World Religions, Cults, and Worldviews

1
World Religions, Cults, and Worldviews

• The Roman Catholic Church

2
The Roman Catholic Church

• Catholics do have an orthodox view of
• the Trinity
• the deity of Christ
• the Virgin Birth of Christ
• the sinlessness of Christ
• and to some extent, Christs sacrifice on the
  Cross (they detract from its sufficiency and add
  rituals needed to supplement the atonement)

3
Traditions

• 1 The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered
  around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2
  and had seen that some of His disciples were
  eating their bread with impure hands, that is,
  unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews
  do not eat unless they carefully wash their
  hands, thus observing the traditions of the
  elders 4 and when they come from the market
  place, they do not eat unless they cleanse
  themselves and there are many other things which
  they have received in order to observe, such as
  the washing of cups and pitchers and copper
  pots.) 5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him,
  Why do Your disciples not walk according to the
  tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with
  impure hands?

4
Traditions

• 6 And He said to them, Rightly did Isaiah
  prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written
  THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR
  HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 7 BUT IN VAIN DO THEY
  WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF
  MEN. 8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you
  hold to the tradition of men. 9 He was also
  saying to them, You are experts at setting aside
  the commandment of God in order to keep your
  tradition.

5
Traditions

• 10 For Moses said, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR
  MOTHER and, HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR
  MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH 11 but you say,
  If a man says to his father or his mother,
  whatever I have that would help you is Corban
  (that is to say, given to God), 12 you no longer
  permit him to do anything for his father or his
  mother 13 thus invalidating the word of God by
  your tradition which you have handed down and
  you do many things such as that. Mark 71-13

6
Revelation

• 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and
  profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
  correction, for training in righteousness 17 so
  that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for
  every good work. 2 Timothy 316-17
• The Catholic Church says, Sacred Tradition and
  Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit
  of the Word of God . . . (Catechism of the
  Catholic Church or CCC, paragraph 97)

7
Revelation

• Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted
  and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and
  reverence. (Catechism, para. 82)

8
Development of Traditions

• Roman Catholic doctrine developed considerably
  during the medieval period and beyond
• purgatory in 593
• prayer to Mary, saints, and angels in 600
• kissing the popes foot in 709
• canonization of dead saints in 995
• celibacy of the priesthood in 1079 (See next
  slide)
• the rosary in 1090
• transubstantiation and confessing sins to a
  priest in 1215
• indulgences 1343 Pope Clement IV
• the seven sacraments in 1439
• infallibility of the Pope (1870)

9
Development of Traditions

• 1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later
  times some will fall away from the faith, paying
  attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of
  demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars
  seared in their own conscience as with a branding
  iron, 3 men who forbid marriage and advocate
  abstaining from foods which God has created to be
  gratefully shared in by those who believe and
  know the truth. 4 For everything created by God
  is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is
  received with gratitude 5 for it is sanctified
  by means of the word of God and prayer. 1
  Timothy 41-4

10
Indulgences

• Indulgences a remission before God of the
  temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has
  already been forgiven, which the faithful
  Christian who is duly disposed gains under
  certain prescribe conditions through the action
  of the church which, as the minister of
  redemption, dispenses and applies with authority
  the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and
  the saints. (CCC, para. 1471)

11
Salvation

• Salvation is not only by works, instead of grace,
  but a lifelong set of rituals which, if ignored,
  mean the person has lost their salvation. It is
  an entire system of works as opposed to resting
  in Gods grace through Christ. You are your own
  savior.
• Earlier we saw that salvation comes through the
  Pope (Pope Boniface the 8th, 1302)
• Salvation through the MASS and sacraments
• Baptismal regeneration baby is born again
  through baptism!
• Purgatory needed to cleanse you of sins Christs
  sacrifice did not cleanse you of

12
Justification

• How and when do we gain right legal standing
  before God?
• The Bible says that God justifies him who has
  faith in Jesus (Rom. 326), and that a man is
  justified by faith apart from works of law (Rom.
  328). He says, Since we are justified by faith
  we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
  Christ (Rom. 51). Moreover, a man is not
  justified by works of the law but through faith
  in Jesus Christ (Gal. 216).

13
Justification

• Justify is related to the word for righteous.
• The word for righteousness in Greek (dikaiosune)
  is related to the verb to justify or dikaio.
• Righteousfy means to declare righteous.

