Participants: Pr. John Carter
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001633A
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00:13 Welcome back my friends.
00:15 We are here in our television studio 00:16 in Southern California. 00:18 We're answering the question, 00:20 "Shall we return to Rome?" 00:23 Shall we go back as Protestants to the great mother church? 00:27 This is part two of the series. 00:30 Should we accept the authority of the pope? 00:33 Many of my Protestant colleagues say yes. 00:35 He has become the most powerful religious leader 00:38 in our troubled world. 00:40 And the pope gives 00:42 such a great appearance, you know, 00:44 of being so kind, so benign. 00:48 He drives a little Fiat car. 00:51 He pays his own hotel bills, hard not to like him. 00:54 He... 00:56 has all the essence of a kind, 00:58 loving, accepting, Christian gentlemen, 01:02 and people of course empathies with that. 01:06 But today we're not talking about the pope as a person, 01:09 we are discussing the differences 01:11 between the faith of Protestantism 01:14 and the faith of the Roman Catholic Church, 01:16 the Vatican. 01:19 We say this with apology but we weigh our words. 01:23 We do not believe truth should be sacrificed 01:26 on the altar of popular opinion. 01:31 We do not believe that truth is discovered by counting noses. 01:38 You know what I mean? 01:40 Well, you know, you got so many people, 01:42 they are the majority, 01:44 they got to be right. 01:46 You know, you got all those noses. 01:48 You got a little group of people over here, 01:49 there's only so few noses. 01:52 So you count up all the noses 01:53 and the people with the greatest numbers, 01:56 they've got to have the truth. 01:57 No, that's not true. 02:00 Truth is not discovered by counting noses. 02:04 We do not believe the truth ought to be sold 02:07 to appease the politically correct truth, 02:11 politically correct crowd, 02:13 and there is such a thing 02:15 as politically correct truth also. 02:17 It's got another name. 02:19 It's called heresy. 02:21 And when you give a series like this, 02:23 you risk the criticism that 02:26 somehow you are doing something which you shouldn't be doing, 02:32 and some people say, 02:33 "When you talk about these things, 02:34 isn't that sort of like hate speech?" 02:37 No, no, no, no, no. 02:40 Hate speech is not being honest and looking at the issues 02:44 and discussing truth. 02:47 Now, I want you to come over here 02:48 to a text in Proverbs 23:23, 02:52 my dear friends, here in our studio 02:56 in beautiful Moorpark in Southern California, 03:00 in the United States. 03:01 Proverbs 23:23, the text says, if you folks got it says, 03:07 "By the truth, and do not sell it, 03:10 Also wisdom and instruction and understanding." 03:14 The Bible says, you got to get the truth. 03:18 Once you get the truth, don't give up on the truth, 03:21 buy the truth and sell it not. 03:23 Now we're going to notice now the second great truth 03:26 in our series. 03:28 Second part of the series, the talk is the second part, 03:32 but now the second great truth in our series. 03:35 It answers the question. 03:37 This is tremendously important. 03:39 "How can I be saved and have peace with God?" 03:44 How can I get to heaven? 03:47 I'm going to tell you briefly 03:48 the story of Ignatius of Loyola. 03:52 Number one, the great Spaniard. 03:54 Number two. 03:56 the famous German Martin Luther 03:58 and then Mother Teresa that everybody loves, 04:02 and we're going to talk about the true gospel. 04:07 Now this is an age 04:08 when people decide elections on ten second sound bites. 04:15 That's not the way you discover truth. 04:19 Protestantism and Roman Catholicism 04:23 do not have the same gospel. 04:28 Oh, people are like, 04:29 oh, no, no, no, that's not true. 04:31 I'm sorry. 04:33 The Church of Rome does not have the gospel 04:36 that I believe in and I'm a Protestant, 04:39 and I'm going to tell you why. 04:40 Would you come over here to the Book of Romans please, 04:43 Romans 1:16, 17 04:48 and those of you watching at home, 04:50 you can go and get your Bible 04:51 if you like and you can turn up the text Romans 1:16, 17 04:58 and the great apostle Paul says, 05:00 "I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, 05:03 for it is the power of God to salvation 05:05 for everyone who believes, 05:07 for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 05:11 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed 05:15 from faith to faith, as it is written, 05:19 "The just shall live by faith." 