Testimony of a former Roman Catholic priest
For many years I walked the path I had walked since I was born. However, some words spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ led me to take it in a whole new direction: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14: 6). These words in my case triggered a change of life with eternal consequences and drove away the darkness of heresy through the light of uncompromising truth.
Important ancestors
The family in which I was born on April 21, 1943 in Kerala in southern India was Roman Catholic and lived according to the traditions we had inherited from St. Thomas, a martyr from 52 AD. in southern India. According to another tradition, in 345 a merchant named Thomas of Cana had emigrated from Syria to Kerala with 72 Syrian families. We Catholics thought we came from these families. Whether these traditions correspond to the truth or not, the fact is that I was raised by my parents according to the strictest rules of the Catholic religion. Seven days after my birth I was baptized, and my training was done exclusively in Roman Catholic schools, which followed the rituals and rules of the Church. I have respected all traditions without criticism,
A high call
After high school, I was told that I was called to become a priest, as Rev. Matthew, my uncle and my father's brother.
After two years of study at a lower seminary, I entered the seminary of St. Thomas the Apostle in Kottayam in 1965. The first three years were devoted to the study of philosophy: the philosophy of the ancient Greeks and the Middle Ages, then the old and new psychology, as well as logic. During the summer holidays, I helped my parents at home and supported the parish priest in catechesis and other youth activities.
For the next four years I studied every aspect of systematic theology. During the holidays between semesters, we continued to help the priest from his native parish or those from other parishes. On Sundays, we gave sermons, organized meetings for young people, or relieved priests in other ways. At the end of these years of study, on December 21, 1972, I was ordained a priest. Ordination was a special celebration. The faithful present, including my parents, kissed my hands and looked at me with respect and admiration.
These attentions triggered in me a certain pride and the feeling that I am an important personality.
Faithful, and yet insecure
I was an arrogant, conservative priest who faithfully subordinated himself to the authority of the pope. I shared the sacraments daily and conscientiously followed the traditional practices of the Roman Catholic Church. I did this until the grace of God made a difference in my life: I felt uneasy in my spirit, even less so when I understood less about the meaning of infant baptism and confession for the remission of sins, as well as worship. the icons and the appointment of Mary as the holy mother of God, I felt all the more miserable. In addition, I began to be disturbed by the fact that many dogmas of the Church contradicted the Bible and that the pope had to be infallible in certain situations. Over time, my faith in the real presence of Jesus in the bread and wine of the Eucharist waned.
Meeting with the biblical message
In 1985 and 1986 I came in contact with Simon Kottoor (Volume 1, No. 14), a kind man who had left the priesthood. It was obvious that Simon knew a new way 49 He knew the Lord Jesus. He walked with the Lord full of joy and contentment. Through it I found access to the Bible and became accustomed to reading it daily, whether I understood what I read or not. To the extent that God's Word influenced my thinking, I realized that the Roman Catholic Church does not correspond to the Bible in many ways.
Through Simon, I also became acquainted with the writings of another former priest, Bart Brewer (Volume 1, No. 3), who now leads Mission to Catholics International in San Diego, California. I read treatises and books published by this company. In time I came to understand clearly that the Word of God is the truth, as Jesus said so clearly in His prayer on the eve of His crucifixion: “Sanctify them in Your truth! Your word is truth ” (John 17:17). I also realized that truth has an absolute connection to life and holiness: "Scripture cannot be abolished" (John 10:35). Therefore, God used Simon Kottoor to open my eyes to God's Word and His precious gift of salvation.
On the way to salvation
I do not know the exact date of my salvation, but it was in 1994 and 1995 that God drew me to Himself. The following Bible verses had a great influence on me: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me ” (John 14: 6). "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10: 9-10).
"For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18).
"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Father shall be saved" (Romans 10:13). "And there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
While I was still a priest, I gradually lost faith in the system of the sacraments and my own good works, which seem to be the process of salvation.
The word of God revealed to me my own sinfulness and made me understand that no ritualistic practice could free me. When I realized that only Jesus Christ could save me from sin and its consequences, I immediately accepted it in faith and was instantly saved.
What can we contribute to ourselves?
