What would you do if you discovered many of the teachings of
Roman Catholicism are opposed to the Bible?
Would you choose to believe the Word of God or the words of
men? It is impossible to believe both. (Paragraph numbers in parenthesis are from
the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994).
Authority
The Bible teaches
Scripture has authority over the church. All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim.
3:16).
Catholicism teaches
the Church has authority over Scriptures. The manner of interpreting Scripture
is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church ...to the Pope and to the
bishops (100,119).
Justification
The Bible teaches
man is justified once by faith and justification provides a permanent right
standing before God and results in glorification (Romans 8:30). To
the man who does not work, but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith
is credited as righteousness (Romans 4:5).
Catholicism teaches
man is justified repeatedly by sacraments and works because he loses the grace
of justification each time a mortal sin is committed.
The sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert
and to recover the grace of justification (1446).
Regeneration
The Bible teaches
man is regenerated by the Holy Spirit. For we were all baptized by one Spirit
into one body (1 Cor. 12:13). From the
beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit
and through belief in the truth (2 Thes.
2 :13, Titus 3:5).
Catholicism teaches
water baptism is the sacrament of regeneration (1213). The water of Baptism
truly signifies our birth into the divine life (694).
Salvation
The Bible teaches
man is saved by God's unmerited grace. For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast
(Eph. 2:8-9).
Catholicism teaches
man is saved by meriting the graces needed for salvation. We can merit for
ourselves and for others the graces needed for the attainment of eternal life
(2010).
The Bible teaches
man is saved for good works. For we are
God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared
in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10).
Catholicism teaches
man is saved by good works. In this way they attain their own salvation and
cooperate in saving their brothers (1477).
The Bible teaches
man is saved for all eternity. And you
also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.
(Eph. 1:13-14).
Catholicism teaches
man is saved only until the next mortal sin is committed. Those who die in a
state of mortal sin descend into hell (1035).
The Bible teaches
salvation is offered to those outside the church. "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors as though God were making
His appeal through us, be reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20).
Catholicism teaches salvation is
offered through the Church. Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the
Church is necessary for salvation. Anyone refusing to enter it or remain in it
cannot be saved (846).
The Bible teaches that all sins are purified by the blood
of Jesus (1 John 1:7).
Catholicism teaches some sins are purified by the fires of
Purgatory. They undergo purification in Purgatory, so as to achieve the
holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven (1030-31).
Saints and Priests
The Bible teaches
man becomes a saint when the Spirit baptizes him into the body of Christ. (Eph. 4:11-12).
Catholicism teaches
man becomes a saint only if the Pope canonizes him. This occurs when he
solemnly proclaims that they practiced a heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to
God's grace (828).
The Bible teaches
every Christian is a priest and a member of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9).
Catholicism teaches
every man needs a priest for salvation. Catholic priests guarantee that Christ
is acting in the sacraments which are necessary for salvation (1120-29).
The
Lord’s Supper
The Bible teaches
the Lord 's Supper is a memorial. "Do
this in remembrance of me" (1 Cor. 11:24-25).
Catholicism teaches the
Lord's Supper is a sacrifice. The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the
Eucharist are one single sacrifice...the same Christ who offered Himself once
in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and offered in an unbloody
manner. (1367)
The Bible teaches
that believers receive Jesus once, spiritually, in the heart. God... put his Spirit in our hearts as a
guarantee (2 Cor. 1:22).
Catholicism teaches
Catholics receive Jesus physically, frequently, in the stomach. The body, blood
...soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ...is truly, really and substantially
contained in the Eucharist (1374-78).
Condemnation
The Bible condemns anyone who perverts the Gospel including
the Roman Catholic clergy. If we or an
angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you,
let him be eternally condemned! (Gal. 1:6-9).
Catholicism condemns
with over 100 anathemas those who believe the Bible instead of the Canons of
the Council of Trent. These condemnations are still in effect today.
These thirteen teachings of Roman Catholicism demonstrate how
the traditions of men can nullify and oppose the Word of God (Mark 7:7-13).
True saving faith is granted by God as people hear and believe His Word (Rom.
10:17). Eternal life can be received only as a gift of God's grace, through faith
in Jesus Christ. Accordingly, we must come to the cross of Christ with empty
hands of faith, leaving everything behind, except our sins (2 Cor. 5:21).
Proclaiming
the Gospel
Evangelist
Mike Gendron
PO Box
940871
Plano, TX
75094
Phone:
972-495-0485
Bible
quotes: The New American Bible for Catholics.
Catechism
references: Catechism of the Catholic Church, @ 1994 by the United States
Catholic Conference.
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