Secondly – you don’t have authority over me. There ARE those within the Church, however, who DO have authority and are “over us” in Christ:
And these are not individuals? Who determines who has the final authority?
I'm sorry, but I much prefer to believe what the Bible says than to go off galavanting with the ECF's who may have been off-base in anything that they might've said. Also, I will not give the ECF's the same authority as the original apostles who wrote the Bible and set it forth as a standard for us to believe in. As long as an ECF conforms to what the Bible teaches, I'm okay with looking into their pov. But the moment one of them departs from the teaching of holy scripture, I will give holy scripture precedence over that ECF or saint throughout history.
If you want to depart from biblical teaching in favour of the teaching of some ECF or saint throughout history, that is on you. I know that the Bible is the word of the Lord. But if someone is claiming to have supreme authority that is greater than God's word, sorry, I'm going to believe God's word over them...they do not have that authority in my eyes
Thirdly – your claim that unless I agree with YOUR interpretation of Scripture, I am “wrong” is the most asinine thing a Protestant can say.
It is the most
asinine thing that a
Catholic can say...and you all say it.
And, as I showed you with
SEVERAL verses of God's Word - His
CHURCH is the
final earthly Authority
(Matt. 16:18-19, Matt. 18:15-18, Luke 10:16, John 16:12-15, John 20:21-23).
Any bloke can claim to be in and of the church; and therefore claim to have the final authority over you and me as to what we believe the Bible really teaches.
And there are problems within the Catholic Church as concerning the practice of their ministers; and therefore the people who gave them the authority to interpret the holy scriptures for the rest of us were sadly mistaken to give them that authority.
The church, btw, is the body of Christ...and that means everyone who believes in Jesus and is born again.
So my interpretation is as good as yours; and is also as good as the interpretation of any person you want to place on a pedestal as being the primary interpreter of scripture for the rest of us.
I believe that the Pope stands, even in Catholic doctrine, as the vicar of Christ; that is, he is there in place of Christ in the eyes of most Catholics.
The term/prefix "anti-" basically means "in place of" or "against"
Who then is the Antichrist, but the Pope for most Catholics?
His power is greatly diminished in these days; but he does indeed still stand as being in place of Christ for many Catholics.
The seven hills of Rome are also spoken of in Revelation 17; the Catholic Church is there identified as the great whore of Babylon.
There's not ONE Verse of Scripture showing Jesus Baptizing ANYBODY.
Study your Bible . . .
Condescending.
At what point did His Church fail?
When the church became "married to the world" in the days of Constantine it became subject to great compromise. However, there always remains a faithful remnant that goes to Christ outside the camp; bearing His reproach.
"Believeth" is contrasted to "obeyeth not" meaning unbelief is disobedience/sin and beliving is obedience/righteousness.
I have not said otherwise. But I clarify this by saying that faith is an attitude of obedience and that it is the attitude that saves; not the obedient actions; while if someone has the attitude, obedient actions cannot be far behind.
No one can be saved before they believe therefore one must first believe (obey) then one can be saved.
No act of obedience is required; only faith.
However, a living and saving faith will normally result in acts of obedience.
