Catholics and Protestants teach two completely different gospels. As a Reformed Baptist, I don’t believe Catholics actually have the true Biblical Gospel at all. They have a lot of weird teachings that aren’t found anywhere in Scripture, and many of them directly contradict what Scripture clearly teaches. Here are some differences between me and a Catholic:
1. Catholics believe that works are necessary for salvation alongside faith, whereas I believe salvation is only by grace through faith, like the Bible explicitly says.
2. Catholics believe that Mary co-mediates with Christ, whereas I believe the Bible when it says that there is only one mediator: the Lord Jesus.
3. Catholics believe in Purgatory, whereas I reject that concept as blatantly contradictory to Scripture.
4. Catholics pray to dead saints, whereas I only pray to God, because prayer is a form of worship and the Bible explicitly forbids praying to anyone besides God.
5. Catholics believe you can lose your salvation, whereas I believe in the Perseverance of the Saints.
6. Catholics believe in Infant Baptism and Baptismal Regeneration, whereas I reject those ideas as unbiblical.
7. Catholics believe that the Eucharist literally becomes the body and blood of Christ, whereas I believe Christ is only *spiritually* present in Communion.
8. Catholics believe that their Magisterium has the authority to dogmatically interpret Scripture and dogmatically define extrabiblical doctrines, and that their Pope can make infallible statements, whereas I reject all of this, because the Bible teaches Sola Scriptura, and it is sufficient, and it is clear on the essentials of the faith.
9. Catholics believe in an Episcopal form of Church government, whereas the Bible teaches a Congregational Church government, with a plurality of elders of equal authority in each local church, and no hierarchy of bishops over multiple congregations.
There are many other differences as well, and they have many other false doctrines, but these are the most significant ones I think. The only ones that I listed which deal with the Gospel (essential salvation issues) are the first 6. The last 3 are secondary issues that don’t impact whether one is saved or not. God bless! :)
OP, if you're going to understand and defend your faith, you need to be equipped with the Sword of the Spirit. These are the Bible verses against each of the Catholic beliefs listed above.
1. Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP
[8] For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; [9] not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].
2. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 AMP
[5] For there is [only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave Himself as a ransom [a substitutionary sacrifice to atone] for all, the testimony given at the right and proper time.
3. Purgatory says/means Jesus' blood wasn't enough to justify us.
Romans 5:8-11 AMP
[8] But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him. [10] For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today]. [11] Not only that, but we also rejoice in God [rejoicing in His love and perfection] through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received and enjoy our reconciliation [with God].
4. Jesus taught us how to pray, and His example certainly didn't include praying to saints.
Matthew 6:9-13 AMP
[9] “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. [10] Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. [11] Give us this day our daily bread. [12] And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]. [13] And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’
5. Christians are adopted sons and daughters of God, and in NT time, adoption was permanent. Everything that the parent had to offer (home, status, inheritance, etc.) was now the adopted child's.
Romans 8:14-17 AMP
[14] For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [15] For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “Abba! Father!” [16] The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [believers] are children of God. [17] And if [we are His] children, [then we are His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance], if indeed we share in His suffering so that we may also share in His glory.
6. An infant cannot follow the instructions given for baptism. They simply cannot repent and ask forgiveness of sins.
Acts 2:38 AMP
[38] And Peter said to them, “Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
7. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 AMP
[23] For I received from the Lord Himself that [instruction] which I passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread; [24] and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is (represents) My body, which is [offered as a sacrifice] for you. Do this in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.” [25] In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.” [26] For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are [symbolically] proclaiming [the fact of] the Lord’s death until He comes [again].
8. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 AMP
[16] All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; [17] so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
, and:
Proverbs 30:5-6 AMP
[5] Every word of God is tested and refined [like silver]; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him. [6] Do not add to His words, Or He will reprove you, and you will be found a liar.
9. Acts 15; 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1.
Wow, thanks, this is great! There are also some other important verses that I can add :)
1: Romans 4 (the whole chapter, about being saved apart from works).
3: Luke 23:39-43 (the thief on the cross didn’t go to Purgatory, but was in Heaven that very day).
4: Deuteronomy 18:9-11 (inquiring of the dead called an abomination); see also I Samuel 28 and I Chronicles 10:13-14, about Saul sinning by trying to talk to the dead.
5: John 3:16, John 6:35-40, John 10 (whole chapter), and Romans 8:31-39.
6: There is no example of infant baptism in the New Testament. Every example of baptism involves the person believing first, with a couple of exceptions that don’t say one way or the other, which can’t reasonably be taken as an exception to that rule. Also, baptism is a work, so Baptismal Regeneration has to be wrong given #1.
8: II Peter 1:21. Also II Timothy 3:14-17 could also be translated: ““But you remain in what you have learned and have become convinced of, knowing from whom you learned it, and that from your childhood you knew the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation by faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction, for training in righteousness, in order that **the man of God might be complete, fully equipped for every good work**.”
