Dr Paul Allen

Do angels carry our prayers to God? Do angels play a mediating role between us and heaven? What makes this especially interesting is the fact that angels do hold the prayers of the saints. They hold them. That’s the glorious point of Revelation 8:3–5. The prayers of the saints — our prayers — accumulate in “golden bowls full of incense,” bowls that are held by the angels (Revelation 5:8).  It’s an incredibly encouraging image .  God wants us to know that every one of our prayers — our answered prayers and our yet-unanswered prayers, all of them — are heard by him, is precious to him, and always exist before him.  Do angels carry our prayers to God?   In Roman Catholicism, the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, is put between us and God as a mediator. People all over the world, sadly, pray to Mary. They say their Hail Marys and do their rosary instead of coming to God directly and confidently and humbly through Jesus alone. No Other Mediators Millions don’t believe tha...

The most common question I’ve gotten over the years since I became a pastor, “How do I evangelize my Roman Catholic loved ones?” Though I did not grow up Roman Catholic, I was born and raised in Rome, Italy and have a passion to see Roman Catholics come to know the true Jesus. Because of this, I have decided to move to Italy as a missionary. I recently taught a class on the subject and I share it with you with the desire that it would help you grow in your ability to share with and in your love for the Roman Catholics God has sovereignly placed around you.

For the most part, the problem which moved Martin Luther to post his 95 Theses on October 31, 1517 had to do with indulgences. Much could be said about that issue. But the doctrine of indulgences is inextricably linked to the doctrine of purgatory. The word “purgatory” comes from the Latin word, “purgare,” which has the idea of “make clean,” “purify,” or “purge.” The doctrine refers to the purging of remaining guilt and unrighteousness after death. Purgatory is not hell, but the place of conditioning and preparation for heaven. It is unsure exactly what purgatory is like or how much time people spend there. It could be thousands upon thousands of years, perhaps. We could go many places in Scripture to address the Roman Catholic teaching on purgatory. But one favorite is the thief on the cross ( Luke 23:39-43). When the justice of God thundered upon his Son at the cross, two criminals happened to share a spot on Golgotha . Matthew’s account uses a word to speak of the criminals a...

Since there is so much confusion about Roman Catholicism, many faithful men have stood up and provided helpful tools to equip the Church in reaching Catholics. The more you understand Roman Catholicism the easier it will be to explain the Gospel with clarity. I have been helped by all these books and heartily recommend them to you. 1 –  Are we Together?  – R.C. Sproul “This book is not what you might assume: a rehearsal of slogans. Rather, it is an intelligent and engaging primer for Protestants and Roman Catholics alike about what Rome actually teaches and what are the profound issues that continue to separate confessional, evangelical Protestants from the Roman communion. This is a book that Protestants should give to their Roman Catholic neighbors and that Protestant pastors (after reading it) should give to their members. It is also a book that more than a few theologians and historians should read before the next round of ecumenical discussions and docume...

In a not so shocking admission Pope Francis announced to the world that Priests now hold the right to absolve women who have had abortion and to forgive them for their sin. As long as they are contrite. Get this, the Pope has the authority to tell priests that they now have the authority to forgive the sin of abortion. And they say this pope is humble! Ever been to Rome and watched people pray their way up the “holy” steps, watch them wait to confess their sins to men and many things like this: Has it caused you to grieve for people who are in the Roman Catholic Church? Any religion that is built on the backs of the poor and that propagates works based righteousness should bring tears and concern to those who have experienced true grace. It is important that we as believers understand the truth of why Catholic confession is not Biblical, not to win an argument but in order to rescue souls. So here’s five problems with Roman Catholic confession. 1- Priests can’t see the heart I...