14
Justification

• Justification is an instantaneous legal act of
  God in which He
• (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christs
  righteousness as belonging to us
• (2) declares us to be righteous in His sight
• This is COURTROOM LANGUAGE

15
Justification

• Then he Abraham believed in the LORD and He
  reckoned credited it to him as righteousness.
  Genesis 156

16
Justification

• To justify to declare righteous
• When they heard this all the people and the tax
  collectors justified God acknowledged Gods
  justice, having been baptized with the baptism
  of John (Luke 729).
• He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns
  the righteous, both of them alike are an
  abomination to the LORD. Proverbs 1715

17
Justification

• 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God
  is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not
  spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us
  all, how will He not also with Him freely give us
  all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against
  God's elect? God is the one who justifies 34 who
  is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who
  died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the
  right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
  Romans 831-34

18
Justification

• Justification includes imputation
• Imputes God thinks of Christs righteousness as
  belonging to us (Rom. 43 1 Cor. 130 Phil.
  39 Rom. 46-8).
• God credits something to our spiritual account
• For what does the Scripture say? ABRAHAM
  BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED logizomai TO
  HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Romans 43

19
Justification

• 7 But whatever things were gain to me, those
  things I have counted as loss for the sake of
  Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to
  be loss in view of the surpassing value of
  knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have
  suffered the loss of all things, and count them
  but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may
  be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my
  own derived from the Law, but that which is
  through faith in Christ, the righteousness which
  comes from God on the basis of faith Philippians
  37-9

20
Justification

• Now that no one is justified by the Law before
  God is evident for, The righteous man shall
  live by faith. Galatians 311
• for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
  of God, being justified as a gift by His grace
  through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus
  Romans 323-24

21
Justification

• Why Faith? Its the exact opposite of works or
  self-merit or self-reliance
• The dividing line between Catholics and
  Protestants
• to be declared innocent
• or
• to be made innocent?
• To be imputed or credited with righteousness or
  imparted/infused with righteousness.

22
Justification

• The Roman Catholic View
• Infused righteousness At the moment of
  salvation, God infuses or weaves into you an
  actual sinless holiness. At that moment, you are
  perfectly innocent in actual practice.
• Does this sound like legal, courtroom language?
  No.

23
Justification

• The Council of Trent (1545-1563)
• The means of justification is the sacrament of
  baptism.
• Those who, by sin have fallen from the received
  grace of justification may be again justified ...
  through the sacrament of penance. (confession,
  Hail Marys, etc.)

24
Justification

• The Council of Trent
• If any one says, that by faith alone the sinner
  is justified in such a way as to mean, that
  nothing else is required to co-operate in order
  to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and
  that it is not in any way necessary, that he be
  prepared and disposed by the movement of his own
  will let him be anathema condemned. (Council
  of Trent, Canons on Justification, Canon 9)

25
Justification

• The Council of Trent
• If any one says, that man is truly absolved from
  his sins and justified, because he assuredly
  believed himself absolved and justified or, that
  no one is truly justified but he who believes
  himself justified and that, by this faith alone,
  absolution and justification are effected let
  him be anathema. (Canon 14)

26
Justification

• The Council of Trent
• If any one says, that the justice received is
  not preserved and also increased before God
  through good works but that the said works are
  merely the fruits and signs of Justification
  obtained, but not a cause of the increase of
  justification let him be anathema. (Canon 24)

27
Justification

• If any one shall say that justifying faith is
  nothing else than confidence in the divine mercy
  pardoning sins for Christs sake, or that it is
  that confidence alone by which we are justified
  ... let him be accursed (Canon 12)
• For we maintain that a man is justified by faith
  apart from works of the Law. Romans 328
• Therefore, having been justified by faith, we
  have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
  Christ Romans 51

28
Justification

• If any one says, that, after the grace of
  Justification has been received, to every
  penitent sinner the guilt is remitted, and the
  debt of eternal punishment is blotted out in such
  wise, that there remains not any debt of temporal
  punishment to be discharged either in this world,
  or in the next in Purgatory, before the entrance
  to the kingdom of heaven can be opened (to him)
  let him be anathema. (Canon 30)

29
Justification

• Baptism is only the initial grace along the road
  of justification. The Roman Catholic is to then
  maintain his position before God by his efforts.
• No one can merit the initial grace which is at
  the origin of conversion. Moved by the Holy
  Spirit, we can merit for ourselves and for others
  all the graces needed to attain eternal life, as
  well as necessary temporal goods," (Catechism of
  the Catholic Church (CCC), par. 2027).
• You cannot merit grace. Grace is unmerited
  favor.

30
Justification

• 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and
  the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you
  alive together with Him, having forgiven us all
  our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the
  certificate of debt consisting of decrees against
  us, which was hostile to us and He has taken it
  out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
  Colossians 213-14

31
Justification

• Summary The Roman Catholic view of salvation
  promotes an insufficient Christ, an inadequate
  Cross, a losable salvation, and a salvation that
  fails to protect you from Gods wrath against sin
  since it is based on your good works. - Joel
  James

32
Afterlife

• Purgatory (more works) or directly into Gods
  presence?
• And He said to him, Truly I say to you, today
  you shall be with Me in Paradise. Luke 2343
• we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather
  to be absent from the body and to be at home with
  the Lord. 2 Corinthians 58
• But I am hard-pressed from both directions,
  having the desire to depart and be with Christ,
  for that is very much better Philippians 123

33
How to Reach Catholics with the Gospel

• Encourage them to read the Bible, especially
  books like the Gospel of John and Ephesians,
  Galatians, Romans.
• Give them a tract, such as the ones from
  Evantell, that clearly explain the Gospel.
• Give them a book or video from Mike Gendrons
  ministry
• Emphasize the finished work of Christ and
  salvation by grace through faith.
• Dont waste time arguing about Mary or priests
  distractions