05:23 Now, the Bible tells me that the gospel is all about faith. 05:29 Wants you to keep this down on the molecules of the mind. 05:32 The Bible says, 05:33 the true gospel is not about your works, 05:37 but the true gospel is about faith in Christ. 05:43 Ignatius came from a little town 05:45 by the name of Loyola in beautiful Spain. 05:51 He was a soldier. 05:54 He got wounded in a battle. 05:57 During his recovery, 05:59 this arch Roman Catholic man believes 06:04 he had visions of the Virgin Mary. 06:08 And the Virgin Mary told him the truth of the gospel. 06:14 Later on as he got he Jesuits going 06:19 because he founded the Jesuits. 06:21 He wrote the spiritual institutes, 06:24 some of the most profound religious writings 06:28 in the history of the world. 06:30 He founded the Society of Jesus, 06:36 because they wanted to be like Jesus, 06:41 the Jesuits, 06:44 we got to be like Jesus, 06:47 but the Jesuits became the enemies of the Protestants, 06:51 the great defenders of the papacy. 06:55 Their aim was the death 06:59 and the destruction of Protestantism. 07:04 And of course, as you all know 07:07 the present pope 07:08 who seems such a nice person 07:13 is a Jesuit. 07:16 Then it was Martin Luther, 07:18 born about the same time as Ignatius. 07:21 Martin Luther was born in 1483. 07:24 He was a German. 07:26 In 1505 while he was studying to be a lawyer, 07:29 he was caught in a thunderstorm, 07:31 he had such a fear of going to hell 07:34 that Martin Luther cried out, 07:36 "I will be a priest, I will be a monk." 07:41 And so he gave up studying to be a lawyer 07:46 and he became a priest. 07:48 He entered the Augustine cloister. 07:51 He became a priest and he taught at Wittenberg. 07:56 At the University of Wittenberg in 1512, 08:00 he was given a doctor of theology degree. 08:04 But even though 08:05 he had tremendous amount of knowledge, 08:07 Martin Luther who was very much like 08:09 Ignatius of Loyola the same passion, 08:14 the same spiritual drive 08:17 even though he had a doctorate in theology, 08:21 Martin Luther had no peace with God. 08:24 And I'll tell you 08:25 how Martin Luther reasoned, he said, 08:27 "God is holy, I am unholy. 08:33 God is righteous, I am unrighteous. 08:37 God is sinless, I am sinful. 08:40 Therefore, God must react against me." 08:46 And when the old father confessor said to him, 08:48 Martin, you must love God." 08:50 He said, "I cannot love God." 08:52 He said, "You must love God." 08:54 He said, "I cannot love God, 08:56 because I'm a sinner and God hates me." 09:02 So this was the struggle in the heart of Martin Luther, 09:07 how can a holy God love an unholy man, 09:11 and then he was driven in his desperation 09:14 to study the Book of Romans. 09:18 I want you to come to Romans 3:23, 24, 09:23 Romans 3:23, 24. 09:27 The Bible says, Paul says, 09:29 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 09:33 being justified freely by His grace 09:37 through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." 09:42 Now, listen to this very carefully, 09:45 because if you gonna see this. 09:49 Today the windows of heaven will open for you. 09:51 God will shine His love upon you. 09:56 When the Bible says, that we are justified by faith, 10:01 the word justify or justification 10:05 does not mean to make me 10:10 righteous as Loyola taught. 10:14 Ignatius Loyola said, 10:16 "Justification was the work of God in the soul 10:20 to make me like Jesus. 10:25 That is the heart 10:26 and the essence of the faith of the pope. 10:32 But justification in the Bible is a declaration 10:35 that the sinner is righteous 10:39 not because he is sinless, 10:44 but because Christ died for him. 10:48 Because Christ made a perfect atonement 10:52 for his sins on the cross. 10:54 The moment I believe in Christ, 10:59 God, the righteous judge declares 11:02 in a moment that I am righteous. 11:08 That is the Protestant gospel 11:11 and that is where we differ with the Church of Rome. 11:15 Christ paid for my sins 11:19 and in a moment if I come as a penitent 11:23 and believe in Christ, 11:25 I am declared righteous even though I am a sinner. 11:36 I can be right with God right now, 11:38 and that is why it is called in the Bible the gospel. 