Roman Catholic Claim
Only the Catholic Church existed in the tenth century,
in the fifth century, and in the first century,
faithfully teaching the doctrines given by Christ
to the apostles, omitting nothing. The line of popes
can be traced back, in unbroken succession, to Peter
himself. This is unequaled by any institution in
history.
Even the oldest government is new compared to the
papacy, and the churches that send out door-to-door
missionaries are young compared to the Catholic
Church. Many of these churches began as recently
as the nineteenth or twentieth centuries. Some even
began during your own lifetime. None of them can
claim to be the Church Jesus established.
The Catholic Church has existed for nearly 2,000
years, despite constant opposition from the world.
This is testimony to the Church’s divine origin.
It must be more than a merely human organization,
especially considering that its human members—
even some of its leaders—have been unwise,
corrupt, or prone to heresy.
Any merely human organization with such members
would have collapsed early on. The Catholic Church
is today the most vigorous church in the world (and
the largest, with a billion members: one sixth of
the human race), and that is testimony not to the
cleverness of the Church’s leaders, but to
the protection of the Holy Spirit.
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Christian Response
From the beginning of
the preaching of the Gospel until now there have been false
teachers, false Messiahs, many claiming to have the authority
of Jesus, false gospels and doctrines of demons. The only
possible way to measure a movement is to measure it by the
Word of God. The Roman Catholic religion has been adding
to the Word of God for centuries. Under the false assumption
of apostolic succession and infallibility, the Roman Catholic
religion adds doctrines and dogmas of her imagination. Hence,
the Roman Catholic religion of today looks nothing like
what it looked like in the 10th century or 13th century.
One thing is for certain, the entirety of Rome’s views
on justification, salvation, eternal life, faith, grace
and her gospel have no attachment to the Word of God. Whether
Rome was apostate during the 4th or 15th century is a historical
inquiry. We know for sure that Rome went into apostasy at
the Council of Trent in the 16th century. It has maintained
a cultish non-Christian view of the Word of God and the
Gospel of Jesus Christ at the very least from then until
now.
We notice that the Roman
Catholic apologist boasts of his religion “faithfully
teaching the doctrines given by Christ to the apostles.”
The doctrines of sacramental salvation, incremental justification,
infant baptismal regeneration, purgatory, indulgences, transubstantiation,
infallibility of her pope and the incredible Marian doctrines
are not to be found in Scripture and there is not one shred
of proof that Jesus taught any of these to His followers.
1TI 4:1 But the Spirit
explicitly says that in later times some will fall away
from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits
and doctrines of demons,
1TI 4:2 by means of
the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience
as with a branding iron,
1TI 4:3 men who forbid
marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which
God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who
believe and know the truth.
1TI 4:4 For everything
created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected,
if it is received with gratitude;
1TI 4:5 for it is sanctified
by means of the word of God and prayer.
1TI 4:6 In pointing
out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant
of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words
of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have
been following.
Rome takes for herself
the role of Sola Ecclesia (Church Only) and defies
the Bible.
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