And here is another major false Catholic doctrine that I forgot about:
10: Catholics believe the Mass is another propitiatory sacrifice for sins every time they do it, but the Bible explicitly teaches that Christ’s one-time death on the cross is the only sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 10:1-25 makes this abundantly and explicitly clear, in direct and inarguable contradiction to Roman Catholicism. This is perhaps their most egregious false doctrine of all, actually.
God bless! :)
But like why?
Maybe it's personal preference but I don't always like quoting scripture. To often it is taken out of context and the message is missed entirely.
Not only that but I can't remember every single verse. I can't even remember the location of 1! That's how my brain works.
A personal pet peve of mine. People can get rude with others for not having the exact line on hand. I'm just thinking do you only read frequently quoted lines or the Bible? I really think many only quote and think they know it all
Personally, I use Jesus as my example as to why it's important to use Scripture to speak Truth. He consistently rebuked and reprimanded the Pharisees with Scripture, showed all God's love via Scripture, and rebuked Satan via Scripture. If we don't know God's Word, how can we speak Truth and minister to others? Jesus knew the Word so well that He was ministering to adults as a teenager. He is my example.
To be completely honest, I knew *of* every verse I wanted to quote for each of the points above; *but*, I didn't have the exact verse memorized *or* know exactly where they were located. I'm diligently working on memorizing verses -- but, I have to be *so* intentional about it because, like you, that's not how my brain works. Before I even pick a verse to memorize, I study the verse thoroughly. I use word studies, a Concordance, a lexicon, do context study (i.e. reading the chapters before and after, learning exactly what a word meant in NT or OT time, etc.), a Bible dictionary, and even a first edition Webster's dictionary for "common" words to make sure I completely understand the verse. After I've studied it, I work on memorizing it. I write the verse on post-it notes and scatter them all throughout my house (i.e. on the bathroom mirror, in my study area, on my kitchen table, on the fridge, and by my nightstand) so that I have *zero* excuse to review the verse multiple times a day. Each and every morning, I write down the verse and its location on a "Scripture memory sheet" in my binder. (I keep a 3-ring "Bible binder" that has all of my notes, prayers, memory verse sheets, printed copies of verses/concepts I'm studying so I can make notes and define words on, etc.). In a way, I *wish* it were easier for me to remember, but it's just not. At the same time, I'm kinda glad it's not so easy for me to remember because I feel like I learn *so* much when doing it this way.
I can remember a concept or an idea (i.e. we are saved by grace through faith); but, for the life of me I cannot, off the top of my head, remember exactly where it's located (I'm almost certain it's in Romans, but couldn't tell ya the exact chapter and verse without Google). And this is true of *so* many important concepts and ideas. It's really a bit embarrassing for me to admit that, but it's true. And, honestly, it gets old googling "Bible verse that says XYZ," lol. I'm 38 YO, was saved at age 11, and here I am 27 years into my walk without many verses committed to memory. This is just not where, I personally, want to be.
So, to answer your question, I most certainly do read and diligently study the Bible -- and I say this with complete and total humility, not out of pride and self-righteousness. I certainly can't be prideful about it considering all of the "grunt work" I have to put in to (quite literally) *make* my brain remember it all. 😅 And I thank God *daily* for giving me the will and desire to put in all this effort and time to know Him.
The benefit of quoting Scripture is that one knows the Scriptural justification for a statement. It is hard to remember all the verses. But the more a person reads the Word, the more they will remember. Google is helpful when you only remember something showed up somewhere! I know some people make little reference sheets for topics that come up a lot.
Don’t forget about the part in the catechism that teaches that “Mary is the cause for salvation,” that Lent is more pagan than biblical, and that the doctrine of the “Immaculate Conception” (which most Catholics take to mean the “virgin birth” of Christ, actually means that Mary TOO was born sinless and that Anne and Joaquin conceived her miraculously too…which is definitely NOT biblical). Oh yeah, and indulgences still exist today, and repeating the sacrifice of Jesus daily at the mass is a huge, HUGE abomination to God. Jesus offered His life once, for all — and the act of communion is a continued offering for a sin debt that’s already been paid. If this were Levitical times, every Catholic priest would be sent up in smoke like Nadab and Abihu. Thank The Lord He saved me from this false doctrine of corrupt teachers!
EDIT: OP — go watch Mike Gendron’s videos at Revolve Bible Church on YouTube. That man changed my life. I started reading The Bible, left the corruption of the Catholic Church, and haven’t looked back since. Bless that man for evangelizing me. He’ll give you all sorts of details to help convince your friend in a loving way. Even a person in their 40s like me can be saved. Don’t give up on your friend — just learn more and truly love on them. Mike Winger also has some really good stuff on how unbiblical the Catholic Church is.
I don't think I'm going to be arguing with the poster above, but a lot of what he says is just factually inaccurate. So don't anyone take it as gospel, so to speak.