11:42 The gospel is good news. 11:45 The news is not about me, 11:48 the news is about what Christ on the cross has done for me. 11:53 The gospel is not good advice. 11:55 It is the good news 11:57 that I can be declared righteous not because I am, 12:01 but because of Christ. 12:04 That is the gospel, 12:05 that is the Protestant gospel that Rome does not believe. 12:10 In contrast, listen to this my Protestant friends. 12:13 Ignatius thought that justification was a process 12:16 to make the sinner righteous 12:19 and that's the process goes on all through the life 12:23 and it is never completed in this lifetime. 12:28 Hence, you must go to purgatory 12:31 because you are not good enough. 12:38 It was the preaching of the true gospel 12:41 that liberated the world. 12:44 The gospel of Ignatius Loyola was proclaimed 12:48 in the Council of Trent, 12:51 a part of the Counter Reformation. 12:57 It is the official doctrine of Pope Francis, 13:01 every pope, every bishop, every priest, 13:06 the teaching of the Council of Trent, 13:09 it is completely different to the gospel that we believe. 13:14 It is the gospel that I can be right with God right now. 13:23 But if you believe in the Council of Trent, 13:26 Ignatius Loyola, 13:27 you've got to go to purgatory, 13:29 you've got to go 'cause you're not good enough. 13:32 The Protestant gospel liberated the world 13:36 and gave birth to the great democracies, 13:40 and Mother Teresa made a saint by Pope Francis. 13:44 But the pope can't make anybody a saint, 13:47 because unless you are a living saint 13:49 saved by the grace of God, you'll never be a dead saint. 13:53 Now Mother Teresa, 13:55 we believe was a wonderful person, 13:57 earnest and sincere and did many good works. 14:00 But after she died, 14:02 she was trained as you know by the Jesuits, 14:06 the Jesuits trained this woman 14:09 and they trained 14:11 in the theology of Ignatius Loyola. 14:15 After she died, they discovered her letters. 14:19 Have you read them? 14:21 I have, she said, 14:23 "Not one day in my life have I seen the smile of God." 14:29 She said, "All the time I have been filled with fear 14:34 and an awful foreboding of judgment and hell." 14:41 Not one moment she said in my whole life, 14:44 have I seen the smile of God. 14:49 And that is why those people 14:51 who accept that religion usually are afraid to die. 14:57 Who would not be afraid to die, 14:59 if you felt you were going to go down into hell? 15:03 Now look at Romans 5:1. 15:06 Romans 5, Paul says, "Therefore, having been, 15:12 " that's past tense, "justified by faith, 15:15 " we accepted by faith. 15:18 You can believe it today 15:20 having being justified by faith, 15:23 we're at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 15:26 Now, now, now, you see, 15:30 right with God right now, 15:35 that is a Protestant gospel, 15:37 completely different to the gospel of Rome. 15:41 Another great truth is purgatory in hell. 15:44 Believed by the Roman Catholic Church, 15:46 people say, "No, they don't believe it anymore." 15:48 My friend, you do not know. 15:52 The Church of Rome believes 15:54 in the teaching of the Council of Trent 15:57 and the pope said, "We believe what Trent taught." 16:02 Of course, they believe it. 16:04 It's a necessity. 16:05 It's a place of purification, so I can see God after death. 16:09 It is not taught in the Bible. 16:12 We don't need it because Christ died for us. 16:17 And let me talk about hell. 16:19 The Roman Catholic Church along with many Protestants, 16:24 the Roman Catholic Church teaches 16:25 that God will torment sinners for billions of years. 16:28 I didn't say for 100 years, but for billions of years. 16:31 There's no end. 16:33 It goes on and it burns for ever and ever, 16:37 even a baby that is not baptized will end up here. 16:44 It's the official teaching of the Council of Trent 16:48 which was the Counter Reformation. 16:53 Some may say, 16:54 "Oh, we don't believe that anymore. 16:55 You don't have a choice if you follow their teaching. 16:59 This doctrine has produced 17:01 millions and millions of atheists. 17:05 One man said, "If this is true, 17:07 if the God of the Bible is going to burn people 17:11 in hell for billions of years, 17:15 and going to torture, torture people, 17:17 keep them alive by a miracle 17:19 and burn them and burn them for all eternity." 17:22 He said, "If that is God, then God is the devil." 