoples Translation Commentary

A J, what is "your religion", and how does your bible differ from the catholic bible which Sanctus and
other catholics live by.

What is my religion? I am a believer in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My allegiance is first and foremost to Him and then to my brethren.
I am a non-denominational.

My bible is the King James Version and should be the same as the Catholic except for the six extra books.

Any verse I quote except for the six other books should be the same as yours.

Peace>>>AJ:love9:

 

[talloola]

What is my religion? I am a believer in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My allegiance is first and foremost to Him and then to my brethren.
I am a non-denominational.

My bible is the King James Version and should be the same as the Catholic except for the six extra books.

Any verse I quote except for the six other books should be the same as yours.

Peace>>>AJ:love9:

Thank you A J

 

[L Gilbert]

So, the belief is that liexspur is now linda? Interesting...interesting indeed.

Snfu, my suspicion bore out. They were one and the same. Liexpresser was banned. He cloned himself: he may have more than one IP or was using a library's pc or a neighbor's.

 

[look3467]

Snfu, my suspicion bore out. They were one and the same. Liexpresser was banned. He cloned himself: he may have more than one IP or was using a library's pc or a neighbor's.

Every forum I vist and post to, I am still look3467.

Peace>>>AJ:love9:

 

[L Gilbert]

Yeah, I am me, too. Although this is the first time I stuck my pic up as my avatar.

 

[snfu73]

I must say, the dude is a determined fella....

Ah well.

 

[sanctus]

We all have difficulties with our faith. There are those who can't believe and those who won't believe.

The former should pray for the grace to believe. The latter have chosen themselves as the final authority.

It must seem awfully odd to not have the support and comfort of the Church in trying to live as a Christian. I was trying to imagine myself just sitting in a room reading a Bible and making up doctrine from it. There are so many directions one could go in! Amazing to be foolish enough to consider one's own self capable of developing doctrine.

 

[sanctus]

If everything were true that some people say about the Catholic Church and the Bible, our title would be, "How we have not got the Bible"! The common opinion you will hear from non-Catholics is how the Catholic Church hates the Bible and how it has done its best to destroy it; how it has always kept the Bible out of the hands of the people and has stopped them reading it. They say that the Catholic Church has done this because it knows that its teachings are absolutely contradicted by the written letter of God's word and can be proved wrong by the Scriptures.
The popular understanding of the Reformation is that when people first looked on the open Bible they saw they had been fooled by the Church, and had been taught to hold "the commandments of men" as teachings from God, and so joyfully threw off their chains and embraced the pure truth of the word of God that they found in the Bible.
People will say that the Church stopped people reading the Bible and persecuted those who translated it so that it would be available to everybody, and has now only grudgingly and uneasily allowed people to see it.
This, of course, is nonsense, like all the stories about monasteries and convents being dens of corruption, or Catholics paying money to have their sins forgiven. But what are the facts? Is it true? Or have people - even convincing some ignorant Catholics themselves - built up mountains of falsehood?
We have to look at things intelligently, calmly considering the facts of history, not its prejudices and lies. Then we shall see that the Catholic Church

1. has truly been the parent, the maker under God of the Bible;
2. has guarded and defended it through the ages, and preserved it from error and destruction;
3. has always held the Bible in the highest veneration and esteem, and has based all its teachings on it;
4. is the only one to possess the true Bible and the whole Bible, so that copies of the Scriptures not approved by the Catholic Church are defective; and
5. has kept and protected the Scriptures ensuring whatever is in them is true.

When it comes to the Bible, we can thank God for its preservation and the fact that it has been handed on. We can admire the Church for its vigilance, zeal, and unswerving faithfulness to the mission entrusted to us by Almighty God.

 

[sanctus]

In the Bible we see different forms of the Church. It took time for the followers of Jesus to settle down and fix on how they would name the different features of their way of life – their office-holders, their institutions, their Christian way of doing things. The process was slowed down by the fact that the earliest Christians were convinced that the world was coming to an early end. The Apostles obeyed the command of Jesus to go and “make disciples of all nations” (Mt. 28:10). They established Christian communities over a wide area of the Roman empire. As long as they lived, community life was organised around these Apostles. But what would happen after they died? How would the Christian communities survive the death of the Apostles who had founded them? Scholars have identified and described six answers to this problem of survival.

