Belief without obedience, the deadly sham. Consider one of Jesus’ most frequently repeated instructions: “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood you do not have life in you.” He reinforced that bizarre instruction an incredible 12 times in the 33 verses between John 6:33 and John 6:66!
Some non-Christians conclude “He was crazy!”. Protestants are a little brighter than that. They realize that Jesus fulfilled so many hundreds of prophecies that it is statistically impossible for Him not to be The Messiah. But, when the Pastor Bobs read “If you do not eat My Body drink My Blood you do not have life in you.” they consider their cash flows, furrow their brows, nod wisely, and usually announce “Jesus was speaking symbolically.”
In every generation, some are blessed to realize: “He Who Fulfilled the Prophecies repeated ‘If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood you do not have life in you.’ so often that it actually must be a matter of life and death! There is only one way on earth to receive His Body and Blood and ‘have life in’ me. I must receive Communion from a Catholic priest who has been ordained in living link with Jesus’ Ordination of The Apostles. It is a test! I must be an obedient Catholic to ‘have life in’ me. Otherwise, I am dead!”
What keeps people from coming to that Miraculous Salvation Conclusion?
Pride separates those who want to go on sinning from obeying “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood you do not have life in you.” The most ridiculously proud Protestants will announce, often with facial and vocal intonations that indicate they believe themselves to be saying something very intelligent: “I only need to believe that My Jesus loves me and I will go to Heaven.”
They will, if unchecked, often continue with comments picked from popular compilations of drivel: “I have a personal relationship with Jesus!” Little dead places in the brain keep them from seeing how they embarrass themselves by saying “I believe in Jesus and The Bible.” even as they intentionally ignore Jesus’ teachings in The Bible that include His specific, often repeated: “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood you do not have life in you.”
Is it death to intentionally reject receiving Catholic Communion? What could be more important for any of us but to use our time remaining to consider prayerfully what Jesus says: “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood you do not have life in you.” Belief without obedience, the deadly sham.
Those who truly believe know that each immortal soul is at stake, tested by how we obey: “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood you do not have life in you.”
