I’ve been very direct about my scripture-supported belief that the Roman Catholic Church (a/k/a The Cult of Mary) is an apostate church that teaches a different gospel (Galatians 1:6-7). Now one of my favorite expository preachers is expounding on the RCC’s departure from sound doctrine.
I found the following article while visiting the blog Symphony Of Scripture:
“Is Roman Catholicism Biblical?” by John MacArthur
In today’s spirit of ecumenism, many evangelicals have called for the Protestant Church to lay aside its differences with Rome and pursue unity with the Catholic Church. Is that possible? Is Roman Catholicism simply another facet of the body of Christ that should be brought into union with its Protestant counterpart? Is Roman Catholicism simply another Christian denomination?
While there are many errors in the teaching of the Catholic Church (for example its belief in the transubstantiation of the communion wafer and its view of Mary), two rise to the forefront and call for special attention: its denial of the doctrine of sola Scriptura and its denial of the biblical teaching on justification. To put it simply, because the Roman Catholic Church has refused to submit itself to the authority of God’s Word and to embrace the gospel of justification taught in Scripture, it has set itself apart from the true body of Christ. It is a false and deceptive form of Christianity.
Click on the title above to read the article in it’s entirety – it is an excellent read. In my opinion, MacArthur deconstructs the alleged validity of the RCC by exposing:
- Their lack of adherence to Sola Scriptua by adhering to the bible AND the Apocrypha AND the Magisterium AND Papal pronouncements AND ancient church tradition.
- Their error in teaching that the Doctrine of Justification is a process instead of an instantaneous action (John 5:24).
MacArthur sums it all up very succinctly:
As long as the Roman Catholic Church continues to assert its own authority and bind its people to “another gospel,” it is the spiritual duty of all true Christians to oppose Roman Catholic doctrine with biblical truth and to call all Catholics to true salvation.
Amen Pastor John, Amen!
***In accordance to 2 John:10, efforts to support or defend the Cult of Mary will not be permitted***
Amen!
Embracing the heretical teachings of the RCC as part of the body of Christ shows how shallow the Protestants have become. This goes to show how professing Christians no longer stand for sola Scriptura. It makes me wonder if this was how the early church morphed into the RCC. Did people lose their sensitivity to false doctrine? Were their ears being tickled by the whispers of Satan? Were they going along just to get along?
May God revive His church before it slips into another Dark Age.
Modern Catholicism has experienced an upsurge (a little similar to Reformed theology at the moment) and with that, particularly out of the US, has risen a bunch of Catholic “apologists” taking their metaphoric hammer to such important doctrines such as sola fide [justification by faith] and sola Scriptura.
May I recommend the ministry of Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries, who has debated heaps of RCC apologists on these issues? He’s a good scholar and has a heart for truth – which is more than can be said for his numerous opponents in the Cult of Mary.
Hello, IST:
The article found at the following site is one I think you and your readers will profit by:
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Transcripts/90-291#top
MacArthur is its author, but the tone and tenor is X-rated; John really brings down the hammer on the Babylonian Church!
Enjoy your site and 1 Timothy 6:12 to you, brother.
Your efforts here prove you are honoring John the Baptist’s exhortation of Matthew 3:8.
Love,
Peter.
Thanks for stopping by pete – and thanks so much for the MacArthur transcript linked above. Wow – you’re right…MacArthur didn’t pull any punches did he? But he is correct – and the truth must be told.
And thanks for the encouragement – glory to God alone…
I thought I’d heard the sermon in MP3 before – and it turns out I had! Here’s the link to the MP3: http://www.bereanbeacon.org/audio_video/UnmaskingThePope.mp3
Wow, I wonder how my mother will take this? Thanks Douglas.
She’s gonna try to lay hands on you at first rascoe1 – literally.
Then, when she calms down and reads scripture, prayerfully she’ll repent (if she’s RCC) and flee that wicked false religion.
Without question, she’s in my prayers…
ST what happened to your “Hold fast to the faith” video. I just went back to check, to remind myself of who John MacArthur is and it is not there.