1. Rely upon Church Structures This was the solution which was adopted by certain churches set up by Paul. Church leaders were appointed who would safeguard the teaching that Paul had given them. It is very clear in the “Pastoral” Letters, i.e. the 2 Letters to Timothy and the one to Titus. They date from about the year 90 or a bit later. The Christians used to meet in certain houses (1 Tim 3:15). Now that Paul could no longer look after the various house-churches, Titus was to “appoint elders in every town” (Tit 1:5). Read 1 Tim 3:13 – the qualities required in community office-holders 2 Tim 4:1-15 – it is the duty of Timothy and other community office-holders to preserve sound doctrine. These three letters reveal that all was not always well in the house-churches. Some members wanted to try out new ideas. There was to be much fragmentation of the communities in the years that followed. What we see in the Pastoral Letters is one attempt to deal with a set of church problems which have tended to reappear through the ages: set up structures and see that everyone sticks to them.
2. Love the Church, the Body of Christ In the letters to the Christians at Colossae and Ephesus different things are emphasised. The underlying problems, however, are the same: disunity and the threat of new ideas. Read Eph 4:1-7 & 11-16 The tendency to fragment is here being countered by a moving appeal for unity within a single Church. Within that Church there should be love, of the kind Jesus shows for his Church – in other words, an immense love. In the following chapter this immense love is conveyed by means of an image that would have been very meaningful in the setting of the house-church structure: “Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it, as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his body” (Eph 5:28-30).
3. Be guided by the Holy Spirit The gospel according to St. Luke and the Acts of the Apostles were originally a single continuous story: from the announcing of Jesus’ birth (Lk 1:31) to Paul “preaching the Kingdom of God . . . quite openly and unhindered” in Rome (Acts 28:30), via Jesus’ public ministry, his death and resurrection and his sending of the Holy Spirit to continue his work. For Luke, the survival question is no problem because the Holy Spirit acts throughout Church history. Throughout Acts it is the Spirit that gives the power to preach (1:7-8), that determines the location of the missionary journeys (13:3-4), selects community leaders (6:3), is involved in decision-making (15:28), etc. The Holy Spirit is seen as having been given to the Church at Pentecost and then to individual converts at Baptism. Continuity is ensured by successive laying-on of hands of Church leaders. The Spirit is given only when the Twelve are present or a member or delegate of the Twelve is on the scene. Luke has the vision of a Spirit-guided organised Church. Precisely who is in charge of which Christian community is quite secondary in Acts. It is the Holy Spirit indwelling each Christian community that is important.
4. See yourselves as the People of God This is the solution that appears in I Peter. The Letter originated in Rome and is addressed to some Christian communities of Asia Minor that are thought to have been set up originally not by Paul but by the Jerusalem Christian community. We think that they had been going through a period of identity crisis, ostracism from the surrounding tribes, and perhaps also persecution from the local Roman government. I Peter counters these problems by encouraging these communities of mixed tribal origins to take a real pride in their new identity as the People of God, the successors of the People of God of the Old Testament, through Christ the chosen cornerstone who was rejected. Read 1 Peter 2:1-10. History shows that the chances of a group surviving are greatly increased when they have become conscious of themselves as a people. This was, and is, certainly true of the Jewish people, and it was probably Jewish Christian missionaries who had founded the communities addressed in I Peter. So long as the group maintains its identity as a People, the continuity of its ideals and membership is assured.
5. Have a personal love for Jesus and his Paraclete The communities addressed in the Gospel according to John and the three Letters of John were to survive the death of Jesus by fostering in each one of their members a true and personal love for Jesus. The mainstay of the community is to be the love which the disciples are to have for one another. Read Jn 15:1-7. The image of the True Vine is the counterpart of Paul’s analogy of the Body of Christ (Eph 4). There, as we have seen, Paul was concerned with the harmonious working together of a hierarchy of community ministers. Here the Gospel according to John is concerned with the source of life-supporting nourishment for the individual disciple. In matters of Church organisation, the Gospel according to John adopts positions which are often in stark contrast to the first four “solutions” we have looked at above. Each of the four solutions so far have prioritised the apostle as the link with Jesus and the feature of community life that they all have is a series of charism-endowed ministers. By contrast, the Gospel according to John never once even uses the term “apostle”. Instead, it gives importance to the loving disciple himself or herself as the link with Jesus. Moreover, it dispenses with certain of the ministries, such as the ministry of teaching (1 John 2:27). Continuity of teaching is assured by the “Paraclete” (John’s word for the Holy Spirit, sometimes translated as “Counsellor” or “Advocate”). The Paraclete dwells in the loving disciple (cf. Jn 14:16-17). This way of looking at the Church makes for greater egalitarianism in John’s communities. There can be no second-class citizens, not even female ones. In the tradition of the Pastorals women are often portrayed unflatteringly (1 Tim 2:9-15; 5:13). 2 Tim 3:7 mentions some “weak” women who “can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth”. Hence women are to “learn in silence with all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men. She is to keep silent” (2 Tim 2:11-12). By contrast, women feature frequently and favourably in the Gospel according to John (e.g. the Samaritan woman, and Martha and Mary). As a loving disciple, indwelt by the Paraclete, the female has the same access to God’s truth as the male disciple.
6. Observe the Law of Christ The Gospel according to Matthew is the only one of the four Gospels actually to use the word “church”. The author took this term from Deuteronomy 23:1 and applied it to the “assembly of the followers of Jesus. During the last years of the 1st. century AD, the survival of Matthew’s Jewish-Christian Church was a more urgent problem then elsewhere. Christians were expelled from the synagogues after AD 70, and the Jewish-Christians had had theological differences with Paul, especially regarding the standing of the Old Testament Law in the new life in Christ (e.g. in Gal 2:15-16 Paul states that “in the works of the Law shall no man be justified”). This Gospel gives us a lot of information as to how the Jewish-Christians faced these problems and how they saw their “Church”. Read Mt. 5:17-20 Christians are to observe the Law as brought to fulfilment by Jesus. The Christian community of Matthew saw itself as continuing the on-going story of the O.T. They viewed everything in the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus as a fulfilment of the Hebrew Scriptures. He had called his people to a standard of observance of the Law that was higher than that of the Scribes and Pharisees. They would survive if they were faithful to Jesus’ radical re-interpretation of the Law during the Sermon on the Mount. The Jewish-Christian Church took over certain features of O.T. worship, organisation, and authority. In Isaiah 22:22 God gives Eliakim “the key of the house of David: he shall open and none shall shut; he shall shut and none shall open.” In Mt 16:19, Jesus is seen giving “the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven” to Peter, assuring him that “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The Jewish-Christian Church had a stronger sense of the need for authority than any other of the Churches.