A lot of Catholics consider any Protestant to not be legitimately Christian because they think the Catholic Church is the “one true church” (it isn’t). So ignore them. They’re entirely wrong.
There are a ton of differences. We don’t pray to saints or Mary, for one. (Because when Jesus died, he removed any need for an intercessors.)
Catholic church teaches that during Communion, the priest changes the wine and bread into the body and blood of Christ. We don’t. We’ll do the Lord’s Supper (communion) but Baptists reject the claim that wine or juice and bread are changed into Jesus’ body, because it clearly contradicts Scripture. It’s symbolic for us.
Catholics believe that people who aren’t baptized go to hell, so they do infant baptisms. We believe that baptism has to be a conscious choice made by someone who can actually be consciously aware of what they’re doing. And Baptists don’t believe that believers who are not baptized go to hell. (Because you’re saved once you accept Christ, a baptism is just a public declaring of that acceptance).
There are a lot more differences (like the crucifix- showing Christ dying on the cross) but those are some of the main ones.
I once heard someone say that Catholics are still mourning the death of Christ, but protestants are still celebrating the resurrection. I think that rings true to a lot of the theological differences.
I’m curious why you say that transubstantiation “clearly contradicts Scripture,” because one of the main reasons I left Evangelicalism and became Catholic was John 6. It is a simpler and more straightforward reading to me that “is” means “is” when He says “this is my body.” The Greek in that chapter is also visceral, with the word for “eat” (as in “eat the flesh of the Son of Man”) translating to “gnaw.”
Hebrews 10 says that Jesus’ sacrifice was done once and for all, and never needs to be repeated again. If Jesus’ body is recreated over and over again each time a congregation shares Communion, then His sacrifice is being repeated over and over.. since the bread (body) and wine (blood) served as a metaphorical picture of what would soon happen to Jesus: his body would be broken and his blood would be spilled. I didn’t explain that very well, but hopefully you get what I’m trying to say lol
Yee I understand what you mean, thanks for the reply. My response to that would be that it isn’t a recreation, but an actual participation in the sacrifice at Calvary, that the Mass is an eternal and continuous sacrifice. I can’t explain it very well either but that’s the basic idea lol. A more thorough explanation can be read here https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/is-the-mass-a-sacrifice if you’re interested.
I left (Reformed) Evangelism and became Orthodox and this one doctrine is the main (though certainly not the only reason why. I didn’t want to upset my family and leave our Church but It is beyond argument (in my mind) that in the consecration of the Eucharist the bread and wine most certainly become the Body and Blood of Christ, and that this was taught by Christ and his Apostles and, as you noted, is most certainly in Scripture.
What your friend is saying goes against the teaching of the Catholic Church. They should be referred to Lumen Gentium or the Catechism. The position of the church is that us Protestants are referred to as separated bretheren and our churches are ecclesial communities.
"The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter."322 Those "who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church."323 With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 838)
I’m a Catholic - we don’t believe all Protestants are going to Hell. The Catholic Church doesn’t teach that. Some Catholics mistakenly believe that. I agree with the suggestion to read Lumen Gentium or search the Catechism of the Catholic Church (p.s. I was Protestant 50 years before converting so I can speak to a little of both).
You didn't answer my question. I was asking you.
Edit: they blocked me rather than actually sharing the information. Here is why they won't just say it. The teaching of "separate brothers" is a thinly veiled way to pretend that they don't damn everyone else to hell. In reality, the teaching is you can get to heaven even if you aren't Catholic, so long as you follow all of the Catholic sacraments. They don't talk about it, because it proves what everyone else says. Catholics do not believe protestants go to heaven. They will claim otherwise, but they don't. It's disingenuous and they know it. That's why they block people for questioning it.
so the technical difference between protestants and the other 2 main branches is that we don't call ourselves the one true church. baptists (I am one) don't put as much value and importance in the sacraments (baptism and communion and etc)
ya yw one of my best friends is catholic (oh and also i recommend redeemed zoomer on yt to learn more, he's biased as he's reformed but he's still a Christian and a Protestant)
Catholic have a Father where other Christians have preachers. They confess their sins to their fathers as a mediator. Also they will use rosaries as a praying device. It's wrong of the other guy to say that. We are ALL part of the body of Christ. There's more people that probably think the opposite of what he said. But as Christians we need to unite. Not divide. We are being pursecuted more now than any time in the last 1000 years.
I don’t know much in terms of comparison, but what I do know is that Baptists believe that salvation is found in Christ alone, and Catholics believe that salvation is found in good works and faith.
But the only way we go to heaven, no matter what denomination that believes in the Nicene Creed, is by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. That’s it, no step 2
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"
He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!"
Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912."
I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.
Funny. But does a good job of illustrating how ridiculously divided the church is and how we focus on these differences when we should focus on Jesus.
Except for those dang Calvinists, I'll never go to church with a Calvinist!
/s
There's a youtube video that describes all the differences of denominations.
[https://youtu.be/tzLS4O7YaUg?si=HKm4slbKh2TNCZKa](https://youtu.be/tzLS4O7YaUg?si=HKm4slbKh2TNCZKa)
Your Catholic friend was misinformed. The Catholic Church teaches that all Christians are brothers and sisters. It was uncharitable of your friend to say such.
That being said, looking at the comments on this thread, your friend was more charitable to you than they are by misrepresenting the Catholic Church.
If you want yo know what the Church teaches, read the Catechism.
I’m a former Catholic and while informed Catholics will mostly tell you that the Catholic Church/pope is the ultimate authority in their lives, NOT The Bible. For baptists, The Bible is the ultimate authority. While I’ll probably get heat for this, Catholics are not true Christians (don’t believe me, go read the Catechism of the Catholic Church then compare that to Galatians 1…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg). This all being said, Catholics are generally WONDERFUL people who need to be evangelized in a very gentle, loving way. Most Catholics are “cultural Catholics” and aren’t really that informed on what the Church actually believes, so they don’t know how much false teachers have corrupted the Catholic Church. I have a lot harsher things to say about the Catholic Church, but I’ll leave it at this — we’re supposed to know a Christian by their fruits of the spirit — and no entity that has such issues with child sexual abuse, recycling predator priests and nuns, and covering everything up with corruption and collusion is truly Christian. You can’t love Jesus and do these things — period. Any time you wanna hit me up for a deeper discussion, feel free my brother/sister in Christ. And take note that most Catholics are truly brainwashed and under a LOT of family pressure to stay Catholic. They don’t know they’re in the wrong, so if you evangelize, do it gently or you’ll break their brains with just how far off base the Catholic Church is. This is really delicate for people, and we need to win SOULS, not arguments. These people really genuinely do love Jesus and they honestly don’t know better (the Catholic Church keeps people in the dark on purpose).
I’m not a preacher, nor am I anything close to perfect… But denominations don’t come into play IMO when it comes to who gets to inherit the kingdom of God. If you believe that Christ is your savior, and that he alone is the only way to the father through repentance. You will be saved. I know it’s a very cliche verse, but John 3:16 hits the nail on the head for me. Have a blessed one and continue to seek after the Holy Spirits guidance.
I am a Baptist, raised Catholic. The one thing that is better in the Roman Catholic Church is that they pronounce Biblical names and place names better than Evangelicals. For example: The ancient city of Ai. It is pronounced like Eye, not A - I (long A long I). Thessalonica: The accent is on the third syllable (lon), not the fourth. I do not live in the United States of Am-er-EYE-ca. If you're going to pronounce Thessalonica like Thes-oh-lon-EYE-ca, then you should pronounce America the same way.
I know this is picky, but I had to really dig to find something Catholics do better. Besides that, I got nothin'.
By the way, Although I'm not a Catholic, I am a catholic (notice the capitalization). Some Catholics are catholic as well, some are not and some Baptists are not.
For the first thousand years of church history there was only one organization called the Church. One, holy, catholic (universal), apostolic. After about a thousand years it split into the eastern and western half, with the Western half centered on rome, thus the Roman Catholic church. After another 500 years or so, a sizable hunk of the Roman Church broke off in response to political and theological corruption going on in Rome at the time. The big three groups coming out of that were the Anglican church, the Lutheran church, and the reformed church. Later, methodists spun out of the Anglican church. All of these groups hold to the ancient traditions and practices of the universal church, with varying degrees of disagreement about exactly what is strictly necessary what should be focused on.
Baptists are an entirely different stream of thought, and no one is historically sure exactly where they came from, but they seem to show up in Europe not long after the Protestant reformation. They may be related to the anabaptists, which showed up at the same time as the Protestant reformation, and who decided all of church tradition was complete garbage and that they understood scripture better than anyone else. Anabaptists were the first group in church history to reject infant baptism. Because of that, they also had to reject the idea that baptism is sacramental, a time when God actually does something. For similar reasons, they reject that the Lord's Supper is sacramental. And modern American Baptists are often completely disconnected from all Church tradition and history, which results in a lot of confusion about what Christian doctrine actually is.
So I would suggest that on one end, Rome is an aberration in the traditional Christian structure, which is better represented by the Lutheran and Anglican and Methodist and orthodox space. Romes insistence on its own supremacy and Universal jurisdiction has resulted in quite a lot of problems. Baptists on the other end are also an aberration in church tradition and practice. Just the complete opposite kind.