17:26 That is true. 17:29 We are against terrorism. 17:32 Now you can understand why the church 17:35 burned so many people in the Dark Ages, 17:38 because they thought God did it too. 17:44 The Bible teaches that there is a place of burning 17:47 at the end of the world but the fire goes out. 17:52 Come over here to the Book of Jude, 17:54 I can give you a whole Bible study on that, 17:56 but I don't have time today. 17:58 I do not believe in an eternally burning hell 18:01 where God get some satisfaction 18:04 at torturing people for billions of years. 18:07 I think that is the doctrine of the devil. 18:09 Jude verse 7 says, 18:10 "That Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them 18:13 and similar manner to these having given themselves 18:17 over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh 18:21 set forth for and, "What? 18:24 Example "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." 18:28 The Bible says, 18:29 that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 18:33 are an example of hellfire, 18:35 but they're not burning now. 18:37 I've been to that area in the Middle East, 18:41 the fire was eternal because it did an eternal work. 18:44 But when the fire had consumed everything, 18:47 the fire went out. 18:49 The doctrine of an eternally burning hell 18:53 is an affront to God. 18:56 Romans used the doctrine of eternally burning hell 18:59 to keep the faithful in line while raising money. 19:04 Praying for souls in purgatory 19:07 and praying for their deliverance. 19:08 We know it is true especially in Latino countries. 19:14 Here's another major doctrine, doctrine number four, 19:17 the doctrine of Mary 19:18 whom they say remained a perpetual virgin. 19:22 Would you come over here to Matthew 1:20-25. 19:27 Matthew 1:20-25, 19:31 "While he thought about these things, 19:32 behold, an angel of Lord appeared to him in a dream, 19:35 saying, "Joseph, son of David, 19:38 do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, 19:42 but that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 19:46 And she will bring forth a Son, 19:48 and you shall call His name Jesus, 19:50 for He will save His people from their sins. 19:54 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled 19:58 which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 20:01 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, 20:04 and bear a Son. 20:06 And they shall call his name Emmanuel." 20:09 which is translated, "God with us." 20:11 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, 20:14 did as the angel of the Lord commanded him 20:16 and took to him his wife, 20:19 and did not know her." 20:24 He did not know her. 20:26 He did not have intimate relations with her. 20:30 "He did not know her till 20:33 she had brought forth her firstborn Son. 20:38 And he called His name Jesus." 20:42 The Bible teaches that Mary did not remain a virgin. 20:48 We believe in the Blessed Virgin Mary. 20:51 But the papacy teaches that Mary can intercede for us. 20:56 So they are taught to pray, "Holy, Mary Mother of God, 21:00 pray for us sinners, 21:02 now and at the hour of our death." 21:05 But I would point out to you 21:08 that Mary cannot help us and Mary cannot save us. 21:13 Jesus Christ is our Lord. 21:17 I want you to come over here to a text 1 Timothy 2:5, 21:22 1 Timothy 2:5 and the Bible says, 21:27 "For there is one God..." 21:30 Have you got your Bibles, can you see that? 21:32 "For there is one God and one Mediator 21:37 between God and men, 21:39 the Man Christ Jesus." 21:41 Look at me. 21:43 Jesus is the Lord, not Mary. 21:48 Jesus is the intercessor. 21:51 The pope says, "That Mary was taken home to glory." 21:54 That's not taught in the Bible. 21:57 Mary cannot save us 21:59 because Mary is sleeping in the grave 22:02 awaiting the resurrection. 22:06 We respect Mary, but we worship Jesus. 22:12 Now, the next great truth, truth number five, 22:15 the confessional and the forgiveness of sins. 22:19 Listen to me carefully. 22:22 The pope teaches that the priest is empowered 22:25 to forgive our sins, 22:28 but I want you to know only God can forgive our sins. 22:33 Look at Isaiah 55 in the Bible. 22:37 "Seek the Lord while He may be found, 22:39 call upon Him while He is near. 22:41 Let the wicked forsake his way, 22:43 and the unrighteous man his thoughts, 22:45 let him return to the Lord, 22:48 and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, 22:51 for He will abundantly pardon." 