Our Catholic Faith - What and Why We Believe
Mk. 6:12-13 – anointed with oil many sick, cured them
Jm. 5:14 – presbyters pray over sick, anoint, sins forgiven
2 Chr. 19:11 – high priest is over you in everything of Lord’s
Mal. 2:7 – seek instruction from priest, he is God’s messenger
Eph. 2:20 – church built upon foundation of apostles & prophets
Eph. 4:11 – God gave some as apostles, others as prophets …
1 Cor. 12:28–29 – God designated in church: apostles …
Acts 1:20 – let another take his office
Acts 1:25–26 – Matthias takes Judas’ apostolic ministry
1 Tim. 3:1, 8; 5:17 – qualifications for bishops, priests, & deacons
1 Tim. 4:14 – gift conferred with the laying on of hands
1 Tim. 5:22 – do not lay hands too readily on anyone
Acts 14:23 – they appointed presbyters in each church
2 Tim. 2:2 – what you heard from me entrust to faithful teachers
Titus 1:5 – appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed
Jn. 3:5, 22 – born of water & Spirit; Apostles begin baptizing
Tit. 3:5 – saved us through bath of rebirth & renewal by Holy Spirit
Acts 2:37-38 – repent, be baptized, receive gift of Holy Spirit
Acts 22:16 – get selves baptized and sins washed away
1 Cor. 6:11 – you were washed, sanctified, justified
Rom. 6:4 – baptized into death; live in newness of life
1 Pet. 3:21 – baptism … now saves you
Heb. 10:22 – heart sprinkled, bodies washed in pure water
Jn. 3:5; Mk. 16:16 – baptism required for entering heaven
Rom. 5:18-19 – all are born with Adam’s sin & need baptism
Mk. 10:14 – let children come; to such belongs the kingdom
Lk. 18:15 – people were bringing even infants to him …
Col. 2:11-12 – baptism has replaced circumcision
Jos. 24:15 – as for me and my house, we will serve Lord
Mt. 8:5ff. – servant healed because of centurion’s faith
Mt. 15:21ff.– daughter healed because of Canaanite woman’s faith
Lk. 7:1f. – just say the word, and let my servant be healed
Acts 16:31 – believe in Lord Jesus you & house will be saved
Acts 16:15 – she was baptized, with all her household
Acts 16:33 – he and all his family were baptized at once
1 Cor. 1:16 – I baptized the household of Stephanas
St. Hippolytus of Rome (c. 215 AD): “Baptize first the children; and if they can speak for themselves, let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them.” The Apostolic Tradition, 21.
Origen (post 244 AD): “the Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving baptism also to infants.” Commentary on Romans 5, 9.
In 252 AD, the Council of Carthage condemned the opinion that infants must wait until the eighth day after birth to be baptized, as was the case with circumcision. St. Cyprian of Carthage, Letter 64 (59), 2.
Eph. 5:21-33 – marriage is good: holy symbol of Christ & church
Mt. 19:12 – celibacy praised by Jesus, who was celibate
Jer. 16:1-4 – Jeremiah told not to take wife & have children
1 Cor. 7:8 – St. Paul was celibate
1 Cor. 7:32-35 – celibacy recommended for full-time ministers
2 Tim. 2:3-4 – no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits
1 Tim. 5:9-12 – pledge of celibacy taken by older widows
Mt. 16:18–19 - upon this rock I will build my Church
Mt. 18:17–18 - if he refuses to listen even to Church …
Mt. 28:18–20 - go baptize and teach all nations
Mt. 16:16 - go to whole world and proclaim gospel
Lk. 10:16 – whoever hears you, hears me; rejects you, rejects me
Jn. 14:16, 26 – Holy Spirit w/ you always, teach/remind everything
Jn. 16:12 – Spirit of truth will guide you to all truth
1 Tim. 3:15 – Church is the pillar & foundation of truth
Col. 1:18 – he is the head of the body, the church
1 Cor. 12:20–27 – you are Christ’s body, individually parts of it
Eph. 5:30 – we are members of his body
Rom. 12:4–5 – though many, we are one body in Christ
1 Cor. 6:15 – don’t you know your bodies are members of Christ
Jn. 10:16 – there shall be one fold and one shepherd
Eph. 4:3-6 – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God & Father
Rom. 16:17 – avoid those who create dissensions
1 Cor. 1:10 – I urge that there be no divisions among you
Phil. 2:2 – be of same mind, united in heart, thinking one thing
Rom. 15:5 – God grant you to think in harmony w/ one another
Jn. 17:17–23 – I pray that they may be one, as we are one
Jn. 17:23 – that they may be brought to perfection as one
1 Cor. 12:13 – in one spirit we were baptized into one body
Rom. 12:5 – we, though many, are one body in Christ
Eph. 4:4 – one body, one Spirit, called to one hope
Col. 3:15 – the peace into which you were called in one body
St. Cyprian (c. 250 AD): “God is one and Christ is one, and one is His Church, and the faith is one, and His people welded together by the glue of concord into a solid unity of body. Unity cannot be rent asunder, nor can the one body of the Church, through the division of its structure, be divided into separate pieces.” On the Unity of the Church 23.
Tertullian (197 AD): “We are a society with a single religious feeling, a single unity of discipline, a single bond of hope.” Apology 39,1.
St. Hillary (4th c.): “In the Scriptures our people are shown to be made one; so that just as many grains collected into one and ground and mingled together, make one loaf, so in Christ, who is the heavenly Bread, we know there is one body, in which our whole company is joined and united.” Treatise 62, 13.
Jn. 15:16 - Jesus chose special men to be his Apostles
Jn. 20:21 – Jesus gave the Apostles his own mission
Lk. 22:30 – Jesus gave them a kingdom
Mt. 16:18 – Jesus built Church on Peter, the rock
Jn. 10:16 – one shepherd to shepherd Christ’s sheep
Lk. 22:32, Jn. 21:17 – Peter appointed to be chief shepherd
Eph. 4:11 – church leaders are hierarchical
1 Tim. 3:1, 8; 5:17 – identifies roles of bishops, priests, deacons
Tit. 1:5 – commission for bishops to ordain priests
Mt. 28:18-20 – Jesus delegates all power to Apostles
Jn. 20:23 – power to forgive sin
1 Cor. 11:24 – power to offer sacrifice (Eucharist)
Lk. 10:16 – power to speak with Christ’s voice
Mt. 18:18 – power to legislate
Mt. 18:17 – power to discipline
St. Irenaeus (c. 200 AD): “… the Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although she is disseminated throughout the whole world, yet guarded it, as if she occupied but one house. She likewise believes these things just as if she had but one soul and one and the same heart; and harmoniously she proclaims them and teaches them and hands them down, as if she possessed but one mouth.” Against Heresies 1, 10, 2.
Eusibius of Caesarea (4th c.): “But the brightness of the Catholic Church proceeded to increase in greatness, for it ever held to the same points in the same way, and radiated forth to all the race of Greeks and barbarians the reverent, sincere, and free nature, and the sobriety and purity of the divine teaching as to conduct and thought.” Ecclesiastical History 4, 7, 13.
St. Augustine (392 AD): “The Catholic Church is the work of Divine Providence, achieved through the prophecies of the prophets, through the Incarnation and the teaching of Christ, through the journeys of the Apostles, through the suffering, the crosses, the blood and death of the martyrs, through the admirable lives of the saints…. When, then, we see so much help on God’s part, so much progress and so much fruit, shall we hesitate to bury ourselves in the bosom of that Church? For starting from the apostolic chair down through successions of bishops, even unto the open confession of all mankind, it has possessed the crown of teaching authority.” The Advantage of Believing 35.
Jn. 16:13 - guided by Holy Spirit into all truth
Jn. 14:26 - Holy Spirit to teach & remind them of everything
Lk. 10:16 – speak with Christ’s own voice
1 Tim. 3:15 – church called “pillar and foundation of truth”
1 Jn. 2:27 – anointing of Holy Spirit remains in you
Acts 15:28 – Apostles speak with voice of Holy Spirit
Mt. 28:20 – I am with you always
St. Irenaeus (c. 200): “For where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God, there the Church and every grace. The Spirit, however, is Truth.” Against Heresies 3, 24, 1.
