Roman Catholicism and the gospel: a conversation between friends

Many of the people we love most are Roman Catholics. They pray, they serve, and they trust Jesus Christ as Lord. This article is written for them, and for anyone who wants to understand the conversation between Catholics and Protestants fairly. We want to begin with what we share, say honestly where we differ, and then point to Jesus.

What we share

Catholics and Reformed Christians confess the same great truths: one God in three Persons; Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, risen and coming again; the inspiration of the Bible; and the call to love God and our neighbour. We say the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed together. Where Catholics defend the unborn, care for the poor and teach that Christ is Lord, we are glad.

Where we differ, and why it matters

The differences are serious, and they are not about people's sincerity. They concern how we are made right with God. Here are the main ones, described as the Catholic Church itself teaches them.

1. Authority

The Catholic Catechism teaches that Scripture and Sacred Tradition, interpreted by the Church's teaching office, together carry God's revelation (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 80 to 82). We hold that Scripture alone is the final authority, because Jesus himself tested every tradition against the written Word (Mark 7:6-13) and Paul says Scripture can make us "complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). Article 6 of the Thirty-Nine Articles and chapter 1 of the Westminster Confession say the same.

2. How a sinner is justified

Catholic teaching, following the Council of Trent, holds that justification is God's gift, but that it is received and increased through the sacraments and cooperation with grace. We believe the Bible teaches that God declares us righteous the moment we trust Christ, on the basis of his righteousness and not ours: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV; see also Romans 3:28 and 5:1). Article 11 and Westminster chapter 11 teach that we are justified by faith alone, and that good works are its fruit. This difference touches the heart of the gospel, because it decides where a person's assurance rests.

3. The sacrifice of Christ

The Catechism teaches that the Mass is not a new sacrifice but makes present the one sacrifice of Christ (paragraph 1367). We rejoice that Catholics honour the cross. Yet we hold that the Bible presents Christ's offering as finished and never to be repeated or re-presented: "by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14, ESV). That is why Articles 28 and 31 and Westminster chapter 29 speak as they do.

4. Mediators and prayer

Catholic devotion asks Mary and the saints to pray for us. We believe Scripture directs us to one Mediator: "there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV), and invites us to come to him boldly (Hebrews 4:16).

What Jesus says

When Jesus was asked what God requires, he answered, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (John 6:29, ESV). He promised, "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life" (John 5:24, ESV). He offers rest, not a ladder: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, ESV).

Questions to sit with

If you are a Catholic reading this, we invite you to read Romans 3 to 5 and the letter to the Hebrews slowly, with an open Bible, and to ask: on what do I rest my hope before God? We would not ask you to take our word for it. Look at the text, and look at Christ.

If you are a Protestant reading this, remember that these are our neighbours and family. Speak with them the way Peter says to: "with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

A closing invitation

Whatever your tradition, Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, ESV). He is enough. Read what we believe.

 

Roman Catholicism and the Reformation: Why We Still Disagree

There are very many genuine Christians in the Catholic Church. We rejoice in that, and nothing here is said to question their sincerity or their love for Jesus. This article is about teaching, not about people: where we believe some official Catholic teaching differs from the gospel of the Bible, and why we think that matters.

An old question

This is not a new question. In the early church, some Christians were told that they must be circumcised to be saved. Paul confronted Peter over it, because adding a requirement to Christ's finished work was contrary to the gospel (Galatians 2:11-16). Peter and the others accepted the correction.

In every generation since, faithful Christians have had to ask the same thing: is the gospel pure, or has something been added to it? Augustine, the Waldensians, John Wycliffe, Jan Hus and Martin Luther, among others, pressed that question, sometimes at great cost. They held that the true Church is the whole people of God, and not an institution that claims Christ's authority for itself.

What we believe the Bible teaches

When we repent and trust in what Jesus has done, taking on himself the punishment we deserve, we pass from death to life. We are born again by God's Spirit, and the Bible says nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ (Romans 8:38-39). Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Good works flow from genuine faith as its fruit, such as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV), but they do not save us. They show that God's Spirit is at work in us.

Where we respectfully differ

As we understand official Catholic teaching, a person is justified through baptism and the other sacraments, and a mortal sin separates a person from God's grace until it is confessed to a priest and absolved (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1855 to 1861 and 1446). Penance, attendance at Mass and set prayers are part of that life of grace. We believe this adds to the finished work of Christ and takes away the assurance that the Bible offers.

Catholic teaching also holds that Sacred Tradition stands alongside Scripture, with equal reverence (paragraph 82). We believe God's written Word is our only final authority in matters of life and salvation, and that every tradition must be tested by it (Mark 7:6-13; Acts 17:11).

The Catholic Church has in recent decades sought closer dialogue with other Christians, and we welcome the warmth of that. But official teaching on these points has not changed, and so we think honesty requires us to say that the differences remain.

Why it matters so much

Paul cared about the gospel so deeply that he wrote:

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel... But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:6-8 (ESV)

We do not quote this against our Catholic neighbours. We quote it because it shows that the gospel is worth guarding, and that how we are saved is not a minor matter.

A sad chapter, and a hopeful one

It is a matter of historical record that church authorities in the Middle Ages and the Reformation era suppressed vernacular Bibles and persecuted Christians who held to salvation by faith alone. William Tyndale's English New Testaments were publicly burned, and Tyndale himself was put to death for translating the Bible. We mention it with sorrow, not with triumph, because Christians of every tradition have at times failed to show the love of Christ.

Yet throughout history, God has kept a people who trusted in him alone for forgiveness, without relying on anything they had done. The Bible says Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3), and that we are called to the same kind of faith: trusting God, and all he has done in his Son, and not ourselves.

An invitation

If you are a Catholic reading this, we ask you to read Galatians and Romans with an open Bible and see for yourself. If you are a Protestant, speak with your Catholic friends with "gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).

For a longer discussion, see our companion article Roman Catholicism and the gospel: a conversation between friends, or read what we believe.