Are You Right With God?
What devout Catholic doesn’t want to be right with God?
If you are a Catholic, can you say without a doubt that you are right with God at this very moment? Perhaps you are thinking, “Well, I’m following the teachings of the Church on how to be right with God.” Then would you agree that those beliefs should match God’s written Word, the Bible? Perhaps your answer is “No” or “I’m not sure.” Wouldn’t you like to know for peace of mind, now and for eternity?
Whatever your answer, you may be in the position that I was in as a dedicated Roman Catholic priest. After years of study for the priesthood in Ireland and Rome, followed by 22 years as a priest, I was never sure that I was right with God. As a devout priest, I always tried to be right with God through following and believing the Catholic Church. I taught those under my care to do the same. But as sincere as I was, and as hard as I tried, I never achieved any peace about being right with God.
Finally, I discovered that it’s not only possible to be right with God, but that God wants us to be secure in that position! So, I urge you to do what I did – compare the teachings of the Catholic Church on this vital question with the words of the Holy Bible. Below, we show six important comparisons for you to consider.
IT IS VITAL YOU READ ON
Your eternal destiny – heaven or hell – depends on how you understand and respond to the truths in these topics. If you think you are unqualified for such a study, please draw strength from these words of Scripture: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it” (James 1:5). God wants you to know the truth about knowing Him!
NOTE: Under each topic, I present the written Word of God (from the Catholic New American Bible) alongside the official teaching of the Catholic Church (taken from the Catholic Catechism).
Critical Comparisons for Being Right With God
Basis of Truth
Means of Salvation
Mediator Between God and Man
The Origin of Faith
Images
God: The Only All Holy One
What Difference Does It Make?
Can you say you really know a person when you believe wrong things about that person in all the important areas of his/her life? Hardly! It’s even more impossible to truly know God while clinging to teachings that contradict what God says about Himself in the Bible. How can anyone hope to be right with God while believing the wrong things about Him?
Many former Catholics have discovered what it takes to be right with God according to God’s Word.
The Bible clearly states, “For our sake [God] made Him [Jesus Christ] to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus Christ was personally All Holy; yet as the substitute for sinners, He became legally responsible for the sins of mankind, accepting God’s punishment of our sins.
God made Christ “to be sin” by transferring our sins to Him, then punishing Him for those sins. The consequence of Christ’s perfect faithfulness to the Father in all that He did on earth – ending in His substitutionary death on the cross – is that Christ’s righteousness is put to the credit of anyone who truly believes in God’s provision for their salvation.
Being right with God is the gracious act whereby a believing sinner has Christ’s perfect righteousness credited to him! “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God, and it is not from works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ’s resurrection from the grave proved that His mission to make our salvation possible was complete.
Believe on Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness of sin and eternal life and you will be forever secure. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13); “He who made the promise is trustworthy” (Hebrews 10:23). If you cling to teachings and traditions that contradict and oppose the truth of the Bible, you do so at your eternal peril.
Or you may do what so many have done before you; turn to God in faith alone for salvation, based on Christ’s death and resurrection. As the Holy Spirit convicts you, express to God your heartfelt belief in Christ’s death on your behalf. Then, having received the gift of eternal life, live your life in praise of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:6) and in continual thanksgiving to Him!
If the Lord has touched your heart by His sovereign grace, please let us hear from you using our email address; rbennett@bb.berea.edu.pl
It would be a joy to hear from you.
Richard Bennett
