Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Roman Catholic Church

Content:

  • Introduction
  • Dangerous False Teachings
  • Confession
  • Transubstantiation
  • Justification
  • The Papacy
  • Purgatory
  • Mary
  • Titles in the RCC
  • Origins of the RCC
  • The RCC in the Dark Ages
  • The Inquisition
  • Ban on Reading the Bible

(The verses are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV)).

Introduction


The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) has several sound doctrines:
But they confuse the doctrine of salvation, justification, and sanctification. They believe that people in higher positions in the clergy are holier than ordinary believers with the Pope at the top, and that there is an apostolic succession of who should be the Pope from Apostle Peter to this day. They believe that God works through these more holy persons in the clergy. Even though they teach that Jesus paid for our sins, they still believe that punishment is needed, meaning that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross wasn't enough. You must therefore spend time in purgatory after death.

The Bible teaches us the following: When Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins on the cross, we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and we trust in him, God takes the work of Jesus on the cross and applies it to us. We are now righteous in God's sight. God sees us in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Justification happens in an instant. Righteousness isn't a process. Sanctification is a process after we are justified, because we still live in a sinful body. Sanctification is about how we live
our Christian life. We should be more and more controlled by the Holy Spirit,
to live our lives more for God and not live a life of sin.

The RCC derives its authority from the following:
  1. The Bible as the word of God.
  2. Their interpretation of the Bible.
  3. Added traditions, that is, added revelation from the leaders of the RCC,
    with the same or higher authority than the Bible.
The RCC adds authorities to scripture, which changes what the Bible teaches. The RCC doesn't believe in "scripture alone". They believe the Bible is the word
of God. But they also believe that their traditions have the same or higher
authority than the Bible. They also have the Pope, the council, and the bishops,
who interpret the Bible and the traditions, and they are infallible when they do so.
They believe that only the leaders of the RCC can interpret the Bible.

See time 3:02–8:53 in The False Gospel of Rome.

Jesus warns us to follow the tradition of man, see
Confronting Meaningless Religion. 

Instead, we should follow God's eternal words in the Bible:
  • Rev 22:18–19,
    see time 16:47–21:17 in 10 Questions with Mike Winger (Episode 9)
  • Proverbs 30:5–6
  • 1 Pet 1:23–25
  • 2 Pet 1:20–21, 3:15–16
  • Acts 17:11
  • Col 2:8
  • Mat 15:1–6, 24:35
  • 2 Tim 3:16–17
  • Isaiah 40:6–8

Dangerous False Teachings

  • Time 2:01–9:49: Prayers to the dead; veneration of saints.
  • Time 9:57–21:14: Prayers for the dead and purgatory,
    see chapter Purgatory.
  • Time 21:18–24:42: Transubstantiation , see chapter Transubstantiation.
  • Time 24:46–32:52: Distinguish between venial sin and mortal sin,
    see chapter     Purgatory.
  • Time 32:56–37:59: Grace through works, see chapter Justification.
  • Time 38:05–44:28: Confession to a priest, see chapter Confession.

Confession


It's the priest himself who forgives a person’s sin in the RCC, not God. The priest has the authority to do so in the name of God. If you don't receive forgiveness from a priest in the RCC, you have no hope of salvation. You must tell the priest everything that is happening in your life, every bad thought you have had, and you must confess it in detail. If you don’t, you will continue to be in sin, which means you will go to Hell when you die.

This isn't according to the Bible:
  • Psalm 32:5    (we should confess our transgressions directly to the Lord)
  • 1 Tim 2:5      (only Jesus is the mediator, no priest)
  • Heb 4:14–16 (we should come to the Lord for mercy and grace)
  • James 5:16   (we can confess our sins to one another)
See also Whose Sin can We Forgive?

Transubstantiation


The RCC means that the bread and wine are literally transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ (Mat 26:26–28, Joh 6:53–58). Christ's body is sacrificed again. This is called transubstantiation and is done by the priest at the Mass.

Jesus doesn't speak literally. He doesn't speak spiritually (John 6:63). The bread and wine are symbols of Jesus' body and blood. We are to eat the bread and drink the wine to remember what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus offered his life once and for all, for all time (Heb 10:10–14, 17–18). Christ's body must not be sacrificed again. 

See also Jesus the Bread of Life.

Justification


Justification legally means to be innocent. In the biblical sense, it means to be righteous before God, to be saved. The price has been paid by Jesus on the cross.
He is our substitute. The RCC means that there is still a depth to pay for the sins we have committed. We must therefore either be punished in this life or in purgatory.

This isn't according to scripture:
  • Rom 3:23–26, 8:1, 33
  • 2 Cor 5:21
  • 1 John 2:1–2, 4:10
  • Heb 2:17
The RCC means you can’t know if God has forgiven you or if you are saved or not.
You must constantly work for your salvation.