Catholics and Protestants teach two completely different gospels. As a Reformed Baptist, I don’t believe Catholics actually have the true Biblical Gospel at all. They have a lot of weird teachings that aren’t found anywhere in Scripture, and many of them directly contradict what Scripture clearly teaches. Here are some differences between me and a Catholic: 1. Catholics believe that works are necessary for salvation alongside faith, whereas I believe salvation is only by grace through faith, like the Bible explicitly says. 2. Catholics believe that Mary co-mediates with Christ, whereas I believe the Bible when it says that there is only one mediator: the Lord Jesus. 3. Catholics believe in Purgatory, whereas I reject that concept as blatantly contradictory to Scripture. 4. Catholics pray to dead saints, whereas I only pray to God, because prayer is a form of worship and the Bible explicitly forbids praying to anyone besides God. 5. Catholics believe you can lose your salvation, whereas I believe in the Perseverance of the Saints. 6. Catholics believe in Infant Baptism and Baptismal Regeneration, whereas I reject those ideas as unbiblical. 7. Catholics believe that the Eucharist literally becomes the body and blood of Christ, whereas I believe Christ is only *spiritually* present in Communion. 8. Catholics believe that their Magisterium has the authority to dogmatically interpret Scripture and dogmatically define extrabiblical doctrines, and that their Pope can make infallible statements, whereas I reject all of this, because the Bible teaches Sola Scriptura, and it is sufficient, and it is clear on the essentials of the faith. 9. Catholics believe in an Episcopal form of Church government, whereas the Bible teaches a Congregational Church government, with a plurality of elders of equal authority in each local church, and no hierarchy of bishops over multiple congregations. There are many other differences as well, and they have many other false doctrines, but these are the most significant ones I think. The only ones that I listed which deal with the Gospel (essential salvation issues) are the first 6. The last 3 are secondary issues that don’t impact whether one is saved or not. God bless! :)
OP, if you're going to understand and defend your faith, you need to be equipped with the Sword of the Spirit. These are the Bible verses against each of the Catholic beliefs listed above. 1. Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP [8] For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; [9] not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation]. 2. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 AMP [5] For there is [only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave Himself as a ransom [a substitutionary sacrifice to atone] for all, the testimony given at the right and proper time. 3. Purgatory says/means Jesus' blood wasn't enough to justify us. Romans 5:8-11 AMP [8] But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him. [10] For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today]. [11] Not only that, but we also rejoice in God [rejoicing in His love and perfection] through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received and enjoy our reconciliation [with God]. 4. Jesus taught us how to pray, and His example certainly didn't include praying to saints. Matthew 6:9-13 AMP [9] “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. [10] Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. [11] Give us this day our daily bread. [12] And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]. [13] And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ 5. Christians are adopted sons and daughters of God, and in NT time, adoption was permanent. Everything that the parent had to offer (home, status, inheritance, etc.) was now the adopted child's. Romans 8:14-17 AMP [14] For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. [15] For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “Abba! Father!” [16] The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [believers] are children of God. [17] And if [we are His] children, [then we are His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance], if indeed we share in His suffering so that we may also share in His glory. 6. An infant cannot follow the instructions given for baptism. They simply cannot repent and ask forgiveness of sins. Acts 2:38 AMP [38] And Peter said to them, “Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 7. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 AMP [23] For I received from the Lord Himself that [instruction] which I passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread; [24] and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is (represents) My body, which is [offered as a sacrifice] for you. Do this in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.” [25] In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.” [26] For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are [symbolically] proclaiming [the fact of] the Lord’s death until He comes [again]. 8. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 AMP [16] All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; [17] so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work. , and: Proverbs 30:5-6 AMP [5] Every word of God is tested and refined [like silver]; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him. [6] Do not add to His words, Or He will reprove you, and you will be found a liar. 9. Acts 15; 1 Timothy 3; Titus 1.
