I see it as a miracle that God saved me from the false teachings of Catholicism but I do understand the difficulty that Catholics have in hearing that the teachings they have known all their lives are not based on biblical truth. The only way they will discover the truth for themselves is to READ THE WORD OF GOD FOR THEMSELVES AND NOT TO BELIEVE EVERYTHING THEY HAVE BEEN TAUGHT, as I used to. Through the Word, the Holy Spirit will meet them if they are sincere in knowing the truth about salvation and wanting to draw near to God through Jesus alone. I urge any Catholics reading this email to test your beliefs according to God’s Holy Word.
I was raised in a strict Catholic home and attended Catholic primary and secondary schools. I then studied to become a Catholic school teacher and subsequently taught for several years. I was very active in my church as a Special Minister of the Eucharist and a reader of the Gospel. I was extremely devout and believed the Catholic church to be the one true church. However, when I was 31 the Lord answered my prayer to help me in my search for truth because I finally began to question some of the teachings of Roman Catholicism. He is so faithful to answer your prayers if you will only humble yourself and ask Him to help you know Him in truth. I hope this helps someone because truly, too much is as stake to be deceived by such false teachings.
My conversion took place not long after I met a Christian man in my workplace who seemed to be able to answer the questions I had about God and the Roman Catholic church. He invited my family and I to attend church with him. It was there that I learned that I could have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ alone. This was a foreign idea to me since as a Catholic I had to receive the sacraments and do good works etc. to maybe get to “purgatory,” but not go directly to heaven.
Most Catholics would believe it arrogant to say that we can KNOW that we have eternal life now. (See 1 John 5:12,13.) Anyhow, this was wonderful news to my ears and heart and so I accepted Jesus as my Saviour after I was thoroughly convicted by the Holy Spirit of my sin and need of a saviour. This decision resulted in a joy and peace that I had never known. The conviction of sin resulted in many many tears shed as I cried out to the Lord to forgive me of all my sins. I hungered to read the Bible, which was something that I absolutely would not have done as a Catholic.
Also, in my experience of Catholicism we were not encouraged at all to read the Bible. As I read the New Testament I met Jesus in every word, as what I read revealed this wonderful Saviour who came to earth to die on a cross to cleanse me from my sins so that I could live with Him in heaven. It all made sense as I began to understand that Jesus alone is the way to eternal life and that so much of what I previously believed was not even in the Bible!!!! I decided to leave the Catholic church immediately after my conversion. There was some guilt attached to this because I had been indoctrinated for 31 years. But I knew that no matter what reaction I got from mine or my husband’s families that I had found the truth.
My husband became a Christian soon after and our families did not understand but saw that there was no going back for us and so accepted our conversions. We left the __________ church by God’s leading and now attend a much more conservative, less hyped church. I know it’s a belief (faith) in Christ that produces a continuous, daily following and obedience of God’s Word that saves. He loves me and I love Him and I strive to follow Him every day. Sometimes I struggle but God is always with me and strengthens me and gives me grace to continue in His ways. Praise His glorious name! Love in Christ to you all.
For more information for Catholics, please click Former Roman Catholic
Evangelical Outreach Alphabetical Map
EvangelicalOutreach.org
EternalLifeBlog.com