St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church - syracuse
Saiyan Beware of "NewCovenantguy" and his false interpretations in his misguided review.
Nowhere in scripture does it say bible alone. Luther made it up. The Catholic/Orthodox church assembled and canonized the bible in the third century at the councilof Rome and Synod of Hippo. The apostles and their successors handed down sacred tradition and the mass in the catacombs. The Didache, the churchs first Catechism was written by them in the first century.
2 Thessalonians 2:15
15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.
When the bishop of those first Christians in Antioch mentioned in the Bible writes to the church, you should listen. What he says and teaches was handed down by the apostles. Guided by the Holy Spirit. Only a fraction of what Christ taught them ended up being written down and recorded.
John 21:25
25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
As for baptism, even Martin Luther rightfully held to baptismal regeration. The thief on the cross was before Pentecost. All of the church fathers are unanimous on this.
*Acts 2:38
And Peter said to them, “Repent [and] be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
This is exactly what happened after Jesus came up from the water. In the verse we see that "And" = (the second command)
*1 Peter 3:21
21 and [this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you] also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. [It] saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
*John 3:5
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of [water] and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
*Mark 16:16
16 He who believes [and] is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
"Call no man father." Protestants always misinterpret this. Do we worship our biological fathers? No we honor them.
1 Corinthians 4:15
15 Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
This holds to all priests and bishops overseeing their flocks. One false protestant interpretation debunked. I can keep going. We worship only one Father Almighty (Nicene Creed).
The Catholic church teaches that we are saved by our faith and the works we do come from the Holy Spirit. Faith without works is a dead faith. James 2:14-26. I can cite many passages, including from Revelation.
