Doubting Thomas! Thank you for the complement I often receive - I look 15 years younger than I am. I was born in 1955. The Avatar picture was taken 4 years ago. I remember I started Catechism in the third grade. Because I was born in November, I was able to start Kindergarden at 4 years and 10 months old in Sept. 1959.
So after a year or so I received the ceremonial rituals of Communion and Confirmation. Unfortunately, they were empty acts. I really wasn't communing with Jesus nor was I baptized by the Holy Spirit ( which is what confirmation is supposed to be. No, I received Jesus and was confirmed by the Holy Spirit in 1991. I was aware, the light went on, I knew God loves me and had been watching iver me all along. I knew that the events and people that came into my life were orchestrated by God to the very day of my divine appointment, I was confirmed in that day, not when I was a kid, not because I sat through many classes of Catechism, and participated in the sacraments.
Afterwards, I was water baptized. It was a public confession and acknowledgment of my faith, A SYMBOLIC CLEANSING OF MY SOUL (which happened spiritually months before I got dunked in the water). Does water (which is physical) cleanse your soul? No, our sins are washed by His blood spiritually.
"Since Jesus expected Nicodemus to understand this truth (
Jn 3:10), it must have been something with which he was familiar. Water and Spirit often refer symbolically in the Old Testament to spiritual renewal and cleansing (cf.
Nu 19:17–19;
Isa. 4:4;
32:15;
44:3;
55:1;
Joel 2:28–29;
Zech. 13:1). In one of the most glorious passages in all of Scripture describing Israel’s restoration to the Lord by the new covenant, God said through Ezekiel, "
Since Jesus expected Nicodemus to understand this truth (Jn 3:10), it must have been something with which he was familiar. Water and Spirit often refer symbolically in the Old Testament to spiritual renewal and cleansing (cf. Nu 19:17–19; Isa. 4:4; 32:15; 44:3; 55:1; Joel 2:28–29; Zech. 13:1). In one of the most glorious passages in all of Scripture describing Israel’s restoration to the Lord by the new covenant, God said through Ezekiel, "For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezek. 36:24–27) It was surely this passage that Jesus had in mind, showing regeneration to be an Old Testament truth (cf. Dt. 30:6; Jer. 31:31–34; Ezek. 11:18–20 - see note above) with which Nicodemus would have been acquainted. Against this Old Testament backdrop, Christ’s point was unmistakable: Without the spiritual washing of the soul, a cleansing accomplished only by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5) through the Word of God (Eph. 5:26), no one can enter God’s kingdom." (MNTC-Jn) My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (
Ezek. 36:24–27) It was surely this passage that Jesus had in mind, showing regeneration to be an Old Testament truth (cf.
Dt. 30:6;
Jer. 31:31–34;
Ezek. 11:18–20 - see
note above) with which Nicodemus would have been acquainted. Against this Old Testament backdrop, Christ’s point was unmistakable: Without the spiritual washing of the soul, a cleansing accomplished only by the Holy Spirit (
Titus 3:5) through the Word of God (
Eph. 5:26), no one can enter God’s kingdom." J. Macarthur
I will not persuade you of anything, you wullbremain where you are. You have faith and so do I.
I am not against Catholics as some are, I believe we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Our faith isn't qualified by the accuracy of our interpretation of scripture. Our faith is demonstrated by the fruit that God has grown in us to produce. The Catholic Church carried the gospel for a long time and since the Reformation, so have we.
I had a wonderful aunt who was Catholic, actually mist of my aunt's and uncles were (on my father's side); since I am a Bruno, Italian and his parents were from Italy. I loved my family, they loved me.
After I became a Christian, my wonderful loving aunt made a snide remark about me to my mom.
She said, "I hope he's not one of those "Born Again Christians"!
Wow! I caught it, but let it go. You would think that after 70 years of practicing her religion and reading her Bible that she would have come across the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus?