The Roman Catholic Church presupposes itself to be Christian. Nothing could be further from the truth; yet, the Church of Rome has presented and promoted herself in that guise particularly since the close of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. A primary, nonnegotiable goal of Vatican Council II was to lay the groundwork and to establish the rules and parameters for a multifaceted, ecumenical outreach. Evangelical Christians, now called ‘separated brethren’, rather than ‘heretics’,[1] are the primary target of Roman Catholic ecumenism. The goal is to draw them into the Roman Catholic fold.[2] Thus, in the 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church, the word ‘Christian’ occurs more than 100 times in these official teachings. Buzzwords such as ‘dialogue’, ‘ecumenism’, and ‘social justice’ are being used under the guise of promoting true Christianity while advancing the Roman Catholic agenda.
Assurances to Evangelicals Negated
Evangelicals are assured that Roman Catholics who believe in the incarnation, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are true Christians, even though they misunderstand some of the ‘technicalities’ regarding salvation. Such reasoning is negated by the fact that Roman Catholicism’s teachings differ from biblical faith – not only on minor details, but more importantly on what is essential for one’s salvation.
The most dangerous aspect of Roman Catholic doctrine is that it appears to be based on the great, indispensable truths of God’s revelation.[3] In reality, however, the telling fact is that Rome’s doctrine denies essential, biblical doctrines by that which it adds on to biblical truths. For example, while Roman Catholic doctrine affirms the worship of the three distinct Persons of the Trinity, it adds divine adoration for the Virgin Mary by addressing her in prayer as ‘the All Holy One’. The exact words of the official statement are, ‘By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the “Mother of Mercy”, the All Holy One.’[4] The Roman Catholic Church also demands that worship, which according to Scripture is due exclusively to the one true God in three Persons, is also to be given to the ‘Sacrament’ or ‘Eucharist’, the Communion element. Thus, the Church of Rome officially declares,
‘There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind “that all the faithful ought to show to this most holy sacrament the worship which is due to the true God, as has always been the custom of the Catholic Church. Nor is it to be adored any the less because it was instituted by Christ to be eaten.”’[5]
‘The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. “Sacramental grace” is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament.’[7]
The Basis of Truth
The first topic to address is, ‘What is the basis of truth?’ In other words, what is the norm by which we can know truth? The absolute standard set by the Lord Jesus Christ rests in the fact that ‘the scripture cannot be broken’.[8] He who identified Himself to His disciples, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’,[9] also declared the truth of God’s Word by praying for them, ‘Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.’[10] From these Scriptures we understand that God’s Word not only contains the truth, but is truth itself. The Holy Scripture is the source of the believer’s standard of truth. Since Scripture alone is inspired, it alone is the ultimate authority, and it alone is the final judge of all human tradition and reasoning. Accordingly, the commandment of the Lord states, ‘Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.’[11] Thus, in His written Word, the absolute authority of the Lord God is totally sufficient for all the believer’s needs. The Apostle Paul confirmed this when he wrote, ‘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.’[12] The Lord Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they placed their human tradition on the same level as the written Word of God. Thus, the Pharisees corrupted the people’s understanding by confusing them in regards to God’s Word being the very basis of truth. Jesus declared to them, ‘[You are] making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered.’[13]
In spite of this unmistakably clear standard of truth, the Roman Catholic Church declares her own standard of truth. She begins her reasoning with the following words,
‘Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other ... And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God, which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit.’[14]
Having equated her ‘Sacred Tradition’ with Sacred Scripture, and having stated that her tradition transmits the Word of God in its entirety, the Roman Catholic Church reaches its conclusion with the following words,
‘As a result the [Roman Catholic] Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.’[18]
‘The Supreme Pontiff, in virtue of his office, possesses infallible teaching authority when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful ... he proclaims with a definitive act that a doctrine of faith or morals is to be held as such.’[19]
Salvation by Grace Alone Denied by Roman Catholic Sacramental System
It must be clearly understood that salvation is by God’s grace alone. Unredeemed sinners, all of whom are ‘dead in trespasses and sins’,21 can only be saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, because salvation is ‘the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast’.[22] It is God who graciously saves by His unmerited free gift. In total contrast to this, salvation in the Roman Catholic Church is said to come about by ‘grace’ that is merely a ‘help’ with the intention that people will respond. Thus, the Church of Rome officially states,
‘Grace is the help God gives us to respond to our vocation of becoming his adopted sons. It introduces us into the intimacy of the Trinitarian life.’[23]
The Roman Catholic concept of ‘grace’ denies God’s sovereign grace. Therefore, the Papacy needed to construct a mechanism by which Roman Catholics can profess that they have received grace. The primary tools of their invention are called the ‘Sacraments’. Accordingly, the Church of Rome states,
‘The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. “Sacramental grace” is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament.’[25]
We absolutely praise the Lord God that from Scripture we can be sure that His grace is totally His free gift, ‘Wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.’[27] In salvation, we are accepted not in any institution, or by partaking of any sacrament, but in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
Papal Substitute for Christ Alone as Object of Faith
The object of faith is clearly seen in Scripture as the person of Christ Jesus Himself. Consequently, it is stated, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.’[28] This faith is God-given faith, as declared by the Apostle Peter, ‘Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.’[29] This God-given faith comes by hearing the Word of God as is stated, ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’[30] The topic of faith is so clear in Scripture that one would doubt that it could be twisted by any church. Nonetheless, the Roman Catholic Church does manage to completely change the concept of faith. Regarding faith, she doesn’t deal directly with the individual, but focuses attention on herself, “the Church”, as the object of faith and commitment, and as the one that first believes. Thus she teaches, ‘It is the Church that believes first, and so bears, nourishes and sustains my faith.’[31] Then, very audaciously and misleadingly, she declares, ‘Salvation comes from God alone; but because we receive the life of faith through the Church, she is our mother.’[32] In the Roman Catholic Church the result is that a person believes in “Mother Church” and not on the Lord Jesus Christ. Her official words stating this are these,
‘“Believing” is an ecclesial act. The Church’s faith precedes, engenders, supports and nourishes our faith. The Church is the mother of all believers. “No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother.”’[33]
‘If anyone says that by the sacraments of the New Law grace is not conferred ex opere operato [from the work worked], but that faith alone in the divine promise is sufficient to obtain grace, let him be anathema [cursed].’[34]
The uniqueness of Christ’s sacrifice is the fact that it was one offering – once made. The concept ‘once’ is deemed so important that it is asserted seven times by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. The perfection of Christ’s sacrifice is contrasted with the repeated daily sacrifices of the Old Testament. The truth of the excellence of Christ’s sacrifice is highlighted by the word ‘once’. For example, the Apostle Paul teaches, ‘For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.’[35] The Apostle Peter likewise declares, ‘For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.’[36] The same truth is taught five times in the book of Hebrews with the conclusion, ‘So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.’[37] The majestic truth is found in the Lord’s declaration from the cross, ‘It is finished.’[38]
In total contrast, the Roman Catholic Church declares that Christ’s sacrifice, which was offered on the cross, is contained and offered in her Mass. Her official words, which are in defiance of Scripture, are the following,
‘In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner.’[39]
‘The Church, which is the Body of Christ, participates in the offering of her Head. With him, she herself is offered whole and entire.’[41]
The Nature of God as the Only All Holy One
The Bible clearly teaches that God alone is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His Being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Most important is the fact that He is the All Holy One. His holiness is the divine attribute that covers all attributes so that His righteousness is holy, His truth is holy, and His justice is holy. He is each of His attributes, and the overall attribute of holiness is that which separates Him from all other beings. His holiness is distinctive and matchless. This is the reason why we need to be saved by Him, the All Holy God. Thus, we read in Scripture, ‘There is none holy as the Lord.’[45] Again, the Word of the Lord proclaims, ‘Who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorify Thy name for thou only art holy and all nations shall come and worship before thee.’[46] The Lord God is utterly holy in the words of Scripture, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.’[47]
In addition to declaring the holiness of God, the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church declares Mary to be ‘the All Holy One’. The capital letters are there in print, and there is no disclaimer or footnote to explain differently what is said. The following is stated,
‘By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the “Mother of Mercy”, the All Holy One.’[48]
‘From the Church he [the Roman Catholic] learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source in the all-holy Virgin Mary.’[49]
Idolatry
