The Bible clearly teaches that all have sinned and trespassed God’s holy law (Rom 3:23). In order to be reconciled to God, sinners must come to God by faith and embrace the free gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Rom 5:8; Rom 10:13). The Scriptures are explicitly clear that no person receives the forgiveness of sins through works (Eph 2:8-9). Salvation is a gift from God so that no person can boast.
According to official Roman Catholic doctrine, in order for a person to be saved, it’s quite a tedious task. It involves steps such as actual grace, faith, good works, baptism, participation in the sacraments, penance, indulgences, and keeping the commandments. In short, the doctrine of soteriology taught by the Roman Catholic Church is a works-based system where a person must work their way to God. Below you will see some citations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The Necessity of Faith (not alone)
Faith is central to Christian theology, but according to the Roman Catholic Church, it’s merely one aspect of the system of salvation. According to their Catechism, they write:
“Faith is necessary for salvation. The Lord himself affirms: ‘He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned,’ (Mk 16:16)” (CCC 183).
According to the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, faith is necessary for salvation. That’s good, but they don’t stop there. Faith, in Roman Catholic theology, is merely the starting point. They build from there adding to faith other works of man – including “the Church” and tradition.
“Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation,” (CCC 846).
The Necessity of Baptism
While we are called as Christians to follow the Lord in baptism as a means of identifying with the Lord Jesus Christ and his Church, we are not to embrace the practice of baptism as a saving ordinance / sacrament. The Roman Catholic Church connects baptism to justification.
“Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ. It is granted us through Baptism. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who justifies us. It has for its goal the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life. It is the most excellent work of God’s mercy” (CCC 2020).
“Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude…” (CCC 1257).
As you can see, according to the Roman Catholic Church, baptism is a necessary sacrament whereby a person is granted salvation. In a blasphemous way, they claim, “The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude.” Their reference to “The Church” is a reference to the Roman Catholic Church. They don’t recognize any other church as legitimate. The basis of their claim is centered on their belief that “baptism, by imparting the life of Christ’s grace, erases original sin” (CCC 405). Their errors do not stop with baptism.
In the 1500s, the Reformers broke with the Roman Catholic Church and exposed their false gospel. The Protestants were protesting against the sale of indulgences (literally the sale of salvation) and unbiblical practices of the Roman religion. Later, the Roman Catholic Church would protest against the Reformers with their own statement that emerged from the Council of Trent (1545 – 1563) that contained condemnatory language aimed directly at the Protestants. Consider some key statements that were officially published by the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent. It should be noted that the use of “anathema” is intentional and is intended as a statement that anyone who embraces the Protestant teachings is considered damned to hell by the Roman Catholic Church.
On Justification: The Council of Trent denounced the idea of justification by faith alone, emphasizing the necessity of works: “If anyone says that the justice received is not preserved and also not increased before God through good works, but that those works are merely the fruits and signs of justification obtained, but not the cause of its increase, let him be anathema” (Session 6, Canon 24).
On Sacraments: In regard to the sacraments, the Council reaffirmed the efficacy of the sacraments for salvation and anathematized those who denied their importance: “If anyone says that these sacraments of the New Law do not differ from the sacraments of the Old Law, except that the ceremonies are different and the external rites are different, let him be anathema” (Session 7, Canon 1).
On Transubstantiation: The Council affirmed the doctrine of transubstantiation and anathematized those who rejected it: “If anyone denies that in the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist are contained truly, really and substantially the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the whole Christ, let him be anathema” (Session 13, Canon 1).
On Good Works and the Human Will: “If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise 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” (Council of Trent, Canons on Justification, Canon 9).
Notice how they place “faith alone” in the direct crosshairs of their teachings. They vehemently oppose the teachings of Scripture that salvation comes by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Furthermore, they likewise teach that the human will prepares us and cooperates with God in order to bring about justification. This stands in contradiction to the teachings of Scripture. The Roman Catholic Church does not embrace Protestant Christians as brothers and sisters in Christ to this very day. Why would we embrace Roman Catholics as Christians?
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