Sin Kills

Gospel Reflection For The 11th day of April in the year of Our Lord, 2024

Gospel

John 3:31-36

31 He that cometh from above, is above all. He that is of the earth, of the earth he is, and of the earth he speaketh. He that cometh from heaven, is above all. 32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth: and no man receiveth his testimony. 33 He that hath received his testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true. 34 For he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God: for God doth not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loveth the Son: and he hath given all things into his hand.

36 He that believeth in the Son, hath life everlasting; but he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Recently, because I explained why the Protestant doctrine of “Once saved, always saved” is a heresy, a lady became very angry with me. She claimed that I “did not believe in the merits of Christ.” and she proceeded to insult me in every way possible without actually using profanity, and to try to damage my reputation on social media. You see, as I have explained before, Protestants believe that all that is necessary for salvation is that one believe that Jesus is God and accept Him as Savior. But, that isn’t what the Bible says. Jesus said that although people called Him Lord and did mighty works in His name, He would say, “I do not know you.” Our Lord says that those who love Him must follow His commandments. In a more modern translation of today’s Gospel, He says, “whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.”

This is extremely important. One may be validly baptized and confirmed; one may believe in Jesus as God…. But one may lose salvation through sin. Mortal sin kills the soul. I would go so far as to say that each book of the Bible emphasizes this fact in various ways. To deny the reality of the consequences of sin is to deny Christianity itself. Why did God give Moses the 10 Commandments if sin is no big deal? Why was Jesus crucified if there was no penalty for sin? Why would Jesus and His Apostles emphasize over and over again that Christians must strive to avoid sin if sin has no bearing? To put it bluntly, the teachings of many Protestant denominations endanger souls. Those who follow their doctrine are in grave danger of hell.

It is extremely important to point out though, that Protestants have an excuse… most of them believe what they are taught. Yes, they should read the Bible and realize what they are taught is wrong, but God will judge them individually, based on their understanding and actions. We, as Catholics, have no excuse. We have the fullness of the Truth. We all, certainly, sin. But, we cannot deny the consequences of sin. God gave us His teachings through the Bible and Sacred Tradition. He gives us infallible instruction through His Church. He also gives us recourse for forgiveness when we sin. We have the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We have all that is necessary to attain eternal salvation in Heaven. We have only to assent and do as God said. This is such a tremendous gift! For millions of years, man wandered in confusion. We are so very privileged to have the Fullness of the Truth. But, we must remember another teaching of our Lord, “To whom much is given, much will be required.”

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Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January-June, 2024. It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPD1DC7Q

and

Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK

His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic