Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
(Mat 15:7-9)
The answer is, if they hold to Catholicism as holy, no, they're not, because it's a false faith and a false religion, and this post will explain why.
Before I do, however, I have to admit, that at times I have struggled with this, because there are many aspects of Catholicism that are true and biblical, such as the concept of confession between believers (James 5:16), the importance of recognizing the body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper (See I Corinthians 11:17-34, although transubstantiation is not in the Bible), examining one's self before partaking of such Supper (I Corinthians 11:28), having the Lord's Supper EVERY TIME they meet (I Corinthians 11:20), and the existence and office of bishops (I Timothy 3:1-7).
Their strict organization, ritual, and traditional qualities are quite attractive in human eyes.
Yet, they don't follow the precepts of Scripture (whom Jesus also is, says John 1:1, John 1:14, I John 1:1, etc.), thus they are false. Here are some reasons why:
1. They worship Mary. Look around any Catholic church, and it is very likely that you will find a statue of Mary (maybe also of Jesus, and that too is an idolatrous graven image, as Scripture says below) It is obvious that she is worshipped, because there is much more praise for Mary than in other churches. "Hail Mary" is a common phrase. Is this not the very definition of idolatry?
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.
(Exo 20:3-6)
2. They teach that Mary is a "perpetual virgin". According to Catholic News Agency:
Although never explicated in detail, the Catholic Church holds as dogma that Mary was and is Virgin before, in and after Christ's birth.
and
It also maintains that Jesus Christ was Mary's only child. The so-called "brothers and sisters" are close relations.
These are outright LIES. When Jesus was rejected at Nazareth in Matthew 13:55-56 and Mark 6:3, the crowd had this to say about Him:
“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?” (Matthew 13:55-56, KJV)
The crowd saw Jesus as a mere man (of course, a mere man He is not). And thus, seeing things in human terms, they recognized the existence of Jesus' earthly siblings. Nowhere in Scripture was James, Joses, Simon, Judas, and the sisters, born of a virgin, for with the exception of Jesus, the siblings could not have been conceived without the loss of Mary's virginity.
So, even if Mary was to be venerated as a god, even the Catholic Mary is a false god.
2. Their priests are often called "Father". There is a character in the TV show "M*A*S*H" named "Father Mulcahy", who is a Catholic priest. Jesus says:
Mat 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Isn't calling someone "Father" as a title a blatant violation of this commandment?
3. They consider the baptism of babies valid. Not only that, their method of baptism is "sprinkling", both aspects of which are heretical.
Consider Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. The Holy Spirit told Philip to go near to the chariot of the eunuch (v. 29), and the eunuch was heard reading from Isaiah. After a discussion about what the reading from Isaiah 53 meant, there was this exchange:
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. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
(Act 8:36-39)
Thus shows two true doctrines of baptism. Firstly, that you must believe in order to be baptized. What baby do you know has faith? Secondly, that baptism must be done by immersion, for Philip and the eunuch went up "OUT OF THE WATER". That's not sprinkling. That's dunking. In fact, the Greek word for "baptized" in v. 36 literally means "to make whelmed" or to make "fully wet".
Now, I would not be surprised if there were more heresies to be discovered within the Roman Catholic Church.
A side note: Why am I doing this? Why does it appear that I'm judging them, or anyone else that doesn't agree with Scripture? As I've mentioned in a
previous post, many people would often say to me, "Judge not lest ye be judged also" (based on Matthew 7:1). Yet, why do I also see this in Scripture:
1Co 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
(2Pe 2:1-2)
2Th_3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
(2Jn 1:9-11)
There are lots of false teachers and false religions in the world, many of which call themselves "Christian". Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Jesse Duplantis, Mike Murdock, Kenneth Copeland, Billy Graham, J. Vernon McGee, etc. Mainline Baptist (ABC-USA is among them), KJV-Only ists, Catholic, Mormon, Anglican, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. There are much more, but those I've mentioned I'm sure of.
And this is disheartening, because if you profess faith in Jesus Christ, you probably belong to one of these groups, and to think that while you thought you were going to Heaven, but instead you're on the path to Hell (because a false faith and a false Jesus is not gospel, says Galatians 1:6-7), is very disheartening. I was once ABC-USA myself, and was taught a form of "once saved, always saved" and the concept of "asking Jesus into your heart".
And some may say I'm going too far and I'm being too strict in what constitutes the true religion. I'm not at all saying that you have to be absolutely perfect in your doctrine to be saved (James 3:2). Correction is the way to life (Proverbs 6:23). It's just that your faith, the LOCATION of your faith, your trust, MUST be in the Word of God, and NOT in man (Jeremiah 17:5). The false teachers and false religions I mentioned hold on to what is false and merely man-made, and THAT is why they are headed to Hell.
This is serious. Modern religion is a lie. Flee from it:
Joh 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
Finally, let me repeat the following:
Some may also say: OK, then who's the true Christ? What church has the Truth? I can only say this about that statement without bias: Just follow the Bible. Read it, cover to cover. Accept the truths of the Bible as plainly and as literally as possible. This is true faith. If there are churches that put their trust in the Word of God, for Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1, 1:14, etc.), follow them (I Corinthians 11:1), yet don't trust IN them (Jeremiah 17:5), but IN Christ.
As for all churches, whether true or false, ALWAYS do this:
1Th_5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