Is. 9:6–7 – of Christ’s government there will be no end
Dan. 2:44 – God’s kingdom shall stand forever
Dan. 7:14 – his kingdom shall not be destroyed
Lk. 1:32, 33 – no end to Christ’s kingdom
Mt. 7:24 – Jesus is like a wise man who built his house on a rock
Mt. 13:24–30 – let wheat & weeds grow together until harvest
Mt. 16:18 – gates of hell will never prevail against Christ’s church
Jn. 14:16 – Holy Spirit will be with you always
Mt. 28:19 – 20 – I am with you all days
Mt. 9:2-8 – Son of Man has authority to forgive sins
Jn. 20:23 – whose sins you forgive/retain are forgiven/retained
Jn. 20:22 – breathed on them, “receive Holy Spirit” (recall Gn. 2:7)
2 Cor. 5:17-20 – given us the ministry of reconciliation
Jm. 5:13-15 – prayer of presbyters forgives sin
Mt. 18:18 – whatever you bind & loose on earth, so it is in heaven
Acts 19:5-6 – Paul imposed hands on baptized, received Holy Spirit
Acts 8:14-17 – laid hands upon them, they received Holy Spirit
2 Cor. 1:21-22 – put seal on us & given Holy Spirit in our hearts
Eph. 1:13 – you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit
Heb. 6:2 – instruction about baptism & laying on of hands
Gn. 1:27-28 (Gn. 9:1; 35:11) – be fruitful and multiply
Ps. 127:3-5 – children gift from God, blessed is a full quiver
1 Chr. 25:4-5 – God gave 14 sons & 3 daughters to exalt him
1 Chr. 26:4-5 – God indeed blessed Obed-Edom with 8 sons
Hos. 9:10-17 – Israel is punished with childlessness
Ex. 23:25-26 – blessings promised: no miscarrying, barrenness
Dt. 7:13-14 – you will be blessed: no male or female barrenness
Gn. 38:9-10 – Onan killed for spilling seed on ground
Dt. 25:5-10 – penalty for defying Levirate law: not death
Lv. 20:13 – if man lies with man, put to death (wasting seed) Note: no penalty prescribed for lesbian actions or relations between single man & single woman (Dt. 22:28-29)
Lv. 20:15 – if man lies with animal, put to death (sterile sex)
Lv. 20:16 – if woman lies with animal, put to death (sterile sex)
Lv. 21:17-20 – crushed testicles is called a defect & blemish
Dt. 23:1 – no one who is castrated shall enter the assembly
Dt. 25:11-12 – punishment for potential damage to genitals
Rom. 1:25-27 – natural function of women (= childbearing)
1 Tim. 2:11-15 – women saved through the bearing of children
Acts 5:1-11 – Ananias/Saphira slain – withholding part of gift
Gal. 6:7 – God is not mocked – accepting pleasure, denying fruit
Mt. 21:19, Mk. 11:14 – Jesus cursed fruitless fig tree
Gal 5:20, Rv. 9:21, 21:8 – Greek pharmakeia = abortifacient potions
1 Cor. 6:19-20 – body temple of Holy Spirit, glorify God in body
Mal. 2:14-16 – for I hate divorce, says the Lord
Mt. 5:32-33 – to divorce or marry divorced wife is adultery
Mt. 19:4-6, 9 – to divorce wife and remarry is adultery
Mk. 10:11-12 – if either divorces and remarries = adultery
Lk. 16:18 – to divorce & remarry or marry divorced = adultery
Rom. 7:2-3 – wife consorts = adulteress if living, but not if dead
1 Cor. 7:10-11 – if wife separates, stay single or reconcile
Jn. 6:35–71 – Eucharist promised
Mt. 26:26ff. (Mk. 14:22ff., Lk. 22:17ff.) – Eucharist instituted
1 Cor. 10:16 – Eucharist = participation in Christ’s body & blood
1 Cor. 11:23–29 – receiving unworthily = guilty of his body & blood
Ex. 12:8, 46 – Paschal lamb had to be eaten
Jn. 1:29 – Jesus called “Lamb of God”
1 Cor. 5:7 – Jesus called “paschal lamb who has been sacrificed”
Jn. 4:31–34; Mt. 16:5–12 – Jesus talking symbolically about food
1 Cor. 2:14–3:4 – explains what Jesus means by “the flesh”
Ps. 27:2; Is. 9:18–20; Is. 49:26; Mic. 3:3; 2 Sm. 23:15–17; Rv. 17:6, 16 – to symbolically eat & drink one’s body & blood = assault
St. Ignatius (110 AD): “(heretics) abstain from Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ” Letter to Smyrnaeans 6, 2.
