In the day of judgment, we will stand before our Heavenly Father and Messiah, so we want to be sure that our life lines up with His holy Word, “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.“ Romans 14:10
The Popes proclaim to represent Jesus, so their words should align with the teaching of Messiah, as Messiah is the Word of God who became flesh, to come to atone for our sins as the Spotless Lamb.
Click here to save and print a 2-page PDF of the “What Does The Word Of God Say To Catholics?” summary study.
God proclaims that every man and woman has sinned; that includes me, you, the twelve Apostles, Jesus’ mother Mary, and the Pope.
Pope John Paul II said, “The truth of the Assumption, defined by Pius XII, is reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council, which thus expresses the Church’s faith: “Preserved free from all guilt of original sin, the Immaculate Virgin was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory upon the completion of her earthly sojourn. She was exalted by the Lord as Queen of the Universe…For the Mother of Christ is glorified as ‘Queen of the Universe‘.” 1
The Bible says, “For all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
God proclaims that there is only One who had no sin, His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus.
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15
God offered His Beloved Son as a sacrifice for our sins, that we might have His righteousness.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
God proclaims that salvation is only through His beloved Son; not through Mary or the Pope.
Pope Pius XI said, “What will it cost you, oh Mary, to hear our prayer? What will it cost you to save us? Has not Jesus placed in your hands all the treasures of His grace and mercy? You sit crowned Queen at the right hand of your son: your dominion reaches as far as the heavens and to you are subject the earth and all creatures dwelling thereon. Your dominion reaches even down into the abyss of hell, and you alone, oh Mary, save us from the hands of Satan.” 2
The Bible says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
Should we pray to Mary?
God proclaims that salvation cannot be found any other way.
Pius IX said, “God has committed to the Blessed Virgin Mary the treasury of all good things in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained every hope, every grace and all salvation.” 3
Pope Pius XII said, “…recognize the Holy, Catholic, Roman Church to be the only true Church of Jesus Christ, outside of which neither sanctity nor salvation can be found. Call them to the unity of the one fold, granting them the grace to believe every truth of our holy faith and to submit themselves to the Supreme Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth.” 4
The Bible says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
God proclaims that salvation is by faith in Christ, not by works.
The Roman Catholic Church declared at the Council of Trent (Canon 9), “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema (damned to hell).”
The Bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
God proclaims that there is only one Mediator between man and Him, the Lord Christ Jesus; not Mary or the Pope.
Pope Leo XIII said, “O Holy Mother of God; to thee we lift our prayers for thou, powerful and merciful, art the Mediatrix of our salvation.” 5
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.” 1 Timothy 2:5-6
The Bible says that Jesus is our Advocate and never says that Mary fills this role.
Pope Leo XIII said, “With equal truth it may be said that of the great treasury of all graces given to us by Our Lord—for grace and truth came by Jesus Christ—nothing comes to us except through Mary’s mediation, for such is God’s Will. Thus, as no man goes to the Father but by the Son, so no one goes to Christ except through his mother.” 6
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1
The Bible says the Jesus is our Redeemer and never says that Mary fills this role.
Pope Benedict XV declared, “To such extent did Mary suffer and almost die with her suffering and dying Son; to such extent did she surrender her maternal rights over her Son for: man’s salvation . . that we may rightly say she redeemed the human race together with Christ.” 7
The Bible says, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)” Galatians 3:13
Jesus never elevated Mary for worship; He praised those who hear and obey the Word of God.
“And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Luke 11:27-28
“Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.” But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” Luke 8:19-21
God proclaims that Messiah’s one-time sacrifice was sufficient to cover all sins.
The Popes of Rome teach that Messiah must be symbolically sacrificed during the Mass.
‘What is the Mass? The Mass is the sacrifice of the New Law in which Christ, through the ministry of the priest, offers Himself to God in an unbloody manner under the appearances of bread and wine.’
‘The Mass is the sacrifice of Christ offered in a sacramental manner. It means that it is offered, not under its natural appearances, as was on calvary, but under other appearances, the appearances the sacramental signs. The reality is the same but the appearance differ.’
So they are symbolically causing Messiah to be sacrificed over and over, around the world in hundred’s of thousands of Catholic churches, every day.
The scriptures declare, “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10
“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;” Hebrews 10:12
The Bible forbids us to bow down to or worship any image, including Mary, Peter and the Pope.
The Catechism removed God’s second commandment which forbids idol worship, and split the tenth commandment in two, to fill the gap.
“You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 26:1
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.” Exodus 20:4,5
The Bible declares that the Queen of Heaven incites God’s anger. Worshiping Mary and praying to Mary represents idol worship.
