Sermon on Catholicism – Catholicism Refuted, Part 2

1. Catholicism says,

1) “Jesus gave His disciples–and by extension, priests–the power not only to ‘loose’ sins (that is, forgive in God’s name), but also to ‘bind’ (that is, impose penances)…” They cite Matthew 18:18 “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” as justification for this as well as Matthew 16:19.

2) They cite John 20:23 as justification for forgiving sins on earth. “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”

3) They cite Matthew 3:5-6, Acts 19:18 and 1 John 1:9 as authority for priests to take confessions.

2. The Bible says…

1) All Christians are priests! 1 Peter 2:5 “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:9 says we are a royal priesthood.

2) Revelation 5:10 says, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Who are these? The ones who have been redeemed as verse 9 indicates.

3) Sin is committed only against God and so God alone can forgive sins. Psalm 51:4 “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.”

4) What then is the Bible speaking about when talking about the disciples forgiving sins? Certainly not some formal clergy of priesthood that requires the sinner to confess sins to the priests to get forgiveness.

5) The context of Matthew 18 is in regard to personal sins against brethren.

6) The context of John 20:23 is in regard to the work of the Apostles on the earth.

7) Jesus claimed all authority in Matthew 28:18. The apostles had no right to go beyond that authority.

8) Matthew 3:5-6 is speaking of John the baptizer and his work. The confession of sins was an act of repentance here. Acts 19:18 is in regard to pagans who were repenting. By confessing their sins they were showing repentance here as well. 1 John 1:9 is not even speaking of men, but God! To take this passage and use it to support their doctrine of confession is to wrest the scriptures to their own destruction.

9) Christians are supposed to confess their sins one to another (James 5:16), but this is a far cry from the formal type of confession the Catholic church would have us to believe.

1. Catholicism says,

1) “Catholics do not worship Mary. We venerate her because she is the mother of God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2) “Catholics believe that Mary is the highest of God’s creatures because of her exalted role.”

3) “We believe that God saved her by taking away all stain of original sin at the moment of her conception (the Immaculate Conception).

2. The Bible says,

1) We ought not to worship anyone but God.

a. Revelation 22:8-9 says, “And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.”

b. Only God’s name is revered. Psalm 111:9 “holy and reverend is his name.”

c. Veneration is just another name for worship. It comes from the Latin word VENEROR which means to adore, reverence, worship, revere.

d. So this is merely a smoke and mirror explanation.

2) Mary is no more higher creation than any man in general.

a. Psalm 8:5-6 “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:”

b. She was blessed. Luke 1:42 “And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” But many people were blessed by the Lord in the Bible.

3) There is no indication in scripture that God specially took away Mary’s sins at the moment of her conception.

a. First, the doctrine of inherited sin is false.

a) Sin can only be committed by those who practice lawlessness. 1 John 2:4 “Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”

b) Rom. 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

c) Sin doesn’t come from without, it comes from the heart. Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:”

b. Second, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is only in place because of the doctrine of original sin.

c. One of the problems with the doctrine that sin is inherited is that Jesus would have had to inherit it.

d. The “Immaculate Conception” is the way Catholicism tries to get around the implications of this doctrine.

1. Catholicism teaches:

1) “A consecrated host or wafer at a Catholic Mass is the true Body and Blood of Christ, not merely bread; so Catholics are worshipping Jesus, not a wafer.”

2) They cite John 6:51-56 to support this teaching.

3) They also cite 1 Cor. 10:16 and 11:27.

4) Finally they state, “In the last Supper passages (Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20), nothing suggests a metaphorical or symbolic interpretation.”

2. The Bible teaches:

1) Transubstantiation is the doctrine that during the Lord’s Supper the bread and fruit of the vine change into the literal body and blood of Jesus.

2) First, John 6:51-56 is not referring to the Lord’s supper. The context indicates this.

a. John 6:35 “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

b. John 6:45 “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”

c. John 6:48, “I am that bread of life.”

3) The fact is that the wafer does not change into literal flesh and the wine does not change into literal blood. The fact that priests often get drunk from the consecrated wine should prove such.

4) 1 Cor. 10:16 “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” But notice verses 17-18 “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?”

a. Would we, the church, also be the literal body of the Lord?

b. The example of the Israelites who offered sacrifice, did they literally eat the altar?

5) 1 Cor. 11:27 says, “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.”

a. They suggest that if we sin against a symbol that is not being guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

b. But note the example of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1ff); also note Uzzah (2 Sam.6:1ff). They sinned against symbols and God took it very personally. Were they guilty of sinning against God, or of against mere symbols?

6) In Matthew 26:26-29 we read: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

a. Note: If everything here is literal, then the disciples MUST drink the cup itself.

b. If everything here is literal, then Jesus said that the cup was just fruit of the vine. But he had already blessed it. He should have said, “Blood.” Jesus, therefore, didn’t know the doctrine of Transubstantiation.

1. Catholicism says,

1) “‘to enter heaven, one must be perfectly holy.”

2) “The cleansing and purifying of any remaining sin, which makes us fit for God’s holy presence, is what Catholics call purgatory.”

3) They cite 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 as justification for this doctrine.

2. The Bible says,

1) The blood of Christ perfectly cleanses us from all sin, not purgatory.

a. Hebrews 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge “

b. Hebrews 10:14 “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

c. To suggest that somehow the blood of Christ does not take away all of our sins and that we need to go to purgatory to have them completely cleansed away is complete and utter heresy.

2) That the faithful who die go to “paradise” and the wicked go to torments.

a. Luke 23:43. Paradise.

b. Luke 16:23. Rich man in torments.

3) That one day, all will be raised from the grave to be judged.

a. Acts 24:15 resurrection of the just and unjust.

b. 2 Cor. 5:10 All appear before judgment seat of Christ.

4) 1 Cor. 3:13-15 is not speaking of our own personal works of salvation. That passage is in reference to those who we bring to Christ–other people.

5) There is no indication in scripture that anyone will ever go to a place called “Purgatory” or “Limbo” or any other such place than paradise or torments, and then eventually, heaven and hell.

1. Catholicism says?

1) “Catholics can be as sure as anyone else that they are in God’s good graces.”

2) “Likewise, St. Paul does not regard salvation as a one-time event, but as a goal to be sought after, one that can be lost…”

2. The Bible teaches

1) Yes we are saved! Acts 16:30.

2) We are saved by Grace. Ephesians 2:8. We don’t merit our own salvation.

3) When we obey the gospel of Christ, then we are accepting the grace of God in our lives.2 Cor. 6:1 “We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.”

4) Catholics teach the truth regarding the possibility of apostasy.

5) However, Catholicism teaches salvation of merit based on works.