Catholicism Contrasted With The Bible
Introduction:
Many Catholics don’t realize how different their church teachings are compared to the teachings found in the New Testament. This article identifies some of those differences. They are very significant differences that reveal how Catholicism differs from true biblical Christianity.
Kinds of Christians according to the Bible:
– elders/bishops (1 Timothy 3:2)
– deacons (1 Timothy 3:8)
– ordinary brothers & sisters in Christ (referred to as saints – Romans 12:13, Romans 15:26, Romans 16:15, etc.)
Kinds of Catholics:
– popes
– cardinals
– archbishops
– bishops
– priests
– monks
– nuns
– deacons
– eucharistic ministers
– altar boys
– Jesuits
– Blue Army nuns
– Sisters of Charity
– Carmelites
– Knights of Columbus
– dead Catholic-designated saints
– laity
Ordinances mentioned in the New Testament:
– Baptism (for those who are already saved, symbolic of the cleansing of sin the Holy Spirit does when God saves a person – Eph 5:26 & Ezek 36:25-27)
– Communion (for true saved Christians only, symbolic only, NOT a sacrifice – Cor 11:25, Heb 10:10-12)
Ordinances taught by the Catholic Church:
– Baptism (primarily for infants, the ordinance itself is supposed to contribute to one’s salvation)
– The Mass (the communion wafer supposedly literally turns into Jesus’ body and blood)
– Confirmation (for virtually all Catholic children at about age 12 or 13)
– Last Rites, a.k.a. Extreme Unction (some things a priest does before you die that supposedly gets you ready for heaven)
The Bible’s 10 commandments:
(according to Exodus 20:3-17)
1. thou shalt have no other gods before me 2. thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image nor bow down to them
3. thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
4. keep the sabbath day holy
5. honor thy father and mother
6. thou shalt not kill
7. thou shalt not commit adultery
8. thou shalt not steal
9. thou shalt not bear false witness
10. thou shalt not covet (Rome split this commandment into 2 after they threw out the 2nd commandment so they could get their followers to buy their statues)
Catholicism’s 10 commandments:
(according to the Catholic Catechism)
1. thou shalt have no other gods before me
2. thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
3. keep the sabbath day holy
4. honor thy father and mother
5. thou shalt not kill
6. thou shalt not commit adultery
7. thou shalt not steal
8. thou shalt not bear false witness
9. thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife
10. thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods
The head of the true Christian Church in heaven AND on earth according to the Bible:
– Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:18)
The head of the Roman Church on earth according to them:
– The pope
Final authority for doctrine and practice for a Christian according to the Bible:
– The Bible alone (Psalms 138:2, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20)
Final authority for doctrine and practice for a Catholic according to the Vatican:
– Council of Trent
– Vatican I & II Councils and other councils
– Decrees of Popes
– The Baltimore Catechism, The Catechism Of The Catholic Church – 1994, and other Catechisms
Classes of sins according to the Bible:
God has no classifications. He hates all sins – no matter how trivial men may think them to be (Psalms 119:104). And yet, through Christ, God has forgiven all kinds of sins of those He came to save.
Classes of sins according to the Catholic Church:
– mortal: you go to hell if you commit one of these and die without feeling truly sorry about it.
– venial: not considered a serious sin
(The Catholic Church decides which sins fall into the 2 categories)
God’s biblical requirements for salvation:
1. Come under the hearing of the word of God (Romans 10:17), especially the law of God (Romans 3:20).
2. Be convicted and converted by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). This conversion is an act of God called “regeneration” – a spiritual birth by impartation of the Holy Spirit as a supernatural work of God’s grace – His unearned and undeserved favor (Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 11:19, Romans 8:15, John 3:3, 1 Peter 1:23, Ephesians 2:8-9).
4. Regeneration will enable you to have true faith in the complete and all sufficient sacrifice of Christ at Calvary, and that one-time sacrifice alone, to pay for all a person’s sins, past, present, and future (John 19:30, Romans 5:1, Hebrews 10:10-12, Romans 8:1, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 5:13).
5. Regeneration will bring about TRUE Repentance: recognition that without Christ, you are a hopelessly lost, hell-deserving sinner who needs to be rescued from God’s wrath, yet realizing that you could never pay for or even contribute to your own salvation (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10&23). True repentance will include the ability and desire to recognize and avoid sin like never before, showing that you truly are a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), i.e. “born again” (John 3:3-8).
6. Evidence of true salvation is a changed attitude about sin as described by the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-24 and a desire to warn the lost to flee the wrath of God (1 Corinthians 9:16, 2 Corinthians 5:20) accompanied by a love for Biblical truth (Psalms 1:2).
Catholicism’s unbiblical requirements for salvation:
1. allegiance to the authority and teachings of the Catholic Church (even if they contradict the Bible)
2. prayers of others for your departed soul
3. participating in the sacrament of baptism (a.k.a. christenings)
4. participating in the sacrament of confirmation
5. confessing sins to a man called a Catholic priest
6. participation in the sacrament of communion
7. receiving the sacrament of last rites
8. praying repetitious prayers (the Rosary, etc.)
9. praying to dead Catholic-designated saints
10. use of so-called “holy water”
11. wearing medallions called miraculous medals
12. wearing religious cloth bands called scapulars
13. owning, displaying and bowing down to religious statues
14. performing the “stations of the cross”
15. owning, wearing and bowing down to crucifixes
16. owning, displaying and praying to holy pictures called “sacred heart” pictures
17. making the sign of the cross
18. going to mass on Sundays and holy days
19. being a good person (trying to keep the Catholic version of the 10 commandments)
20. believing in Jesus the way that the Catholic Church prescribes
21. devotion to Mary as mediator and co-redeemer
22. belief in immaculate conception of Mary
23. belief in the bodily assumption of Mary to heaven
24. spending time in a non-existent place called purgatory
25. going on pilgrimages to Lourdes, Rome, and elsewhere
26. fasting on certain holy days
27. wearing ashes on Ash Wednesday
28. lighting candles
Summary:
Now that you have examined the differences between Catholicism and biblical Christianity, what are you going to do with this knowledge? — RM Kane
Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:104
