Can a Devout Roman Catholic Be Genuinely Born Again?

Ask Pastor John
Episode: 1162

[mattyamamoto]

YES. I was a devout catholic all my life, grew up in a catholic family, catholic school etc., i was even opus dei, and all that jazz. i was so devoutly religious that i would do all the things catholics would do EVERYDAY FOR YEARS - rosary, mass, confession, etc. goes without saying, i was in search of God all throughout, but even with that, i still didn't know Him, for who He really is. I learned that what I know about Him is only from who people say He is, without knowing Him myself. God put me, and continue to put me through so much, that in those process I learned so much about Him, about who He is, and about what He wants. After years of searching for Him, He revealed Himself to me, and He pulled me out of the religious wheel. it is A VERY PAINFUL PROCESS, much so for me because I was very devout, but now, I can fully say I am now Christian. this promise is from God Himself - Jeremiah 29:13 "If you seek Me, you will find me, if you seek me with all your Heart." this promise is an answered prayer from God. So YES, even the most devout catholic can be BORN AGAIN. but it will be a painful process, but God said, THE REWARD IS HIS.

[stephenmartin]

I was raised Lutheran in a major city where the largest majority are Roman Catholics. Through a series of events I was saved on March 11, 1979 . At the time my then wife was going to a Southern Baptist Church. It was there that I was born again. We attended 2 smaller SBC churches. In 1982 we were divorced after 9 years of marriage at her choosing, not mine. A short time later I was offered a job opportunity in Central Florida and although I had begun to see someone else, I relocated to Florida alone. I began attending a large SBC church here where I have been a member for 41 years. I have sung in that churches choir for the last 20 years. During that time I have met several people who were former Roman Catholics who were/ are saved and changed from Catholism to Protestant. As far as I know these people successfully made a transition. One person comes to mind who is now deceased and I am confident that I will see him in heaven. However, I do not believe that once a person is saved that he can remain a Catholic or else he or she will be inherently discontent. I do not believe that Catholic doctrine and teachings will permit that person to remain in what I believe is a church denomination that is inconsistent with true biblical teaching. The Spirit of God will prompt that person to seek out a church that parallels true Christianity

[catherinesikazwe]

It's great to be in Jesus. People of God seek him with all your heart and stay rooted in him.

[kendalllord]

It’s the Holy Spirit who draws people into an awareness of their need for redemption through the finished work of Christ, even if they attend a church that teaches bad theology (Catholic OR PROTESTANT). Nothing trumps the power of the Spirit.

[davidechegoyen]

Romans 9: 15 "I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy "

[jvo]

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." —John 14:6

[jm]

If you are Roman catholic, eastern orthodox, and or Protestant, if you trust and put your faith in what Christ did on the cross for you and believe upon him for salvation you will be saved Acts 16:31 Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your house will be saved

[peterbarjona]

The thief on the cross beside Jesus was a bad bad bad man all his life, all he did was speak from his heart to Christ and the other thief and who ever else was listening....you know the rest of that story. Before he said who Jesus was, 99% would say he was heading for hell. On the other hand, when Peter cursed and said he didn't know Jesus, another 99% would say the same for him.
What I'm saying you have already has the last say. For me I think there is corruption in many churches, and faulty judge those church systems, but not the peoples hearts all Christ said we don't know our own heart much less the next person. I can tell you one thing for sure my knees are bloody from I will keep getting up and walking, only because I have JESUS.
Bless each one of you.

[seanrathmakedisciples]

I was a devout catholic for 35 years. Then I was born again and I’m now a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Unless we’re born again we will not see the kingdom or enter the kingdom of God. The Catholics and Protestants need to be born again. No Protestant nor Catholic will be see heaven unless they call on the name of the Lord Jesus Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be forgiven and have eternal life with Jesus forevermore

[euangelioneuangelion]

May the Holy Spirit teach us always and let Jesus use us to do His Job in whis world.

[ianwilliamson]

If they get saved they should come out of the Catholic church .