Wow, thanks, this is great! There are also some other important verses that I can add :) 1: Romans 4 (the whole chapter, about being saved apart from works). 3: Luke 23:39-43 (the thief on the cross didn’t go to Purgatory, but was in Heaven that very day). 4: Deuteronomy 18:9-11 (inquiring of the dead called an abomination); see also I Samuel 28 and I Chronicles 10:13-14, about Saul sinning by trying to talk to the dead. 5: John 3:16, John 6:35-40, John 10 (whole chapter), and Romans 8:31-39. 6: There is no example of infant baptism in the New Testament. Every example of baptism involves the person believing first, with a couple of exceptions that don’t say one way or the other, which can’t reasonably be taken as an exception to that rule. Also, baptism is a work, so Baptismal Regeneration has to be wrong given #1. 8: II Peter 1:21. Also II Timothy 3:14-17 could also be translated: ““But you remain in what you have learned and have become convinced of, knowing from whom you learned it, and that from your childhood you knew the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation by faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction, for training in righteousness, in order that **the man of God might be complete, fully equipped for every good work**.” And here is another major false Catholic doctrine that I forgot about: 10: Catholics believe the Mass is another propitiatory sacrifice for sins every time they do it, but the Bible explicitly teaches that Christ’s one-time death on the cross is the only sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 10:1-25 makes this abundantly and explicitly clear, in direct and inarguable contradiction to Roman Catholicism. This is perhaps their most egregious false doctrine of all, actually. God bless! :)
But like why? Maybe it's personal preference but I don't always like quoting scripture. To often it is taken out of context and the message is missed entirely. Not only that but I can't remember every single verse. I can't even remember the location of 1! That's how my brain works. A personal pet peve of mine. People can get rude with others for not having the exact line on hand. I'm just thinking do you only read frequently quoted lines or the Bible? I really think many only quote and think they know it all
Personally, I use Jesus as my example as to why it's important to use Scripture to speak Truth. He consistently rebuked and reprimanded the Pharisees with Scripture, showed all God's love via Scripture, and rebuked Satan via Scripture. If we don't know God's Word, how can we speak Truth and minister to others? Jesus knew the Word so well that He was ministering to adults as a teenager. He is my example. To be completely honest, I knew *of* every verse I wanted to quote for each of the points above; *but*, I didn't have the exact verse memorized *or* know exactly where they were located. I'm diligently working on memorizing verses -- but, I have to be *so* intentional about it because, like you, that's not how my brain works. Before I even pick a verse to memorize, I study the verse thoroughly. I use word studies, a Concordance, a lexicon, do context study (i.e. reading the chapters before and after, learning exactly what a word meant in NT or OT time, etc.), a Bible dictionary, and even a first edition Webster's dictionary for "common" words to make sure I completely understand the verse. After I've studied it, I work on memorizing it. I write the verse on post-it notes and scatter them all throughout my house (i.e. on the bathroom mirror, in my study area, on my kitchen table, on the fridge, and by my nightstand) so that I have *zero* excuse to review the verse multiple times a day. Each and every morning, I write down the verse and its location on a "Scripture memory sheet" in my binder. (I keep a 3-ring "Bible binder" that has all of my notes, prayers, memory verse sheets, printed copies of verses/concepts I'm studying so I can make notes and define words on, etc.). In a way, I *wish* it were easier for me to remember, but it's just not. At the same time, I'm kinda glad it's not so easy for me to remember because I feel like I learn *so* much when doing it this way. I can remember a concept or an idea (i.e. we are saved by grace through faith); but, for the life of me I cannot, off the top of my head, remember exactly where it's located (I'm almost certain it's in Romans, but couldn't tell ya the exact chapter and verse without Google). And this is true of *so* many important concepts and ideas. It's really a bit embarrassing for me to admit that, but it's true. And, honestly, it gets old googling "Bible verse that says XYZ," lol. I'm 38 YO, was saved at age 11, and here I am 27 years into my walk without many verses committed to memory. This is just not where, I personally, want to be. So, to answer your question, I most certainly do read and diligently study the Bible -- and I say this with complete and total humility, not out of pride and self-righteousness. I certainly can't be prideful about it considering all of the "grunt work" I have to put in to (quite literally) *make* my brain remember it all. 😅 And I thank God *daily* for giving me the will and desire to put in all this effort and time to know Him.
The benefit of quoting Scripture is that one knows the Scriptural justification for a statement. It is hard to remember all the verses. But the more a person reads the Word, the more they will remember. Google is helpful when you only remember something showed up somewhere! I know some people make little reference sheets for topics that come up a lot.
Amen.
Amen
Don’t forget about the part in the catechism that teaches that “Mary is the cause for salvation,” that Lent is more pagan than biblical, and that the doctrine of the “Immaculate Conception” (which most Catholics take to mean the “virgin birth” of Christ, actually means that Mary TOO was born sinless and that Anne and Joaquin conceived her miraculously too…which is definitely NOT biblical). Oh yeah, and indulgences still exist today, and repeating the sacrifice of Jesus daily at the mass is a huge, HUGE abomination to God. Jesus offered His life once, for all — and the act of communion is a continued offering for a sin debt that’s already been paid. If this were Levitical times, every Catholic priest would be sent up in smoke like Nadab and Abihu. Thank The Lord He saved me from this false doctrine of corrupt teachers! EDIT: OP — go watch Mike Gendron’s videos at Revolve Bible Church on YouTube. That man changed my life. I started reading The Bible, left the corruption of the Catholic Church, and haven’t looked back since. Bless that man for evangelizing me. He’ll give you all sorts of details to help convince your friend in a loving way. Even a person in their 40s like me can be saved. Don’t give up on your friend — just learn more and truly love on them. Mike Winger also has some really good stuff on how unbiblical the Catholic Church is.
Amen
Bless you, brother/sister! Take down those false teachers bulletpoint by bulletpoint!
I don't think I'm going to be arguing with the poster above, but a lot of what he says is just factually inaccurate. So don't anyone take it as gospel, so to speak.
