Pope Stirs Controversy Amongst Evangelicals

VATICAN CITY (Worthy News)– Pope Francis created a controversy amongst Evangelicals this week, when he stated in his weekly address, that those who believe they can maintain a “personal” and “direct” relationship with Jesus Christ outside the “mediation of the Church” was “dangerous and harmful.”

In his weekly address from St. Peter’s Square, the Pope said, “No one becomes Christian on his or her own! Is that clear? No one becomes Christian by him- or herself.”

“Christians are not made in a laboratory. A Christian is part of a people who comes from afar. The Christian belongs to a people called the Church and this Church is what makes him or her Christian, on the day of Baptism, and then in the course of catechesis, and so on,” the Pontiff continued.

“We are able to live this journey not only because of others, but together with others. In the Church there is no ‘do it yourself’, there are no ‘free agents’,” the Pope added.

“At times one hears someone say: ‘I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, but I don’t care about the Church…’. How many times have we heard this? And this is not good. There are those who believe they can maintain a personal, direct and immediate relationship with Jesus Christ outside the communion and the mediation of the Church. These are dangerous and harmful temptations,” he continued.

“Dear friends, let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, for the grace never to fall into the temptation of thinking we can make it without the others, that we can get along without the Church, that we can save ourselves on our own, of being Christians from the laboratory,” the Pope concluded.

Evangelicals have long maintained that one must become “born again” and true faith is not a religion, but a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

While many evangelicals are members of churches of many different denominations, the common denominator amongst Evangelicals is the need for a “personal relationship” with Jesus Christ as the sole mediator to God. As Evangelicals often quote, “For there is one mediator between God and Man; the man Jesus Christ.” [1 Timothy 2:5]

Pope’s Entire Message on June 25, 2014

Lift this up in Prayer

19

people are currently praying.

Latest Worthy News

Fair Use Notice:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Books by George Whitten

Identity in Messiah Revealed https://identityinmessiah.com

A devotional journey calling believers out of self-doubt and into confident, Kingdom-rooted identity in the Messiah.

Get it on Amazon

The Biblical Fall Feasts Revealed https://biblicalfallfeasts.com

An in-depth look at the Biblical fall feasts and their prophetic significance for believers today.

Get it on Amazon