What relief, what freedom! Jesus Christ was the only perfect sacrifice [sacrifice] for sins that the Father could accept. In the Roman Catholic Church we had learned that what Jesus had done on the cross regarding the sins of the world is incomplete and that we too must atone for our sins. According to Roman Catholic teaching and practice, the deeds of repentance, penances, and merits of others, especially the merits of Mary and the saints, can contribute to our salvation. However, these things are pure blasphemy against God. Jesus Christ, who is the perfect God and the perfect man, paid in full for every sin committed. The Roman Catholic Church undermines with its teachings and traditions God's free gift of salvation which is given to all who trust in Jesus Christ.
The Apostolic Constitution on the New Regime of Indulgences (January 1, 1967) states of "those who believe in Christ": God, the Father of mercies, for salvation ”. And: “In addition, the truly immeasurable, inexhaustible and ever new value that the prayers and good deeds of the blessed Virgin Mary and of all the saints have before God is part of this treasure. They followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord, by His grace, sanctified themselves and finished the work entrusted to them by the Father. In this way they obtained their own salvation and also contributed to the salvation of their brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body ”.
Faith or deeds?
Such a teaching is very clearly in contradiction with the Word of God and makes those who follow him slaves for the rest of their lives in a wrong way. Salvation is made only by grace and is possible exclusively through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2: 8-9). It is done neither by my deeds nor by those of any other living or dead man. "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). The same reality emerges from Romans 11: 6: "But if it be by grace, it is no more of works, otherwise grace would be no more grace.". When I realized that my sins had been completely atoned for and that all my guilt had been paid for when Christ shed His blood on the cross, God justified me forever and took into account the righteousness [conformity to the divine standard] of Christ. . The Roman Catholic Church states:
"Justification is given by baptism, the sacrament of faith. It shapes us to the justice [of righteousness] of God, who makes us righteous inwardly by the power of His mercy ”(Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church § 1992). With its system of deeds and sacraments, the Roman Catholic Church cancels God's offer of salvation. She puts above her own undeserved grace the conditions and rules made by herself. Her assertion that God considers us righteous because we are already given (by baptism) a piece of justification is in stark contrast to the clear teaching of the Bible. Only God can justify us! And the only way I can receive His justification is to believe in the good news that Jesus Christ died for my sins, was buried, and rose from the dead. He who has received this truth by faith is saved forever in the eyes of God, based on the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. His righteousness is the basis on which believers are acquitted."To the praise of the glory of his grace, which was with us in the beloved" (Ephesians 1: 6).
I am a sinner too!
In Romans 3:23 and 6:23 we read, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and "the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." These words made it clear to me that I was a sinner and that every sinner needed a Savior and salvation. I also understood that only Jesus Christ can be this Savior, for the Father Him, "who knew no sin, made Him sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus Christ bore the full punishment for my sins, and only faith in His work on the cross could save me. Salvation is a gift of God, it cannot be earned by our merits.“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 ” (Ephesians 2: 8-9). This truth gave me light, and I stopped trusting in good works and sacraments.
The way without Christ leads to death
Only Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. The traditions, practices, and dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church had blinded me to this truth. The Roman Catholic Church is not in Christ, and the path to which it leads leads to death; the good works, which he adds to the complete work of Christ, undermine the undeserved grace of God, the free gift of salvation. The apostle Paul says, "I do not reject the grace of God, for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ died in vain" (Galatians 2:21).
Marriage is God's gift!
Having acquired the gift of salvation only through faith in Jesus Christ, I had to move on with that confidence. I was dependent only on God for everything I needed. The more I knew God's Word, the more I recognized His way. A biblical passage made it clear to me that the Roman Catholic Church opposes God's will with the prohibition of marriage for priests. Genesis 2:18 says, “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help that suits him ". And in 1 Timothy 4: 1-4, God's Word considers the prohibition of marriage to be a feature of the fall from the faith and the wrong teaching. After I left the Roman Catholic system, the Lord gave me in His love and goodness a wife for life. I had met Mercy eight years ago in a parish work. She too had been raised strictly Catholic and was equally spiritually anxious about the commandments made by the people of the Church. Our marriage is based on Christ, our Lord, who fully blessed us on October 23, 1996 with the birth of our son Lance.
We were baptized
God's faithful care was shown in my life by meeting Dr. Jacob Chelli, head of the Berean Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Bangalore. This man was the tool the Holy Spirit used to bring me deeper into the Word of God. Through him I realized the importance of baptism. My wife, Mercy, also took part in many Bible lessons. The baptism of faith is a commandment of Christ by which the believer testifies that he is one with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.