Pope John Paul II said, “Preserved free from all guilt of original sin, the Immaculate Virgin was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory upon the completion of her earthly sojourn. She was exalted by the Lord as Queen of the Universe…For the Mother of Christ is glorified as ‘Queen of the Universe‘.” 8
“The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.” Jeremiah 7:18
God tells us that salvation is by faith in Jesus’ blood sacrifice as the spotless Lamb of God; and that it is not earned by good works.
Pope Leo XIII said, “O Virgin most holy, none abounds in the knowledge of God except through thee; none, O Mother of God, obtains salvation except through thee, none receives a gift from the throne of mercy except through thee.” 9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
In Matthew 26:26, when Jesus blessed the bread and broke it and said “Take, eat; this is My body,” He was not saying that the Communion bread (Eucharist wafer) becomes His literal body.
He is symbolically saying that we need to eat the Word of God, we need to read the words of Jesus in the Bible to be fed, for Jesus is the Word that became flesh, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
He is symbolically saying that we need to come to Him and believe in Him alone for our salvation, “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.“‘ John 6:35
He is telling us to humbly, thankfully remember His dying love for us; that He came in the flesh to suffer on our behalf on the cross of Calvary, so that we could have forgiveness of our sins, and all of His righteousness and blessings would be bestowed upon us.
The Bible never says that Jesus needs to be continually sacrificed in a Mass ceremony. Rather it says that Jesus one-time sacrifice on the cross was sufficient for all sin.
“By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10
The Bible says that we should go to Jesus our High Priest to confess our sins for forgiveness, not a priest.
Pope John Paul II said, “Don’t go to God for forgiveness of sins: come to me.” 10
“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Hebrews 2:17
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” Hebrews 4:14
The Bible says that Jesus is our High Priest, not a Catholic Priest or the Pope.
“The priest has the power of the keys, or the power of delivering sinners from Hell, of making them worthy of Paradise, and of changing them from the slaves of Satan into the children of God. And God Himself is obliged to abide by the judgment of His priests, and either not to pardon or to pardon…” 11
“But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.” Hebrews 7:24-27
The Bible never says that Jesus gave His authority to Peter, to any priest, or the Pope. Jesus has reigned over His church from beginning to end.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8
Here’s some other things that the Roman Catholic Church promotes that are not in the Word of God.
No exalted positions of the Pope or Cardinals. No prayers to Mary or the saints. No monks or nuns. No required celibacy for Priests. No statues.
The Catholic version of the Ten Commandments is missing the 2nd commandment about not making graven images; and they split the 10th commandment into two.
They ignored Exodus 20:4-5, and left off Deuteronomy 5:8 “Thou shalt not make 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 waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto 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”
To validate this, here’s links to some Catholic websites:
- https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/scripture-and-tradition/catholic-basics/catholic-beliefs-and-practices/the-ten-commandments/
- http://www.beginningcatholic.com/catholic-ten-commandments
- https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-true-ten-commandments
- https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource/55029/the-ten-commandments
We pray that you have eyes to see that the words of the Papacy do not line up with the Word of God.
On the day of judgment, you will stand before the Holy God, and you will account for your obedience to His Holy Word.
You may be thinking that Pope Francis I isn’t saying these things, so it doesn’t matter.
But Papal statements, known as Papal Bulls and ex cathedra statements, remain the stance of the Roman Catholic Church, until a Pope retracts it. They are like a law in the U.S. If a President enacts a law, it’s the rule of the land until another President gets the law overturned.
So if a previous Pope proclaimed it and the Roman Catholic Church hasn’t issued a retraction, then it is still their official stance. They have not apologized for any of these statements, nor have they retracted them.
Are you going to trust and obey His words? Or the words of a man?
Former Catholic Priest Richard Bennett separates truth form fiction, regarding the Scriptural Gospel.
If you’re in the Catholic Church, Jesus has lovingly called you to, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.“ Revelation 18:4
Come out of her and know true salvation, which is by faith in the atoning work of the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus.
Secure your salvation by a direct relationship with Christ Jesus, instead of through men.
- Repent of your former beliefs.
- Repent of your sins against the Lord, who alone is perfect.
- Profess your belief in His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, and his shed blood which confirmed His covenant with you.
- Declare that you desire to have a real relationship with Him.
- Ask Jesus to come into your heart to be your Lord and Savior. Amen!
Start reading the words of God in the book of John, to understand what Jesus really said to you and what He did for you, so that you could have eternal life with Him.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.“
Read the book of John in your Bible or online @ Studylight.com
Click here for a PDF of the “What Does The Word Of God Say To Catholics?” study.
Here’s a one-page PDF of How The Popes Of Rome Fulfill Bible Prophecy
Here’s a one-page PDF of how the Roman Catholic Church Fulfills Bible Prophecy
Here’s some testimony tracts from former Roman Catholics.
Source List:
1 (Pope John Paul II: Redemptoris Mater (On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church)
2 (Pope Pius XI: Quas Primas (On the Feast of Christ the King), Encyclical promulgated on 12-11-1925, #18.)
