Please remove the following name from your mailing list. I have not the authority to judge what you do, but I know the One who will judge you on the last day. While the time is yours, turn from your ways and return to the church that Jesus began which was built on the apostles and prophets, Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone...I’m speaking of the Roman Catholic church, which you despise. Thank you for removing my name. Julie Swenson Oakland, CA

(Julie’s testimony is written in the book “Surprised by Truth”)

Dear Julie,

In your testimony you speak of your “inability to find solace in the Bible” and that “reading Scripture was insufficient to get out of this spiritual desert” (p.144). There is a reason for this...you must be born-again to understand the Scriptures. Although you claim to have been “born-again” on page 142, you deny knowing him on the same page. 2 Cor.3:14-16 best describes this dilemma that even the Jewish leaders, who read all the time, suffered from:

“But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.”

Although I have never personally given my testimony, I can assure you that when I asked God to open up my eyes and I started searching the Scriptures, I found comfort for my soul. How can one read the Bible and not find comfort...and another read it and find comfort? The only answer is the aid of the Holy Spirit. Isa.34:16 says:

“Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail...” (also see I John 2:20 & 27)

Who should we believe Julie? You or God? 2 Tim.3:15-16 also assure us that the Word of God is all-sufficient!

“And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

You are correct about one thing Julie, there is only One who will judge us in that day, Jesus Christ. And what will be the standard by which we are judged?

“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” (Rom.2:16)

And again:

“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (Jn. 2:48)

Since it is by the Word that I am judged, then it must be the Word that I obey, not some man-made tradition. When the disciples spoke of tradition, they meant the traditions handed down through the Word...not that every man should walk after the imaginations of his own heart!

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?” (Jer.23:16-18) (Emphasis mine)

Your claim that the Catholic church is founded on the apostles and prophets is false. You forgot to mention “tradition” which is the true cornerstone of the church of Rome. You will not find “sacraments, scapulars, rosaries, masses, worship of saints and Mary, etc.” in the Bible. Those traditions are not biblical and have no true solid foundation, but are as the shifting sand. But the gospel of grace was preached in the Old Testament and therefore can be trusted as a sure foundation (see I Pet.1:10-12; 2 Pet.1:19 also):

“...separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures).” (Rom.1:1-2)

“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” (Gal.3:8-9)

Catholicism has new revelations that are not founded on the Word of God, but rather, contradict His Word. Given the choice between the two, I choose the fear of the Lord and His Word.

When Catholicism taught me to serve idols, she went against the Scriptures.

“They that make a graven image are all of them vanity, and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed....” (Isa.44:9-10)

As the Scripture clearly points out...a Catholic is a witness against his/her own self, because they don’t know that they should be ashamed of their idolatry. Instead, they boast of it, as I did, when practicing the Catholic religion, until Jesus opened my eyes! I pray, Julie, that God will open your eyes to the truth...for then you will be “surprised” that you could be so easily duped by the painted eyes of a harlot, the Catholic church.

“For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread; and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.” (Prov.6:23-26)

Repent (not “do penance” as the Catholic church’s bible says) while there is still time, Julie. We will be praying for your deliverance from the smooth words of Rome. (Isa.30:9-10)

Most Sincere, Rebecca A. Sexton

Dear FCFC,

Praise our Lord Jesus Christ. I do not know how I got on your mailing list last year, but I’m very happy about it. I will write a letter later telling you about a couple of incidents I had as an English ex-Catholic, who loves the Lord Jesus Christ (Gal.2:20; John 10:27-30; Rom.8:35-39; Prov3:5-6; Psalm 32:8; 37:3-5) [Underlined also special for you]) that occurred in England and West Germany.

In one of your issues, replying to a letter, they and you mentioned about the “Promise Keepers” and that you had written about them in another issue. I searched all my copies I could find but must not have it. Please send me!!

Keep up the great work!!

D.Y.

Dear D.Y.,

Thank you for writing. We would love to hear about your incidents in England and W. Germany, and look forward to your next letter.

Thank you for the verses. One of the verses you underlined happens to be one of my favorite Scriptures:

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Prov.3:5-6)

Concerning “Promise Keepers”, the letter you are referring to speaks of back issues of Dave Hunt’s “Berean Call”. We have not dealt with PK yet, but highly recommend Bart Brewer (an ex-Catholic priest) who along with many other ex-priests and nuns put out a video called Catholicism: A Crisis of Faith. Bart Brewer also puts out a tract about PK that might interest our readers. For more information write:

Bart Brewer

P.O. Box 19280

San Diego, CA 92159

God bless you, and hope to hear from you soon!

