Gospel Reflection for The 4th day of December in the year of Our Lord, 2025
Thursday of the First Week of Advent
Matthew 7:21-27
21 Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. 24 Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.
Let’s contrast today’s Gospel with a quote by Martin Luther, “A person that is baptized cannot, thou he would, lose his salvation by any sins however grievous, unless he refuses to believe. For no sins can damn him but unbelief alone.”
Clearly, anyone who prophesied in the name of Jesus, cast out devils in His name and even performed miracles through the power and authority of Christ believes in Jesus. But, even the demons know that Jesus is God. Perhaps no creature more fully understands the divinity of Jesus more than the devil, who opposes and fears Him. If belief was all that was necessary for salvation, the devil and his demons would have been the first saved! No, Jesus makes clear that to be saved, we must also hear His words and do them. Elsewhere He says, “if you love me you will keep my commandments.” Obedience is essential and sin separates us from God. Yet, Luther wrote, “It does not matter what people do; it only matters what they believe.”
It is horrible to imagine how many were killed in the religious wars inspired by Luther. It is even more horrific though to consider the millions of souls who may have lost their salvation by following his teaching. As Catholics, we must not only be able to defend our faith, but to explain why such heresies are wrong and evil.
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January - June, 2026 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FWJMD7CL
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
Very good to remind people how off the track Luther was . Was it the Evil One who guided him or was he just ignorant? I fear it is the first one. Why? The wars and the splitting away from the Church which Christ instituted are very firm proof that it was the Evil One.