The Scriptures are absolutely clear in declaring that we are neither to make a graven image nor show any veneration to such images, ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything ... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.’[51] Then Scripture explains how this is to be understood, ‘And he [God] declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even Ten Commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake ... Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure.’[52] Hence, there is to be no similitude (or likeness) of God, man, or any other thing made by mankind to bow before, serve, or worship. That which is forbidden in Scripture is the making of any likeness of Father, Son, Holy Spirit, or any other thing to be worshiped. The Roman Catholic Church, however, rationalizes that one can indeed practice idolatry. Its Catechism states,
‘The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, “the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype,” and “whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it.”’[53]
The second reason given by Papal Rome to justify the practice of idolatry, cites the ruling of an 8th century council, which states the following,
‘Basing itself on the mystery of the incarnate Word, the seventh ecumenical council at Nicaea (787) justified against the iconoclasts the veneration of icons – of Christ, but also of the Mother of God, the angels, and all the saints. By becoming incarnate, the Son of God introduced a new “economy” of images”.’[55]
‘Following the divinely inspired teaching of our holy Fathers and the tradition of the Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in her) we rightly define with full certainty and correctness that, like the figure of the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of our Lord and God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother of God, and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, in houses and on streets.’[56]
The Holy Spirit is also forthrightly blasphemed in the claim that He established tradition to justify the use of images. Rather, the Bible makes abundantly clear that God hates idolatry and forbids a representation in art of what is divine.[57] Making images to represent God corrupts those who use them.[58] Images teach lies about God.[59] God cannot be represented in art and all who practice such idolatry are commanded to repent (Acts 17:29-30).[60] The Holy Spirit issues His warning in the New Testament as He did in the Old, ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols.’[61] Among the evil fruits of bringing idolatry into worship, which God hates, are the many pagan superstitions and traditions of Roman Catholicism. But the worst fruit of the idolatry that is rife in Roman Catholic worship, under the guise of being Christian, is its false gospel.
The topic of idolatry is of utmost importance as many present-day, Bible-believing churches attempt to justify their pictures and videos of Christ. They argue that both we, and those who cannot read, can come to a fuller understanding of the person of Christ from these images. Yet, the Bible clearly states that such images lie. Jesus Christ is the only one with two distinct natures – both divine and human – in one body. Therefore, to attempt to make any kind of an image of Jesus Christ, graven, two dimensional, or moving, still falls under the Second Commandment. No image can portray Christ’s divinity, for He ‘is the brightness of his [God’s] glory and the express image of his person’,[62] ‘in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.’[63]
If we are to be biblical, then we must avoid or reject any pictorial representation or video showing the Persons of the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. The punishment for idolatry is severe, as both Old and New Testament make clear.[64] For any temptation to visualize Christ, the Father, or the Holy Spirit, there must be repentance; for God is holy, and the truth of the Bible is sufficient to provide for all our knowledge of things divine.
The Idolatry of the Mass
At the heart of Roman Catholicism is the Mass or Eucharist, described by the Second Vatican Council as ‘the fount and apex of the whole Christian life’. Papal Rome claims that the Mass is a sacrifice, and that the sacrifice of Calvary and the Mass are the same, ‘one single sacrifice.’ Thus she teaches,
‘The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: “The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different.” “In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner.”’[65]
We list several grievous departures of ‘the Eucharistic sacrifice’ from the divine perfection of the atonement as revealed in Scripture: Firstly, to provide a re-enactment of the one offering, once offered, is to set out to undermine the will and purpose of God. Secondly, for anyone to deem himself fit to offer the Lord Jesus Christ in His perfect sacrifice is simply arrogance of the highest order. Christ Jesus alone was qualified to offer Himself. He alone had the unique qualifications as the Holy Spirit teaches, ‘For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.’[67] Thirdly, the Roman Catholic Church’s claim is that Christ ‘is offered in an unbloody manner’. However, Scripture equates offering and suffering. In a propitiatory sacrifice, to offer and to suffer are the same thing. This truth is so important that it is given as an absolute principle, ‘Without shedding of blood is no remission.’[68] Hence, in this context, to propose a bloodless sacrifice is a contradiction in terms. A bloodless sacrifice is a senseless inconsistency that can have no purpose other than to deceive. Fourthly, the Lord’s Supper is not a sacrifice; it is a memorial. The bread and wine are tokens symbolizing the body and blood of the once and for all sacrifice of Calvary. We are to eat and drink them with thanksgiving and praise to remember Him and His atonement until He returns.
