The Heart of the Roman Catholic Religion

In order to understand the Roman Catholic religion one must begin with the Roman Catholic Sacraments. Roman Catholics are taught to trust in their priests who perform religious rituals called Sacraments. There are seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic religion. Since one is Holy Orders, for a celibate priesthood, and another is Holy Matrimony, no one person can take all the Sacraments. According to the Roman Catholic Catechism Sacraments are necessary for salvation:

“The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation.” New Catholic Catechism. Paragraph # 1129.

Christians remain unconvinced that Roman Catholic Sacraments are necessary for salvation. The Roman Catholic sacramental scheme is alleged to be constructed upon the Bible. However, in the Roman Catholic religion, there are other sources of authority equal to the Bible. Hence, proof for the seven Sacraments of Rome does not necessarily need to rest upon Scripture. Rome’s doctrine of Sola Ecclesia (the Church alone) establishes and defines doctrine.

Christians, trusting in the Bible alone for salvation and sanctification, understand that heaven is given to lost sinners on the basis of faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone. Such faith consists in confidence that Christ alone, at His cross, suffered and died for all of the sins of His Church which is the Body of Christ. Such a faith completely trusts in the promises of God in Christ Jesus. One such assurance is eternal forgiveness of all sins and punishments based entirely upon the satisfaction of Christ’s death. Such a faith takes the righteousness of Christ as the complete ground of justification. Such a faith grasps Christ’s righteousness immediately. Christians believe there is only One mediator between God and man and that is Jesus Christ. Christians also believe there is no mediator between them and Jesus Christ. The Roman Catholic religion believes itself to be the mediator between man and Jesus Christ. But Christians cannot conceive of a “go-between” and deny the necessity of a “a middle man” between poor lost sinners and Jesus Himself!

Hence, the entire Roman Catholic sacramental system is inappropriate and in the way when seen in the light of the Christian’s direct access to God via a direct route to Jesus.

Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16.

This drawing near with confidence is through faith alone based upon confidence in what Christ has done for His people. It is not in the least dependent upon faithfulness to a sacramental program or contingent upon a priestly class of men. Christian access to God is immediate, free and clear paved solely by the blood of Christ alone.

In contrast, Roman Catholics have a great deal of confidence that the mediatorial intervention of the Roman Catholic hierarchy will not fail to guide them into the truth of God’s Word. Not willing to examine the teaching of the Bible on their own; Roman Catholics place explicit trust in their religious leaders to guide them toward heaven. This is a fatal and eternal mistake. The Bible does not teach Rome’s sacramental salvation.

Short Examination of Roman Catholic Biblical Proof for Some of Her Sacraments

It is very sobering to consider that most of Rome’s biblical justification for her Sacraments comes from one or two misinterpreted and misapplied Bible verses. For instance, virtually all of Rome’s teaching on regeneration, baptism and justification comes from her “sacramental approach” to John 3:5. We would point out that John 3:1-10 does not mention infants, baptism, justification or the non-biblical term “sacrament.” Yet, it is from John 3:5 that Rome insists the Spirit of God can be manipulated through the use of water in a priest’s hands to forgive original sin in infants and start the process of justification. All of this is based upon the erroneous assumption that the water of John 3:5 must refer to Christian baptism. Christian baptism then is to be administered by adult priests in order to cleanse infants from sin. We ask our readers to consider John 3:5 and its surrounding context. Does it teach the foundational pillar of Roman Catholic sacramental salvation?

Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:5

There are fully five satisfactory Christian explanations of the meaning of water in this verse. In the light of the rest of the Bible, Roman Catholic infant baptism, for forgiveness of sins, to start a process of an incremental justification, is not one of them. This passage has been reviewed extensively in Christian literature.

Furthermore, we encourage everyone to examine Acts 8:17. This passage of Scripture is offered by Rome to support their Sacrament of Confirmation. There is not a word in the rest of the New Testament about the necessity of laying on of hands for the receptivity of the Holy Spirit. Even so, this passage does not teach us Roman Catholic Confirmation or the necessity of “hands” for the reception of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit cannot be manipulated by religious mediators to leave an alleged “imprint on the heart” of those participating in Roman Catholic Confirmation.

