Scripture vs Tradition

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Show Updates, Books, and Upcoming Projects

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth. Here in beautiful downtown Burbank, trying to talk a little louder. I�m not really in Burbank. I kind of wish I was, although I like NorCal better than SoCal.

That is a nice coffee. It�s not as good as Pete�s, but it is Starbucks. What are those machines called? Kerrig? I�m not really the Kerrig guy, but Starbucks� Kerrig isn�t that bad. Kind of like it. All right, what do I have here in front of me?

I have all kinds of things. By the way, I have the Greece trip. It�s about $3 ,400 if you�d like to go. A tour. Actually, it�s a great price, 11-day tour and cruise, April 17th to 27th. You need to have a $200 deposit in to No Compromise Radio by the end of October if you�d like to go.

We�d love to have you go. Bible teaching at every site and special NoCo t-shirts for everybody. If that�s what it takes to get you to go, I�ll give you a free t-shirt. We need some new t-shirts. I didn�t get hardly any Tuesday Guy t-shirts in.

I don�t know where Tuesday Guy is. Where has he been? Also, The Sovereignty and Supremacy of King Jesus, Bowing to the Gracious Despot. I wrote that book last year for day one, and if you haven�t got a copy, you can always order them online or you can, I don�t know, send some money in.

Send a lot of money in. I�ll send you a lot of books. Actually, when you look back in life and you think, �You know, that was not too good. This was pretty good. I�m very, very thankful for that book because I think it brings out some truths that have been ignored in evangelicalism.

Working with Byron Yawn and Clint Archer, we finished a book called Things That Go Bump in the Church, Scary Doctrines for New Believers. That�s probably not going to be out until 2014. Can you imagine?

The publisher just pushed that back some, but that thing�s done. I did a chapter on hell and on sin and on church discipline and on hearing God. How do you hear God? I think I entitled it I Hear Voices because every chapter is kind of written in a spooky theme and that book will be coming out.

I�ve got a book called Sex, No Compromise, 31 ,000-word chapters that appropriately discuss the subject and how to deal with pornography from a Christ-centered perspective, how to teach your kids about sex and all that stuff, and you know what?

I cannot get a publisher. I can�t get a publisher. And the first two books were more academically written, some Hebrew quotes and this, that, and the other. This is the No Compromise style book, Sex, No Compromise.

And Danny Akin wrote the foreword. I cannot get any bites. I�ve been shopping that thing for quite some time, a couple close deals, but no cigar. So I might just put like six chapters up on my new blog, a blog.

So anyway, what else is happening with that? I�m working on a systematic theology for S. Lewis Johnson and a Romans commentary for S. Lewis Johnson. Those are like multi-year projects. And I�m trying to finish a book up right now on Christian stewardship and how we should be good stewards of our time, of our money, et cetera.

It doesn�t really sound like a No Compromise style book, but it�s written from kind of the screw tape letters perspective where people say, �All right, how do you be a good steward of your money �Oh, you�ve got to tithe.

And I just talk about how that�s a myth. And so it�s �The Myth of Stewardship� is the working title. I don�t know what we�ll end up calling it, but I�ve got a bite on that one too. I didn�t really want to write it, but the book agent said, you know, there�d be a market for it if this particular place wants it, blah, blah, blah.

I don�t know how I got roped into that. How do I get roped into that? The new episode for NoCoEver should be out pretty soon. So these are just all updates that we have on No Compromise Radio. I�m thankful to listen to your request and what you�d like to talk about.

If you have questions, we haven�t gotten too many emails lately, but if you have questions, I want to answer some of those. I�m behind on a few, but that just means I have to do some research before I open my mouth.

Introducing the Tract on Roman Catholicism and Scripture Alone

All right, one more swig of coffee before we get into the hot stuff. Hmm, not bad. I have one of my favorite little tracks in front of me and it�s written by a man named Mike Gendron and Mike Gendron started a ministry in 1991 for Roman Catholics and two Roman Catholics, a devout Roman Catholic for 37 years, Mike Gendron was.

And so now Mike wants to tell Roman Catholics about the free grace found in Christ Jesus and his sufficient death, burial, and resurrection. I think I mentioned on an earlier show, you have the Pope who wrote before he was a Pope, Ratzinger, he doesn�t even believe in the literal resurrection.