The Bible says that salvation is a gift, by grace through faith, and that you can’t get it by works. Your part is to believe in Jesus, to trust in him, and to receive this gift.
  • 1 John 5:13
  • Eph 2:8–9
  • Rom 1:17, 4:1–8, 11:6
  • Acts 13:38–39
What the Bible means by believing in Jesus is to completely trust in him alone.
It's not in Jesus AND your works, or in Jesus AND any institution (like the RCC).

If one is saved, work will follow (James 2:18), see The Parables of the Talents and the Ten Minas, but that doesn’t mean that work is required to be saved.

The Papacy


The RCC believes that Apostle Peter was the first Pope. They think that Peter was the foundation (rock) on which the church was built, according to their interpretation of Mat 16:15–18. They believe that the Pope is the representative of Jesus Christ
on Earth. They also believe there is one apostolic succession as to who shall be the Pope, from Peter to this day.

A more biblical interpretation of Mat 16:15–18 is that Jesus isn't referring to Peter
as the foundation of the church. Jesus refers to himself as the foundation (the rock) of the church by referring to Peter's confession in Mat 16:16 (NKJV):
"You are the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of the living God".
This statement is the foundation of the church.

Jesus uses two different Greek words in Mat 16:18 (NKJV):
"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church".
Peter: Petros in Greek meaning a rock or a stone.
Rock: Petra in Greek meaning a rock, cliff or ledge. Petra is used in the following ways in other parts of the Bible: Mat 27:51, 59–60, Rev 6:15–16. If Jesus meant that Peter is the foundation of the church, he would have used the same word.

The Bible teaches that Jesus is the only foundation:
  • Acts 4:11
  • 1 Cor 3:11
  • Eph 5:23
Jesus is called Petra:
The other apostles didn't see that Peter (or anyone else) had a supreme position:
Apostle Paul believed that the church was built on Christ, not on Peter
(1 Cor 3:9–11, 10:1–4, Gal 2:9a). Paul even rebuked Peter publicly (Gal 2:11–16). It wouldn't have been possible if Peter was a pope, infallible in all actions.
Peter made mistakes, such as denying Jesus three times (Mat 26:34–35, 69–75).

God is also called Petra in the Old Testament:
  • Deuteronomy (5 Mos) 32:4
  • Isaiah 44:8
  • Psalm 18:31 (32 in some translations)
Peter himself used Petra to refer to Jesus, Jesus as the cornerstone, and saw all believers as a priesthood (1 Pet 2:4–6, 7–8, Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 8:14, 28:16).
Peter never claimed to have a higher position than the other apostles. He saw himself as a co-elder (1 Pet 5:1), and he was indeed a pillar (Gal 2:9a) and leader in the early church. Peter refused to be worshipped (Acts 10:25–26). He instructed the other elders not to have a superior position (1 Pet 5:2–3). Peter never said that he was a pope or the like, the head of the church or that he had a supreme position. Although he sometimes acted as a spokesman for the early church, he never taught a papal succession (Acts 2:14–41, 3:11–26, 4:5–12).

The RCC claims that Peter was in Rome for 25 years to establish the church and establish the papal succession. It's believed that Peter was in Rome during the latter part of his life, when he wrote 1 Pet and 2 Pet shortly before his martyrdom under the emperor Nero. That he was in Rome is implied when he wrote about Babylon
(1 Pet 5:13), which in this verse is used as a code word for Rome, see also 
What is Babylon in the Book of Revelation? 

He wasn't in Rome before that, so he wasn't there for 25 years, and there is no information in the Bible to indicate that Peter established a papal succession. When Paul sends greetings in The Book of Romans (written just a few years before 1 Pet) to 27 different people by name (Rom 16), he doesn't mention
Peter. The Book of Acts makes no mention of Peter in Rome, although it was probably written around the same time Peter wrote 1 Pet. 

Peter probably came to Rome around 62 AD just before he wrote 1 Pet. According to church history, Peter was executed in Rome under Nero in the mid-60s AD under the same persecution that Paul was caught in: When Peter was told that he was going to be crucified, he asked them to do it differently because he didn't see himself as worthy to be crucified in the same way Jesus was, see The Crucifixion of Jesus.
They crucified him upside down and set fire to him (John 21:18–19).

Jesus also said to Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven." (Mat 16:19). But it wasn't just Peter who was given that authority. Later Jesus gave the same authority to the other disciples,
and by extension to all born again Christians: "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven." (Mat 18:18). As Christians, we have the opportunity to bring people to Christ by preaching the gospel to them. Jesus even accused the scribes and Pharisees of closing the kingdom of Heaven to men (Mat 23:13, Luk 11:52),
see Jesus Denouncement of the Jewish Religious Leaders.