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:14-17

The Apostles from Jerusalem, in laying hands upon the people of Samaria, confirmed the prominence of Peter in the fulfillment of the great commission. Their “hands” also validated and certified the ministry of Philip. Neither purpose leads us to Roman Catholic Confirmation. The remainder of the Bible teaches us that the only prerequisite for receiving the Holy Spirit is faith! This historical incident is an exception to serve the purposes mentioned. It is by no means repeated in the Bible or in our experience in coming to the Lord.

Perhaps the most important Sacrament of Rome is her Mass. Roman Catholics are taught
that the Mass is a re-presentation of the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As such, the Mass takes on all the elements of a propitiatory (satisfaction) sacrifice. It is said of the Mass that it is a real, although un-bloody, sacrifice for forgiveness of sins. In Roman Catholic parlance, the Mass is “the re-creation of the moment of Christ’s sacrifice.” This re-presentation of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is augmented by Rome’s insistence that the wafer of bread is transformed into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Hence, Rome believes that a piece of bread becomes Jesus and is to be ingested for forgiveness of sins. All this takes place through the power invested into a Roman Catholic priest.

"The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit: (Christ), our Lord and God, was once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption. But because his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper 'on the night when he was betrayed,' (he wanted) to leave to his beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be re-presented, its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit. (Paragraph 1366. New Catholic Catechism)

Nothing could be more foreign to the Christian than this. The Bible nowhere teaches such strange things. Christians reject this ritual as nothing more than voodoo and modern priestcraft. The Bible over and over again asserts that Jesus died one time for all time. Faith in His historical death is all that is necessary for forgiveness of sins past and present and the future. There is absolutely no need for the Roman Catholic Mass.

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10

For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Hebrews 10:14

In closing, we would mention a word about the priesthood, penance and the Roman Catholic religion in general. The Lord Jesus Christ did not give a special power of forgiveness to a priestly class who would then dispense forgiveness of sin based upon penance. Rome appeals to John 20:21-23 as a proof text for her allegations. Let us examine this text.

Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." John 20:21-23

The key to this passage is the “manner” in which sins are to be forgiven. We search in vain for a confessional box in the New Testament. We cannot find a single solitary example of an apostle “hearing the confession” of a parishioner. It is the consistent testimony of the New Testament that forgiveness of sins is based upon confession to God and repentance toward God. Initially, one becomes a Christian through faith and repentance. Conviction of sin followed by faith and repentance is the essence of the Christian experience. However, due to the nagging sin that ever remains a part of our fleshly existence, there is a need of cleansing. This cleansing of sin is experienced throughout the Christian life by confessing our sins to one another and seeking reconciliation with God by confessing our sins to Him. There is no need for an earthly mediator. Christians know that they can go directly to Jesus Christ for salvation, justification, redemption and reconciliation!

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

The power given to the apostles in John 20 has nothing to do with confessional boxes, assigning of penances or special powers of priests. It must be seen in the broader picture of the proclamation of forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ. Just such a picture is given to us in the Gospel of Luke.

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24:45-47

There are perhaps many other facets of the Roman Catholic religion that we could dwell upon. The terror of purgatory, the historical tyranny of Popes, the real tragedy of placing tradition on a par with Scripture could fill volumes. Presently there is a prominent re-making of Mary in Rome. She is elevated to the heights of Roman Catholic imagination. We might further ponder the ecumenical movement spearheaded by modern Rome. But the heart of the matter is Rome’s sacraments. This is what separates Rome from the Gospel of Christ. Rome insists upon a priestly led sacramental salvation. In so doing, Rome is outside of the Bible and remains lost in the labyrinth of her own traditions, religious rituals and humanly conceived auto soterism i.e., self salvation. This is not the Christian Gospel. It is not Christianity.