Dear Editor,
I would like to add a little to Dean McBride’s useful letter en Sept 2023.
I was brought up in Roman Catholicism for 40 years and was taught that my baptism was crucial for the salvation of my soul. I could not be saved outside of baptism. My parents were told that my baptism brought justification to me and restored my soul to a sinless condition; all the benefits of Christ’s death were applied to my soul. This ‘faith’ was not Scriptural faith but a faith (my parents had) in the beliefs and practices of the popes and bishops according to Roman Catholic tradition. What Rome teaches for ‘faith’, is not the faith of the operation of God, but a man-made scheme not found in the Bible.
That is the tragedy millions of people unwittingly live today. ‘For by grace are ye saved, through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast’ (Eph. 28:9). No baptism here! A Spirit-given faith by grace alone is God’s gift and justifies once and forever.
Let’s beware of Roman Catholicism when it speaks of ‘faith’. Rome’s teaching on the subject contradicts everything the Scriptures gloriously teach.
Yours sincerely,
John F. Doran Ballynaskeagh