See this explained in Matthew 16 (Part 2) :13-20 Who do the people say that I am?
  • Time 14:32–22:40: Who is Peter?
  • Time 22:45–28:41: Who got the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven?
To summarize: Peter wasn't a pope and there is no apostolic succession in the Bible as to who should be pope. The Papacy is a man-made invention.

Purgatory


The RCC considers purgatory to be a place of temporary punishment for those
who are destined for Heaven but not completely free from venial sin (1 Cor 3:15).
The flames of purgatory are more unbearable than anything that can be experienced on Earth. The suffering is the same as in Hell. The ideas of purgatory came from Pope Gregory the Great around 600 AD.

They believe there are two kinds of sin: venial sin and mortal sin, where 
mortal sin sends us directly to Hell, and that it's venial sin that sends us to 
purgatory. They believe that you are further purified by being punished in purgatory to become holy enough to go to Heaven. Even if you are saved,
they believe that you aren't completely cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

This isn't biblical:
  • John 5:24
  • Rom 8:1
  • Eph 2:8–9
  • 1 John 1:7–9
  • 1 Pet 3:18
  • Luk 23:40–43
Nowhere in scripture does it say you must pay for your sin. It teaches the opposite, that you can’t pay for your sin. There is no work that we can add to the grace of God. Jesus made the payment with his blood on the cross. If you have true faith in Jesus, work will follow (James 2:18), see The Parables of the Talents and the Ten Minas, but that doesn’t mean that work is required to be justified.

1 Cor 3:15 above must be read in context. It’s not about salvation, it’s talking about rewards and loss of rewards. It has nothing to do with purgatory.

See also time 1:45–3:11 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │December 2023.

Mary


The Rosary refers to a form of repetition of prayer and contains a string of knots
or beads used to count the prayers, such as "the Lord's Prayer", and "Hail Mary".
The RCC teaches that blessings and favors are received by applying the Rosary 
and that praying to Mary purifies your soul and washes away sin. Most prayers in the Rosary are addressed to Mary. The RCC worships Mary, although they officially deny it. The worship of Mary is idolatry.

This isn't what the Bible teaches. All prayers in the Bible are addressed to God alone. We must not continue babbling when we pray (Mat 6:7 (NIV)).

Mary wasn't born without sin. As a human she was born to sin and needed a Savior like everyone else (Luk 1:47). Jesus, the Son of God, is this only Savior
(Isaiah 43:11, Luk 2:11), see Jesus – I AM. 

Mary isn't a mediator between God the Father and man, only Jesus is (1 Tim 2:5), see the short video: John MacArthur: Praying and Worshiping Mary.

This means that Mary isn't someone to whom we pray. We should only pray directly to God himself, see The Trinity. 

Titles in the RCC


Some titles in the RCC:
  • The Pope: He is the holy Father.
  • The priest: He is called Father in a spiritual sense, because in the Mass 
    he gives the body and blood of Jesus, and he forgives sins. It's God the Father who is the spiritual Father (Mat 23:8–9). According to the Bible, every true believer in Jesus is also a priest (1 Pet 2:5, 9, Rev 1:5–6).
  • The saints: Canonization is an act in which the RCC declares a person
    who has died a saint    . The person is then included in the list of recognized
    saints, called the "canon". But according to the Bible, every true believer in Jesus can be called a saint (Rom 1:6–7, 1 Cor 1:2, 2 Cor 1:1, Eph 1:1).

Origins of the RCC


Catholic means universal, which means that the Catholic Church (CC) means the universal church. The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) has established faith from Roman paganism. There is a difference between CC and RCC. But when we talk about CC, we often mean RCC. The RCC didn't exist in the first 300 years AD.
At that time, Christians based their faith solely on the Bible. They suffered persecution for their faith. We then had what we can call a true Christianity church. The Roman faith, roughly 500 BC to 300 AD, was based on paganism. The Roman empire believed in many gods and accepted the new gods that conquered peoples had. They persecuted the Christians because they believed in only one God and didn't accept the other gods, see Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