I hope she does my brother. She has been one for years. My younger brother has fleed but she refuses to budge. I am going to try again and I am trusting God this will be it. I will encourage her to listen to the video, so she can hear of the history and present RCC beliefs, that I think sure she has no idea of.
Don’t know rascoe1 – it still plays at Proclaim His Word’s youtube channel. I’ll look into it.
Until then, here’s some info on John MacArthur (including a link to his church in California)…
Just a brief note to all of the Cult of Mary apologists who continue to attempt to comment and use this blog to promote your cult.
Give it a rest…
Mary can’t send me to hell, and the apostate pope {or your “holy father”} can’t either.
I pray that you repent of your allegiance to such a wicked false religion, but the Lord’s will be done either way.
frankly, im offended that you call the catholic church the “cult of mary.” what gives you the right to hate catholic tradition so much? don’t you realize taking communion is a symbolic way of revitalizing or connection to God?
a catholic teenager,
Of course you are offended that I call the RCC the “Cult of Mary”, because you subscribe to the RCC’s heretical teaching. If you are a teenager, then I suspect that you have embraced a faith that your parents of guardians exposed you to, and that’s understandable. I don’t hate the catholic tradition, I acknowledge that the Roman Catholic Church is an apostate church headed by an antichrist pope, that’s all.
If you read the Word of God (not the Apocrapher or the “lost books” – the truly Canonized 66 books of the Word of God), then you will realize the error in which you reside.
Speaking of communion, do you not think that it’s heretical to pretend as though wine and crakers are magically transformed into the precious Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ?
Just in case you’re looking for biblical truth take a look at these:
Biblical Doctrine Vs. Catholic Tradition – Part 1
Biblical Doctrine Vs. Catholic Tradition – Part 2
Biblical Doctrine Vs. Catholic Tradition – Part 3
Biblical Doctrine Vs. Catholic Tradition – Part 4
Biblical Doctrine Vs. Catholic Tradition – Part 5
thanks for the respectful reply. but I gotta say, some of your points are far too general. only a small minority of catholics believe that wafers and wine are jesus’ literal body and blood and NONE that I know consider mary to be anywhere near gods level. she is just a human who has shown us the real way to connect with god. saying all catholics believe these things is like saying all muslims crash planes into buildings.
a catholic teenager,
I understand that the word “catholic” simply means “universal”, so on its face, the term “catholic church” could loosely be used to describe the church as a whole.
That said, my specific points of contention are with the entirety of Roman Catholicism – the pope, intercession on behalf of “saints” and “martyrs”, and Mariology, and more.
Maybe all muslims don’t fly planes into buildings, but all Christians should avoid abandoning the Word of God and pledging allegiance to the apostate RCC and the antichrist pope.
A catholic teenager – Do you feel to Pray the Rosary is legitimate, yes or no?
You are totally wrong and that is heresy. You try and play as if you don’t embrace unbiblical doctrines, however, you promote Roman Catholic tradition that is heretical. Mary is NOT a human who showed us the real way to connect to God. Only One has done that and it’s not Mary, as the Bible details:
1 Timothy 2:5-6 (New American Standard Bible)
ST, “A catholic teenager” is a Roman Catholic.
A catholic teenager – Mary is not a way to God, there is ONLY ONE WAY, ONLY ONE WHO IS MEDIATOR, JESUS CHRIST.
Do you agree or disagree with Roman Catholic Catechism entry 969? I can tell you, it’s a total lie.
Stop following those traditions of men and stick with the Bible of 66 books.
Yes it is appropriate to call Roman Catholicism the cult of Mary, because it is. You say yourself that you feel Mary shows you a way to connect to God. You pray to her don’t you? You pray for her to pass messages to God for you don’t you? You’ve falsely made her your mediator. While the Bible says ONLY JESUS is mediator. That’s why you’re promoting false teaching, a cult, granting mediator powers to someone who does not have them, Mary, which although you deny makes her deity for you, cult of Mary fits.
You probably did not watch those videos ST provided for you in full, but you should.
And a catholic teenager, what does one have to do in order to be saved?
Roman Catholics do believe that Communion, this “bread and wine,” is transfigured into Jesus Christ’s literal body and blood.
That the Holy Mother, a virgin, gave birth to Christ. The Holy Mother is God’s example of what a human should be, and Christ loves and respects her.
That Jesus Christ left his ministry in the hands of Peter, while ordaining the Papacy and the Holy Church.
And, those are all true.
Roman Catholic,
Huh???
This is why I don’t allow comments supporting the apostate RCC on my blog – primarily because those of you who follow the apostate RCC can’t defend your cult with sound scripture. At least you didn’t try – you only threw out a few platitudes and general statements.
I won’t waste any more of your time, so I’ll simply say to watch the videos I referenced above, repent before the Lord Jesus Christ and turn away from that apostate cult you’re in as soon as possible.
mary is viewed as she should because of inferences which make perfect sense. Jesus was and is god, but he was also a man and a child. Mary raised him, and loved him. when Christ was crucified it is only logical to think she suffered as much as god the father and god the son. she is venerated because she, through her suffering, learned the divine mystery of how to be closer to god. she is not, as you say I believe, a way to god, she is an example of how we humans can know god better. this is just my opinion, I didn’t base this off any churches official views.
I assume you’re directing your comments to Independent Conservative, but If you’re going to attempt to defend a religion, a catholic teenager, then you have to do more than infer based on your own interpretation…you have to defend it with scripture found in the bible of 66 books.
a catholic teenager, you claim Mary veneration is a good thing, well if you REALLY hold Christ in higher esteem than Mary. Keep His commandments. He made it clear that you are NOT to venerate Mary.
Luke 11:27-28 (New American Standard Bible)
So what’s it going to be a catholic teenager? The command of the Lord, or the traditions of men you were instructed to follow and lied to and told they were what Christ commands?
a catholic teenager,
I appreciate the fact that you want to have a dialogue about your religion. I said I wouldn’t approve comments of apologists of the Cult of Mary, but I had hoped that the information given here would drive you back to the bible for study. You have yet to answer some basic questions posed by IC above, and until you do I won’t approve any more of your comments.
The bootom line is that according to the Word of God, the RCC is a religious cult – you can either do your research and accept God’s truth or not…it’s up to you.
Roman Catholic,
I usually don’t respond to blogs, but I had to just correct one item in your post. You said, “That Jesus Christ left his ministry in the hands of Peter, while ordaining the Papacy and the Holy Church”. I believe you are reffering to Matt 16:18. In this text, Jesus is talking to Peter, and says (paraphrasing), You are Peter or Cephas (which means rock), but upon this Rock, Myself, will I build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail againt me. Now before you deny this, let me explain.
Remember the scriptures (both Old and New Testament) that tells of Christ being the Cheif corner stone, the one that the builders rejected? If not, here are a few of them:
1) Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
2) Psalm 118:22-23 The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
3) Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.
Without making this too long, the bottom line is this. The builders rejected the stone (Jesus), but the stone that they rejected became the most important “Stone” of all. Peter, just like you and me, was a sinful, fallen human being. There is no way, based on scripture, that God would build his church on a sinful man. Yes, Peter’s name ment stone. But Jesus was illustrating the fact that it doesn’t matter what your name means. Jesus is the name above all names. Dont believe me? Acts 4:12 states that neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Christ is to be our Rock, our Stone. The song says “on Christ the solid Rock I stand”.
Also, look at the story of the foolish man who built his house upon the sand (Matthew 7:24-27). When the storms came (the storms of life), his house was washed away. But the wise man who built his house upon the Rock (Jesus), when the storms came, his house was still left standing.
My friend, God is our Rock, our only hope of salvation. If we fail to stand on Him, we will be in serious trouble.
May God continue to bless you, is my prayer.