St. Justin Martyr (150 AD): “… not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but … as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nourished, is both the Flesh and Blood of that incarnated Jesus.” First Apology 66, 20.
St. Irenaeus of Lyons (195 AD): “He (Jesus) has declared the cup, a part of his creation, to be His own Blood, from which he causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, He has established as His own Body, from which He gives increase to our bodies.” Against Heresies 5, 2, 2.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (350 AD): “He himself, therefore, having declared and said of the Bread, ‘This is My Body,’ who will dare any longer to doubt? And when He Himself has affirmed and said, ‘This is My Blood,’ who can ever hesitate and say it is not His Blood?” Catechetical Lectures: Mystagogic 4, 22, 1.
St. Cyril again: “Do not, therefore, regard the bread and wine as simply that, for they are, according to the Master’s declaration, the Body and Blood of Christ. Even though the senses suggest to you the other, let faith make you firm. Do not judge in this matter by taste, but be fully assured by faith, not doubting that you have been deemed worthy of the Body and Blood of Christ.” ibid 4, 22, 6.
Mk. 7:19 – Christ declared all foods clean
1 Tim. 4:4-5 – everything created by God is good
Dan. 10:3 – Daniel refused to eat choice foods for 3 weeks
Mt. 9:15 – Christ’s followers will fast once he is gone
Mt. 6:16-18 – Jesus gave regulations concerning how to fast
Acts 6:14, 7:2 – St. Stephen calls Jewish leaders “fathers”
Acts 21:40, 22:1 – St. Paul calls Jerusalem Jews “fathers”
Rom. 4:16-17 – Abraham called “the father of us all”
1 Cor. 4:14-15 – I became your father in Christ through gospel
1 Tim. 1:2 – my true child in the faith
Tit. 1:4 – my true child in our common faith
Heb. 12:7-9 – we have earthly fathers to discipline us
Lk. 14:26 – if anyone comes to me without hating his father …
1 Thess. 2:1 – we treated you as a father treats his children
Philem. 10 – whose father I became in my imprisonment
1 Jn. 2:13, 14 – I write to you, fathers, because you know him
Mt. 10:38 – no “take cross and follow me” = not worthy of me
Rom. 8:16-17 – heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him
Rom. 8:18 – present suffering nothing compared w/ future glory
Phil. 1:28-29 – granted to believe, also to suffer for him
Col. 1:24 – filling up what is lacking in Christ sufferings
Heb. 12:5-7 – whom God loves, he disciplines as sons
Heb. 12:11 – discipline seems painful, but brings righteousness
1 Pet. 1:6 – for a while you must suffer various trials
1 Pet. 2:19-21 – suffering = grace; Jesus suffered as our example
Is. 33:11, 14 – who of us can live with the everlasting flames
Mt. 25:41 – depart, you accursed, into the eternal fire
Mt. 25:46 – these will go off to eternal punishment
Lk. 3:16-17 – the chaff he will burn in unquenchable fire
2 Thess. 1:6-9 – these will pay the penalty of eternal ruin
Acts 20:28 – Holy Spirit appointed you overseers, to tend church
Lk. 22:19 – do this in memory of me
Jn. 20:22 – As Father sent me, I send you … receive Holy Spirit
Acts 6:6 – the apostles prayed and laid hands on them
Acts 13:3 – they laid hands on them & sent them off
Acts 14:22 – they appointed presbyters in each church
1 Tim. 4:14 – gift received through laying on of hands of presbyterate
2 Tim. 1:6 – gift of God you have through imposition of hands
Tit. 1:5 – appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you
Jn. 14:26 – “he will teach you all things”
Acts 8:29 – “And the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up …’”
Acts 13:2 – “Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me …’”
Rom. 8:27 – “Spirit intercedes for the saints …”