This changed under the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, who accepted Christianity. He gave Christianity religious toleration around 314 AD. He wanted to unite the people under the same political and religious system. It meant that there were advantages to being a Christian. This resulted in many pagans becoming Christians just to be able to partake of these benefits, and to conform to the religion that the emperor supported. But they wanted to bring their pagan faith with them. The true Christian faith based on the Bible alone began to mix with pagan faith.
The church got more and more away from the Bible, had a desire to satisfy the will of the people and more pagan beliefs crept into the church. Here we see the start of the RCC. Examples of pagan beliefs that influenced the church:
  • The worship of Isis. She was an important goddess in the ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world.
    She was absorbed by the RCC, that replaced her with Mary who was given an elevated position in the church. She became the Mother of God and a mediator between God and man.
  • Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras, that was celebrated on December 25. Jesus' birth is now celebrated on this date. But Jesus was probably born late in the fall and not in December. Mithraism practiced a sacrificial meal that involved eating the flesh and drinking the blood of a bull. They believed that Mithras existed in the flesh and blood of the bull. Salvation was granted to those who ate this meal. The RCC introduced this as a sacrificial meal of Jesus Christ in the Mass. To be compared with
    transubstantiation above. Mithras had seven sacraments. The RCC also has seven sacraments.

    This doesn't mean that it's wrong to celebrate Christmas as a Christian. 
    We can have a traditional Christmas celebration and at the same time remember the incarnation: God becomes man in the person of Jesus Christ. We can then think and remember God's goodness and mercy.
  • The RCC replaced the pagan gods with patron saints. These patron saints
    protect people in certain areas of their lives and should be given veneration. In practice, they are worshipped. It becomes idolatry.
  • The Roman emperors were worshipped as pagan gods. They were high priests. The papacy was created to support the Roman emperors, as a supreme ruler of the church. The Bishop of Rome became the supreme ruler of the church. When the Roman empire fell, the Bishop of Rome became the Pope. Several of the popes lived very sinful lives, were corrupt and ungodly in their lifestyles (Mat 7:15–20, Luk 6:43–44).
Prayers for the dead was introduced around 300 AD. The use of images, statues came about 375 AD. The Mass came around 394 AD. The Mass became a sacrament in the 11th century. Attendance to the Mass then became mandatory.

The exaltation of Mary came about 431 AD. Prayers to Mary, saints, and angels came around 600 AD. She was declared sinless in 1854 AD. She was declared a mediator before God in 1894 AD. The Assumption of Mary was introduced in 1950 AD, that she was taken directly to Heaven without dying.

526 AD came Extreme Unction (Final Anointing), administered only to those who were about to die. Purgatory was founded in 593 AD and became an official dogma in 1439 AD. Using the Latin language in prayers and in the Mass came about 600 AD.

Holy water came around 850 AD. Canonization of dead saints came in 994 AD.
Celibacy of the priests came in 1079 AD, even though the Bible says the opposite:
1 Tim 4:1–3, 1 Cor 7:1–3, 6–9. The Rosary came in 1090 AD. About 1215 AD confession to a priest was introduced. In 1870 it was decided that when the Pope speaks about faith and morals he is infallible, he can’t be wrong.

The RCC in the Dark Ages


The Dark Ages was between 590–1517 AD. It was a dark time for Christianity.
The RCC controlled religion, philosophy, human morality, politics, art, and education. The RCC taught that it was only possible to be saved through the RCC, and to submit to the Pope. If you didn't, you were a heretic. See this explained at time 10:52–14:20 in Isaiah 57-59 • Idolatry, Fasting and the Lord's Salvation.

1378–1417 there were three popes at the same time. Each declared that he was the right pope. They were all declaring excommunication against each other.

The Inquisition


The Inquisition was introduced around 1184 AD. It was designed to seek out and correct people accused of heresy. The RCC proclaimed that there was no salvation
in any church other than the RCC. If you didn't believe the doctrines of the RCC you were a heretic. If you didn't follow the teachings and authority of the Pope, you were lost forever, and you were a heretic. The doctrines of the RCC were the standard to follow, not the Bible. If you were arrested as a heretic by the Inquisition and didn't convert to the RCC, you were tortured extremely severely, many times to death.
This, of course, isn't according to the Bible:
  • Luk 9:54–56
  • John 16:2–3

Ban on Reading the Bible


The Bible was forbidden to a layman. A layman wasn't allowed to read the Bible in any translation or own a Bible. It wasn't allowed to translate the Bible. The reason was to keep people ignorant of the contents of the Bible, to prevent questions about the doctrines of the RCC that didn't agree with the Bible. At the reformation it was no longer possible to prevent people from reading the Bible. To justify their erroneous teaching, the RCC introduced the tradition that the RCC is given the same authority as the Bible. The tradition contained revelations from holy figures in the past, mostly from popes. In this way, they could justify teachings that didn't agree with the Bible.

Only the Bible may be used for teaching, without introducing false doctrines contrary to the Bible or adding to the Bible: 2 Tim 3:16–17, John 5:46–47, Rev 22:18–19, Proverbs 30:6. God doesn’t contradict himself.

See also Some stories close related to the gospels at the end of
The Four Gospels.
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