To many Christians, such a question is outrageous.
But what if I would have asked, "Is Mormonism Christian?" To a
majority of evangelicals, the mere idea of comparing Roman Catholicism
with Mormonism is preposterous. But is it?
Catholics are precious people. Many are sincere, loving, kind and
charitable. But that doesn't make them Christians.
I was raised a Roman Catholic and loved the Church. I spent two
years in a minor seminary preparing for the priesthood. After my wife
and I were married, we were both active Catholics. My involvement
included teaching literature classes, serving as Minister of Music in
two parishes, and membership of various committees. I became a
certified liturgical minister, and gave seminars to train lay people in
different types of ministry. I'm even pictured in a filmstrip series
for use in Catholic dioceses all over the country. To say the least,
I was very religious, very involved, very dedicated and very lost.
Since my conversion to Christ, I continue to keep abreast of what is
happening in the Roman church. Yet so many Christians lack any
knowledge of Catholicism, even those who one would think should know
better. When I was at Columbia Biblical Seminary one of the world's
leading evangelical apologist/lawyers was on campus. I told him that
the president of a European missionary group was going to teach in our
evangelism class about how to reach Catholics with the Gospel.
His response was, "Does this school teach Catholic hating? I'd
rather be a Roman Catholic that a liberal Protestant." This
illustrates one of the greatest obstacles to Roman Catholic evangelism,
the uninformed or misinformed Christian.
I love Roman Catholics as individuals; most of my family is
Catholic. It is necessary to make a proper distinction between
individual Catholics, who might believe many differing things on a very
broad spectrum, and the official teaching of the Church. Because these
have become so indistinct through a lack of understanding among
Christians, many do not understand Roman Catholicism or Roman
Catholics, and do not know that these lost people need the Gospel.
Often you hear the statement, "I know a Roman Catholic who's born
again. He's one of the nicest, most generous people I know." The
obvious problem with such a statement is in equating being born again
with certain good qualities of behavior. Many Roman Catholics are
wonderful people, better that many Protestants I know, but "niceness"
is not the basis for anyone's salvation.
The Christian may respond, "But he says he's born again." I wonder
if you asked him about his being born again. I heard a priest
conducting Mass at a local Catholic high school, and he told
the student body, "You became born again when you were baptized as
babies; so if anyone asks you if you're born again, you can say
`yes'!" Lest you think that is just one priest's opinion, a Vatican II
statement said, "By the sacrament of Baptism man becomes truly
incorporated into the crucified and risen Christ and is reborn to a
sharing of the divine life."
Other biblical teachings are changed to fit Catholic theology. The
Bible states that Jesus died for sins; that He paid the price in full.
Catholicism also says that Jesus died for sins, but they say that His
death merely opened the gates of Heaven so that if one works hard
enough he can work his way in (See Gal 2:21).
Catholics say they "receive Jesus" every time they partake of Holy
Communion. They say that they "evangelize", but this ends in a persons
not following Christ, but Catholicism. We must never assume that the
Catholic has the same biblical meaning in the terms he freely uses.
Every cult uses biblical and evangelical terms and phrases to try to
give itself credibility. The most successful counterfeit is the cult
that looks closest to the real thing.
In their book UNDERSTANDING THE CULTS, Josh McDowell and Don Stewart
list 11 characteristics of cults. Roman Catholicism has every one of
the characteristics, yet is not listed as a cult. Why?
One cultic characteristic is "non-biblical source of authority."
The Catholic Church seems to encourage people to read the Bible BUT
there is one stipulation. Vatican II said, "The task of authentically
interpreting the Word of God whether written or handed down, has been
entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office (Magisterium) of
the (Catholic) Church." Tradition is then used to interpret Scriptures,
and the further cultic characteristic of "new truth" manifests itself
in official teachings of the Church such as purgatory or indulgences.
(Neither of these are popular today, but are both official, and
non-biblical, teaching.)
The cultic characteristic of "strong leadership" is evident in the
pope; the characteristic of "double talk" is evident when Catholicism
states, "Catholics don't worship Mary" yet promotes the Rosary, a
devotion in which 10 Hail Marys are said for every Lord's Prayer. Even
Catholicism's relationship to Protestants is double-talk.
Vatican II stated, "But all the saving means used by the separated
brethren derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and
truth entrusted to the Catholic Church...For it is through Christ's
Catholic Church alone, which is the all-embracing means of salvation,
that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained."
