CHAPTER NINETEEN
Shortly after His Resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples.
"He said to them, `This is what I told you while I was still
with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me
in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.' Then He opened
their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told
them, `This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise
from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of
sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem.'"1
The words, "This is what is written", spoke to me
very specifically concerning the importance Jesus placed upon
people believing what is written in the Inspired Word of God, the
Holy Scriptures.
For many years, I had believed what was written by various
people concerning the Blessed Virgin. But when I read what God
said about her in His book, I got a completely different picture.
I discovered that these other writers had no Biblical foundation
whatsoever for some of the claims they made concerning Mary. Upon
examining the teachings and traditions concerning the mother of
Jesus, which were taught to my grandparents, I discovered that
many of them were, in fact, a complete contradiction of the
teachings of the Word of God.
Like so many other Irish people, Jack and Mary depended for
their salvation upon their membership of the Church, doing their
best to lead a good life, and doing whatever good works they
could. They were completely unaware of the fact that God says in
the Holy Bible that eternal life is found, not in a Church, or in
good works, but in a Person. The Apostle John puts it like this;
"God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God
does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in
the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have
eternal life."2
John was writing to those who believed that Christ had,
through His death on the cross, taken upon Himself the punishment
for their sins. They were not relying upon what they themselves
could do through religion or good works, to earn or merit
salvation, but were depending upon what Christ had done on their
behalf. He assured them that, because the guilt of their sins had
been put to Christ's account, and the merits of His sinless life
and substitutionary death had been put to their account, they
could KNOW that their sins were forgiven, and that they had the
gift of eternal life.
The apostle Paul puts it this way; "Therefore, since we have
been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into
this grace in which we now stand - "3 ;"But when the
kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not
because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy
- "4 ;"For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not
by works, so that no - one can boast."5
To see the way of Salvation outlined so clearly in the Bible
was a great encouragement to me. Through reading the Scriptures,
I had not only learned about the Blessed Virgin, but also about
her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It was wonderful to read of how
God the Son left Heaven, took upon Himself a human nature, and
then suffered and died upon the cross for sinners.
I was so grateful to God for the fact that I had the
opportunity to read and learn from His Word. But as I thought
about my grandparents, I remembered that they did not have the
privilege that we have today. The majority of Irish people who
lived in those days did not have easy access to the Bible. It is
perhaps understandable then that they adhered so closely to
religious practices which had no basis in the Scriptures.
If they had the Bible, they would have had the opportunity,
like I had, to read about the REAL Mary, the Handmaid of the Lord
and mother of Jesus. They could have read Mary's own words
concerning her dependence upon God for her salvation, when she
said, " - My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour." They
would have had the privilege of reading of her obedience to the
Scriptures, of her instructions to people to do whatever Jesus
says, and of her praying to the Saviour. What a great blessing it
would have been to that generation of Irish people to have
greater access to the Scriptures.
But the Bible is now freely available in this country, so all
of us have the opportunity to discover what God says in His Word.
It is my prayer, and I'm sure it is the Blessed Virgin's wish
for the people of Ireland that we should follow her example -
Submit ourselves wholly to the Lord, trusting Him as Saviour,
Pray to Him alone, and Do whatever He tells us in His Word, the
Holy Bible.
Dear Friend,
Thank you for taking time to read this little Booklet.
If you would like to receive, free of charge and without
obligation, any of the following;
A Bible;
Literature explaining the Way of Salvation;
Gospel Music and a Message on Cassette Tape.
Please write to:
Dick Keogh, Cherith Gospel Outreach,
email - Israel@esatclear.ie