Lesson 17: Understanding Roman Catholicism

During her childhood, Hannah prayed that God would lead her to a church where she would feel accepted. As a young adult she visited a Catholic church for mass. Many of the Roman Catholic customs seemed strange to her. She liked the fact that they practiced the same worship customs all over the world. She began to feel that it is a wonderful miracle that the mass becomes the body and blood of Jesus every time, so that people can be in contact with Jesus.

► Read Titus 2 aloud together. Each student should write a paragraph that summarizes this scripture passage. What does the passage say about Christian living? Each student should write a list of statements. As a group, discuss what you have written.

[1]Origin of Roman Catholicism

The worldwide leader of Roman Catholicism is called the pope. The headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church is in Rome.

The term Catholic means “universal” or “complete.” The Roman Catholic Church claims to be the complete church of God and that all other churches are false.

Catholicism claims to be the original church established by Christ. Catholics claim that the first pope was Peter, and that there has always been a successor of Peter as pope of the Catholic church. They believe that their group of leaders called “Cardinals” are the successors of the apostles and have the same authority as the original apostles.

Roman Catholicism is similar to Eastern Orthodoxy in beliefs and religious ceremonies.

Influence

The Roman Catholic Church is one worldwide organization. As of 2021, there are more than 1.37 billion Catholic members.[2] The populations of many nations are mostly Catholic. In those countries, the Catholic religion is part of their culture. There are millions of people who profess to be Catholic but only occasionally participate in religious activities.

The Catholic church is very wealthy and politically powerful. In earlier centuries, the church many times used armies to force nations to submit to the church. In countries controlled by Catholicism, many people were tortured and killed because they did not agree with Catholic doctrines.

► This question introduces the following section. What have you seen of the religious practices of Roman Catholicism?

Beliefs of Roman Catholicism

The worship style of Catholicism is very formal. Catholics have many large cathedrals around the world that are known for their great architecture. Cathedrals are decorated with pictures and statues of saints from history. Priests normally have special robes. The worship activities are done mostly by the priests, with little participation from the congregation.

[3]The people of many cultures became Catholic while keeping the religious practices of their previous religion. Formerly pagan idols were at times given the names of Catholic saints. The ceremonies of Catholicism were mixed with the ceremonies of an idolatrous religion or a nature religion.

The Catholic church’s beliefs about God are consistent with basic Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, the deity, death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Christ, and the deity of the Holy Spirit.

The Catholic church claims that the church has the authority to explain what the Bible means, even if the church’s interpretation seems to be different from what the Bible says. Catholics also include other writings, known as the Apocrypha, in their Bible (as scripture) that are not included in the Bible by other churches.

► What is the right view of the authority of the church in relation to the Bible?

Catholics believe that the pope is the representative of Christ on earth. They believe that when he makes official decisions about religion, he cannot make a mistake. This authority comes from their tradition and not from the Bible. Many popes in the past have been wicked men, guilty even of murder.

Both Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism select historical people to recognize as saints. Many of the saints have status in the church similar to gods. People pray to them for help. Certain saints are supposed to be interested in certain aspects of life or in certain occupations, so sailors, farmers, and teachers have special saints, called patron saints, to whom they pray. In some places, the saints took the place of pagan deities. People consider God and even Jesus distant and unconcerned about them, so they pray to saints instead.

In Hebrews 4:16, God invites us to confidently come to him in prayer. We do not have merit in ourselves, but Jesus has given us access to God’s presence by the atonement, Ephesians 2:13.

Roman Catholics are accused of idolatry because they pray to saints using pictures and statues of them.

To make an image for prayer and worship is idolatry. The Bible forbids idolatry, see Exodus 20:4-5 and 1 John 5:21. When a sinner repents and comes into relationship with God he rejects idols, see 1 Thessalonians 1:9. Never does the Bible say that the Christian should pray to anyone but God or use an image for worship.

Objects that were used by saints are kept in the churches for honor. Sometimes bodily remains such as teeth or bones are kept in the church. People come to kneel and pray to the saints represented by the bones.

Roman Catholic priests are not allowed to marry.

