Some Protestant christians are quite
vociferous about the Catholics heading to hell. Is this a legitimate thought?
If so, why is it legitimate?
Before we venture into this examination,
let us briefly remind ourselves of some pertinent theological terms and the
church history.
“Salvation
postulates the spiritual; the spiritual embodied in a soul; the soul sanctified
through divine grace. Grace is the unmerited interior assistance which God
confers upon man in order to render him capable of supernatural acts of the
soul through which he may attain salvation. Salvation presupposes a condition
of sin. As sin is the greatest evil, salvation is used mainly in the liberation
of the human race or the individual from sin and its consequences.” 1
The reformers were a breakaway group
from the Catholic church (Catholic = Universal). Martin LutherAA (1483-1546)
was a leader of this religious reform. Luther never saw a Bible until he was 20
years old.2 He was an Augustinian friar, ordained in 1507, taught at
the University of Wittenberg, and was a doctor of theology. His ‘The Ninety-Five
Theses’ was a seminal academic rebellion against the authority and the
religiosity of Catholicism. Luther believed in salvation by grace through faith,
so confronted the teaching of salvation by works (sale of indulgences,
purgatory, pilgrimages, compulsory confessions et al.). He said that all good
works of man aimed to attract God’s favor are sins.3 He was excommunicated
in January 1521 by Pope Leo, was under an imperial ban, and deemed a heretic by
Emperor Charles V.4
The Catholic church, from what I have read
and heard (I have not had the opportunity to worship in one), clearly promotes
salvation by works, which is in total contradiction to the Bible. Other contentious
practices in the Catholic church are: worship of Mary & saints,
transubstantiation, sacraments, distinction between priests and an ordinary worshiper
etc.5 (Please read the references if you desire a better knowledge
of these terms)
Under the umbrella of “works” are the
contentious practices. These contentious practices are a result of their faulty
interpretation of the Bible (e.g. purgatory & 1 Corinthians 3:15). Thus, the
catholic interpretation of the Bible entails salvation by works, which in turn
causes contentious practices.
To complicate matters, the Catholic
Bible has extra books called the Deuterocanonicals or Apocryphals or the Intertestamentals.
Some of their contentious practices are an outcome of these books (e.g. purgatory
and 2 Maccabees 12:43–45). We should consider two aspects when we discuss Catholicism:
Catholic interpretation of the Bible and the Catholic inclusion of the
Apocryphal books in their canon. These are the root of the contentious Catholic
practices.
Quite similar to any believer, a grass
root Catholic cannot undo his canon, but he can learn how to interpret the
Bible without errors (cf. the Bible cannot contradict itself). The grass root Catholic
is also flooded with teaching from his priests, which he needs to cross verify
with his Bible to determine the legitimacy of the teaching. One cannot blindly
follow. The buck stops with the Catholic, as it does with any believer. We read
and understand many things under the sun, but one needs to rely totally upon
the Spirit of God to determine the right from wrong. The ‘right’ should be
integrated and practiced, and the wrong discarded.
Every contentious practice of the Catholic
Church moves the believer away from Christ. Any act that moves a person away
from Christ is a sin.
The error of the Catholic Church isn’t
unique to them, the Protestant churches also contend with the same problem. One
should accept that many Protestant denominations have practices that are
contentious as well. Salvation by works is preached and imposed by many Protestant
denominations. If Catholics are guilty
of venerating their priests, the Protestants too are. If Catholics are guilty
of worshiping idols, Protestants too are, it is just that the idols are
different (church building, people, image of the cross etc.). When we point one
finger at the Catholics, we should understand that three fingers are pointing
at us.
Thus, Protestant churches, by virtue of
their imperfections, cannot claim superiority over the Catholic church. So the
dialogue with Catholics should be built on love and respect – as one
imperfection ministering to another.
With regards to practices that are an
outcome of “salvation by works,” it is one’s responsibility to make disciples
of all nations (Matthew 28: 19-20). We are to make disciples of the Lord Jesus
and not any other. When we express our convictions, the person listening may or
may not accept our convictions immediately. Patience ought to be practiced when
we dialogue with our Catholic brothers and sisters. Our dialogues should be
soaked in prayer, so to discern the Lord’s time and will.
Thomas Aquinas and Thomas à Kempis are
some of my most favorite and respected authors. These are Catholic theologians
and godly thinkers. God has spoken through them and continues to speak through
their writings. I cannot surely imagine them being eternally separated from God
(yes, this is not a sound logic!). But from their writings, I believe that
their faith in Christ was intact. All that matters for eternal security with
God is belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. I will only go as far as to say that
those who believe in the Lord Jesus will be forgiven of all their sins, and
will inherit heaven. This includes believers of Christ from Catholicism and
Protestantism.
Sole faith in Christ is the only
prerequisite to gain heaven. There is no other prerequisite. The final judgment
is in the hands of the Lord Jesus, so if a Catholic believes in the Lord Jesus,
he will indeed go to heaven.
But what about the Catholic who believes
in Christ and consciously practices deeds contrary to the Bible? Will he go to
heaven?
Let us be reminded of the inherent
complexities in this question. First, the presence of extra books in the Catholic
canon should be acknowledged. One should understand the veracity of the Protestant
elimination or the Catholic inclusion of the Apocrypha from their respective canons.
The knowledge of this research would empower the researcher to eliminate
blindness from his thoughts and would equip him to treat the Apocryphal
teaching accordingly.
Second, the understanding of the proper
biblical interpretation is mandatory for both Protestants and Catholics, for
even the Protestants are guilty of contentious practices contradictory to the
Bible. One can always obtain information from knowledgeable people, but
ultimately it is the responsibility of the reader / hearer to discern the right
from the wrong. Discerning right from the wrong is a heavyweight endeavor, for
one should spend hours wrestling with the biblical text, and praying and
receiving the convictions from the Holy Spirit, to understand and assimilate the
truth. A common shortcut practiced is to eliminate personal labor and depend on
another, who is presumably more knowledgeable. If the presumably-knowledgeable is
incorrect in his thoughts, then the reader / hearer would also be sucked into his
error. One should be a Berean in his biblical learning (Acts 17: 11).
Now we need to contend if conscious practices
contrary to Bible would eliminate one from heaven. We could define any practice
contrary to the Bible that violates God and HIS commands as a sin. So would sin
eliminate a believer of Christ from heaven? The answer to this, as far as my
learning and understanding goes, is an emphatic NO. If we are saved by grace
through faith, then we are only saved by grace through faith. We are not saved
by positive or negative works of any form or sense.
It should always be our endeavor to move
away from sin (contentious practices) that separates us from God. We can and
will overcome sin (not to the extent of sinless perfection) by the grace and
the power of our Lord.
It is always wiser to leave all
judgments related to eternity to the Lord (cf. Matthew 7: 21-23). Explaining
our position with careful research, prayer, love, grace and patience is well
within our reach. Transformation of hearts is only in the Lord’s reach.
Let us continue to make disciples of all
nations, but let us do so in love, gentleness and respect. The good Lord will
continue to bless and keep us all. Amen.
References and Notes:
1 Joseph Javorski, A Catholic's Conception
of Salvation, Journal of Bible and Religion, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Winter, 1938), pp.
35-38
2 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09438b.htm
3 Brecht, 2:7–9; Marius, 161–62; Marty,
77–79. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther#cite_note-68)
4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/luther_martin.shtml
5 http://www.gotquestions.org/Catholic-Biblical.html
AA For those unfamiliar with church history,
Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr. are different people.
Useful reads:
1. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther
2. http://www.gotquestions.org/catholicism.html