Maybe he�s changed his mind, but if he did, you�d think he�d say something. So here�s a little track, it�s called �Roman Catholicism, Scripture vs. Tradition. And of course for the Protestant, the ones who protest against Rome, we have Scripture as our final authority, sola scriptura, by Scripture alone.

Scripture alone, solo scriptura. And we believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. Now, tradition by definition isn�t bad, we all have traditions, but when you have your source of authority, the magisterium, tradition, and the Bible, you�ve got big time problems.

So I�m going to promote Gendron�s ministry today, proclaiming the gospel, it�s www .pro-gospel .org. And you can go there and you can get all kinds of literature, you can download all kinds of articles, what about the Rosary, what about Christ�s sufficient death in Hebrews vs. the Mass slaying Jesus every time, and he will help you in this particular regard.

Truth, Love, and the Difference Between Catholicism and Protestantism

Now let�s just talk big picture for a moment. Of course, the unloving monikers are going to get thrown all around, �Oh, this is unloving. Especially the nouveau words, Catholic bashing, those are going to get thrown around.

And again, if I can just talk to you kindly just for a minute, gently, it has nothing to do with unloving. Scripture, 1 Corinthians chapter 13, talks about speaking the truth in love. Of course, we�ve got to do it in a loving fashion, but whether we talk kindly, like we would to our grandparents, or we talk harshly, like we would to our dog, truth is going to end up upsetting people.

So I�m not trying to say you�re a dog, and I�m not going to talk to you like you�re my dog if she gets in trouble. I want to try to appeal to you, but I still have to tell you the truth. Catholics and Protestants, in spite of the ECT, Evangelicals for Catholics Together, whatever it was called, in light of several years ago with the Lutherans and Catholics holding hands, singing Kumbaya, in spite of these things, there are differences because truth matters.

This is not a postmodern view, I know, but truth does matter, precision matters. And if you say Scripture or Scripture magisterium tradition, then it isn�t going to match up because 1 plus 1 doesn�t equal 3.

And so you say, �Well, Mike, you�re unloving for saying this. No. If I�m right, let�s just think about it for a second. I�m an Evangelical Christian, Baptistic, Presbyterian, whatever I am, and you�re a Roman Catholic.

If I�m right, if you believe in what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, if you�re a good Catholic, in other words, if you�re a bad Catholic and you believe Protestant stuff, you still might go to heaven.

I think Catholics can be saved, but not when they believe what their church teaches them. You�ve got to be a bad Catholic to go to heaven, in other words. And of course, there are Baptists and Presbyterians who don�t believe in the right Jesus, who believe with non-saving faith.

So it cuts both ways. But at the end of the day, if I�m right and your church is wrong, then you�re not going to heaven and I�m trying to tell you about the real Jesus so that you can go because I want your best.

This isn�t �I�m right, you�re wrong, hardy har har. I don�t win any points. Actually, I lose points because people think Catholic bashing, unloving, arrogant, prideful. You�re the one who�s unloving because I�ve given you my email, info at nocompromiseradio .com.

And you need to write to me and say, �Mike, if you�re wrong and I, the Catholic, am right, you�re eternal soul, you�re not receiving any nourishment or forgiveness through the proper sacraments and the way that they�re given, and the church, and there�s no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church.

And you go on and on and on. How Trent has made statements of cursing and anathema for those who believe like you believe, Mike. �I implore you, Mike Avendroth, repent. Hear these verses. These are the words from tradition.

These are the words from the magisterium. Please believe the right thing. And now I�ve received emails from Roman Catholics saying, �You�re a Catholic basher and who do you think you are But that doesn�t do anything for our conversation.

We don�t both believe the same thing. So I�m trying to convince you in love, I love you enough to tell you the truth. And you don�t love me enough to tell me the truth, you just want to call me a Catholic basher.

That�s either A, lazy, B, naive, or C, you really, really do believe what I�m saying, but it�s going to affect the dead relatives that you have and all kinds of other things in your mind and so you can�t go, you can�t do it.

D, pride, you just can�t admit you�re wrong because 30, 40, 50, 60 years of being a good Catholic and I�m sure there�s E, F, and G. So today, Mike Avendroth, No Compromise Radio. There�s a tract we have, I don�t know if it�s still at the church or not, it�s by Mike Gendron and it�s to try to show you that there�s a difference because most people don�t think there�s a difference anymore.