In His Grace, Rebecca A. Sexton

Dear Sisters In our Lord and Savior Jesus,

Greetings in His Holy Wonderful Name. I wanted to write a short letter to let you know how much we enjoy your newsletter. We need the information and each letter is full of information.

Please keep the newsletters coming as we share them with those who are still open to truth which isn’t that many any more, as you well know.

Can you send a list of your material with prices? We need much information to share with family, who are Catholic, as well as with others.

Praise God for your ministry. May He bless you and meet all your needs. We think you are so needed and we appreciate you very much. My husband was a Catholic for 53 years but has been a born-again believer for six years and now sees truth through the Holy Scriptures, praise God for freedom and joy.

Sharing truth, M.H. of Frederick, OK

Dear M. H.,

Thank you for the encouraging letter. It is nice to know that we are helping others.

Wow...your husband got saved at 53? What a wonderful testimony of His grace and mercy! Feel free to write your story and we will try to print it.

The only material we offer is our past newsletters (starting from Oct. ‘94) and seven tracts (so far). Since our copier broke down, we have been late getting back issues caught up. When we took our newsletter to a local printer, someone in their office sabotaged our work, costing us the extra that we could have used to make past issues. We have since then changed printers.

Everything we put out is free for the asking....if we have it in print! Just let us know what issues you would like.

God bless you M. H. as we labor together to spread the gospel of grace and truth.

In Jesus, Rebecca A. Sexton

Dear Diane and Rebecca,

I received your newsletter today, and as usual sat right down and started reading it. When I got to the part where your copier broke down, I broke down myself and wrote you a small check, I hope everyone who receives your newsletter will be able to send a small amount even if it is only one dollar.

My girl friend is a Catholic who has been born-again, not as taught by the Catholic church, but as taught by Jesus in John 3, but she will not leave the whore of Babylon, any suggestions? Her response when I show her their lies and false teachings are...every church makes mistakes. She was led to the Lord by a nun in the church who the priest later had removed because they didn’t get along. She doesn’t believe that they didn’t get along because the nun was leading people to the Lord, exactly opposite what the priest was doing.

This is all very frustrating to me as I care very deeply for her, and I refuse to accept her religion. She attends Sunday morning service with me and goes to her church on Saturday evening. It has gotten to the point that we can’t discuss her church because she refuses to do anything I ask her to, such as asking the priest questions like...How can I know for sure when I die that I will go to Heaven. She will not even ask him what the doctrine of Immaculate Conception is. She says it means that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born. I told her what it means but she refuses to ask her priest. I keep after her to read her Bible but so far she has found reasons for not doing so. She refuses to hear or read anything that teaches the truth about the great whore that has been a part of her life for fifty-three years.

She doesn’t pray to Mary. She said the nun told her to pray to Jesus, that Mary couldn’t help her. It doesn’t seem to bother her that the church taught her wrong all those years, and that it is still teaching other people wrong, she says...all churches make mistakes and that is the other peoples problem if they pray to Mary.

It doesn’t seem to concern her that her church was leading her directly to hell. How do you deal with a mindset like that? H-E-L-P.

Anyway, I really enjoy your newsletter, keep up the good work. Going to miss you in August, have a nice vacation, hope you can continue with a monthly publication.

Your brother in Christ, G.D. of Independence, MO

Dear G.D.,

The nun who preached to your girl friend is a “heretic” in the eyes of the Roman church, which means your girl friend is also a “heretic”.

We understand your frustration. Many well-meaning “born-again” Catholics feel the “church” has “problems” but that the core of their religion is fine. Not so! “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I Cor. 3:11) We believe the only thing that can break the chains of darkness is the Word of God. If you just take the time and patience to read the Word with your girlfriend and edify her and build her up in the Word, the Holy Spirit will do the rest. He will bring her out if she has truly accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ. She does need to renounce the false teachings of the Catholic Church, but as was true for us, it does take time to sort through all the lies and compare their (R.C.C.) doctrines with Biblical doctrine. Keep urging her to read the Word and explain to her that anyone who claims to be born-again, must also love His Word. I would be very suspect of anyone who would call themselves “saved” yet refuses to read the Bible. Our prayers are with you and your girlfriend.

You might try going to the priest with her if she is afraid to go alone. The Immaculate Conception, as taught by the Church of Rome, is that Mary was conceived without sin. This doctrine alone should be abominable to any saved person. It denies that Jesus Christ is the only one who was without sin!

Thank you for your kind donation. It was deeply appreciated. Also, one last thing, we would like to leave you with a Scripture to share with your girlfriend, so that next time she is worshipping with those who DO pray to Mary, she might realize she is in agreement with them, whether she wants to be or not.

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3)

Because of Calvary, Diane M. Schoeppner

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