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Of course He does. See Jeremiah 32:37-38. While in the Old Covenant, 'God's people' was limited to the descendants of Abraham, now 'God's people' encompasses all nations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD
no special church
There are no "special" churches and "un-special" churches. There's just One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that was founded by Christ (Matthew 16:18).
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD
and certainly no special self-appointed successors to the Apostles.
By definition, a successor cannot be "self-appointed", but is chosen by the one prior to him.
Matthias was not self-appointed, but was chosen by the other disciples to replace Judas.
Who said the RCC has the gift of Christ to perform those things?
That's a self-given gift! It sure didn't come from scripture!
The self-righteousness of RCC has no bounds.
If Peter was the first pope, why didn't he take charge of the Gentile churches Paul built?
Peter spoke very highly of Paul, bragging on his epistles.
Why didn't Paul tell the churches Peter would be in charge?
Why do we not have any of this in scripture?
Let me guess, the RCC says so and you better believe it!
pretty clear in scripture:
Galatians 1:18
Galatians 2:9
Acts 19:13-16
Matthew 18:15-18
Matthew 16:17-19
Isaiah 22:15-22
Luke 22:29-30
Luke 22:32
John 21:15-17
pretty clear in scripture:
Galatians 1:18
Galatians 2:9
Acts 19:13-16
Matthew 18:15-18
Matthew 16:17-19
Isaiah 22:15-22
Luke 22:29-30
Luke 22:32
John 21:15-17
Hey, why don't you explain those scripture verses for us so we can plainly see the connection?
I would very much like to see that! Maybe I'll become a Catholic?
The verses themselves are pretty clear, plus acts 19 shows it's not just anybody can.
If you need a 'writeup' it's already in the link provided.
In my church (Presbyterian), in Sunday worship, we read a standard confession of sins and then the pastor says, “I declare that you are forgiven”.
But can a pastor actually forgive your sins after you read a confession of sin?
I see that Jesus gave the disciples the power to do that, in John 20:22-23. But that was Jesus giving that authority to specific people.
Further, there are many Bible verses that emphasize the need to repent to be forgiven. And even if repentance is not necessary, simply reading a confession of sin doesn’t necessarily show any faith or contriteness of heart; it’s just a reading.
So…are the members of my church all forgiven every Sunday morning when the pastor says we are?
I don’t think so, but I welcome others’ views.
Declaring something is forgiven is not the same as forgiving. Christians can declare that one is forgiven in Christ, but it's Jesus doing the forgiving.
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