The Bible on Catholic Doctrines
2012-03-29
This is a compilation of appropriate Bible passages that contradict some of the basic doctrines of Catholicism. I believe I have been very honest with this issue. It should be clear, by the end of this essay, that you cannot be both a Catholic and someone who believes the Bible at the same time. You will have to choose which path you want to take.
Veneration/Worship of Mary
In Roman Catholicism, Mary is often referred to as the “Queen of Heaven,” which was a false god in the Old Testament. Let us see how the Mary of the Bible is different from what Roman Catholicism teaches.
Jeremiah 7:18-19: “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?” This was not written for the ancient world alone; it was also written for our day as well.
Luke 1:46-47: “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” Mary needed a Savior. If she never sinned, then why did she need a Savior?
Luke 11:27-28: “And it came to pass, as he [Jesus] spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” A woman shouted this out to Jesus from a group of people. When she praised Jesus’ mother according to the flesh, Jesus rebuked her.
Matthew 12:47-50: “Then one said unto him [Jesus], Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Once again, when people draw attention to his family according to the flesh, Jesus points out his real family, who are those who do the will of his Father.
1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Mary is considered a mediator (Mediatrix) in the Catholic religion, but the Bible is clear that there is only one Mediator between God and humankind: Jesus Christ.
Matthew 13:55-56: “Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?” Mary had four sons and at least two daughters after Jesus was born; she lived a normal married life after Jesus was born.
Micah 5:2: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Jesus Christ, being God, had no origin. After the flesh, Mary was his mother, but as God he had no origin. The Catholic Church, however, calls Mary “the mother of God.”
Catholics are also taught the Immaculate Conception, that Mary was conceived without sin. However, the Bible teaches that all of the children of Adam, which would include Mary, are born in sin (Romans 5:12). Only Jesus, the Son of God was ever born without sin (Hebrews 4:15), and only by belief in Him can we be saved from our sin.
In addition to this tradition, Mary was brought to heaven bodily at the end of her life. In the Bible there were only two people who were taken up to heaven bodily at the end of their lives: Enoch (Hebrews 11:5) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). Mary was not explicitly mentioned after Acts 1:14 and her death is not mentioned. This is hearsay that is used to give more glory to Mary. If she has such a role in the daily worship of the church, why is she not mentioned anywhere else in the rest of the Bible after Acts 1:14? Read more about Mary, the mother of Jesus, here.
Church Leadership
1 Timothy 3:2: “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach.” According to the Bible, church leaders are required to be married. This is repeated in Titus 1:6. Also, the fact remains that many of the Catholic priests are sexual predators that prey on children. These are wicked men and are the exact opposite of what really qualifies for the leader of a church.
Matthew 23:8-11: “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” Jesus was rebuking the religious leaders of his day when he said this. No religious leader is to be called master, father, or rabbi. However, Catholic priests are referred to as “father” and receive misplaced honor.
Colossians 1:18: “And he [Jesus Christ] is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” The Pope is referred to as the “Vicar of Christ.” It is actually believed that the Pope is on Earth in Christ’s stead. In other words, the Catholic Church is not bashful in advertising their leader as an “antichrist,” which means “in the place of Christ.” Christ alone is the head of the church.
1 Timothy 4:1-3: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” The Catholic Church forbids its ministers from marrying, as I had previously stated. Also, they demand that their adherents to not eat meat on Friday.
1 John 2:27: “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” The Holy Spirit is the true teacher of the Scriptures. However, the Catholic Church believes that only their leaders can interpret the Scriptures for them.
Idolatry
Exodus 20:3-6: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
The Bible demands us to worship the only true God, yet the Catholic Church worships God along with Mary and various “saints.” Statues, icons, and the like are likewise wicked; we are not to worship them, bow down before them, or even make them. Any image of Jesus Christ, the cross, and so forth all clearly constitute images. They also blaspheme Jesus by depicting him with long hair, when the Bible states that it is shameful for a man to have long hair in 1 Corinthians 11:14.
The Lord’s Supper
Luke 22:19: “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” This is the purpose statement of the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is practiced that we might remember him (cf. Romans 12:1-2), including his passion and resurrection by which means we are saved. We are not saved by eating and drinking, for “it is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:63). There is no “transubstantiation” or salvation by communion taught in the Bible. Read more here.
Works Salvation
Acts 16:30-31: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” It is well known that Catholics preach works salvation, namely, that people have to do certain things to receive eternal life and/or continue to have eternal life. But the Bible clearly preaches that we are saved only by believing on Jesus Christ alone, and that once we are saved, we are saved forever. Salvation has nothing to do with what we do, but rather with what Jesus has already done on the cross of Calvary. Good works are a result of salvation, not a prerequisite to salvation.
Universal Church
The Catholic Church believes that there is a “universal” church (hence the name “catholic”). However, the concept of the universal church is, at best, not emphasized in the Bible. The Bible primarily talks about local churches, since church means an actual congregation. Compare Psalm 22:22 and Hebrews 2:12: “In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee” versus “In the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.” No ecclesiastical body ought to rule over multiple churches, for Christ is the head of every local church.
