Catholics and Protestants agree. Our most important question is: “Will I get to Heaven?”
Jesus divides all humanity into two groups. “You are My friends if you obey My commands.”
His obedient sheep obey His commands. Disobedient goats do not. They are not among His “friends”. We ask a hard question: Since Jesus gave us an “either-or” choice, are willfully disobedient goats His enemies?
We have free will. We choose how well we will obey. Catholics obey The Church-Founding Decree of Jesus:
“. . I say unto you thou art Peter and on this rock I build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I give you the keys to The Kingdom of Heaven.”
Protestants do not obey The Church-Founding Decree of Jesus. They prefer one of the 45,000 Protestant denominations they find appealing.
Catholics have a duty to encourage our beloved neighbors to be among His obedient sheep.
We help by pointing out the unspoken word “all”. The unspoken “all” is between “obey” and “My” in “You are My friends if you obey (all) My commands.” The unspoken “all”, lets us understand that His Teaching very definitive: “You are My friends if you obey (all) My commands.”
Catholics hear the unspoken “all” and know it is there because Jesus did not say “You are My friends if you obey (some of) My commands.”
Catholics are blessed to respect Jesus enough to obey His Church-Founding Decree. We choose to be in The Only Church led by Successors to Peter for Her miraculous 2,000 years of Unchanging Doctrine.
Catholics hear the unspoken “all” within “You are My friends if you obey (all) My commands.” We are not good enough to be among His best “friends”, His far more obedient Saints. But, we are obedient enough to be in The Only Church He Founded.
It’s a start!
