How Do YOU Determine
Who Is Pro-Catholic Or Anti-Catholic?

 

Introduction

 

The term anti-Catholic is used by many people to label a person a bigot even if all the person is doing is warning people about the false teachings of the Catholic church. Now think about this: if someone discovers that they have been taught something false about how to get to heaven and they try to bring that to the attention of other people whose spiritual welfare they care about, are those people bad for trying to alert others? According to the Bible, these people are not bad, but rather they are doing what God commands them to do in the Bible because the Bible says that we are our brother’s keeper. Jesus made this point very clear in the story of the good Samaritan. This commandment to give warnings to others is most dramatically stated by the prophet Ezekiel: “When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.” [Ezekiel 33:8].
 
Now if someone who was born and raised a Catholic (like the author of this leaflet) found out that he was not told the truth about how to please God and about how to get to heaven would you want him to tell you what he knew so that you could make sure that you had not also been deceived? If you are interested in the truth about how to get to heaven and want to know if you were told the truth by your church, then you may wish to continue reading this leaflet. If you want to believe that someone has something against you because you are Catholic you can believe that too.
 
If you want to trust the eternal destiny of your soul to a religious organization that is not even teaching the true 10 commandments to its followers then that is up to you also. At least I have fulfilled my obligation to God to proclaim the truth of God’s Word (the Holy Bible) to you. What you do with that truth is your responsibility. I hope that like me, you will delight yourself in God’s truth as found in the Holy Bible.

 

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God’s biblical requirements for salvation:

 

1. God must grant a sinner spiritual birth: This event is NOT a result of something man does such as water baptism but rather a supernatural act of God apart from any human intervention by a priest or anyone else – a one-time event when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the person God is saving at that moment. Salvation is something God does for a person, not something they do for Him to earn favor with Him: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” [Ezekiel 36:26-27]

 

(See Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 11:19, Romans 8:15, John 3:3, 1 Peter 1:23)

 
To bring about this spiritual birth, God uses messengers of the Gospel to preach the LAW of God (the bad news) and the GRACE of God (the good news). God then sends His Holy Spirit to convict the hearer of their sin and convert them to Christ.
 

If and only if God produces the new birth in an individual, they will become new creatures in Christ who are CAPABLE of…

 

A. TRUE Conviction of sin: A new creature in Christ recognizes that without Christ, he is a hopelessly lost, hell deserving sinner who has repeatedly violated the laws of an infinitely holy God. He realizes the awfulness of his sin and the holiness of God. When he sins, he now is convicted of the seriousness of his sin like never before and he recognizes things as sinful that he did not recognize or care about before: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” [Isaiah 64:6]

 

(See Jeremiah 59:2, Luke 18:10-18, Romans 3:10&23)

 

B. TRUE Repentance: A new creature in Christ possesses a God-given desire to stop sinning while realizing that he is incapable of doing so without God’s help: “Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” [Psalm 51:9-10]

 

(See Psalm 51:11-17, Romans 7:21-24 & 1 John 2:3-5)

 

C. TRUE Belief in Christ: A new creature in Christ has 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: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” [Ephesians 2:8-9] … “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God” [Hebrews 10:11-12]. … “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” [Romans 8:1].

 

(See Romans 5:1, Titus 3:5, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 5:13)

 

NOTE: Points A, B & C above are not CAUSES of salvation. They are fruits of a saved person.

 

Evidence of true salvation is a changed attitude about sin as described by the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-24 plus a desire to warn the lost to flee the wrath of God (1 Corinthians 9:16, 2 Corinthians 5:20) and a love for Biblical truth (Psalms 1:2) as well as a love for other true believers in Jesus Christ.

 

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Rome’s unbiblical requirements for salvation:

 

1. Trying to DO something, anything, to earn salvation or to contribute to it or participate in some way such as through any of these things:

• being baptized or christened
• participating in the sacrament of communion
• participating in the sacrament of confirmation
• receiving the sacrament of last rites
• going on pilgrimages to Lourdes, Rome, etc.
• fasting
• wearing ashes
• lighting candles
• venerating statues
• praying to the ‘virgin’ Mary
• praying to dead ‘saints’
• praying the ‘rosary’
• using holy water, scalupars, miraculous medals
• performing the stations of the cross
• making the sign of the cross
• going to mass on Sundays, holy days or any day
• doing good works or good deeds
• being involved in church societies and activities

The Bible says that salvation is “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” [Titus 3:5]

 

2. Being a ‘good’ person by trying to keep the commandments, etc. The Bible says: “There is none righteous, no, not one” [Romans 3:10] … “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23]

 

3. Praying repetitious prayers like the Rosary, etc. Jesus spoke against this when he said: “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” [Matthew 6:7]

 

4. Thinking that being a ‘good Catholic’ is what God requires of us to get to heaven. The Bible says: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” [Romans 10:3]

 

5. Devotion to Mary as mediator and co-redeemer. This is contrary to the Bible which says: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” [1 Timothy 2:5].

