Witnessing to

Roman Catholics by C. lo/m Miller

L The Roman Catholic in Focus But this is mixed in with the mystical notion that, in Roman Catholic worship, there is a higher reality coming

Roman Catholics differ a great deal one from another. down. TIris divine presence is especially manifested in And the Roman Catholic Church is quite different in the sacrifice of the Mass. On this basis redemption of the IreIandfrom whatitisinHollandorthe U.S .. But in spite individual sinner involves not simply the forgiveness of of these differences there is a specific kind of religious sins, but God's coming down and lifting up the sinner to tension in most Roman Catholics: The typical Roman partake of the divine nature. Catholic is unsure of grace.

This may come as a surprise to some. TraditionalRoman Catholicism has been given over almost entirely to structuring, rationalizing, and preparing for grace. This is what Thomas Aquinas is all about.

But there are two reasons why this is so and they are closely related. First, there is a strong strain of legalism in Roman Catholic thought and practice. According to this theological system, Christ's death removes the guilt and corruption of original sin for those baptized; but this "fIrst justifIcation" must be followed by a "second justifIcation" based upon deeds oflove and mortifIcation of the flesh. Inevitably, this leaves the devout soul fIlled with questions: Have I done enough? When I did that deedoflove, what was my real motive? How can I know whether God approves of my way of living?

Second, salvation is understood as the descent of a higher reality. !tis notthatRoman Catholic teaching completely overlooks the juridical aspect in salvation. Its theology has a limited place for the merits of Christ resulting from his faithful keeping of God's law and from his sacrificial death to atone for man's guilt.

Thus salvation for Catholics is not only redemption from the curse of the law, but also and more centrally a deliverance from the physical, the material, and the mundane. Salvation is as much mystical and metaphysical as ethical.

Because of this legalism and mysticism, the sincere Roman Catholic is not at all sure of grace. In spite of the authoritarian claims of the Roman Church, the individual worshiper is given little solid basis for thinking all is well with his soul. How does he know whether he has obeyed God from the heart? How can he be sure that some day his flesh will not break forth and negate the power of the higher reality in his heart and life? Hope in a shaken authority

Recentdevelopments within theRoman Catholic Church have acted to heighten this tension. In the past, the devont could always say , "Yes, I have doubts about my spiritual state. But I am sure I'm a member of Christ's own Church. Though I lack personal assurance of salvation, I know that salvation is found within the priesthood and sacraments of the one holy universal and apostolic Church."

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Today this external source of authority is iti'deep trouble. Recently Hans Kung . has directly challenged the infallibility of the Pope. Before this, theologians like Leslie .Dewart (The FutUre of Belif!f) and Edward SC;hi11ebeeckx(God,theFutureojMan)hadIl).Qvedaway from the traditional founclationS. :[n Holland a whole national church has become rife with . theological modernism. .

Thus someRomanCiatholics, IikeMichaelNovak(l3elief . and Unbelief), have come to won$let if there is any God orgraceatal1 CatholicnOvelistGtah;unGreene gives the probl~flctional expressioninhis book, The Hf!clTt of the . Matter. At the close of the novel, Father Rank and Mrs. Scobiearediscussing her husband's suicide. Father Rank says: "For goodness sake, Mrs. Scobie, don't itnagine you--r I -know a thing about God's mercy." "The ChurCh says ... ''I know the Church says. TheC~urchknows all therules. But it doesn't know what goes on in a single human heart."

The truth is that security fot the typical Roman Catholic was never grolinded in a fIrst-hand knowledge of God through Christ. . Rather, his hope was in an infallible Church and now this baSis for aSsurance has been thoroughly shaken. It is no longer adequate to state that "the Church says."

II. Preparation for Witness

During the crisis over religious authority, our prirnaty task is to introduce Roman Catholics to Jesus Christ, the source of true assurance.

In the past, many Protestants Sbught to win Roman Catholics by pointing out real or imaginect abuses in the life of the Church of Rome. There may well ilea place for discussing the failings of the Roman Church; but this can hardly be the central issue. And Protesrants who criticize practices in Catholicism must take great care to represent things as they really are. It has been a cornmon sin of Protestants to spread fal,sehoods about the character and conduct of priests and nuns.

It is mliCh better to stick to the central issue. And that

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central issue is simply the biblical ~hing about the nature of grace. In sununary, grace is the free gift of God. Gtace means that.we ciUmotfmd eternal life in ourselves, that we have no power to ready oUIlielves.for God's. fotgiveness, that we can iri no way cooperate inour own salvatiOn; We must go outside ourselves in surrendeIed faith to Christ and.to Chri$talone .. Grace also means that through faith we can cometopetsonafknowledge orGoo and His Son, without the mediation of priests or religious ceremonies .

It should beclear what this It1eansfor our witness. The biblical doctrine of gcice irilplies that sit)nei-s can have a

' . .

frrst-hand knowledge of God. This is what we want for every man, Roman Catholic or otherwise. But it is absolutely essential that yo~, who wish to witness, have frrst tasted of the grace of God. Otherwise you are a contradiction in teI'I\ls, an apologistfot grace who knows nothing of the life and power of divine grace.

Defective "Protestant' legalists

Many Protestants are sadly deflcientin this respect Their knowledge of God is no more flrst-hand than that of the Roman Catholic who mixes works with grace. Their minister or other Christian leader is their priest; and in spite of formal adherence to the doctrines of grace, they are legalists at heart, trusting their own faithfulness; religious service, or suffering to keep things right with Goo. BecauseRoman Catholicism is permeated with the spirit of legalism, such ''Protestants'' can offer only peripheral criticism, not living bread theY have tasted personally.

A former Roman Catholic priest is said to have put the matter somewhat like this: ''When I was in the Roman Catholic Church, everything was done to minimize my sinfulness, to jc:eep me from discovering that I was a sinner. It left me frustraii:dbecause only siimers can. flnd grace. With joy I became a Protestant; now I could be what I was in reality, a sinner in need of grace.

"Butl was greatly disappofuted by Protestants-including the most otthodox in confession. The Protestant creeds portray man as a sinner; but I found that in practice everything was done in Protestant churches to keep me from seeing myseif as a sinner." .

What this ex-priest knew was that only transgressors can be forgiven. The reason is that only the man who knows he is a sinner wants forgiveness or can have a flISt-hand experience of God's forgiving grace. The paradox is that it is only sinners freed of their guilt who, in joy over the revelation of God's forgiving grace, are eager to teach transgressorS the wily of the Lord (psalm 51:12,13).

Only a sinner is saved by grace

This is not to be construed as saying that men should sin that grace may abound. The fact is that sin abounds in every man's life until he comes to Christ But the spirit of blindness within him leads to self-deception (Jeremiah 17:9) and to self-righteousness (Isaiah 65:6; Luke 18:9-12). And the (self-) righteous do notneed the mercy of the Physician (Luke 5:31-32).

Martin Luther's experience powerfully illuminates this truth. A monk of the Augustinian order, he was a devout man who gave the Roman system of salvation his whole heart, mind and soul. But the system left him suspended, up in the air with no place to set his feet.

From the teachings of the Church he learned he was a partial sinner, a sinner up to a point. But the matter was not so serious that it could not be remedied by strict use of the system of penance and the Mass. Luther was told he was sick, but that his wounds were not fatal. Confess, pray, do penance, and all will be well-at least as well as they can be.

But honest Martin's heart could not be satisfied. The harder he tried to satisfy the demands of conscience and God's law the farther he found himself cut off from God and God's grace.

Then, trembling under the awareness of the wrath of God, the stricken monk carne to see that his wound was fatal. He cast himself entirely upon the mercy of the Great Physician-and was forgiven by free grace. He became a sinner, a saved sinner, a sinner who knew unutterable joy. He knew forgiveness; he knew God. Because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to him and received by faith alone, Martin Luther had heaven and eternal life as a free and present gift.

others, bringing about multiplied conversions: "Dear Christians," he sings, "let us now rejoice and dance in joyous measure!" And it this kind of joyous knowledge of God that qualifies one to witness to Roman Catholics. Be sure you have it, for without drinking of Christ the fountainhead, you have no business going forth with the Word of God to others.

III. Confrontation with the Gospel

It follows then that the only way to go with the gospel to Roman Catholics is with humility and holy joy. Let the knowledge of your own utter unworthiness compel you to humble yourself before God and man, and lead you to confess that only theLamb of God could have saved you. Letthis consciousness determine your acting andspeaking, because only this accords with the nature of the gospel message.

And guard your soul so that you are not proudly and unwittingly resting in your conversion experience rather than in Christ for salvation and for power in witnessing. Don' tpermityour integrity to be flawed by a secretreturn to a works-righteousness, for trust in a conversion experience can be just that

Therefore, theflIStstep in confronting the Roman Catholic with the gospel involves your total reliance upon Christ through his Holy Spirit Anything less than this is hypocrisy; and your Roman Catholic friend may have a good nose for the smell of hypocrisy ! He comes from an old church, and old churches have a long exposure to the corruptions of the flesh and spirit So beware! He may have insight into you that you'll wish he didn't have.

To put the matter positively: You want your whole life to be a demonstration of the transforming power of Christ. To use the language of Galatians, justification by faith is virtually synonymous with sonship to God and being possessed by the Holy Spirit. This means that the inevitable consequence of faith is the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5 :22). So, have your Roman Catholic neighbor into your home for dinner, and let him see how you love your wife and children. Let your Christian graciousness, the product of God's grace to you, overflow in hospitality and concern for him and his problems.

As an inevitable consequence, his joy overflowed to The second step is to introduce him to the law of God as

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set forth in the Ten Commandments, and interpreted by ChristintheSennonontheMount. Thisisveryimportant. Under the Roman system, theideaofsinis sadly confused by the. distinctions between mortal arid venial sins, by church rules on such matters as birth control, and by the doctrine of penance. The average Roman Catholic will not see much need of Christ because he is so little aware of sin's being rooted in the depths of his heart, but yet exposed to the wrath of a holy God.

Sin must be seen in the heart

Forexample: A neighbor, in a burning anger, threatened to knife her daughter. Happily the mother calmed down without executing her threat. But she was terribly conscience-stricken and went to the priest for guidance. Since she had not carried out her intentions, she was only required to say a few extra prayers and warned to watch her temper.

Thepriestapparently did little to inquire about the state of the poor woman's heart before God. Even though her hand struck no blow, there was a murderous intensity in her anger that alarmed the neighbors. But under the Roman Catholic system, it was easY to classify her sin as venial and to forget the whole thing.

The Roman Catholic thus tends to evaluate sin in terms of the religious value-system of his Church. Sin, on this basis, consists primarily in actions. It might be unfair to say that the inner life is entirely ignored; but it remains true that most sins laid bare in the confessional are act-sins, not attitude-sins. Consequently, guilt is minimized by ignoring its root in man's inner character; and the nature of sin as rebellion against a holy God is also minimized.

In other words, "sin" often is not seen as an affront to a holy Father, but as a breach of alegalistic code.ltcan then be made right by a minimal restitution prescribed in the ecclesiastical system of satisfaction. Such a light view of sin makes biblical repentance superfluous. Penance now and purgatory later will suffice to make things right with God.

The effect of all this is to leave the Roman Catholic guilt-ridden but not consciously guilty in the profound biblical

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sense. Hence he must be shown God's own view of the origins ofsininthehumanheart (Matthew 15: 19; Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 4: 17-19), and the biblical rejection of the concept of venial sin (James 2:10).

Christ, and Christ alone can save

The third step is to present the Roman Catholic with the Scripture teaching about Christ. Don't misunderstand; these steps are not to be pursued mechanically. Under cerWncircumstances you should begin with Christ. And there is no better way to demonstrate the exceeding sinfulness of sin than by preaching on thecross. Still, your friend needs to know about the depths of man's moral sickness before he will be constrained to apply to the Lord for healing. For this reason it is valuable to present the biblical Christology after some discussion of the doctrine ofsin.

You will find the word "Christ" as familiar to the Roman Catholic as the word "sin." You will also find the typical Roman Catholic considerably confused about Christ's person and work. If you ask him ifhe believes that Christ is the eternal Son of God who died for sinners, he is very likely to agree with you. If he is devout, he may even call him "Our blessed Lord" and mean what he says. But this does not guarantee that he has a personal knowledge of Christ any more than a similar confession would necessarily reflect genuine faith in an outwardly orthodox Protestant. It is one thing to say, but quite another thing to know that Christ died for my sin.

The problem is this: The Roman Catholic lives under a religious system so arranged that the exclusiveness of salvation through Christaloneis obscured. Yes, "salvation is through Christ"-but there is no period after Christ. It is always Christ and ... Christ and penance, Christ and the priest, Christ and Mary, Christ and my good works.

Itis not simply that this approach contradicts Scripture in a merely formal sense. It certainly does that. You need only to read Romans 3 or Galatians 2 in order to see that this is so. But it creates a major obstacle to saving faith. For saving faith consists in resting in Christ alone for salvation. To rest in man and his works is to render grace null and void in one's life (Galatians 2:21).

The manipulated Christ of the' Mass

The Roman Catholic is likely to identify Christ with the liturgy of his Church, especially with the Mass. In effect, the priest holds "God" in his hands as he celebrates Mass. Andthetypica1Catholic may well beprofoundly awed by the mystical power of this rite. In a word, he may for all practicalpUIpOSj:sseeChristintheMass. Or,ifheismore

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thoroughly insfructed in the theology of Rome, he may believethattheRomanChurchisacontinuingincarnation of the body tif Christ. For the Roman Catholic, faith in Christ is faith in a religious ceremony or in the Church itself.

Thepowerofthis liturgy can hardly be exaggerated. One Roman Catholic expressed it this way: "The Mass has a binding power over your whole being. The only thing I can compare it with is the act of sexual intercourse, with all its mystery and power."

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But the biblical witness is not pOwerless in the face of such a religious system with its mystical Christ. On the contrary,letthewitnessingbelieverbeabsolutelyconfident of the power of the Scripture's Christ to destroy the "mystical Christs" of men. Let him take the Roman Catholic to books like Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews where Christ is set forth in all his sufficiency and glory.

The fourth step concerns instruction in the nature of saving faith. This has been implicit at every point; but now it needs to be made explicit.

Saving faith consists in accepting, receiving, and resting in Christ alone for salvation, and in turning away from human merit as a ground for acceptance with God. What needs emphasis for the Roman Catholic is the central element of trust based upon personal knowledge of opd. He may well think of faith in intellectual terms, 'the acceptance of the teaching of his Church on a package basis. He has "faith" in the things believed by the Church. What he really means by "faith" is not so much trust but acceptance of the dogma of the Roman Church.

The Roman Catholic, like everyone else, needs to be shown through Scripture that faith has for its center a surrender in trust to Jesus Christ as the only Mediator of God's elect.

An effective way to pose the question of justification by faith is to ask the Roman Catholic: "How will you answer, when you die and appear before the holy God, if he asks you why he should let you into his heaven?"

Of course, this may recall the jokes about St. Peter and the pearly gates. But you need letnothing of that tone or spirit slip into your speaking if you are walking in the Spirit.

