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Response to comment [from a Christian]: "Catholics are definitely not Christians."

Catholics need to repent. Come to God on his terms--as a sinner (Eze 18:30-32; Ac 17:30, Re 2:5,16; 3:3). Understand what true repentance is.

Their purpose:

"The ministry was established in 1991 and is incorporated in the State of Texas as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation for the purposes of: 1) glorifying, honoring and serving the Lord Jesus Christ by proclaiming His Gospel of man's redemption with clarity, conviction and consistency; 2) providing evangelistic training and resources with an emphasis on biblical integrity; 3) exposing any doctrines that oppose or nullify the Gospel of grace so that people can discern truth from error, avoid deception and come to the knowledge of truth; 4) contending earnestly for the faith against the agents of compromise who suppress doctrinal truth for the sake of ecumenical unity; and 5) encouraging and supporting former Catholics who may be feeling a sense of guilt, ostracism or
persecution from their family or friends for leaving the Catholic religion and culture." Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries

Response to comment [from a Catholic]: "Of course, as a Catholic, I have done exactly that, and continue to do so every day."

Justification is a one time event. We do not keep getting born again. Justification is by faith alone (Joh 5:24; Ac 13:39; Ro 3:30; 5:1; Ga 2:16) and is of God's grace (Ro 3:24; 4:16; 5:17-21). It is not of works as the Roman Catholic Church teaches (Ac 13:39; Ro 8:3; Ga 2:16; 3:11). It is not of faith plus works united as the Roman Catholic Church teaches (Ac 15:1-29; Ro 3:28; 11:6; Ga 2:14-21; 5:4).

"Indeed, Catholics did so for some [I]fifteen-hundred years[/I] before a single Protestant ever came on the scene."

Response to comment [from a Catholic]: "Abraham is said to have been justified on at least three separate occasions throughout his life?"

Abraham was saved the same way every man is saved--by grace through faith (Eph 2:8). He was prompted by faith (Heb. 11:8), justified by faith ( Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3) and tested in offering Isaac (Gen. 22:1–19). He was a man of faith (Gen. 15:6).

"Justification is a divine act where God declares the sinner to be innocent of his sins. It is a legal action in that God declares the sinner righteous -- as though he has satisfied the Law of God. This justification is based entirely on the sacrifice of Christ by His shed blood: "...having now been justified by His blood..." (Rom. 5:9).1 Justification is a gift of grace (Rom. 3:24; Titus 3:7) that comes through faith (Rom. 3:28; 5:1).2 Christians receive Jesus (John 1:12) and put their faith-filled trust in what Jesus did on the cross (Isaiah 53:12; 1 Pet. 2:24) and in so doing are justified by God. The Bible states that justification is not by works (Rom. 3:20, 28; 4:5; Eph. 2:8-9) because our righteous deeds are filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Those who are justified are saved and salvation is a free gift (Rom. 6:23), something we cannot earn (Eph. 2:1-10). However, Roman Catholic doctrine denies justification by faith alone and says:

•"If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, Canons on Justification, Canon 9).
•"If any one saith, that man is truly absolved from his sins and justified, because he assuredly believed himself absolved and justified; or, that no one is truly justified but he who believes himself justified; and that, by this faith alone, absolution and justification are effected; let him be anathema." (Canon 14).
Anathema, according to Catholic theology means excommunication, "the exclusion of a sinner from the society of the faithful." The Greek word anathema is also translated as "accursed" (Rom. 9:3; Gal. 1:8-9, NASB & KJV), "eternally condemned" (Gal. 1:8-9, NIV), and "cursed" (Rom. 9:3, NIV),. We can see that Roman Catholic theology pronounces a curse of excommunication, of being outside the camp of Christ if you believe that you are saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus.

Does the Roman Catholic Church specifically state that we are "saved by grace and works"? Not that I am aware of and neither do the above Catholic Canons state such a thing. But, when the Roman Catholic Church negates justification by faith alone, it necessarily implies that we must do something for justification, for if it is not by faith alone, then it must be by faith and something..." Full text: The Roman Catholic View on Justification

"Almost forgotten, apparently, were Hagar and Ishmael. Ishmael was now about sixteen years old (Genesis 16:16; 21:5), and for a long time had been an only son. It was neither his fault nor his mother’s that his birth had been a sort of accident, contrived due to a temporary lapse of faith on the part of Abraham and Sarah; so it is easy to understand his resentment at the unusual attention devoted to Isaac. God had also promised his mother and father that he would be blessed (Genesis 16:12; 17:20). Even though it was not right, it at least is understandable that he would make fun of his little half-brother, especially on the day of the great feast, where so much attention was being showered on him.

Sarah, however, could not endure his mocking. She had resented Ishmael and Hagar ever since Abraham had gone in to Hagar, even though it was at her own insistence that he do so. She could see that the rivalry between Ishmael and Isaac could only grow worse as time went on, since only Isaac was destined to share in the covenant promises and his father’s inheritance. No doubt this was a weakness in Sarah’s character. Though she had attained a strong faith in God, she was still human, and could simply not bring herself to love and care for Ishmael as she would her own son. Accordingly, she began to pressure Abraham to send them away. She called Hagar “this bondwoman” and Ishmael “the son of this bondwoman,” harsh words for her personal maid of over twenty years and for a loved son of her own husband. She insisted that Ishmael not be allowed to share in Abraham’s inheritance, all of it going only to “my son, Isaac.”