22:54 If you confess your sins to God, 22:57 He will forgive you without a priest. 23:01 Come over here to 1 John 1:7-9, 23:04 1 John 1:7-9. 23:06 It says, "But if we walk in the light as He is in light, 23:10 we have fellowship with one another, 23:12 and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son 23:16 cleansers us from all sin. 23:18 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, 23:21 and the truth is not in us. 23:23 If we confess our sins, 23:26 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 23:30 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 23:32 The Bible tells you to confess your sins, 23:37 but to confess your sins to God. 23:40 And the Bible says, "If we confess our sins to God, 23:44 He will forgive our sins, 23:47 because we have a great High Priest." 23:50 Now, I'm going to miss out a text 23:52 and I'm going to come down to another text 23:54 Hebrews 8:1, 2 23:58 Hebrews 8:1, 2 look at this, 24:03 "Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: 24:08 We have such a High Priest, 24:11 who is seated at the right hand 24:13 of the throne of the Majesty of the heavens, 24:16 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle 24:21 which the Lord erected, and not man." 24:25 The Bible tells me that we have a priest in heaven. 24:31 The Bible makes it ever so clear 24:38 that Jesus is my Lord and my priest, 24:43 he is in the heavenly temple or sanctuary, 24:48 and the Bible says, if I want my sins forgiven, 24:53 I don't go to a minister to confess my sins. 24:57 I don't go to an earthly priest, 25:00 I go straight to Christ 25:04 and Christ is my High Priest. 25:07 Listen carefully to this. 25:09 Let this sink down into your mind. 25:14 There are no priests in the New Testament church. 25:17 Peter was never called Father Peter. 25:20 John was never called Father John. 25:24 We have one Lord and we have one priest. 25:30 Listen... 25:32 Here I am sitting in the studio today. 25:36 If I come to Christ in true faith, 25:40 then Christ who died for my sins on the cross 25:45 immediately I am right with God. 25:50 My sins are forgiven, my soul is redeemed. 25:56 I am saved by my great priest. 26:00 And until Rome starts to preach the truth of the Bible, 26:07 I will stay a Protestant. 26:13 Amen. 26:18 We should never say something is impossible 26:21 because Jesus said, 26:22 "With God all things are possible." 26:26 It seems impossible to think that a group of Americans, 26:30 Australians could come here to Castro's communist Cuba 26:35 and preach the gospel. 26:38 We're here with the permission of the Cuban government. 26:41 We've got special visas, so we can preach here. 26:45 I've had the privilege of preaching 26:47 in the most difficult places Moscow, 26:50 all across Russia, all around Ukraine. 26:53 Dangerous places in Africa, 26:55 but this is one of the biggest miracles of all. 26:58 Here we are, 27:00 the Carter Report team, just a little team. 27:04 But we're here by the grace of God, 27:07 because with God all things are possible. 27:11 But God works through people, 27:13 He's working... 27:14 Glory be to God, we believe through us. 27:17 But He's also working my friend through you 27:21 because of your prayers and your support, your gifts. 27:26 These people, many of them are hearing 27:28 the true gospel of Christ for the first time. 27:32 So my heart is full of thanks to God and to you today. 27:37 Would you please drop me a line? 27:39 John Carter PO Box 1900, 27:42 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 27:45 And of course, 27:47 you can write to me at Terrigal, in Australia. 27:50 Let's get a fire going in this country. 27:55 We have established a beachhead on the shores 27:59 of Castro's Cuba, 28:02 a gospel beachhead, not a military one. 28:05 We are the ambassadors of peace 28:07 and we've come here to preach the gospel of peace. 28:11 Stand with us, and thank you for your support. 28:20 For a copy of today's program, 28:22 please contact us at PO Box 1900, 28:25 Thousand Oaks, California 91358 28:30 or in Australia, contact us at PO Box 861, 28:35 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:39 This program is made possible 28:41 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:44 We thank you for your continued support. 28:47 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2016-11-14