As I’ve preached and ministered in different areas, I’ve had the opportunity to have some great interactions with Roman Catholics. During several of these conversations, I noticed the same pressing issue resurface: It may be articulated differently, but they usually say something about having conflicting thoughts or confusion about their Catholic faith. They often have the same question many others do: How can I be saved for eternity? I want to move past the manmade confusion and contradictions about salvation and point you to the hope and eternal security found in the Jesus of the Bible.
For this article, when I use the word Catholic, I’m referring to Roman Catholics and the Roman Catholic Church. I have Catholic friends who are some of the kindest people I know. I have family members who are former Catholics. Believe it or not, I occasionally enjoy listening to Catholic radio, not as a fault finder, heresy hunter, or for entertainment, but as a born-again Christian who is genuinely interested in what Catholics believe and why. If I named some well-known personalities from Catholic radio I listen to, you’d easily recognize them. The point is that I’m not against Catholic people or anti-Catholic, but I am certainly opposed to the false teachings and spiritual deception of the Roman Catholic Church.
I’ve had plenty of opportunities for spirited debate and agreeing to disagree with Catholics. The problem is that well-intentioned people want to focus on what is generally framed as evangelical, fundamentalist, or Protestant objections. Some people become pseudo-Catholic apologists trying to prove they are correct, just as some Protestants do. They focus on arguments about Mary, purgatory, Saints, councils, Papal authority, and traditions. That’s not to imply that differing views on these subjects aren’t vitally important because they certainly are. But they all generally point to the spiritual elephant in the room of every Catholic and Protestant; It’s the subject of salvation and how to obtain it.
There are numerous differences between what the Roman Catholic Church teaches and what the Bible says about salvation. It becomes patently one-sided when proof texts are used, Bible verses are taught out of context, and manmade traditions usurp the simple gospel. On one side of the scale is God’s unchanging word, the Bible. On the opposite side of the scale are the Bible, the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, and the living magisterium, the Pope, in communion with the Bishops, along with the Eucharistic Jesus, who is a different one that the Bible warns about Matthew 24:26.
The space in this article doesn’t allow me to document the numerous differences between what Catholic tradition teaches about salvation and what the Bible clearly states. I will cover a few of the glaring unbiblical differences between the works-based salvation through observing the sacraments of baptism, penance, and the Eucharist instead of the free gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.
For this article, when I use the word Catholic, I’m referring to Roman Catholics and the Roman Catholic Church. I have Catholic friends who are some of the kindest people I know. I have family members who are former Catholics. Believe it or not, I occasionally enjoy listening to Catholic radio, not as a fault finder, heresy hunter, or for entertainment, but as a born-again Christian who is genuinely interested in what Catholics believe and why. If I named some well-known personalities from Catholic radio I listen to, you’d easily recognize them. The point is that I’m not against Catholic people or anti-Catholic, but I am certainly opposed to the false teachings and spiritual deception of the Roman Catholic Church.
I’ve had plenty of opportunities for spirited debate and agreeing to disagree with Catholics. The problem is that well-intentioned people want to focus on what is generally framed as evangelical, fundamentalist, or Protestant objections. Some people become pseudo-Catholic apologists trying to prove they are correct, just as some Protestants do. They focus on arguments about Mary, purgatory, Saints, councils, Papal authority, and traditions. That’s not to imply that differing views on these subjects aren’t vitally important because they certainly are. But they all generally point to the spiritual elephant in the room of every Catholic and Protestant; It’s the subject of salvation and how to obtain it.
There are numerous differences between what the Roman Catholic Church teaches and what the Bible says about salvation. It becomes patently one-sided when proof texts are used, Bible verses are taught out of context, and manmade traditions usurp the simple gospel. On one side of the scale is God’s unchanging word, the Bible. On the opposite side of the scale are the Bible, the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, and the living magisterium, the Pope, in communion with the Bishops, along with the Eucharistic Jesus, who is a different one that the Bible warns about Matthew 24:26.
The space in this article doesn’t allow me to document the numerous differences between what Catholic tradition teaches about salvation and what the Bible clearly states. I will cover a few of the glaring unbiblical differences between the works-based salvation through observing the sacraments of baptism, penance, and the Eucharist instead of the free gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.