And again, this has nothing to do with bashing. This has to do with standing for the truth and standing against error. That�s exactly what happens and Irenaeus was right when he wrote against heresies, �Error indeed is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest being thus exposed, it should at once be detected.

But it is craftfully decked out in an attractive dress, so as by its outward form to make it appear to the inexperienced, ridiculous as the expression may seem, more true than truth itself. And so when you look at this little tract on Roman Catholicism by Gendron and you see St. Peter�s Square, it is attractively dressed out.

The pomp and circumstance found in the Roman Catholic Church of the Vatican, it is impressive. And I haven�t seen the new Pope, Ratzinger, but I did see John Paul II. Is that what his name was? John Paul?

Ringo? I did see him there in all his glory and it was glorious. And that white robe he had or cape or whatever it�s called, the vestments, I don�t know what they�re all called, but it is an impressive city.

And the language is scriptural. And so when I say Jesus, a Catholic says Jesus. I say atonement, a Catholic says atonement. I say faith, a Catholic says faith. I say justification, a Catholic says justification, right?

I say Mary, the Catholic says Mary. But the definitions for those words are not the same for the Protestant and for the Roman Catholic. Hence, we had something called in the 1500s, the Reformation, trying to reform the Catholic Church.

So today, I want to try to encourage you to get this little tract called Roman Catholicism, Scripture versus Tradition. I guess I could have Gendron on the show even, but it�s hard to get him last second.

I just decided to do this because I found this tract here and it was a sign. Now, it does have a brief history of Catholicism and what they say. Roman Catholic Church traces its history of the church, founded by Christ through Peter.

It�s got Matthew 16 there and 1 Peter 2, 4th century, Constantine united, unified the Roman Empire by merging paganism and Christianity, declaring himself vicar of Christ, vote of candles, holy water, vestments, etc., all these things.

It talks about them, 12th century, Roman Catholic Church had become the world�s most powerful institution. Then it talks about the 16th century with the Reformation, and so it gives a little history. Then it gives a glossary of Catholic terms with references from the Catholic Catechism 1994, such as apographa, apparition, Eucharist, indulgence.

For instance, indulgence, the means of remission of the temporal punishment for sins. It is gained by good works and can be applied to the sins of the living and the dead, Catholic Catechism 1994, sections 1471 to 1479.

Infallible teachings, the Pope and the bishops are incapable of error when proclaiming a definitive doctrine pertaining to faith and morals, Catholic Catechism 891. Mortal sin, mass, penance, purgatory, a place where those who die in God�s grace are punished and purified by fire for sins that have already been forgiven, Catholic Catechism 1030 to 1032 and 1471.

Rosary, an expression of devotion to Mary developed in the 11th century by Peter the Hermit, using beads to count 53 repetitious prayers to Mary, six to the Father and six to the Trinity. By the way, just to stop for a second, do you wonder why some people in the Middle East think that the Trinity is the Father and the Son and Mary?

Does that surprise you? And I just look at this and say, just by numbers, 53 to Mary, six to the Father, six to the Trinity, sacraments and venial sin. So it's got brief history, glossary of Catholic terms, and then it adds some of the traditions by year.

Now this tract isn't big enough to have all of those. But it says things like this, 431 AD, proclamation that infant baptism regenerates the soul. 500, Mass instituted as reenactment of the sacrifice of Jesus.

Now by the way, every one of these that I tell you that happened in history, these are traditions that are post-Bible, extra-Bible, not found in the Bible, unbiblical, abiblical, not biblical. 1 ,000, attendance at Mass made mandatory under the penalty of mortal sin.

1079, celibacy of priesthood decreed by Pope Gregory VII. 1090 through 1190, granting of indulgences established to reduce time in purgatory. So far there's no Bible verse, by the way, next to any of these, because they're made up.

They're made up to increase power, they're made up because it's satanic, they're made up because of the wrong view of Scripture, they're made up because you've got to extract money from people, whatever the reason is.

It's not holy to add things to Scripture and make them binding on the consciences of people. That's the problem. That's even why when I do counseling or discipleship, I say, this is what the Bible says, this is my opinion, and don't put the two on the same level.

1215, transubstantiation proclaimed by Pope Innocent III and confession of sins to priests instituted by Pope Innocent III. 1438, purgatory elevated from doctrine to dogma by Council of Florence. 1545, tradition claimed equal in authority with the Bible by the Council of Trent.