Today there are in the Roman Catholic Church convents of nuns devoted to worshipping the Eucharist on a rotational system day and night. There are devout Roman Catholics who spend hours kneeling before the ‘blessed sacrament’ worshipping and praying to it and obtaining solace, they say, from being in the ‘real presence’ of Christ Jesus. The horrifying fact is that such people are literally practising gross idolatry while professing that they are worshipping Christ in a religious and holy way. Worship of the sacrament brings about the wrath of God as promised in His Word. Idolatry is spiritual adultery. The Lord God looks upon those who practice idolatry as haters of Him, though they pretend to love Him. The Scripture plainly states that He will visit the iniquity ‘of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments’.[69] In the sixteenth century, during the reign of Queen Mary I, or ‘Bloody Mary’, many of the martyrs in England who died by fire chose to do so because of just four words of Scripture, ‘in remembrance of me.’[70] Had they been willing to set aside these words, or at least given them a ‘liberal interpretation’, they could have saved themselves. Because they trusted Christ and upheld His Word, they refused to do so. For them, the Word of God was truth and life. In affirming these words, the martyrs were denying the Roman Catholic doctrine that the communion elements of bread and wine contain the actual physical body and blood of Christ, together with His soul and divinity.[71]
Conclusion
As we have sought to demonstrate, the Roman Catholic Church most certainly is not Christian. Rather, it is an apostate church. The Bible, God’s written Word, is the inerrant and infallible authority against the apostasy of the Church of Rome and against her false gospel. The Scriptures make clear that by nature we are all born ‘dead in trespasses and sins’;[72] and in practice, we rebel against the All Holy God. Therefore, we justly fall under the curse of the Law. Yet, the love of the heavenly Father, through the gospel of grace, rescues His own from His fiery wrath. By means of the conviction of sin, placed on the human heart by the Holy Spirit, God by His grace alone turns us to Himself in faith alone for the salvation that He alone gives. This salvation is based on Christ’s death and resurrection for His own. As a result, we believe on Jesus Christ the Lord alone, ‘For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.’[73] Thus, by the abundant grace given by Jesus Christ, we are not only redeemed from the empire of death, but we can live and reign with Him as we are sanctified daily through His Word by the Holy Spirit and by constant fellowship with Him. With Him also, we shall forever live and reign, world without end. Through Christ Jesus, grace reigns with sovereign freedom, power, and bounty! ‘Blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.’[74]
Notes
- The anathemas or curses against Evangelicals as heretics still remain in Roman Catholic law because the Council of Trent (1545-1563) has never been revoked. Since the demise of the Holy Roman Empire, the Papacy has had no military and civil power by which to enforce these anathemas as it had during the 605 years of the Inquisition. Thus the Papacy has recently adopted ‘ecumenism’, ‘dialogue,’ and promoting ‘social justice’ as ways and means of drawing Evangelical Christians into its fold.