This question can be effective with Roman Catholics. First, it bypasses thewholeissueofpurgatory and confronts the sinner with the living God as the Judge of all. Second, it lets you know exactly what the other man believes on the issue of eternal life, and how he expects to obtain it. He will not be simply repeating what you have just taught him. If you wait or even rephrase the question, you will almost certainly learn that he hopes to be saved by a combination of divine mercy and human works.

Then you can bring to bear upon him the wonder of salvation, full and free, by grace through faith in the one Name given among men by which we may be saved.

IV. Special Problems

There are a number of special problems you should be alert to while presenting the gospel to Roman Catholics. The substitute priest danger. You must take care that you are not being made into the man's new priest. Large numbers of Protestants use their pastors or other Christian leaders as mediators to God. But with Roman Catholics this can be an even more difficult problem because they oftenhaveaninherentrespectforreligiouspeople. When they see the fruits of the Spirit abounding, they frequently seem prone to worship the messenger rather than the God who senthimforth. Such adulation can be most flattering to the flesh. So beware! You can become the man's exit so that he does not need to face the living God.

Of course, the most effective way to cope with this challenge is to make it very clear that you yourself are only a sinner saved by grace!

The difficulty oftrue repenting. !tis difficult for many Roman Catholics to understand the biblical teaching about"repentancetolife" (Acts 11 :18). In their experience they have learned to "deal" with sins by doing penance.

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The emphasis falls upon the doing, and for almost every sin they have learned to expect a formula to guide them in doing something to get the matter straightened but.

The Roman 'Catholic is fully prepared to wOiX; confess, sorrow, and suffer. But it is possible to do all these things and miss the point of divine grace rather badly. Genuine repentance involves a radically different kind of doing. Ttuerepentance centers on our giving up all that we have been doing. It means, simply, that we are undone and know it (Isaiah 6:5; Luke 18:13).

Repentancethusincludesgrievingoversins,seeingthem as God sees them, and turning front them in a total way to seekand serve the living God. This is the exact opPosite of-doing a good work; of attempting to satisfy the demands of conscience by self-laceration inany form.

Such repentance beautifully harmonizes with saVing faith. The two together make up one act, a turning from sin andself-trustby going outside of the man and a turning to God and his Christ for the promised salvation.

The error of the Mass.

If the Roman Catholic has truly come to know Christ, it is likely that he will soon see that this knowledge is in conflict with the Mass. Still, the Mass almost always poses a serious problem hecause of its mystical and emotional power. The Mass is the centerpiece for the Roman Church's worship; !Suspect it would be possible to preach to a Roman Catholic congregation most of the things said so far in this study, and change very little so long as the Mass remained'central.

What you must bring out, in tact and meekness, is the fundamental error of the Mass. And that consists in its blurring of the biblical distinction between the Creator and the creature through the worship of the material elements of the rite. This is most serious, because God's law strictly forbids the giving of divine honors to any created thing (Exodus 20:5).

To be sure, the apologists of theRoman Church maintain that there is not the slightest interttion on the part of the Church to practice idolatry. And veryrefineddistinctiorts are drawn between worship (latreiO.) givenoilly to God,

" .

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devotion (douleia) to the saints and special devotion (hyperdouleia) given to Christ's human nature and to Mary. (See Oehler, Symbolik, p. 331.)

AlthoughweshouldaccepttheRomanCatholicstatemeilt that there is no intention to practice idolatry, this does not prove that idolatry is not being practiced. Scripture knows nothing of these subtle distinctions regarding worship. It is true that in Scripture honor may rightly be given to aman, butnotreligious honorS given in a wbrship service.

Hence, we insist that adoration of the phYsiCal elements in the Mass is part of the worship, imd that these material elements are part of the creation. But created things may not be worshiped in any way or manner whatsoever.

AmbiglJities and ambivalences . .