Another cultic characteristic, "salvation by works" is evidenced by
the "saving" aspects of water baptism and the Mass. In this
blasphemous form of worship, the priest is supposed to officiate over
the unbloody sacrifice of Christ for the remission of sins. This is in
complete opposition to our Lord's completed sacrifice, once for all
time (Heb 10:12-18). Yet if a Catholic intentionally misses Sunday
Mass or on Holydays of Obligation, he is guilty of mortal sin, that
would sentence him to hell if not confessed prior to death.
This salvation by works gives no assurance. In fact, official
Catholic teaching says it is the sin of presumption to have an
assurance of salvation. These cultic characteristics lead to the fact
that Catholicism also has the cultic mark of "another Jesus." For an
easy-to-understand study about this, write for SCRIPTURAL EVANGELISM
and THE FINAL FLOCK by Bill Jackson. In these, the facts that "The
Roman Catholic Church as a whole and Catholics as individuals do not
have a biblical concept of the Trinity, Deity of Christ and the
sacrificial aspects of Calvary" are and lovingly presented.
A Roman Catholic's singing "A Mighty Fortress is our God" doesn't
mean he understands Reformation doctrine. There is much talk today
about the need for unity, oneness and loving one another without
letting doctrine get in the way. But a doctrine that tries to
substitute unity and love for Bible truth is Satanic.
Catholicism is the greatest counterfeit of Christianity, dangerous
in its ecumenical and New Age characteristics. Evangelicals must
realize that by using Roman Catholics as examples of doing good deeds
in their sermons gives Roman Catholicism a credibility it does not
deserve. The Christian must not only be aware of the need for Catholic
evangelism, he must be discerning in what he says so as to stop
compromising his position on biblical salvation.
In looking for an example of reaching out to the poor, Mother Teresa
is often used. Although her service to the suffering street people of
Calcutta is commendable, her "dying with dignity" leaves out the
Gospel. She has said, "Oh, I hope I am converting. I don't mean what
you think...If in coming face to face with God we accept Him in our
lives, then we are converting. We become a better Hindu, a better
Muslim, a better Catholic, a better whatever we are" (Desmond Doig,
MOTHER TERESA: HER PEOPLE AND HER WORK).
John MacArthur visited Mother Teresa and wrote in MASTERPIECE, "We
asked her questions that might reveal her spiritual state. Her answers
were troubling. `I love and respect all religions', an unthinkable
remark in the light of the hellishness of India's dominant religions."
Some evangelicals praise Pope John Paul II, who gathered liberal
Protestants, Buddhists, Hindus and other non-Christian religious
leaders to pray for peace. By his acknowledgment of their "prayers",
he was saying their religions were valid.
Jesus is still the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no man can come
to the Father except by Him. Are we only giving lip-service to that
statement while we succumb to an ecumenical spirit that eliminates
biblical truth for the sake of unity? Too often the answer is yes;
especially in the compromises of the charismatic renewal where the
truth of God's Word is exchanged for experiences, "signs and wonders",
and a false form of love.
Another illustration of compromise is the abortion issue. True
Christians cannot pray with unbelievers, and pro-lifers get so caught
up in the issue, as important as it is, that they forget the important
difference. In the process of saving a baby's earthly life, if there
is no clear presentation of the Gospel, are we being instrumental of
sending a mother and child to an eternal death?
Some Christians even cite priests and bishops that they believe are
truly saved. How could a born again priest perform water baptisms and
continue daily to offer the Mass, if he really understood that the work
of Christ was sufficient once for all?
Some "Christian" ministries present a "watered-down" Gospel so no
one will be offended. My wife and I were once asked to sing for such a
group, but our first song had to be non-religious, "so it would not
scare people away." Why do we try to entertain and then "sneak in" the
Gospel message? Catholics love religious performances, but if the
message is so shallow that the unsaved person doesn't hear the
difference between Truth and error, he never can be reached.
We must never try just to win arguments, but we engage in what
former priest Bart Brewer calls "sanctified provocation." The Gospel
is offensive to the lost for it exposes their prideful, sinful natures.
Let's stop compromising and start proclaiming. I don't want my
family and friends to continue in their lost condition. Certainly you
would not want an uninformed Christian to encourage your loved ones to
stay in their lost religious state.
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