- Vatican Council II Documents, ‘Reflections and Suggestions Concerning Ecumenical Dialogue’, Volume I, Section II. This crucial Vatican document states, ‘... ecumenical dialogue is not limited to an academic or purely conceptual level, but striving for a more complete communion between the Christian communities ... it serves to transform modes of thought and behaviour and the daily life of those communities [non- Roman Catholic churches]. In this way, it aims at preparing the way for their unity of faith in the bosom of a Church one and visible: thus “little by little”, as the obstacles to perfect ecclesial communion are overcome, all Christians will be gathered, in a common celebration of the Eucharist, into that unity of the one and only Church which Christ bestowed on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, dwells in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose …’
- For example she holds to the existence of a self-existent and eternal God, the Creator of the universe, of man, and of all things. She teaches the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. She teaches Adam’s sin resulting in the shared guilt and consequences of his sin. She accepts the doctrine of man’s redemption by Jesus Christ, teaching that He became incarnate and endured the death of the cross; that He arose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and will return again.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, Liguori Publications, 1994, Paragraph 2677 (hereafter referred to as Catechism)
- Vatican Council II Documents, ‘Eucharisticum Mysterium’, Volume I, Paragraph 3
- Ephesians 2:8,9
- Catechism, Paragraph 1129
- John 10:35
- John 14:6
- John 17:17
- Proverbs 30:6
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17
- Mark 7:13
- Catechism, Paragraphs 80,81
- 2 Peter 1:20,21
- John 16:13, ‘Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.’
- John 16:15
- Catechism, Paragraph 82
- Catechism, Paragraph 891
- For example, Pope Honorius I (625-38) was posthumously condemned as a heretic and excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681). He was also condemned as a heretic by Pope Leo II, as well as by every other pope until the eleventh century. It was not until 1870 at Vatican Council I that the Roman Catholic Church for the first time declared that the Pope is infallible.
- Ephesians 2:1, ‘And you ... who were dead in trespasses and sins.’
- Ephesians 2:9
- Catechism, Paragraph 2021
- Romans 11:6
- Catechism, Paragraph 1129
- Vatican Council II Documents, No. 64, ‘Gaudium et Spes’, 1965, Volume I, Section 14
- Ephesians 1:6
- Acts 16:31
- 2 Peter 1:1
- Romans 10:17
- Catechism Paragraph 168
- Catechism Paragraph 169
- Catechism, Paragraph 181
- The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, 7th Session, March, 1547 (Rockford, IL: Tan Publishers Inc., 1978). This curse against those who believe that Christ alone is the object of their saving faith has never been lifted. For centuries, the horrendous tortures of the Papacy’s Inquisition were used throughout Europe and Britain to wipe out all believers whose faith was in Christ alone. By the end of the eighteenth century, the Papacy no longer had the military and civil power to enforce her sinister doctrine. But by the mid-twentieth century, the Papacy’s new tools had been formed against those whose faith is in Christ alone: Ecumenism, dialogue, and “social justice” were formally unveiled at Vatican Council II. The method has changed; but the goal has not.
- Romans 6:10
- 2 Peter 3:18
- Hebrews 9:28
- John 19:30
- Catechism, Paragraph 1367
- Hebrews 9:22
- Catechism, Paragraph 1368
- Hebrews 1:3
- Romans 3:28
- Titus 3:5
- 1 Samuel 2:2
- Revelation 15:4
- Isaiah 6:3
- Catechism, Paragraph 2677
- Catechism, Paragraph 2030
- Isaiah 42:8
- Exodus 20:4,5
- Deuteronomy 4:13,15,16
- Catechism, Paragraph 2132
- Exodus 32:4-9
- Catechism, Paragraph 2131
- Catechism, Paragraph 1161
- Exodus 20:4-6
- Deuteronomy 4:13,15,16
- Habakkuk 2:18-20
- Acts 17:29,30
- 1 John 5:21
- Hebrews 1:3
- Colossians 2:9
- Exodus 20:4-6; Deuteronomy 4:13,15,16; Habakkuk 2:18-20; Acts 17:29,30. Thus, the Holy Spirit commands in both Old and New Testaments, ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols’ (1 John 5:21).
- Catechism, Paragraph 1367
- Hebrews 9:25,26
- Hebrews 7:26
- Hebrews 9:22
- Exodus 20:5,6
- Luke 22:19
- This is the dogma in the Roman Catholic Church that is called “transubstantiation”. Thus, the official teaching in the Catechism Paragraph 1376 states, ‘The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.’
- 72 Ephesians 2:1
- Ephesians 2:8,9
- Psalm 72:19
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