 

[sanctus]

Every Christian believes that Jesus Christ established and sustains a community of faith, hope and love for all believers. This community we call His Church. The Church that Christ founded is the Catholic Church which has a formal earthly structure established by Christ and which continues under His authority and protection. In the Old Testament we see God's continual involvement in the lives of the Israelites through appointed prophets. God delivered, instructed and admonished the Israelites. He made His motions in a visible, specific and formal way. He always did so through human hands, mouths, feet, minds and wills. God established a law and a means for executing it.
In concert with His redemptive act, Jesus did three things that established the framework of His Church. First, He chose humans to carry out His work. He appointed Peter to be the visible head of the Church. Jesus said to Peter, "You are Rock and on this rock I will build my Church." (Matthew 16: 18) Jesus said "build," as in to create a structure. Jesus built His structure on specifically chosen human beings Peter and the apostles.
Second, Jesus gave Peter and the apostles the power and authority to carry out His work. "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven." (Matthew 16:19; 18:18) "Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, whose sins you retain, they are retained." (John 20:23)
Third, Jesus gave Peter and the apostles commands as to what that work should be. At the last supper, He commanded, "Do this in memory of Me." (Luke 22:19) He commanded them to "Make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19), and to "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)
The early Church was structured in a hierarchical manner as it is today. We see in Acts, chapter 15 how the apostles and the elders came together under the leadership of St. Peter to decide the question of what was required of Gentiles. We also see how St. Peter was regarded as the head of the Church when St. Paul, "Went up to Jerusalem to confer with Kephas [Peter] and remained with him fifteen days." (Galatians 1:18) There is no Scriptural evidence of independent local churches.
The Catholic Church is the only church that can claim to have been founded by Christ personally. Every other church traces its lineage back to a mere human person such as Martin Luther or John Wesley. The Catholic Church can trace its lineage back to Jesus Christ who appointed St. Peter as the first Pope. This line of popes has continued unbroken for almost 2,000 years.
God rules, instructs and sanctifies His people through His Church. Under her teaching office, the Catholic Church preserves the Word of God. She is the custodian, keeper, dispenser and interpreter of teachings of Christ. And she accomplishes this under the protection of the Holy Spirit.