Marcus welcomes his RCIA sponsor and good friend Rev. Paul Key, former Presbyterian pastor with an Evangelical background. Fr. Paul focuses on Matthew 7:21-29, in which Jesus tells the parable of the man who built his house on sand. What does it mean to call Jesus “Lord,” but have Him not know you? Marcus and Fr. Paul discuss the way in which this verse worried them as former Protestant pastors. They delve into sola Scriptura, sola fide, and sola gratia, and the Catholic understanding of the obedience of faith.
Scripture verse: Matthew 7:21-29, James 2:14-26
Resources mentioned:
- Fr. Paul Key’s conversion story
- Biblical Answers to Difficult Questions by Fr. Paul Key
- Ninety-Five Reasons for Becoming or Remaining Catholic by Fr. Paul Key
- Fr. Paul Key’s The Journey Home episode
- Fr. Paul Key’s The Journey Home episode (Open Line: Q&A with the audience)
- Fr. Paul Key’s Deep in Scripture episode
Fr. Paul Key
Fr. Key was a Presbyterian Minister for nineteen years before converting to the Catholic Church in 1992. Fr. Key’s sense of religious vocation stems from a particular call that he experienced soon after returning from his work in Venezuela in 1970. It was at this time that he committed himself to minister to the spiritual aspect of the human person. This was the foundation for both his decision to pursue the Presbyterian ministry and now to seek priestly ordination in the Catholic Church. After having served as a Presbyterian lay missionary in Caracas, Venezuela, for three years, and as a Presbyterian minister for eighteen years, the evidence for the biblical, historical, and moral superiority of the Roman Catholic Church led to this decision.
During his years of ministry, he had become increasingly concerned about the biblical positions of the various Protestant churches. He found claims for Protestant distinctions that seemed to contradict Sacred Scripture, which is supposed to be the unique and authoritative rule in Protestant churches. Fr. Key was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1992. He then attended The Institute of Theological Studies in Brussels, Belgium (Jesuit, Pontifical) from which he received the Licentiate in Sacred Theology with Great Honors.
Following this he served the Diocese of Lubbock as Director of Evangelization for four years. He is married to Mrs. Patricia Ann Key, a life-long Catholic from the Dallas area. They have been married 34 years and have two sons and a foster daughter, all of whom are now Catholics. Both Pat and Paul offer seminars on many topics of Catholic morals and belief. Both have been teachers in Catholic schools. He has also written two books on Catholicism, Biblical Answers to Difficult Questions and Ninety-Five Reasons for Becoming or Remaining Catholic.
