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Catholic Belief Information
Scripture Versus Tradition
The Roman Catholic Church has always been identified with Christianity because it upholds four fundamentals of the Christian faith:
| The deity of Christ |
| The Triune God |
| The virgin birth, and |
| The bodily resurrection and return of Christ to the earth. |
However, Catholic teaching opposes the doctrine that is most essential to the Christian faith – the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
The Vatican not only denies this doctrine, but also condemns anyone who believes it. Other Catholic doctrines deny that Christ’s work of redemption is finished and that His atonement is sufficient. For this reason ROMAN CATHOLICISM MUST IDENTIFIED AS AN APOSTATE CHURCH AND CATHOLICS NEED TO BE EVANGELIZED.
In spite of this there are some Catholics who do not adhere to all the teachings of their church and have had a genuine born-again experience. Still, with over one billion Catholics in the world and a growing ecumenical movement to unite all religions under the power and influence of the pope, the truth about Roman Catholicism must be told.
| The Gospel of Grace Reveals: | The Gospel of Roman Catholicism Reveals: |
| Jesus Christ, His life, death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) | A religious system of sacraments, indulgences, purgatory, and prayers for the dead (1032;1471-79, 1498)* |
| Salvation is…. Only through Christ (Acts 4:12) A gift of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8,9) Attained by Christ (Romans 5:9) At the moment a sinner believes the gospel (Ephesians 1:13,14) Secured by God (John 10:27) | Salvation is… Through the Roman Catholic Church (846) Merited by doing good works (1815,1821,2010,2027) By faith plus the law, sacraments, and good works (1129,1131) Attained by man (2010,2027) A process from baptism through purgatory (161-2,1254-55) Never assured in this life (1036,2005) |
| Sins are expiated by Christ’s blood (Romans 3:25) | Sins are expiated by suffering in purgatory (1030-31) |
| Salvation glorifies God alone (Ephesians 1) | Mary and all the saints are also glorified (1476-77) |
| The work of salvation is finished (John 19:30) | This work continues with daily sacrifices (611,1405) |
| the Holy Bible scriptures | * Catechism of the Catholic Church, San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1994. |
A Word About the Motivation of Catholics
It is important to realize that most of the clergy and lay people that teach Roman Catholic doctrine are not deceiving people with malicious intent. They are simply passing on what has been passed on to them, sincerely believing that they have the truth. Catholics must believe all dogmas of their church or be anathema (eternally cursed).
Prayer, love, compassion, and understanding are needed along with the power of the Word of God to penetrate their hearts. Patience is needed to untangle Roman Catholics from the dogmatic web in which they are held captive.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Colossians 2:8
When witnessing to Roman Catholics, remember to:
- Pray before, during, and after (Colossians 4:2-6).
- Establish agreement on truth (John 14:6; 17:3.17).
- Stay focused on the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
- Establish the relationship between the Scripture and tradition (Mark 7:7-13, Psalm 119, 2 Timothy 3:15,16).
- Establish the relationship between the teachings of men and the Word of God (Acts17:11, 1 John 2:27).
- Persuade them to repent of their dead works and turn to Christ alone in faith alone (Hebrews 6:1).
- Make disciples of them by inviting them to a Scripture study (Matthew 28:18-20).
Most of the information above was taken from a tract by, Mike Grendon, a former devout Roman Catholic for 37 years and a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary.
Our Ministry View:
IS ROMAN CATHOLICISM CHRISTIANITY?
TR 13 – THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
BS 34 – REVELATION OF THE ACT OF WORSHIP AND INITIATION (FALSE COMMUNION) OF THE “ONE – WORLD RELIGION” SPIRIT OF JEZEBEL AND BLOOD OF THE BEAST
We hope this has informed you of some very important issues concerning the differences between the Roman Catholic Church and true Christianity.