[departureready]

Because of my parents deep love for our Lord and faith, it definitely helped me to be compassionate and observant. I was 8 years old when I asked Jesus to come into my life. It's funny because I was watching Jim and Tammy Baker of all people talking about salvation! I wanted to experience what they said would happen to me. I was older mentally for my age, I guess growing up as an only child and reading I just understood this was something that I truly wanted. My grandmother was living with us and she was pentecostal, I went to church with her twice. It was kind of scary but interesting. Well, I did the sinners prayer and I remained in a state of prayer all day before I went to bed, I prayed one more time. That night I dreamed and lightning struck in front of me and the holy spirit filled me and I heard the voice of God. I saw the bright light people have spoken of in near death experiences and while God spoke to me, his voice vibrated off of my chest his voice sounded like oceans, a lion speaking his voice was ancient I shared the dream with my parents and they did not believe me, my grandmother was gone so I couldn't tell her.i was so depressed and for years I had an up and down relationship with God. I finally left the Catholic church for various reasons. I have no doubt my parents know the Lord and accepted him as thier savior. Mom spoke of an experience that happened to her at a retreat. My relationship with Jesus is ongoing and stronger than ever but I have a long road ahead. Please pray for me so that God will complete his work with me.

[lonia.]

What a hopeful answer. Thank you. Amen ❤️

[benhartzell]

What I would say to all Catholics AND Protestants (including myself) is...JESUS IS ENOUGH AND MORE THAN ENOUGH. He is everything! Stop adding to Him! When we are judged, He is all we will have to stand on. Our righteousness will be EVIDENCE of our standing on Him, not the means to our salvation. Trust me, we Protestants also have bad habits of resting and trusting in our good deeds too. Glorify God with the good deeds that He gave us to do, but only after salvation in Jesus, based on God’s working alone, do these come.

[foodforthought]

Wow! What a caricature of the Catholic faith. This is coming from a devout Protestant btw. There are many CONSISTENT, devout Catholics who have a deep love for our Lord and a rich understanding of the Scriptures and the Gospel. We have much to learn from our Catholic brethren.

[psma]

I have a Catholic teacher and I can see fruit in her life. It’s mind boggling because for most of my life, I’ve battled with the question “can a Catholic be truly saved?” We do prayer in class everyday and she’s genuinely seeking the Lord. She talks about it all the time. One time I came to her after class and asked her if she was saved, and she said yes and she understood salvation and started telling me how she got saved. I think God put her in my life to tell me that Catholics, though they do have false doctrine, can be born again. It’s all about JESUS, and I see JESUS shining in her life everytime she teaches. God spoke to me by bringing her into my life. Brother and sisters, let us pray for all Catholics that they may come to Jesus. That’s all that matters

[johnnyg]

As a former devoted catholic, I used to attend the mass 5 times a week, pray the rosary daily, a leader of a Catholic group/movement on my campus, and I was visiting the seminary to become a priest!
I once was questioned, If I am to die at this moment, where would I open my eyes afterwards, although I was a devoted catholic, I didn't have an answer, the person questioning me, opened the Bible at first John chapter 5, and as he read I was amazed, the passage actually speaks about the true believer of a Jesus and his assurance of a heaven with Christ, and if he doesn't say he has heaven for sure, he's explicitly saying that God is a liar!
After this encounter, I decided to study my bible daily, although I was a Catholic who reads his bible(which is very rare here in my country), and after a year of studying my Bible i saw how much the Catholic church is far from the Bible.
If you are a Catholic reading this I would suggest to you to search the following topics:
-The authority of scripture
-Justification and salvation: this is one of the most important one, how am I to be reconciled with God according to the Bible!? What must I do to be saved!?
-The mass and transubstantiation (Emphasis on Hebrews 10, the "lost" book in Catholicism)
-The role of saints in The Bible
-The role of virgin Mary in The Bible
-Purgatory and the Bible
-The pope :Is he biblical, is he even in the first church!?
-The first church and the history of the Catholic church, did it really start with Jesus or with Constantine centuries later!?
-The apocryphal books, why did they first show in mid 15th century?
-Baptism, Is it for the babies, does it have to do anything with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit!?
-The sacred mysteries and the Bible: why in a time of history they were 12 and 9 and 5 and now they stand at 7? Is the sacred mystery of confession biblical!?
"The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." Psalms 145:18
God bless you all! MUCH LOVE!

[LL-ljkq]

I personally raised a catholic, was stricken in my heart and saved after going to a Good Friday service. The Lord uses many opportunities to reach his people.

[QuestsAndMissions]

Going to church nowadays feels like picking out a character from Mario Kart. They have their strengths. They have their weaknesses. It would be better just to follow the Good Shepherd.

[marvajefferson]

When we stand before God our lives and heart will be what matters ❤️. Not the Church you went too