You should be alert to the ambiguities and ambivalences in many modem Roman Catholics. I can remember talkiilg with a Panamanian student for over two hourS. Duringthewholetimehevigorouslydefended the Roman Catholic doctrinal system and thepractices of the Church. He did so with enough personal feeling to leave me completely speechless when, .as he was going out the door, he suddenly confidedthathedidrtotbelieveany thing he had said. "Personally," he explained; "I am an unbeliever. I was just telling you what the Church believes;" But I also noticed that soon after he began again to worship in the Roman Catholic Church.

Part of the reason for this is the age-old tension in Roman Catholic theology between faith and reason, grace and nature .. Reason has a way of wiping out faith until a life crisis comes; then the claims oftevelation as interpreted by the Papacy have a way of reasSerting themselves in the life of the Roman Catholic.

Anotherreasonforsuchainbiguitiesinthetypicalmooem Catholic is theway many Roman Catholics received their religious convittions. Doubtless there is considerable variation, but as ' a rule they seem to have been largely passive in the process of instruction. They respect the authoritY of the Church and the priest because they have been told many times that theirs is the true Church and that the Pope is successor to St. Peter.

In other words, the Roman Church has made a deep impression upon those reared in its communion, but it is often an impression based upon repetition of doctrinal concepts over a period of years. Nevertheless, this kind of religious authority is obviously no match for the God-given authority of the Holy Scriptures.

At present Roman Catholic authority is in deep trouble, and Roman Catholics are often open to listening to the doctrines of salvation by free grace. Accordingly, there is reason to believe that in our day Christ, the only

Two of the greatest proponents of Biblical, Refonned Christianity in the Twentieth Century were Benjamin B. Warfield andD. MartynLloyd-Jones, both of whom, as would be expected, had pronounced views on Roman Catholicism. In fact, both of them wrote on the subject. This article is only an abbreviation and summary of their comments, with the hope that the reader will obtain their works and read them for themselves. The two works drawn from here are Warfield's book, THE PLAN OF SALVATION, (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. CO., 1955, Grand Rapids, Mich.), especiallychapterID, entitled, "Sacerdotalism," and Lloyd-Jones article, ROMAN CATHOLICISM, (THE TRINITY REVIEW, March/April 1985, Number 42, The Triniry Foundation, PO Box 169, Jefferson, Md.).

I. THE PLAN OF SALVATION by Benjamin B. Warfield

The Church has confessed Ihrough the ages that salvation is from God, and from God alone. "Salvation is of the Lord," Jonah 2:9. "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:36.

infallible Head of his church, will be pleased to graft into his own body many who previously had trusted in human fonns of mediation between God and man.

No matter how often and how loudly the voice of human authority speaks, it cannot expose the inner world of the human heart, nor call the sinner out of darkness into the marvelous light shed by divine grace. But Scripture, as it is applied by the Spirit of Christ, can do this very thing (Hebrews 4: 12). n (See articles & authors page 23)

Although salvation is confessed to be wholly of the triune God, who alone can save, Roman Catholicism has taught that "God in working salvation does not operate upon the human soul directly but indirectly," (pg. 52), that is through human, institutional and ceremonial instruments committed to human hands to administer. With this innovative view of Rome, "a human factor is thus intruded between the saving grace of God and its effective operation in the souls of men; and this human factor indeed, is made the determining factor in salvation." (pages 52-53).

Againstthis viewpoint all ofProtestantismraises its passionate protest- "God the Lord himself works by his grace immediately (directly) onthe souls of men, " (page 53), andhas not made anybody' s salvation dependent upon the actions or institutions of another human being. The welfare of the soul is directly dependent upon the grace of God alone, and not upon any other intennediaries at all. On the other hand, Roman Catholicism teaches that "God the Lord does nothing looking to the salvation of men directly and immediately: all that he does for the salvation of men he does through the mediation of the Church, to which, having endowed it with powers adequate to the task, he has committed the whole work of salvation." (page 53). In other words, in this present age, the Church, in large measure, has taken over the saving work of Christ.