1 Cor. 2:11 – no one understands thoughts of God, but Spirit
1 Cor. 12:11 – Spirit apportions to each as he wills
Eph. 4:30 – “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, …”
Gn. 1 – complementarity of sexes reflects God’s inner beauty
Gn. 2 – transmission of life through total self-donation – one flesh
Gn. 19 – original sin deteriorates to Sodom’s sin, destroyed
Lv. 18:22 – called abomination, cut off from people (v. 29)
Rom. 1:27 – called unnatural, shameful, and a perversity
1 Tim. 1:10 – those who engage in such acts called “sinners”
Jn. 1:1 – the Word was God
Jn. 1:14-15 – glory of Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth
Jn. 8:19 – if you knew me, you would know my Father
Jn. 8:58-59 – I assure you, before Abraham was, I AM
Jn. 10:30-33 – the Father and I are one (See Ex. 3:14, 20:7, Lev. 19:12, 24:14-16)
Jn. 10:38 – the father is in me and I am in the Father
Jn. 12:45 – whoever sees me sees the one who sent me
Jn. 14:8-12 – whoever has seen has seen the Father
Jn. 20:28 – Jesus accepts Thomas’s “my Lord and my God”
Col. 2:9 – in him dwells whole fullness of deity bodily
Acts 20:28 – church of God he acquired w/ his blood
Eph. 1:7 – in him we have redemption by his blood
1 Jn. 1:7 – blood of his Son Jesus cleanses from all sin
Tit. 2:13 – glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ
Lk. 1:28, 30 – angel: “full of grace, found favor with God”
Lk. 1:40 – Elizabeth: “most blessed among women”
Lk. 1:48 – Mary: “all generations will call me blessed”
Lk. 1:43 – Elizabeth calls her “mother of my Lord” = God
Mt. 1:23 – virgin bear a son, Emmanuel = “God is with us”
Lk. 1:35 – child born will be called holy, the Son of God
Gal. 4:4 – God sent his Son, born of a woman
Gen. 5:24 – (Heb. 11:5) – Enoch taken to heaven without dying
2 Kgs. 2:11 – Elijah assumed into heaven in fiery chariot
Mt. 27:52 – many saints who had fallen asleep were raised
1 Thess. 4:17 – caught up to meet the Lord in the air
1 Cor. 15:52 – we shall be instantly changed at last trumpet
Rom. 6:23 – for the wages of sin is death
Rev. 11:19-12:1 – ark in heaven = woman clothed with sun
Lk. 1:28 – hail full of grace (highly favored) Lord is with you
Lk. 1:30 – you have found favor with God
Lk. 1:37 – for with God nothing shall be impossible
Gen. 3:15 – complete enmity between woman & Satan, sin
Ex. 25:11-21 – ark made of purest gold for God’s word *
Lk. 1:47 – my spirit rejoices in God my savior
Lk. 1:34 – how can this be, since I do not know man
Lk. 2:41-51 – age 12, Jesus evidently only son of Mary
Mk. 6:3 – “the son of Mary” not “a son of Mary”
Mt. 27:56 – Mary the mother of James & Joseph is also
Jn. 19:25 – Mary the wife of Clopas Jn. 19:26 – entrusted Mary to John, not a younger sibling
Jn. 7:3-4 – brothers advise like elders: “go to Judea, manifest self”
Mk. 3:21 – set out to seize him, “he is out of his mind”
Mt. 28:20 – I am with you always, until end of age
1 Tim. 4:13 – until I arrive, attend to reading, teaching …
1 Cor. 15:25 – he must reign until has enemies underfoot
Lk. 1:80 – John in desert until day of his manifestation
Ex. 13:2; Nb. 3:12 – consecrate first-born that opens womb
Ex. 24:20 – first-born among your sons you shall redeem
Mt. 19:5 – leave father & mother, join wife, two become one flesh
Mk. 10:7-12 – what God joined together, no man separate
Eph. 5:22-32 – union of man & wife image of Christ & Church
1 Thess. 4:4 – acquire a wife for yourself in holiness & honor
Mt. 16:18 – upon this rock (Peter) I will build my church
Mt. 16:19 – give you keys of the kingdom; power to bind & loose
Lk. 22:32 – Peter’s faith will strengthen his brethren
Jn. 21:17 – given Christ’s flock as chief shepherd
Mk. 6:7 – angel sent to announce Resurrection to Peter
Lk. 24:34 – risen Jesus first appeared to Peter
