Anyone and everyone who hasn't accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour as per the way the Bible says to in Romans 10:9-11 and John 3:1-17, will be put into the outer darkness. Anyone and everyone who has accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, as per the BIBLE'S instructions, will not go to the outer darkness at all, but will go straight to God - "absent from the body, and present with the Lord," is the way the Bible says it.
Taking Candy's advice and pretending I don't know a thing about it I decided to look at some of her sentences in depth. I wanted to kno where specifically in these verses it said that any one who did not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior as per the Bible's instructions was going to an outer darkness. First I looked up her scripture:
Romans 10:9-11
9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."[a]
and John 3:1-17
John 3
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.[a]"
4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You[c] must be born again.' 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
9"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
10"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[d] 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.[e]
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Well first of all, I was greatly relieved! I could believe every single word of the Romans passage, and all of the words from St. John!! So I guess I'm in. But I didn't find in these passages was anything about "outer darkness."
9 comments:
Perhaps I shall leave a recommendation for my favorite study Bible. I think you will publish it here, though I'm not so sure "there."
The Collegeville or Ignatius, anyone? Though my favorite is the Navarre, the others are a little easier to get into.
unknown anon,
Could you talk a little about the Navarre?
Do you have the study version in separate books?
Ooooh, the Navarre three book New Testament is on my Christmas list!
I do have an Ignatius RSV, but it doesn't have notes, just the paperback.
I have been considering purchasing the twelve volume New Testament but it is VERY, VERY expensive. I'd probably have to save up for a year before I could afford it. I've never been able to put my hands on it and flip through but, I've heard it's excellent. I haven't seen the three book version. Kelly, do you know a link to that version?
I saw it on Amazon.
Well, I had an answer all typed out, and when I went to publish, Blogger was down. Just one more reason I don't have a blog!
To answer the question about the Navarre, I like it for the depth of the commentary. The text is both RSV and New Vulgate (Latin).
I "came up" using the Collegeville, many (many) moons ago in my college theology courses. They are solid and comprehensive. They also come in individual editions, and are much more affordable than the Navarre. They use the standard NAB text. I would recommend them to anyone.
I also have the Jerusalem and New Jerusalem study editions, along with my standard St. Joseph edition of the NAB. I like all of them, too. By the nature of the Bibles they are in, they are less comprehensive and nuanced, but that's ok. Not everyone needs to be a full-time scripture scholar, IMHO.
I like the Navarre for many reasons. It is portable (in the individual paperback version), comprehensive, and narrative in style, rather than the "short phrase parenthetical" style of the St.Joe NAB.
I have been buying them gradually over the last few years, and have been lucky enough to find some at local used bookstores. I think our local Jesuit college must use them, because I have had good luck finding them at the ends of semesters, and it's always ones I already have!
I am fortunate to have access to the complete hardbound editions at my local public library, so that has eased some of the pressure to obtain them all for myself.
Unknown Anon,
Thank you for your response. I've been wanting the Navarre New Testament in the 12 volume set. I've looked at Ebay periodically but, most seem to be under the "buy it now" category and not really at much, if any, discount.
As I live in the Bible belt, most Bibles to be found in our local used book store are not Catholic and there are no Catholic colleges in the vicinity. I'll keep looking though as I've heard nothing but great things about the Navarre.
We have several different translations in the house. The one I read the most is the Oxford NAB. Not my favorite. One of my sisters has run off with the Jerusalem Bible that I liked very much.
Oh, one more question. How big is the print in the Navarre single volumes. I am hoping, since the books are in multiple volumes that the font is much larger. My eyes are not what they used to be and I find I can't read the NAB I have for more than about twenty minutes at a time.
Whew, all this talk about Bible versions has me feeling like I must sound like Candy!
The individual Navarre volumes are printed in type that seems (to my 45-year-old eyes) to be slightly larger than the print in a standard trade paperback.
The RSV text is the largest, the NV is "lined off" above and below, and is the same standard size as the commentary text.
The linked Scripture texts are in teeny-tiny woman print, located in the margin of the RSV text next to the verse to which they are related.
I just buy them one by one as I can.
Unknown Anon,
Thanks so much! I think I'll buy one of the volumes and if I can read it, I'll buy them one at a time. It'll be much easier on my pocketbook to do it that way.
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