"The radical religious defect of the conception (above) is that it makes the sinner fall into the hand of man, rather than into the hand of the all- merciful God. We look to God for salvation, and we are referred to an institution, which in spite of its lofty claims, is too manifestly leavened and controlled by the thoughts of men like ourselves." (page 55)

The question Rome has not adequately answered is "whether itis God the Lord who saves us, oris it men, acting in the name and clothed with the powers of God, to whom we are to look for salvation. "(page 56) This is the issue that separates Roman Catholicism from Protestantism.

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Boettner--continued from page 35

people astray from the Gospel. These things have been shown to be not peripheral but to concern the very heart of the Christian message as setforthin the New Testament. To an unbelievable extent Rome has apostatized from the faith. - All of this is a strong indictment of the Roman system. But it is no stronger than the facts justify.

"We have attempted to show that the Achilles heel of Romanism is the false theological basis on which the system rests, and that the strength of evangelical Protestantism is its rigid adherence to what the Scriptures teach. Protestantism can never defeat Rornanism, nor even defend itself againstRomanism, merely by pointing out the latter's corrupt political alliances, its inordinate greed for money, and its suppression of political and religious liberties. All of these things are true and should be exposed. But they relate only to external methods and practices. Romanism is basically a religious system and must be challenged and forced to defend its doctrines on the basis of Scripture. This method, and this method alone, can bring victory to the evangelical faith." (page 449-450)0

Warfteld & Lloyd-Jones continued from page 45

evangelist, he was aroighty theologian; so was Calvin; so were all of them (the Reformers). It was that great system of truth, worked out in its details and presented to the . people, that undermined and even shook the Church of Rome. Nothing less than that is adequate to meet the present situation.

"Christian people, your responsibility is terrible. You mustknow the truth, you must understand it, you must be able to counter false teaching. There are innocent people who are being deluded by this kind of falsity ,anditis your business and mine to open their eyes and to instruct them. Not only that, it is as we stand foursquare for the truth of God that we shall be entitled to pray with fervor and with confidence for the blessing of the Holy Spirit upon us. It is as we stand on tlle Scripture and its truth that the Spirit of God, I believe, will descend upon us in a mighty revival. And nothing less that such a revival can shake that homble institution, that great 'whore' which calls herself, 'The Church of Rome. "'0

Authors & Articles on Evangelism

Wetrustthatthe material we present inthis magazine will be LJsefulin helping youto understand and apply the Scriptures to your life and increase your zeal to speak out boldly for the cause of Christ. Some of the authors of articles in this current issue have written material that could be very helpful to you in learning howto faithfully do the work of evangelism. Dr. Morton Smith was for many years the Stated Clerk of the PCA, taught at Westminster and Reformed Seminaries, and is currently the Dean of the Faculty at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Among his books is one on evangelism entitled, Reformed Evangelism published by Multi-Communication Ministries, Inc. Clinton, MS. Dr.C. John Miller serves on the faculty of Westminster Seminary and is Pastor of New Life Presbyerian Church (OPC) in Jenkintown, PA. His article "Witnessing to Roman Catholics"is reprinted from the Westminster Theological Joumal. He also authored two excellent and practical books that will be very helpful to you on evangelism, Evangelism & Your Church, published by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, Phillipsburg, New Jersey and Repentance and the 20th Century Man, published by Christian Uterature Crusade, Fort Washington Pennsylvania. John Murray (1898-1975) was Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Seminary from 1930 to 1966. His article "The Crux of the Reformation" appears in Volume 1 pp.298-304ofhis Collected Writings. Also in that same volume pp.124-135, appears an article on evangelism, "The Message of Evangelism" published in an attractive four volume set by The Banner Of Truth Trust, Carlisle, PA. He also authored one of the greatest books ever written on the atoning work of Christ, entitled, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids Michigan. All of the articles and books listed above are highly readable and would be an excellent place to develop a theologically sound and practical evangelistic ministry.

"For God sent not his Son Into the world to condemn the world; but that the world should be saved through him."

(John 3:17)0

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