A few excerpts from my thing this morning on Catholics:There is an extremely good chance that you know someone or lots of people who claim to be Catholic. So of all of the churches that teach bad theology, it is important you understand what the Catholic Church teaches and why it is wrong because there are so many Catholics around. There are over 6 billion people in the world, of which there are an estimated 1 billion people who practice Roman Catholicism. So 1 in 6 people in the entire world believe some of the things you and I are going to be discussing. You need to know what’s right and what’s wrong and why it’s wrong.
I spent the first ten years of my faith attending Catholic Churches. I’m going to be saying some critical things about Catholics; but don’t get me wrong; I also love that part of my faith.
Going to a Catholic Church anywhere in the country is like going to a McDonald’s anywhere in the country – you know what you’re going to get; it’s all the same.
Now the intent of the catechism is appropriate. The very first words of the catechism are a direct quote from John 17:3 “Father . . . this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” So the purpose is instruction; but unfortunately, it’s not carried out successfully.
Are Catholics Christian, and are they saved? And unfortunately, there is no easy answer. But first, the title “Christian” is sort of meaningless. A Christian is someone who believes in Christ. It is far more important to be a follower of Jesus, someone who is actively pursuing what it means to live a life Jesus wants you to live, than to simply say “Yeah, I believe in Jesus.” So saying Catholics are or are not Christians is an irrelevant question.
The larger question is "Are Catholics saved?" That simply is an impossible question to answer. The truth is, the way Catholicism is set up with all of these rituals and belief statements and good works, it is hard to determine whether someone believes they are doing the right things so they can go to Heaven, or whether they have entrusted their salvation through faith in Christ. Ultimately, the only way to get to Heaven is by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; believing that He died for your sins, and by His free gift that you accept, you become a child of God. Anything on top of that, is unnecessary false doctrine. So can a Catholic believe in the truth of Christ and accept the gospel message? Yes. Lutherans believe a number of things very similar to Catholics, and we don’t question whether or not Lutherans go to Heaven. But at the end of the day, only God knows the heart of a believer and it’s really a time-wasting exercise to try to guess at whether or not your Catholic friend is actually saved.
1 comment:
Ummm, actually, having had some exposure to liberal Lutheran churches, I certainly question whether some Lutherans go to Heaven.
But this is true of other denominations as well -- as Keith Green used to say, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to McDonalds makes you a hamburger."
Post a Comment