Biography
I was born in
Malta, 1966. My country is a densely populated island in the
center of the Mediterranean. Malta is mentioned in the book
of Acts (chapter 28) - the vessel taking the apostle Paul to
Rome was shipwrecked on our shores. I am a pediatrician by
profession and work as a community paediatrician. I'm
married to Joanne, and we have three children, John,
Elizabeth and Mari. I am a member of a local Reformed
Baptist church (link). If you ever visit Malta, whether for
historical and cultural interest or just to enjoy the sun
and the sea, you're welcome to visit our fellowship. I was
brought up in a devout Catholic family. I thank God for my
parents and my Catholic teachers who taught me the fear of
the Lord as best as they knew how. Early in my teenage
years, I was challenged with the Gospel message by my
brother Paul, who had recently converted to the Evangelical
faith. I turned to the Bible for answers. I wanted to know
the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. How can a sinner like me be
saved? After two years of studying the Scriptures, it
pleased the Lord to show me the glorious truth of the Gospel
and give me the gift of faith. From then on, I would not
depend on my church, good works, penance or Mary for
salvation. Now I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. He
alone died for my sins. He alone is my living Saviour who
secures the salvation of my soul. I left the Roman
Catholic church a few weeks later, because I felt uneasy in
a church that taught salvation by human merit. I still love
Roman Catholics dearly. My website is a token of my love for
Catholics. There would be some who simply dismiss it as
another 'anti-catholic' site. It is not! It is precisely
because I love Catholics that I speak out the truth to them,
even when it hurts. I do not seek to steal their faith, but
only to purify it from the human traditions which choke the
message of Christ. My sincere desire is that Catholics - and
everyone else, whatever their religion - would trust
completely in the Lord Jesus Christ alone and be obedient to
his Word. Some may feel that I misunderstand or
misrepresent the Catholic religion. My answer is that I know
Catholicism from personal experience; and for many years I
continue to study Catholic literature - the creeds,
councils, decrees, the catechism and the modern apologists.
I do my best to represent catholic doctrine accurately. My
criticism of some aspects of Roman Catholic religion is not
an end in itself. In everything, I want to present the
biblical truth and lead people to Christ. He saved me and
gave me new life. Praise his name! I pray that you too would
find salvation and rest at the foot of the cross and worship
Christ the Lord. |
Statement of Faith
I am
happy to set out my beliefs in a doctrinal statement,
affirming essential biblical truth and showing doctrinal
unity with millions of Christians worldwide and throughout
church history. The statement of faith is adopted from the
1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, the Apostles' and Nicene
Creeds. It emphasizes three vital aspects of Christian
doctrine that are generally unknown or even rejected by
Catholics, namely, the sufficiency of Scripture,
justification by faith alone, and the universality of the
church of Christ. The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven
and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who
was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was
buried. He descended into hell. The third day He arose again
from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right
hand of God the Father Almighty, whence He shall come to
judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life
everlasting. Amen. The Holy Scriptures
The Holy Scripture is the all-sufficient, certain and
infallible rule or standard of the knowledge, faith and
obedience that constitute salvation. The sum total of God's
revelation concerning all things essential to His own glory,
and to the salvation and faith and life of men, is either
explicitly set down or implicitly contained in the Holy
Scripture. Nothing, whether a supposed revelation of the
Spirit or man's traditions, is ever to be added to
Scripture. The authority of the Bible does not depend upon
the testimony of any man or church, but entirely upon God,
its author, who is truth itself. It is to be received
because it is the Word of God. The testimony of the church
of God may influence and persuade us to hold the Scripture
in the highest esteem. At the same time, however, we
recognize that our full persuasion and assurance of its
infallible truth and divine authority is the outcome of the
inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with
the Word in our hearts. All religious controversies are to
be settled by Scripture, and by Scripture alone. All decrees
of Councils, opinions of ancient writers, and doctrines of
men collectively or individually, are similarly to be
accepted or rejected according to the verdict of the
Scripture given to us by the Holy Spirit. In that verdict
faith finds its final rest. Jesus Christ
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from
Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one
Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For
us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the
power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin
Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under
Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the
third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of
the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living
and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
Justification
God freely justifies the persons whom He effectually calls.
He does this, not by infusing righteousness into them, but
by pardoning their sins and by accounting them, and
accepting them, as righteous. This He does for Christ's sake
alone, and not for anything wrought in them or done by them.
The righteousness which is imputed to them, that is,
reckoned to their account, is the righteousness of Christ's
obedience alone. Those thus justified receive and rest by
faith upon Christ's righteousness; and this faith they have,
not of themselves, but as the gift of God. The faith which
receives and rests on Christ and His righteousness is the
sole means of justification. Yet it is never alone in the
person justified, but is invariably accompanied by all other
saving graces. Nor is it a dead faith, for it works by love.
By His obedience and death Christ paid in full the debt of
all those who are justified. By the sacrifice of Himself in
His blood-shedding on Calvary, and His suffering on their
behalf of the penalty they had incurred, He fully and
absolutely satisfied all the claims which God's justice had
upon them. Their justification is altogether of free grace,
firstly because Christ was the free gift of the Father to
act on their behalf; secondly because Christ's obedience and
His satisfying the demands of the law was freely accepted on
their behalf; and thirdly because nothing in them merited
these mercies. Hence God's exact justice and His rich grace
are alike rendered glorious in the justification of sinners.
The Church
The catholic (universal) church consists of the whole number
of the elect who have been, who are being, or who yet shall
be gathered into one under Christ who is the church's head.
The church is the wife, the body, the fullness of Christ,
who 'fills all in all'. All persons throughout the world
who profess to believe the gospel and to render gospel
obedience unto God by Christ are, and may be called, saints,
provided that they do not render void their profession of
belief by holding fundamental errors or by living unholy
lives; and of such persons all local churches should be
composed. All believers are under obligation to join
themselves to local churches when and where they have
opportunity to do so. It follows that all who are admitted
to the privileges of church fellowship also become subject
to the discipline and government of the church in accordance
with the rule of Christ.
Thank you for visiting! Every blessing in Christ,
Joseph Mizzi |