Because the Catholic church has added so much to the Gospel and the life of the Christian with regards to salvation, I thought it would be helpful to include an outline from a sermon I gave on this very topic. The basic outline is that salvation is not based on my performance, or found in any other person or on any other path.
When I was twelve I purchased a book about “mysteries of the Bible” from a popular retail store. As soon as you put mystery in the title it implies something. The author apparently has the answer to something that has long been a secret. Our culture loves mysteries and especially conspiracy theories.
Conclusion
So what do we do with Catholicism?
It is clear that Catholics have drifted far from Biblical Christianity in both their theology and their practices. The have a view of salvation that adds to the Gospel. They have a prescribed set of works you must do to find favor with God. They have a view of communion which flies in the face of the doctrine of Christ. They add a whole other layer to God’s creation and plan of salvation. They downplay the priesthood of the believer and reserve priesthood for an elite few who report to a figure other than Christ. They elevate Mary (and others) to a place of honor only reserved for God. And finally, they add books to the Bible which contradict the clear teaching of scripture. So what do we do with that?
We have to say that the teaching of the Catholic Church is at best mixed. There is a lot of Biblical truth taught, but it is mixed in with some pretty significant false teachings. We have a shared past in church history, but our paths have drifted even further apart. The main question we are left with is this: Can a Catholic be saved?
The answer to this is yes. If someone is part of the Catholic church (even with all of its problems) and they have a genuine relationship with Jesus based on faith in his death and resurrection then they are saved. If we truly believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ, then we can’t also add that they must attend a protestant church. Otherwise we would be guilty of adding to the gospel ourselves and committing the very act we are here critiquing. We have to acknowledge that someone can have salvation even if they are in a church that has false teachings. Does that mean that all Catholics are Christians? No. And in just the same way not all protestants who attend protestant churches every week are Christians.
Salvation has nothing to do with where you go to church or what segment of Christianity you are from. Salvation is accomplished by trusting in the faithfulness of Jesus who died and rose again that we might have life. Can we support the Catholic Church in what it teaches? No. But we can recognize that there may be Christians within it. We both have a shared history but have gone in divergent courses. Let’s pray that they would experience a true reformation and a return to the truth.
