A sect is any Christian denomination which has independently established his/her own Church. Any Christians who group together and rejects to accept the entire doctrine or recognize the supreme authority of the Catholic Church makes up a religious party under human unofficial headship.
Although men’s adherence is withheld by many
because of ignorance and abuse of free-will, only the Catholic Church alone is
the universal society instituted by Jesus Christ which has a rightful claim to
the submission of all men.
The Catholic Church is the sole keeper of the
complete teaching of Jesus Christ which must be embraced in its entirety by all
mankind. Together with its members, Catholicism does not represent a sect because
they not belong to a group summoned into existence by a human leader, or to a
school of thought avowed to the commands of an earthly master.
They form part of a Church which embraces all
space and in a certain sense both time and eternity, considering that it is
militant, suffering, and victorious.
The assertion that the Catholic religion is the
only authentic type of Christianity surprises several people by its
exclusiveness. However, the truth is inevitably exclusive, which must rule out
error just as significantly as light is unsuited with darkness.
Brought by denunciation by non-Catholic
denomination of some truth or truths taught by the Lord, or rejection of
authority instituted by Him in his Church, they have in some indispensable
point relinquished His doctrine to human learning or His authority to
self-established headship.
No unprejudiced person will be affronted by this
reality if it is learned by heart that loyalty to its Divine mission puts into
effect this clear-cut attitude on the ecclesiastical authority. Divinely
revealed truth cannot and must not be sacrificed to human opposition and
assumption. Nevertheless, while the Church denounces the flaws of
non-Catholics, she edifies the practice of justice and charity towards their
persons, renounces the use of aggression and coercion to produce conversions
and is all set to welcome back those who have wandered away.
Let's see how the Scriptures narrate about the beauty of obedience
than insubordination brought by rejection of authority instituted by Jesus in
his Church, and its effect to the humanity:
Deuteronomy 8:20 Like
the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so shall you too perish for not
heeding the voice of the LORD, your God.
Deutronomy 11:13-17 If, then, you truly heed my commandments which I
enjoin on you today, loving and serving the LORD, your God, with all your heart
and all your soul, I will give the seasonal rain to your land, the early rain
and the late rain, that you may have your grain, wine and oil to gather in; and
I will bring forth grass in your fields for your animals. Thus you may eat your
fill. But be careful lest your heart be so lured away that you serve other gods
and worship them.
Deuteonomy 28:15 "But
if you do not hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God, and are not careful
to observe all his commandments which I enjoin on you today, all these curses
shall come upon you and overwhelm you.
Leviticus 26:3-4 "If you live in accordance with my precepts and are careful to observe my
commandments, I will give you rain in due season, so that the land will bear its
crops, and the trees their fruit.
Exodus 24:7 Taking the book of the covenant, he
read it aloud to the people, who answered, "All that the LORD has said, we
will heed and do."
Joshua 22:5 But be very careful to observe the
precept and law which Moses, the servant of the LORD, enjoined upon you: love
the LORD, your God; follow him faithfully; keep his commandments; remain loyal
to him; and serve him with your whole heart and soul.
Exodus 20:19-21 I am the LORD, your God: observe my
statutes and be careful to keep my ordinances; keep holy my sabbaths, as a sign
between me and you to show that I am the LORD, your God. But their children
rebelled against me: they did not observe my statutes or keep my ordinances
that bring life to those who observe them, and my sabbaths they desecrated.
Then I thought of pouring out my fury on them, of spending my anger on them in
the desert.
Isaiah 45:19 I have not spoken from hiding nor
from some dark place of the earth, And I have not said to the descendants of
Jacob, "Look for me in an empty waste." I, the LORD, promise justice,
I foretell what is right.
Matthew 16:18 And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church, 13 and the gates of the netherworld
shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 28:19-20 Go,
therefore, 12 and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you. 13 And behold, I am with you always, until the
end of the age."
John 16:13 But
when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not
speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the
things that are coming.
Romans 1:5 Through him we have received the
grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of
his name, among all the Gentiles,
2 Corinthians 9:13 Through the evidence of this service,
you are glorifying God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ and
the generosity of your contribution to them and to all others.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm and
hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement
or by a letter of ours.
1 John 4:6 We belong to God, and anyone who
knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to
hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.
1 Peter 1:4Like obedient children, do not act
in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance 8
1 Peter 1:22 Since you have purified yourselves by
obedience to the truth for sincere mutual love, love one another intensely from
a (pure) heart.
In conclusion, even inside
Catholicism, people have been divided resulting to sect of Catholicism called
Cafeteria Catholics. These Catholics make a decision for themselves as to which
doctrines of the Catholic Church they keep, and which ones are to be
discarded. The ones preferred are obeyed
and hyped to others. Conversely, the one that are junked are disobeyed
resulting to subsequent cursing of the Pope and the Church.
As we contemplate on this reality,
may we be revitalized by the goodness of obedience modeled by Jesus Himself,
which His disciples embraced until they became apostles and by their successors. Amen!
References:
Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D. , Disciples and Apostles in the
New Testament, http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Disciples.htm
Cafeteria Catholics, http://www.catholicbible101.com/cafeteriacatholics.htm
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