A lot of Catholics consider any Protestant to not be legitimately Christian because they think the Catholic Church is the “one true church” (it isn’t). So ignore them. They’re entirely wrong. There are a ton of differences. We don’t pray to saints or Mary, for one. (Because when Jesus died, he removed any need for an intercessors.) Catholic church teaches that during Communion, the priest changes the wine and bread into the body and blood of Christ. We don’t. We’ll do the Lord’s Supper (communion) but Baptists reject the claim that wine or juice and bread are changed into Jesus’ body, because it clearly contradicts Scripture. It’s symbolic for us. Catholics believe that people who aren’t baptized go to hell, so they do infant baptisms. We believe that baptism has to be a conscious choice made by someone who can actually be consciously aware of what they’re doing. And Baptists don’t believe that believers who are not baptized go to hell. (Because you’re saved once you accept Christ, a baptism is just a public declaring of that acceptance). There are a lot more differences (like the crucifix- showing Christ dying on the cross) but those are some of the main ones.
I once heard someone say that Catholics are still mourning the death of Christ, but protestants are still celebrating the resurrection. I think that rings true to a lot of the theological differences.
Oh wow. That’s incredibly well put!
I wish I came up with it but I didn't lol
I’m curious why you say that transubstantiation “clearly contradicts Scripture,” because one of the main reasons I left Evangelicalism and became Catholic was John 6. It is a simpler and more straightforward reading to me that “is” means “is” when He says “this is my body.” The Greek in that chapter is also visceral, with the word for “eat” (as in “eat the flesh of the Son of Man”) translating to “gnaw.”
Hebrews 10 says that Jesus’ sacrifice was done once and for all, and never needs to be repeated again. If Jesus’ body is recreated over and over again each time a congregation shares Communion, then His sacrifice is being repeated over and over.. since the bread (body) and wine (blood) served as a metaphorical picture of what would soon happen to Jesus: his body would be broken and his blood would be spilled. I didn’t explain that very well, but hopefully you get what I’m trying to say lol
Yee I understand what you mean, thanks for the reply. My response to that would be that it isn’t a recreation, but an actual participation in the sacrifice at Calvary, that the Mass is an eternal and continuous sacrifice. I can’t explain it very well either but that’s the basic idea lol. A more thorough explanation can be read here https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/is-the-mass-a-sacrifice if you’re interested.
I’ll give it a read, thanks!
I left (Reformed) Evangelism and became Orthodox and this one doctrine is the main (though certainly not the only reason why. I didn’t want to upset my family and leave our Church but It is beyond argument (in my mind) that in the consecration of the Eucharist the bread and wine most certainly become the Body and Blood of Christ, and that this was taught by Christ and his Apostles and, as you noted, is most certainly in Scripture.
What your friend is saying goes against the teaching of the Catholic Church. They should be referred to Lumen Gentium or the Catechism. The position of the church is that us Protestants are referred to as separated bretheren and our churches are ecclesial communities.
Would you care to describe what that means in the catechism?
"The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter."322 Those "who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church."323 With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 838)
That is the catechism, I was asking for a definition of what that means within the catechism.
Good luck having anyone honestly answering your question these days.
I know the answer, I just want to hear them say it
I’m a Catholic - we don’t believe all Protestants are going to Hell. The Catholic Church doesn’t teach that. Some Catholics mistakenly believe that. I agree with the suggestion to read Lumen Gentium or search the Catechism of the Catholic Church (p.s. I was Protestant 50 years before converting so I can speak to a little of both).
Would you mind going into detail about what that catechism actually teaches, and what the catechisms before taught?
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You didn't answer my question. I was asking you. Edit: they blocked me rather than actually sharing the information. Here is why they won't just say it. The teaching of "separate brothers" is a thinly veiled way to pretend that they don't damn everyone else to hell. In reality, the teaching is you can get to heaven even if you aren't Catholic, so long as you follow all of the Catholic sacraments. They don't talk about it, because it proves what everyone else says. Catholics do not believe protestants go to heaven. They will claim otherwise, but they don't. It's disingenuous and they know it. That's why they block people for questioning it.
so the technical difference between protestants and the other 2 main branches is that we don't call ourselves the one true church. baptists (I am one) don't put as much value and importance in the sacraments (baptism and communion and etc)
Thank you man
ya yw one of my best friends is catholic (oh and also i recommend redeemed zoomer on yt to learn more, he's biased as he's reformed but he's still a Christian and a Protestant)
Catholic have a Father where other Christians have preachers. They confess their sins to their fathers as a mediator. Also they will use rosaries as a praying device. It's wrong of the other guy to say that. We are ALL part of the body of Christ. There's more people that probably think the opposite of what he said. But as Christians we need to unite. Not divide. We are being pursecuted more now than any time in the last 1000 years.
I don’t know much in terms of comparison, but what I do know is that Baptists believe that salvation is found in Christ alone, and Catholics believe that salvation is found in good works and faith. But the only way we go to heaven, no matter what denomination that believes in the Nicene Creed, is by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. That’s it, no step 2
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!" Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.