Acts 1:13-26 – headed meeting which elected Matthias
Acts 2:14 – led Apostles in preaching on Pentecost
Acts 2:41 – received first converts
Acts 3:6–7 – performed first miracle after Pentecost
Acts 5:1–11 – inflicted first punishment: Ananias & Saphira
Acts 8:21 – excommunicated first heretic, Simon Magnus
Acts 10:44–46 – received revelation to admit Gentiles into church
Acts 15 – led first council in Jerusalem
Acts 15:17 – pronounces first dogmatic decision
Gal. 1:8 – after conversion, Paul visits chief Apostle
*Gal. 2:11–14 – I opposed Cephas to his face, for his hypocrisy. Peter’s name always heads list of Apostles: Mt. 10:1–4; Mk. 3:16–19; Lk. 6:14–16; Acts 1:13
“Peter and his companions” – Lk. 9:32; 8:46; Mk. 16:7
Spoke for Apostles – Mt. 18:21; Mk. 8:29; Lk. 12:41; Jn. 6:69
Peter’s name occurs 195 times, more than all the rest put together
1 Kgs. 18:25-29 – example of vain repetition: call Baal for hours
Mt. 26:44 – Jesus prayed a third time, saying same thing again
Lk. 18:13 – collector kept beating breast & praying: be merciful
Rev. 4:8 – repeat day & night, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord”
1 Thess. 5:17 – pray without ceasing
Rom. 15:30 – join me by your prayers to God on my behalf
Eph. 4:3 – pray for us
2 Thess. 1:11 – we always pray for you
2 Thess. 3:1 – finally, brothers, pray for us
Eph. 6:18 – making supplication for all the saints & for me
Tob. 12:12 – angel presents Tobit & Sarah’s prayer to God
Rev. 5:8 – angel offers prayers of the holy ones to God
Mk. 12:26-27 – he is God of the living, not of the dead
Mk. 9:4 – Jesus seen conversing with Elijah and Moses
Lk. 23:43 – this day you will be with me in paradise
Rev. 6:9-11 – martyrs under altar want earthly vindication
Heb. 12:1 – we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses
Lk. 16:19-30 – departed rich man intercedes for brothers
Rev. 20:4 – saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
Wis. 3:1-6 – the souls of the just are in the hand of God
1 Tim. 2:1-7 – offer prayers, petitions for all men
1 Pet. 2:5 – be a holy priesthood to offer sacrifices through Christ
Mk. 10:18 – only God is good
Mt. 25:23 – well done my good and faithful servant
Jn. 10:11-16 – I am good shepherd; one flock, one shepherd
Jn. 21:15-16 – feed my lambs, tend my sheep
Eph. 4:11 – he gave some as apostles …. others as pastors
Heb. 3:1, 7:24, 9:12 – Jesus eternal high priest; one sacrifice
1 Pet. 2:5 – be a holy priesthood to offer sacrifices through Christ
Rev. 1:6, 5:10 – he made us a kingdom of priests for God
Mt. 5:48 – be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect
Heb. 12:14 – strive for that holiness w/o which cannot see God
Jam. 3:2 – we all fall short in many respects
Rev. 21:27 – nothing unclean shall enter heaven
1 Jn. 5:16-17 – degrees of sins distinguished
Jm. 1:14-15 – when sin reaches maturity gives birth to death
2 Sam. 12:13-14 – David, though forgiven, still punished for sin
Mt. 5:26 – you will not be released until paid last penny
Mt. 12:32 – sin against Holy Spirit unforgiven in this age or next
Mt. 12:36 – account for every idle word on judgment day
2 Macc. 12:44-46 – atoned for dead to free them from sin
1 Cor. 3:15 – suffer loss, but saved as through fire
1 Pet. 3:18-20; 4:6 – Jesus preached to the spirits in prison
2 Tim. 1:16-18 – Paul prays for dead friend Onesiphorus
2 Kgs. 13:20-21 – contact with Elisha’s bones restored life
Acts 5:15-16 – cures performed through Peter’s shadow
Acts 19:11-12 – cures through face cloths that touched Paul
Tob. 12:16 – Tobiah & Tobit fall to ground before Raphael
Mt. 18:10 – angels in heaven always behold face of God (We venerate angels because of their great dignity, which comes from their union with God. Saints also are united with God.)