1854, immaculate conception of Mary proclaimed by Pope Pius IX. 1870, infallibility of the Pope proclaimed by Vatican Council. How convenient. 19-something or other, Virgin Mary proclaimed co-redeemed with Christ by Pope Benedict XV.

And then 1950, assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven proclaimed by Pope Pius XII. So, it gives us a little timeline. But most devastatingly, it shows the doctrine of Jesus and the doctrine of salvation with quotes from the Bible and then quotes from the Catholic catechism with paragraph numbers.

And so, this is the problem. This shows the gospel of sovereign grace through Christ Jesus and his finished work at Calvary, and it shows the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Jesus. That's why it is not adequate to say, I believe in Jesus.

Oh, good. I believe you're saved by faith. Oh, good. Because if I hear a Catholic say those things, then I wonder what their Jesus has done and what faith is and how faith isn't faith alone. It's faith plus sacraments.

So, on the fold-out page, it's got the Catholic path to eternity, which is fluctuating between self-righteousness, merit through obedience, and unrighteousness, being void of hell. And then it's got the biblical path to eternity, righteousness of God that is credited to people's account through justification.

Catholic Claims About Jesus, Salvation, and Mary

So, let me just give you a few quotes. And if you're a Catholic, I don't hate you. I love you enough to tell you the truth. I don't know why you're listening to this radio station, because this is a Protestant station.

If you didn't know this, if you are a Roman Catholic teacher or teaching Roman Catholic doctrine, you can't be on WVNE 760. Well, you certainly can't be on No Compromise Radio either. Let's go through a few.

Ready? Jesus, our advocate and only mediator. The Bible, 1 Timothy 2. God is one. One also is a mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Catechism 969, talking about Mary, quote, did not lay aside her saving office, but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.

She is called, quote, advocate and mediatrix. Now, does that cause any problems with anyone? I think it should. Ready? Ready for another one? Jesus, the soon coming King. The same Jesus, Acts 111, who has been taken away from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.

All right, what does Roman Catholic Church teach? That Jesus returns, when does Jesus return? At the end? No, he returns daily to the altars of the Catholic churches. Catholic Catechism 1374 -78, quote, the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained in the Eucharist.

In the Eucharist, not in quotes. How about salvation? What does the Bible say, John 113, when you heard the glad tidings of salvation, the word of truth? By the way, every quote I'm giving you, from 1 Timothy 2 to Acts 111 to this particular John 113, is from the Roman Catholic Bible.

This is from a Roman Catholic Bible. The New American Bible, Catholic Biblical Association, Wichita, Kansas, 7879 edition, right? New American Bible. Not a New American Standard, New American Bible. When you heard the glad tidings of salvation, the word of truth, and believed in it, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 113, those who believe in his name were begotten not by man's willing it, but by God.

That's the John 113 one. Catholic Catechism, 1213, 1215. Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration, without which no one can enter the kingdom of God. We're not talking about Romans 6 baptism, we're talking about water baptism.

Well, what about salvation by grace and not merit? The Catholic Bible, New American Bible, Romans 11, 6 says, it is not because of their works otherwise grace would not be grace. Romans 3, 24 in the Catholic Bible, all men are now undeservedly justified by the gift of God.

What does Roman Catholic Church teach? Well, it says, Catholic Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 2027, we can merit for ourselves and for others all the graces needed to attain eternal life.

Now see how your heart goes out to people who are enslaved to such a system. Enslaved to such a system because if they leave they'll get shunned. If they leave then they think that would affect the eternal destiny of their loved ones.

If they leave their parents might reject them. If they leave it means that everything that they believe their whole life means nothing. When you read the Catholic Catechism, we can merit for ourselves and for others all the graces needed to attain eternal life, 2027 Roman Catholic Catechism.

It's heartbreaking. There is the real Jesus who died once on the cross and who's coming back in the future and he is the sin bearer. Sufficient, only had to be slain once, doesn't need to be slain over and over and over again.

Read the book of Hebrews and read the book of John, the Gospel of John, because we can offer Catholics what the church can't offer them, their church, and that is assurance of salvation. You can know for sure that when you die you're going to heaven.

Read 1 John chapter 5, read John chapter 20 verse 31, you can know for sure. And if you'd like one of these for free I'll be glad to send it to you. If you're a Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism, Scripture vs. Tradition, Mike Gendron, pro-gospel .org.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God's Word through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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