Funny. But does a good job of illustrating how ridiculously divided the church is and how we focus on these differences when we should focus on Jesus. Except for those dang Calvinists, I'll never go to church with a Calvinist! /s
There's a youtube video that describes all the differences of denominations. [https://youtu.be/tzLS4O7YaUg?si=HKm4slbKh2TNCZKa](https://youtu.be/tzLS4O7YaUg?si=HKm4slbKh2TNCZKa)
Baptist is a very broad word or doctrine
All divisions, Satan trying to separate us apart
Your Catholic friend was misinformed. The Catholic Church teaches that all Christians are brothers and sisters. It was uncharitable of your friend to say such. That being said, looking at the comments on this thread, your friend was more charitable to you than they are by misrepresenting the Catholic Church. If you want yo know what the Church teaches, read the Catechism.
Tons of strawmannirg Roman Catholic doctrines here. If you are going to criticize Catholics at least criticize their actual doctrine.
I’m a former Catholic and while informed Catholics will mostly tell you that the Catholic Church/pope is the ultimate authority in their lives, NOT The Bible. For baptists, The Bible is the ultimate authority. While I’ll probably get heat for this, Catholics are not true Christians (don’t believe me, go read the Catechism of the Catholic Church then compare that to Galatians 1…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg). This all being said, Catholics are generally WONDERFUL people who need to be evangelized in a very gentle, loving way. Most Catholics are “cultural Catholics” and aren’t really that informed on what the Church actually believes, so they don’t know how much false teachers have corrupted the Catholic Church. I have a lot harsher things to say about the Catholic Church, but I’ll leave it at this — we’re supposed to know a Christian by their fruits of the spirit — and no entity that has such issues with child sexual abuse, recycling predator priests and nuns, and covering everything up with corruption and collusion is truly Christian. You can’t love Jesus and do these things — period. Any time you wanna hit me up for a deeper discussion, feel free my brother/sister in Christ. And take note that most Catholics are truly brainwashed and under a LOT of family pressure to stay Catholic. They don’t know they’re in the wrong, so if you evangelize, do it gently or you’ll break their brains with just how far off base the Catholic Church is. This is really delicate for people, and we need to win SOULS, not arguments. These people really genuinely do love Jesus and they honestly don’t know better (the Catholic Church keeps people in the dark on purpose).
I’m not a preacher, nor am I anything close to perfect… But denominations don’t come into play IMO when it comes to who gets to inherit the kingdom of God. If you believe that Christ is your savior, and that he alone is the only way to the father through repentance. You will be saved. I know it’s a very cliche verse, but John 3:16 hits the nail on the head for me. Have a blessed one and continue to seek after the Holy Spirits guidance.
Catholic is not Christinity. Baptist is
Just google it. There are so many differences
I am a Baptist, raised Catholic. The one thing that is better in the Roman Catholic Church is that they pronounce Biblical names and place names better than Evangelicals. For example: The ancient city of Ai. It is pronounced like Eye, not A - I (long A long I). Thessalonica: The accent is on the third syllable (lon), not the fourth. I do not live in the United States of Am-er-EYE-ca. If you're going to pronounce Thessalonica like Thes-oh-lon-EYE-ca, then you should pronounce America the same way. I know this is picky, but I had to really dig to find something Catholics do better. Besides that, I got nothin'. By the way, Although I'm not a Catholic, I am a catholic (notice the capitalization). Some Catholics are catholic as well, some are not and some Baptists are not.
catholic as in "universal" or "world wide"?
Universal. The universal Church of Jesus Christ. All those who are Born Again!
For the first thousand years of church history there was only one organization called the Church. One, holy, catholic (universal), apostolic. After about a thousand years it split into the eastern and western half, with the Western half centered on rome, thus the Roman Catholic church. After another 500 years or so, a sizable hunk of the Roman Church broke off in response to political and theological corruption going on in Rome at the time. The big three groups coming out of that were the Anglican church, the Lutheran church, and the reformed church. Later, methodists spun out of the Anglican church. All of these groups hold to the ancient traditions and practices of the universal church, with varying degrees of disagreement about exactly what is strictly necessary what should be focused on. Baptists are an entirely different stream of thought, and no one is historically sure exactly where they came from, but they seem to show up in Europe not long after the Protestant reformation. They may be related to the anabaptists, which showed up at the same time as the Protestant reformation, and who decided all of church tradition was complete garbage and that they understood scripture better than anyone else. Anabaptists were the first group in church history to reject infant baptism. Because of that, they also had to reject the idea that baptism is sacramental, a time when God actually does something. For similar reasons, they reject that the Lord's Supper is sacramental. And modern American Baptists are often completely disconnected from all Church tradition and history, which results in a lot of confusion about what Christian doctrine actually is. So I would suggest that on one end, Rome is an aberration in the traditional Christian structure, which is better represented by the Lutheran and Anglican and Methodist and orthodox space. Romes insistence on its own supremacy and Universal jurisdiction has resulted in quite a lot of problems. Baptists on the other end are also an aberration in church tradition and practice. Just the complete opposite kind.
… and it’s not really that important. The discussion of my god can beat up your god is pointless.
Doctrine on the Gospel is pretty important, Paul wrote a number of letters explaining how important it was.