1 Jn. 3:2 – we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is
1 Thess. 1:5-8 – you became an example to all the believers
Heb. 13:7 – remember leaders, consider/imitate their faith and life
Eph. 1:22-23 – he is head of the church, which is his body
Eph. 5:21-32 – Christ is head of church, savior of the body
Col. 1:18, 24 – he is the head of the body, the church
1 Cor. 12:12-27 – if one suffers, all suffer; if one honored, all rejoice
Rom. 12:5 – we are 1 body in Christ, individual parts of one another
Eph. 4:4 – one body, one Spirit, called to one hope
Col. 3:15 – you were called in one body
Rom. 8:35-39 – death cannot separate us from Christ
Rom. 12:10 – love one another with mutual affection
1 Thess. 5:11 – encourage, build up one another
Gal. 6:2 – bear one another’s burdens
Gal. 6:10 – let us do good to all, especially those in family of faith
Past Event (I have been saved)
Rom 8:24 – for in hope we were saved
Eph. 2:5, 8 – by grace you have been saved through faith
2 Tim. 1:9 – he saved us, called us, according to his grace
Tit. 3:5 – he saved us through bath of rebirth, renewal by Holy Spirit
Present Process (I am being saved)
Phil. 2:12 – work out your salvation with fear and trembling
1 Pet. 1:9 – as you attain the goal of your faith, salvation
Future Event (I will be saved)
Mt. 10:22 – he who endures to the end will be saved
Mt. 24:13 – he who perseveres to the end will be saved
Mk. 8:3-5 – whoever loses his life for my sake will save it
Acts 15:11 – we shall be saved through the grace of Jesus
Rom. 5:9-10 – since we are justified, we shall be saved
Rom. 13:11 – salvation is nearer now than first believed
1 Cor. 3:15 – he will be saved, but only as through fire
1 Cor. 5:5 – deliver man to Satan so his spirit may be saved
Heb. 9:28 – Jesus will appear second time, to bring salvation
Mt. 7:21 – not everyone saying “Lord, Lord” will inherit
Mt. 24:13 – those who persevere to the end will be saved
Rom. 11:23 – remain in his kindness or you will be cut off
Phil. 2:12 – work out your salvation in fear and trembling
1 Cor. 9:27 – drive body for fear of being disqualified
1 Cor. 10:11-12 – those thinking they are secure, may fall
Gal. 5:4 – separated from Christ, you’ve fallen from grace
2 Tim. 2:11-13 – must hold out to end to reign with Christ
Heb. 6:4-6 – describes sharers in Holy Spirit who then fall away
Heb. 10:26-27 – if sin after receiving truth, judgment remains
Jer. 32:32-35 – OT leaders & priests offered child sacrifices
2 Kgs. 23:7 – OT cult prostitutes in the temple of the Lord
Jn. 4:22 – in spite of their infidelity, salvation is from Jews
Mk. 14:43-46 – Judas betrayed Jesus
Mk. 14:66-72 – Peter denied him
Jn. 20:24-25 – Thomas refused to believe his resurrection
Mk. 14:50 – they all left him and fled in garden of Gethsemane
Rom. 3:3-4 – will their infidelity nullify fidelity of God? No!