3 (Pius IX: Encycl., Ubi primum, February 2, 1894) — [p. 18, no. 38]
4 (Pope Pius XII : The Raccolta, Benzinger Brothers, Boston, 1957 A.D., No. 626.)
5 (Pope Leo XIII: Encycl., Jucunda semper, September 8, 1894.) — [p. 19, no. 43]
6 (Pope Leo XIII: Encycl., Octobri mense, September 22, 1891.) — [pp. 13,14, no. 19]
7 (Pope Benedict XV : Inter Sodalicia, 1918)
8 (Pope John Paul II: Redemptoris Mater (On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Life of the Pilgrim Church), Encyclical promulgated on March 25, 1987, #41.)
9 (Pope Leo XIII: Encycl., Adiutricem populi, September 5, 1895.) — [p. 12, no. 13]
10 (Pope John Paul II: Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1984.)
11 (St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Dignities and Duties of the Priest (1927))
A quick internet search to find out it was an actor. As for the quotes the Church has never claimed it moved the sabbath. As can be seen by my refrences to the catechism above. Sunday is the Lords day not the sabbath they are different.
The ‘bishop’ in that clip is actually an actor and seventh day adventist called Vincent G Morton.
Liam, why do you think that a SDA person would do that? I would note that he seems to be reading quotes that are from the Catholic Church, but it still seems really odd to dress up like a Bishop to do the video.
What do you make of these statements?
“Of course the Catholic church claims that the change [i.e. Sabbath to Sunday] was her act, and the act as a MARK of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things.” — H.F. Thomas, Chancellor to Cardinal Gibbons.
“Sunday is our MARK or authority. . .the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact” — Catholic Record of London, Ontario Sept 1,1923.
Thanks, David
Well done Liam, they don’t deny that there’s one God, or one truth, but they vehemently deny that there’s one Church!!
Strictly speaking the Sabbath is the same day it has always been Saturday, it must be noted however that it is celebrated from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. To speak of the Christian Sabbath as Sunday is to use very loose language. Sunday is a distinct day that follows the Sabbath. The Catechism of The Catholic Church explains;
Sunday is expressly distinguished from the Sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonially observance replaces that of the Sabbath.
In Christ’s Passover, Sunday fulfils the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and announces mans eternal rest in God.
For worship under the law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ (CCC 2175)
As Christians we are not celebrating the Sabbath, we are celebrating something else. What we are celebrating instead of the Sabbath is The Lord’s Day. This has been celebrated since the first century, in fact in the very first chapter of the book of revelation we read that John experienced the inaugural vision of the book on the Lord’s day;
I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus
I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. ( Rev 1:9-10)
John speaks of the Lord’s day as an already established thing and he expects his audience to know what it is. This is the day when the Jesus rose from the dead, this is stressed in all four gospels Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:1 and John 20:1 in Matthew we read ‘Now after the Sabbath, towards the dawn of the first day of the week’ the Catechism explains;
Jesus rose from the dead ‘on the first day of the week’ because it is ‘the first day’ the day of Christ’s Resurrection recalls the first creation.
For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord’s day (Greek) he kuriake hemera, (latin) dies dominica, Sunday. (CCC 2174).
In his letter to the Collossians (2:13-17) St. Paul makes it clear that Sabbath observance is not binding on Christians. ‘Let no one pass judgement on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.
These are only a shadow of what is to come but the substance belongs to Christ.
The things that pointed forward to Christ had a meaning, but now that he has come and removed the cover of darkness their is no need for these. The early Church fathers agreed St. Ignatius of Antioch said ‘Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath, but keeping the Lord’s day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.’ (Ignatius of Antioch Letter to the Magnesians).
So The Catholic Church didn’t change the Sabbath. There was no medieval council, emperor or Pope who said ‘you know what will move the Sabbath to Sunday’
We are no longer obliged to celebrate the Sabbath since Jesus instigated the new covenant and he had the authority to do that because as he told us ‘ The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.’ (Matt 12:8)
Another key point gentile Christians were never obligated to observe the Sabbath since the Law of Moses was given to the Jewish people an not to them, unlike God’s moral law which applies to everybody.
Thank you for your comment Liam 🙂 I agree that the Biblical Sabbath is observed from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, and that hasn’t changed. As for the stance of the Roman Catholic Church, watch this Catholic Bishop proclaim that it is the Catholic Church who changed it to Sunday, as a “mark” of their authority. http://youtu.be/CrB21mc2fmI Blessings to you! David
But all that may be true, however, in the New Testament in Col 2:6 -19 it reads:
6As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
8Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
16Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. 18Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.”
It is each Christians choice which day he chooses as a Sabbath, because the real Sabbath is found in Christ. The Sabbath was just a shadow of things to come. And having said that, I say, “each day in Christ is a Sabbath day.”
Waw, amen to that 😍