Mary (the mother of Jesus) is especially honored. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception teaches that Mary was born without a sinful nature and never committed sin. Many Catholics pray to Mary more than to God. They feel that Jesus will listen to Mary and be influenced by her. Mary has become a mediator between the worshipper and Christ.

According to 1 Timothy 2:5, Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. Jesus has all compassion, and we do not need anyone to influence him to care about us, see John 11:35.

[4]► What is the correct Christian view of Mary?

Both Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy teach the doctrine of transubstantiation. This is the belief that during communion, the bread and wine are transformed into the literal body and blood of Jesus, so the worshipper can receive them for salvation. Therefore, they believe that the bread and wine are sacred.

Roman Catholics believe that salvation depends not only on the atonement of Christ but on being part of the Catholic church, receiving communion, and doing good works.

Catholics do not preach a gospel message that a sinner can repent of his sins, put his faith in Christ, and receive assurance of salvation. Instead, a person must faithfully follow the directions of the priest and hope for salvation.

Many Catholics continue to live in open sin. They expect that they will remain Catholics until they die, then spend time in purgatory, then go to heaven.

The Bible says that an evidence that a person is a Christian is that he lives a righteous life, see 1 John 3:7-8.

Purgatory and Indulgences

Roman Catholics believe that after death a person must suffer punishment for sins before entering heaven. This is called the doctrine of purgatory. They believe that sin must have punishment even if it has been forgiven. Therefore, even a faithful Catholic expects to spend some time in purgatory for the sins he has committed. Careless sinners expect that they will spend time in purgatory after death, then be allowed into heaven. They believe that the fire of purgatory causes pain greater than any pain experienced in life.

Jesus suffered so we would not have to be punished for sin, see Isaiah 53:5. Catholics deny that the sacrifice of Christ was sufficient for us to be forgiven and not be punished for sin.

They believe that Christians should pray for dead people and give offerings to the church for them, so God will forgive their sins sooner and let them out of purgatory.

The Bible nowhere tells us that we should pray for the dead. Instead, it implies that nothing can be done for sinners who have died without salvation, see Luke 16:23-26.

Catholics believe that the church has an accumulation of extra merit from Christ and the saints. The pope can give this merit to people to help them get forgiveness. This merit can be given to living people or dead people who are in purgatory.

The idea that merit from saints is added to merit from Christ to help sinners is a terrible doctrine. Human works do not bring any merit for forgiveness, see Ephesians 2:8-9. A believer is forgiven completely on the basis of grace, and not by the works of anyone, see Romans 4:5-8.

► How does the doctrine of purgatory affect the lifestyle of those who believe it?

The distinctive doctrines of Catholicism do not depend on scripture. Their doctrine is based mostly on the tradition of the church.

► Now go back and read the bold and italicized text and each scripture.

Roman Catholics believe the foundational Christian truths of the Trinity and the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

There are many Catholics who have put their faith in Christ for salvation, but the message of the gospel is not clear in Catholicism. Many Catholics have not experienced repentance, forgiveness, and assurance of salvation, and are not living in relationship with God. Therefore, it is important for a Christian to share the gospel. The essentials of the gospel that are neglected in Catholicism can be proved with the following sections from the Handbook of Doctrine:

(9) Salvation is only by the atonement of Christ.

(10) Only God should be worshipped.

(11) We receive salvation by faith.

(12) We can have personal assurance of salvation.

Because Roman Catholics have added traditions that they consider essential to Christianity, a Christian should show them the scriptures cited in the Handbook of Doctrine in the section

(1) The Bible is sufficient for doctrine.

Bartholomew became a Roman Catholic priest after several years of study. He served as a parish priest in California and later served as a chaplain in the navy. His mother became an evangelical Christian. He saw a wonderful change in her and had many conversations with her about her conversion. She persuaded him to depend on the Bible as the final authority for his beliefs. He began to realize that many important doctrines of Catholicism are contrary to the Bible. He left the Roman Catholic Church. He eventually understood that salvation is through the work of Christ and not by works or by the church sacraments.

► Now read Titus 2 again. Each student should write a paragraph explaining the message this passage has for a Roman Catholic. Several students can share what they wrote.

Remember to find an opportunity to present the gospel to someone from this religious group. Prepare to share with your classmates about the conversation you have had. Write your 2-page written report and turn it in to your class leader.