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Biblical Christianity vs. Roman Catholicism

There will always be, until the Lord returns with a triumphant shout and the sound of trumpets (1 Thess 4:16), people who confuse one false religion or another for the biblical faith Creator God revealed to us in His Scriptures and His Son. To help us keep in focus some of the essential differences between biblical Christianity and one of the largest, widely accepted false religions in the world, here is a handy chart comparing 9 facts of the faith as taught by the Bible and the Roman Catholic Church. An extract is below, to give you a preview.

I thought I would add to this a bit with a wonderful quote from a book I read last week:

“Now where the Scripture has not a Mouth to speak we must not have an Ear to hear.”
Thomas Patient, The Doctrine of Baptism and the Covenants. 1654 A.D.

Slide 1

15 thoughts on “Biblical Christianity vs. Roman Catholicism”

  2. Well, Luther’s 95 theses were not the summation of the Reformation. They were his initial attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation started a couple of centuries before Luther hit the scene. We should give thanks to God for every person who has stood up for Truth over the history of this planet.

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  5. I also have a question, If Mary is not Holy because Scripture says in Rev 15:4 that the Lord alone is Holy, how does the same God make the people of Israel Holy in Exodus
    Exodus 31:13
    “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

    Did the Sabbath not do what God intended it to do? Did it not become a sign for generations? I think it did, but what I don’t understand is how can God help them to know that he is Lord, the one that makes them Holy if they are not Holy, because only the Lord ALONE is Holy per Rev 15:4 as posted here. Thanks

    John

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  6. John – the word holy has more than one meaning, depending on how it’s used. We discern the proper meaning from context. It can mean “set apart for an intended use”, as was Mary. It can mean righteous and pure, as it does when referring to God or the ones washed clean by the blood of Jesus * The Sabbath was given as a sign to Israel – see Ex 31:13 for example. It is not a sign for the Christians.

    * Mary not included.

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  7. John – your link is interesting only to those who are not aware of apostasy within the evangelical church. Compromise and cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church is a movement in the wrong direction. Come out of her and be ye separate!

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  8. Manfred, I think I follow you. When you say Holy… “righteous and pure, those washed clean by the blood of Jesus” you mean all the elect, the chosen Christians whose salvation Christ purchased through the Cross right?

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  9. John – Yes, the elect (chosen by God before the foundation of the world) are – in time – redeemed by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and made righteous and pure, washed cleaned by the blood of Jesus.

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  10. Manfred, It was interesting though above, your asterisks *. I am surprised you personally don’t consider Mary part of the elect. Did I read that right or no?

    you had said
    when referring to God or the ones washed clean by the blood of Jesus *
    *mary not included.

    I read your bio and I saw that you are a reformed baptist, I was not aware that reformed baptist took a stand on Mary as not being a member of the elect. I could understand silence on the matter, but I was not aware they specifically state that Mary was not Elect.

    Is there anyway that you could source that and how that belief came about in your denomination. I would love to learn more. I read this
    http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/bcof.htm
    But couldn’t find anything specific.

    It did state that in regards to assurance that are hearts are kept Holy the the work of the Spirit

    “and also on the testimony of the Spirit of adoption who witnesses with our spirits that we are the children of God, and who uses the experience of assurance to keep our hearts both humble and holy. ”

    Thanks for explaining that.
    John

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  11. John – No, that’s not what I mean 🙂 I’m telling people that Mary is not included in the redemption process. The Roman Catholic Church has many people claiming she is a co-redemptrix or has some other role in the salvation of saints. It’s as I stated: Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

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  12. Oh yes, that makes perfect sense. I have heard of the term co-redemptrix but in my research on the matter I don’t find it in any official teaching of Rome that I can find. It is not in their catechism I know that. When you said Salvation in grace alone through faith alone in Christ Alone and When I read the lutheran catholic accord it seems similar. It seemed that this 500 year issue between them (catholics and lutherans) has been resolved (thankfully). Both lutherans and Catholics now stand very close to what you say right?

    this is from the text of that accord

    “Together we confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works.[11] ”

    It is interesting to me the movement here. It seems movement in the right direction no?

    One question I have for you is in regards to mediation. I am wondering what you think? I have talked to many catholics who equate it or relate it to intercession. I mean, they say that if I ask you to pray for me, to intercede for me, is that okay? I think most everyone says yes, then… Is that effective? Is intercessory prayer effective? Most people say yes? Does your denomination agree? So the point that I have tried to get clarified is that to me, intercessory prayer seems like an acceptable biblical mediation of sorts. I mean why not go straight to Jesus? why ask a friend to pray?

    Well to me it is because scripture says so right?
    james 5:16
    16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

    this is a type of mediation that is acceptable and biblical correct?
    John

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  13. John – clearly we are taught in Scripture to meditate on the Word of God. This has been corrupted by many to include the New Age method of meditation, wherein one takes a word or short phrase of Scripture and repeats it without actually thinking about what the Bible says. Biblical meditation has our focus on seeking the meaning of God’s Word and applying it to our lives.

    As for prayer – we pray for one another and seek others to pray for us because we are weak creatures and in daily need of God’s mercy. Many Catholics do not know what Rome teaches, as in any other religious group – we tend to drift away over time. But Rome’s official teaching has not changed since the Council of Trent – and they curse those who believe in salvation by grace alone without any works of the human.

    That document is very subtle and deceptive because in the whole course of it, as with many efforts by Catholics and Muslims alike, those with a false view of redemption and of Jesus are consistently working to make us believe their religion is not that different from biblical Christianity.

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  14. Manfred, you may have misread my question as I did not use the word meditate. I think you answered the question I had though in that you agree we ought to pray for one another as we are weak, I might be wrong but it seems that is a form of mediation.

    Mediate:

    3.
    to effect (a result) or convey (a message, gift, etc.) by or as if by an intermediary.

    I would like to think our prayers are effective in bring about peace/healing/reconcilation to our world.

    Let me know if you agree.

    You mentioned being cursed, I was not aware Catholics still believed that about protestants, can you explain what you meant? What do you mean by they curse you and how does that affect your beliefs about Catholics?

    thanks so much for dialoguing with me, interesting stuff and you seem very informed.

    John

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  15. My apologies, John – I read in haste and misread your comment. We have no mediator other than Christ Jesus. Many people teach wrongly about the ability of one super-Christian or another who can mediate for us. Many Catholics teach Mary does this, as we previously discussed. As for Rome’s official teaching, there is nothing indicating they have retreated from the Council of Trent. And there is much to show they support the use of subterfuge and deception in trying to get people to abandon evangelical beliefs and “return to Rome”. They do this mostly through the Jesuits.

    I have been researching and studying these things for several years. My step-mother is a Roman Catholic and seriously deceived.

    If you would like a free DVD with a digital library (see here for details: http://reformedbaptistlibrary.tk) send your snail mail address to me at the email address shown on the library page.

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