2 Tim. 2:13 – if we are unfaithful, God remains faithful
Mt. 13:24-30 – parable of the weeds among the wheat
Mt. 13:47-48 – parable of net that collects good and bad
Mt. 24:44 – be prepared, Jesus coming at unexpected hour
Mt. 25:13 – stay awake, you know neither the day nor hour
Mk. 13:35-37 – watch, unknown when lord of house coming
Lk. 12:46 – master will come at unexpected day and hour
1 Thess. 5:2-3 – day of Lord will come like thief in night
2 Pet. 3:9-10 – day of Lord will come like a thief
Rev. 3:3 – if not watchful, will come like a thief
Mt. 24:36 – no one but Father alone knows day and hour
Gn. 2:16-17 – the day you eat of that tree, you shall die
Gn 3:11-19 – God’s punishment for eating of the tree
Rom. 5:12-19 – many became sinners through one man’s sin
1 Cor. 15:21-23 – by a man came death; in Adam all die
Eph. 2:1-3 – we all once lived in the passions of our flesh
Ex. 25:18-19 – make two cherubim of beaten gold
Num. 21:8-9 – Moses made bronze serpent and put on pole
1 Kgs. 6:23-29 – temple had engraved cherubim, trees, flowers
1 Kgs. 7:25-45 – temple had bronze oxen, lions, pomegranates
1 Cor. 11:2 – hold fast to traditions I handed on to you
2 Thess. 2:15 – hold fast to traditions, whether oral or by letter
2 Thess. 3:16 – shun those acting not according to tradition
Jn. 21:25 – not everything Jesus said recorded in Scripture
Mk. 13:31 – heaven & earth shall pass away, but my word won’t
Acts 20:35 – saying of Jesus not recorded in gospels
2 Tim. 1:13 – follow my sound words; guard the truth
2 Tim. 2:2 – what you heard entrust to faithful men
2 Pet. 1:20 – no prophecy is a matter of private interpretation
2 Pet. 3:15–16 – Paul’s letters can be difficult to grasp & interpret
1 Pet. 1:25 – God’s eternal word = word preached to you
Rom. 10:17 – faith comes from what is heard
1 Cor. 15:1-2 – being saved if you hold fast to the word I preached
Mk. 16:15 – go to whole world, proclaim gospel to every creature
Mt. 23:2-3 – chair of Moses; observe whatever they tell you
St. Althanasius (360 AD): “let us note that the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning, which the Lord gave, was preached by the Apostles, and was preserved by the Fathers. On this was the Church founded; and if anyone departs from this, he neither is nor any longer ought to be called a Christian….” Four Letters to Serapion of Thmius 1, 28.
Origen (c. 230 AD) “The teaching of the Church has indeed been handed down through an order of succession from the Apostles, and remains in the Churches even to the present time. That alone is to be believed as the truth which is in no way at variance with ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition.” Fundamental Doctrines 1, preface, 2.
1 Cor. 11:2 – commends them for following Apostolic tradition
2 Thess. 2:15 – commands them to keep traditions
2 Thess. 3:16 – shun those acting not according to tradition
Prov. 20:1 – wine is a mocker, unwise to be led astray by it
Is. 25:6 – God will provide feast of rich foods & choice wines
Is. 5:11 – woe to those rise early & run after strong drink
Is. 5:22 – woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
Lk. 7:33-34 – Son of Man eats & drinks: behold
Jn. 2:2-9 – miracle at Cana: water turned into good wine
Eph. 5:18 – do not get drunk with wine, that is debauchery
1 Tim. 5:23 – drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach
Jam. 2:24 – a man is justified by works and not by faith alone
Jam. 2:26 – faith without works is dead
Gal 5:6 – only thing that counts is faith working in love
1 Cor. 13:2 – faith without love is nothing
Jn. 14:15 – if you love me, keep my commandments
Mt. 19:16-17 – if wish to enter into life, keep commandments
Mt. 7:21 – not lord lord, but he who does the will of father
Mt. 19:16-17 – to have life, keep the commandments
Jn. 14:21 – he who keeps my commandments loves me
Rom. 2:2-8 – eternal life by perseverance in good works
Gal. 5:4-6 – nothing counts but faith working through love
Eph. 2:8-10 – we are created in Christ Jesus for good works
Phil. 2:12-13 – work out salvation with fear and trembling
Jas. 2:14-24 – a man is justified by works & not faith alone
Rom. 2:5-8 – God will repay each man according to his works
2 Cor. 11:15 – recompense accord to what did in body
2 Cor. 11:15 – their end will correspond to their deeds
1 Pet. 1:17 – God judges impartially according to one’s works
Rev. 20:12-13 – dead judged according to their deeds
Col. 3:24-25 – will receive due payment for whatever you do