 

6. Prayers of others for your departed soul. The Bible teaches that once you are dead, your fate is sealed – you are either saved or damned: “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord” [Revelation 13:14] … “he that believeth not shall be damned.” [Mark 16:16].

 

7. Believing in the immaculate conception of Mary. According to the Bible, Mary was a sinner who needed a Saviour as she admitted in Luke 1:47 when she said: “my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour“.

 

8. Spending time in a non-existent place called purgatory. The Bible mentions judgment after death, NOT purgatory: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” [Hebrews 9:27].

 

9. Displaying, wearing, and bowing down to crucifixes, medallions, sacred heart pictures and other kinds of statues and images. The Bible says: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God” [Exodus 20:4-5].

 

10. Seeking forgiveness of sins from a priest . The Bible says: “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?” [Mark 2:7].

 

11. Allegiance to the authority and teachings of the Catholic Church even if they contradict the Bible. The Bible says: “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men,” [Mark 7:7-8].

 

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Classes of sins according to the Bible:

• God has no classifications. God views all sins as hell-deserving. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10.

God hates all sins – no matter how trivial men may think them to be. Even liars will be cast into the Lake of Fire: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” [Revelation 21:8]. And yet, through Christ, God has forgiven all kinds of sins of those He came to save: “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” [Romans 4:6-8]

 

It is the duty of very true believer to diligently search the scriptures to determine whether or not they are being obedient to God’s word.

 

Classes of sins according to the Catholic catechism:

• 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.

Since there is no complete list of mortal sins, it is the Catholic priest’s job to determine which sins fall into the 2 categories when a Catholic goes to “confession”. All of this is unbiblical nit-picking on the part of sinful man.

 

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Final authority for a Christian according to the Bible:

• THE BIBLE ALONE. (see Psalms 138:2, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20)

Final authority for a Catholic according to the Vatican:

• The Magisterium, the Council of Trent, Vatican I & II Councils, other councils, Decrees of Popes, The Baltimore Catechism, The Catechism Of The Catholic Church, and other Catechisms

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Kinds of Christians according to the Bible:

• bishops & elders (See 1 Timothy 3:2 & 1 Peter 5:1)
• deacons (See 1 Timothy 3:8)
• ordinary brothers & sisters in Christ – referred to as saints (See Romans 12:13, Romans 15:26, Romans 16:15, etc.)

Kinds of Catholics according to the Vatican:

• popes, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, monks, nuns, deacons, eucharistic ministers, altar boys, Jesuits, Blue Army nuns, Sisters of Charity, Carmelites, Knights of Columbus, Knights of Malta, dead saints, laity, etc.

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The head of the true Christian Church on earth:

• Jesus Christ (See Colossians 1:18) acting through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all true believers.

The head of the Roman Catholic church:

• The pope.

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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 (See Ephesians 5:26, Ezekiel 36:25-27)
• Communion – a memorial of Christ’s once-for-all sacrificial death, for true Christians only, symbolic only (See John 6:63, 1 Corinthians 11:25 & Hebrews 10:10-12)

Ordinances taught by the Catholic church:

• Baptism – a ritual where a priest pours water on the forehead of an infant, that is supposed to cause a spiritual rebirth and make a person a child of God. However, it cannot do that. Only spiritual regeneration by the Holy Spirit can cause the true spiritual rebirth required to make a person fit for heaven.
• The Eucharist (the sacrifice of the mass) – a ceremony where the communion wafer is supposed to literally turn into Jesus’ body and blood and yet it still looks and tastes like a wafer
• Confirmation – a ritual Catholic children go through at about age 12 or 13, that supposedly gives them help to live a good Catholic life.
• Penance – going to a priest, instead of to God, to confess your sins. This is a clear violation of what the apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:5 (For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus). Only God can forgive sins and He only does that through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It does not involve a Catholic priest whatsoever and your confession to that priest and any subsequent prayers of penance you may recite have NO EFFECT on removing a single sin.
• Holy Matrimony – marriage.
• Holy Orders – being ordained in some leadership position within the Catholic church.
• Last Rites – a ritual a priest performs before you die that supposedly gets you ready for heaven. Also referred to as “final anointing” and “extreme unction”. ONLY Jesus can get a person ready for heaven and only by way of the “new birth” which requires a supernatural act of God. Have YOU received this new birth? Are ALL your sins covered in the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?

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Summary:

 

If you are member of the Catholic church you may wonder why your church never brought any of the things mentioned in this article to your attention. Perhaps some priests and catechism teachers are not aware of these things or perhaps they know that a lot of people would leave the Catholic church if they knew that their church was not faithfully following the teachings of Jesus Christ. — RM Kane

 

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