On July 6, 1997, Dr. Chelli baptized my wife and I in the Bible School Chapel. It was a wonderful testimony of God's victory in our lives. When we meet in our lives with Christ temptations, difficulties and attacks satanic words of Iesus give us strength, courage and comfort: "Blessed are you if you hate people if you exclude, you insult and reject your name as evil because Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For, behold, your reward is great in heaven. For so did your fathers to the prophets ” (Luke 6: 22-23).
We move forward in freedom
I thank God from the bottom of my heart that He called me and my wife only out of grace and that He gave birth to us again in Jesus Christ. We are now in the light, freed from the darkness of the deceptive system of the Roman Catholic Church. At first we hesitated, and it was not so easy for us to give up the rosaries and other traditional prayers that had accompanied us since we were born. In addition, we know today that the liturgy is meaningless, for we learn from Hebrews 10: 10-12 that the offering that Christ brought is complete and that no one can add anything to it. Nor can the sacrifice on the cross be repeated, for it took place once and for all. The liturgy cannot be equated with the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, even if the Roman Catholic Church does exactly that. God's Word states:"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). The only thing necessary for salvation is the belief that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again, the faith that receives Him as Lord and Savior. In Romans 4: 5 we read, "But he that doeth not works, believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness . "
Rejection in the family
Today, Mercy and I are no longer afraid to confess our faith in Jesus Christ before others. God gives us the courage to take a stand on the heresies of Catholic teaching in the presence of Catholics and Catholic priests. God has given us the audacity to proclaim His truth everywhere and before all. Our relatives and friends have become estranged from us; they are so ashamed of us that they forbid us to tread in the place where we were born and in our parental homes.
My family, in which I was already the sixth priest, is deeply rooted in Roman Catholicism and was very proud of me. From their point of view, I destroyed their reputation as an exemplary Roman Catholic family.
The community of believers
On the other hand, many people, saved in turn, have become our friends and encourage us. I thank God that we were able to become His children and that He truly set us free. Praise the Lord that we can now enjoy the peace of Christ that He gives to His children. In the Gospel of John 14:27 we read: “I leave you peace; I give you My peace. I do not give you how the world gives it; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ” Psalm 18: 3 says, “ The Lord is my rock, my city, and my Savior; My God is my rock and my fortress, my shield and my fortress of my salvation.. As long as we stand firm on this Rock and seek protection in this City, no one can take this peace from us. His word serves as a lamp to our feet and illuminates our path (Psalm 119: 105). If this is a reality in our daily lives, then the road ahead, despite rejection and trials, will remain lit, and we will live with confidence in the victory that Christ has gained for us.
For you
Dear reader, if you have not yet reconciled yourself to God, then know that your sins are what separates you from Him. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). If you know that you are a sinner, then you must also know that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). This means that you need life and salvation, because spiritually you are already dead. You cannot make yourself alive, because in us humans there is nothing that could be of any use in contributing to our own salvation. You need someone else to save you; you need a Substitute, a Substitute, and the Word of God says it exists. About Him it is said in 1 Peter 2:24:"He Himself bore our sins in His body on wood . " This is not about anyone but Jesus Christ!
Therefore, He is the One we must believe in. He is our legitimate substitute. However, only those who trust in Him as their personal Savior and Lord and whom they confess with their lips (Romans 10: 9-10) become saved. If you have somehow come to the conviction that only trusting faith in Jesus Christ, who took your place on the cross as your Substitute, can save you, then simply say this to God in a sincere prayer from the heart. . You will then be saved forever, or in other words, He will then give you eternal life. The apostle John puts it this way in his first letter: "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son" (1 John 5:11).
Glory to God!
Joseph Cherucheril sees his place especially in the work among Catholics, in order to convince them of the biblical truth. He is looking for Catholic families in Bangalore and, if possible, in distant lands. In addition, he shares treatises, some of which he translated into Malayalam, his mother tongue. About six families gather in his home every Friday night for Bible study and prayer. He conducts Bible classes at Tabernacle Baptist Church on Sunday.
(Translator: Olimpiu S. Cosma)
[Source: https://bereanbeacon.org/ro/se-deschide-un-nou-drum/]
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