Ah, the battle of the Cult of Mary vs. the Cult of Martin Luther. When all is said and done it still comes down to the interpretations and translations of the imperfect men of the Catholic church and Martin Luther’s adding the word “sola” to Romans 3:28, thereby violating Revelation 22:18 in a blatant way. With Catholicism there are the hundreds of men, gathered in God’s name trying in earnest to to accurately translate God’s word. With Luther we have one of the most prideful boasts in theological history:
“If your papist wishes to make a great fuss about the word sola (alone), say this to him: “Dr. Martin Luther will have it so, and he says that a papist and a donkey are the same thing.”
and placing himself even above the angels:
“I know for certain that I am right, I will be judge above you and above all the angels, as St. Paul says, that whoever does not accept my doctrine cannot be saved. For it is the doctrine of God, and not my doctrine; therefore my judgment also is God’s and not mine”
Whatever your feelings about the Catholic church, Martin Luther is a much poorer example on which to base a theological interpretation.
Thanks for the comment Jim. I admire the works of Luther, Calvin, and others who have pioneered (and continue to labor) in the Reformation, but I esteem no one higher than God and His Word. I don’t think Luther “violated” Revelation 22:18 because anyone who reads Romans 3:28 (and more specifically, Romans 3:21-31) can see that the bible has not been altered to include the word “Sola” (or “alone/only”), but the entire passage details our justification through faith and not works or the law. Anyone can google Calvin and Luther (and many others) to read of graphic evidence of their fallability, but the RCC continues to be THE example of an apostate system that is AntiChrist (for the many reasons I’ve detailed in the past).
I would rather someone pledge allegiance to God through Jesus Christ than simply pledging allegiance to Calvin or Luther (or “the Mother Church”).
The problem is less with the addition of a word, which Luther acknowledges he added, than with his prideful boasting that accompanied his justification of the addition and which is found throughout his writings. Rejecting the value of prayers for the dead he dropped 2 Maccabees rather than defend his position. All men are fallible, but where the Catholic Pope is considered infallible only in dogmatic matters relating to faith and morals, Luther’s boasts pretty much extend infallibility to whatever he wishes regarding his theology. The bottom line is that the teachings of the Catholic Church are a far better witness to God’s word than the teachings of Martin Luther. Protestantism would have been better served had Dr. Charles Stanley been in his place, but lucky for us God chose to bless our generation with Dr. Stanley instead.
Again, Jim – I implore allegiance to the Word of God over allegiance to ANY man. Luther, Stanley, and others are fallible, period, but I HEARTILY disagree with your assertions of the soundness of the RCC.
In my opinion, they are an apostate cult. We will agree to disagree from this point forward.
Obviously we will disagree. I don’t deny that the Catholic church has had it’s Swaggarts, Bakkers and Haggards. But it has also had its Grahams, Stanleys and Whitfields. No one in the Catholic church worships or pledges allegiance to the pope. He is only the final word regarding the interpretation of God’s Word for its members, just as the pastor is for any church that is a member of the SBC or non-affiliated church. The types of abused seen over the centuries in the Catholic church can also be seen in the diaspora of Protestant churches–rape, financial scams, eccentric interpretations, etc. The Catholic church teaches the existence of Purgatory. Dr. Charles Stanley uses the same scripture used by the Catholic church regarding Purgatory to support his belief in different levels and types of rewards one receives in Heaven. I once heard Dr. Stanley say that Believers “will have responsibility in Heaven.” My first thought when hearing that was that someone will hand us a stack of work and say they need it finished ASAP. To a Catholic, both of those beliefs sound as strange as Purgatory sounds to a Protestant. But belief or non-belief in either results in damnation or salvation. There is no way anyone could ever comprehend even a fraction of what the Heavenly realm of God is like. Both are simply humans trying to understand the incomprehensible in a sincere attempt to commune with God. We can’t all be the foot, or hand or eyes. Many ministries, one body. I have theological differences with Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort, but I am a regular viewer of Way of the Master. For the crowd they target on the Santa Monica pier there message is right on. But it wouldn’t be appropriate for Believers in any Christian denomination who are sincerely trying to fulfill the destiny for which God created them.