The Role of Believers
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.” Those who believe on Jesus Christ are priests in themselves. Being a priest means you have direct access to God without the help of another, and we are priests if we are in Jesus Christ. Since we are in Christ, we have full access to God, and able to pray and confess sins directly to him without a human priest.
Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Another case where we have direct access to God in Christ without any human priest.
Revelation 1:6: “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Once again, we all are priests when we are believers.
Romans 1:7: “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Being a saint simply means being a believer (‘a holy one’). See also all of these introductions to Pauline epistles: 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; and Colossians 1:2. Every time the word saint is used at all, it is talking about a believer on Jesus Christ. There is no evidence this means it is some hall of fame of dead people that is decided by men.
The Apostle Peter
The Catholic Church claims that Peter was the first pope. There are two pieces of evidence that he could not be. The apostle Paul devotes the whole chapter of Romans 16 to greet people he knew in Rome. Peter is not mentioned. Secondly, Peter would not qualify; he was married!
Matthew 8:14: “And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever.”
1 Corinthians 9:5: “Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas [Peter]?”
Infant Baptism
There are no examples of babies being baptized in the Bible. On the contrary, we read the following:
Acts 8:36-37: “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Only someone who understands and believes the Gospel ought to be baptized. I talk more about baptism elsewhere.
Purgatory
The Catholic Church also teaches a place of temporal punishment for sins after one dies before going to heaven. There are two major problems with this. The full payment of Christ is undermined, because “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1). Jesus Christ single-handedly paid the price for all of our sin, past, present, and future. Every believer who dies immediately goes to be with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Next the Bible is silent on any purgatory. The rich man and Lazarus, when they died, went to hell and heaven, respectively (Luke 16:22-23). There is no chance to change your eternal destination after you die (Luke 16:26). This doctrine of purgatory gives false hope that after you die, you have a chance to enter into life. This does not seem to be seen in the Bible at all.
Some have cited verses such as Matthew 18:34 to support the doctrine of purgatory: “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.” This is one of Jesus’ parables that teaches us a lot about forgiveness. I talk about this parable elsewhere. The basic idea is that this man, though his king forgave him a debt impossible to pay off, could not turn around and forgive a wrong against him. So if this man was now forced to pay off his original debt, how long would he be there? It was not within him to be able to pay off that impossible debt; such a man is in hell, never to return to life.
Apocrypha
I discuss why the Apocrypha is not a part of the Scriptures elsewhere. However, the Catholic Church decided to add certain books of the Apocrypha to the Old Testament canon in 1546 as part of the Counter-Reformation. This knee-jerk reaction to the Reformation caused the canon to change, something that had been recognized for centuries. The Bible tells us that “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18). Consider these solemn words from the Scriptures: “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6). If you start messing with God’s Words, you can expect God’s rebuke.
What the Bible Says About Eternal Life
There is bad news and good news in all of this. First, if God is Creator of everything, and we have rebelled against Him, there really is no hope for us unless God grants us amnesty somehow. Some believe that if we do more good things than bad things, than God can forgive us. However, the Bible tells us that “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Look at what we are talking about here: not only do we not do good things; we are not righteous. We are born in a state of rebellion against God. We cannot change that; it is the reality of who we are. Even if we manage to do a bunch of good things, it does not change the reality of our rebellious condition. Something apart from our experience must change this, and only God is in the position to help us and save us. Otherwise, we remain under His wrath until death, and then we face eternity in the lake of fire.
While God’s justice demands a penalty for our sin and rebellion against Him, His love demands a pardon. Jesus, the Son of God, became a human being. He lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus, however, was largely rejected by the political and religious leaders, and was crucified, and most importantly, rose from the dead three days later (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). He ultimately died for our sins and rose from the dead.
So, what does this mean? Jesus Christ died for our sins. He did this once, His life for our lives. In the Old Testament, the high priest would offer sacrifices for sins, which was done repeatedly, but the sacrifice of Christ was once and for all.
For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. (Hebrews 7:26-27)
This is a historical event. On the cross, Jesus said “It is finished” for good reason. Nothing else was needed to secure our salvation. He saved us from our sins once, and did so unilaterally.
We read this in the Bible concerning what Christ did for us: “we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). Salvation is a finished work that Jesus did.
We also read, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:17-18). There is no other sacrifice needed. Weekly ritual does not maintain or appropriate the sacrifice of Christ; He did everything to pay for our sins, long before we were ever born.
By trusting what Christ has done for us, He “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son [Jesus]” (Colossians 1:13). Notice the past tense. This happened independent from our effort, any institution, angels, Mary, saints, or any other power. This was God’s gift to us.
Trusting Christ delivers you from the wrath of God once for all. If you take God at His word, then you are saved from His wrath.
Conclusion
My purpose is to show you the contradictions between the Bible’s teachings and some doctrines in the Catholic church. You must choose between Catholicism and the Bible; two contradicting worldviews cannot both be valid.