Abraham was a kind and generous man, as well as a loving father. He had even interceded on one very important occasion with God on behalf of Ishmael (Genesis 17:18). Sarah’s attitude was a source of grief to him, and it was creating a real problem in the home. He simply did not know how to work it out.

Again, however, God spoke to Abraham. Though Sarah’s attitude was wrong in one way, she really was acting in consistency with God’s own promises and plans. It really was not possible for the two families to exist together, and Abraham should follow Sarah’s request, even though it would go against his own personal feelings and would no doubt seem harsh to others around them. Sometimes it is necessary for God’s people, if they are truly going to be in the will of God and to enjoy the fulness of His blessing, to separate completely from those who might be a source of friction and carnality, even though such separation will be difficult and will give others (who don’t understand the spiritual issues involved) occasion to criticize and ridicule.

God, therefore, instructed Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away. Isaac was the son of promise, and He had never intended Ishmael to share in these promises in any way. Nevertheless, He assured Abraham that He would take care of Ishmael. He need not fear that Ishmael and Hagar would die if not cared for in Abraham’s home. To the contrary, Ishmael would live and also become a nation.

This conflict between Sarah and Hagar, between Isaac and Ishmael, has been appropriated in the New Testament as an illustration (Paul calls it an allegory) of the continuing conflict between law and grace, between the flesh and the spirit. In Galatians 4:22–31, the apostle Paul develops this contrast at considerable length. Those who are born after the flesh, he says, are the spiritual descendants of Hagar, great in number but nevertheless under the Law, and they seek salvation through the impossible task of making sinful flesh keep the Law of God. The Law speaks of the Mosaic covenant, a conditional covenant, given on Mount Sinai in Arabia (where Ishmael dwelt), and centered in the earthly Jerusalem.

Those who are to share in God’s heavenly promises, however, centered in the heavenly Jerusalem (now being prepared by Christ and destined some day to come down out of heaven to the new earth), are the children of faith, like Isaac. The Law can never give life; but God’s promise, received by faith, does give eternal life. These children of faith are not in bondage to the Mosaic covenant, whose terms are impossible to obey, but are under the Abrahamic covenant, given unconditionally and appropriated solely by faith in the promises. Though those after the flesh ridicule and persecute those after the spirit, it is the latter who will ultimately receive the blessing. They are free, not in bondage, as Sarah was a freewoman and Hagar a bondwoman. There must be a separation between those who are in bondage and those who are free in Christ.

The next morning after God spoke to him, therefore, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away, with bread and a bottle of water. In view of Abraham’s wealth, this might seem a niggardly arrangement, and we can only surmise that Abraham knew with certainty that God, as He had promised, would take care of them. He realized that, apart from God, no matter how much he gave them, it would not be enough; but with God, they could not lack. Quite possibly, he knew it would be for their own good if they would quickly learn they must depend on God, and no longer on Abraham, to supply their needs. However, the food and drink was no doubt enough to enable them to reach another settlement at least, had they not become lost en route.

Archaeology has revealed that there were numerous settlements at this time in the vicinity of what later was known as Beersheba, and it seems that Hagar and Ishmael set out in this direction. However, they lost their way. After wandering for some time, the water was exhausted, and soon Ishmael was at the point of death. Either Hagar was more accustomed to desert life than he or else, possibly, he had given most of the water to his mother. He finally fell down, unable to continue, and Hagar moved him under a shrub to give him a little shade from the heat. Unable to help him further, and not wanting to see him die, she went a “bowshot” away, sat down, and began to weep and pray. Ishmael apparently also was praying. God had allowed them to come to the point where they could no longer endure in their own strength and would have to depend on Him. And that, apparently, was His purpose all along—that they, like Abraham, might learn to trust Him.

God heard them, and the “angel of God” (the same divine personage, undoubtedly the preincarnate Christ, who had come to Hagar’s help once before in the desert, before Ishmael was born) called to her out of heaven. He assured Hagar He had heard their prayers and that, as He had promised long ago, He would take care of them and make Ishmael a great nation.

It is more than coincidental that, in Genesis 16:7, this divine being is called “the angel of Jehovah.” Here he is called “the angel of Elohim.” The reason for the change is that Jehovah is God’s covenant name, and Hagar was in the first instance still under the roof and protection of Abraham. Now, however, she has become a “stranger to the covenant of promise,” and therefore the name of God which is used is the name associated with creation and power, rather than redemption.

God is the God of all men, however, whether or not they are embraced in His particular covenant with Abraham, and He was graciously concerned with Ishmael and his mother. He provided water for them immediately, from a well which He had either just created or which, if it already was there, they had been unable before to see. Then, apparently rather than going on to an uncertain reception in an unknown town, they decided to remain where God had met with them and promised to care for them, there in the “wilderness of Paran,” a desert region in what is now the Sinai peninsula. Hagar, in fact, became so identified with Mount Sinai that Paul could say “this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia” (Galatians 4:25).

Ishmael provided for himself and his mother by becoming an archer. Eventually, he married a wife, obtained by his mother for him from her people back in the land of Egypt. According to Genesis 25:13–15, he finally had twelve sons, and thus the “great nation” God promised him had begun."

Morris, H. M. (1976). The Genesis record : A scientific and devotional commentary on the book of beginnings. Includes indexes. (368). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.