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The Tragedy of Counterfeit Teaching in the church ...

Deception and unbiblical teaching has been present for centuries, but in recent years, this trend has been increasing rapidly and making inroads into churches that were previously evangelical and Bible-based. I cannot begin to tell you how concerned I am about folk who are being so misled by so many of the church leaders of today.

Why is this happening? Several reasons, for example …

  • Bible Prophesy is being fulfilled “Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons” (1 Timothy 4:1)

  • The reading and study of God’s Word, the Bible, is no longer encouraged (and in many instances discouraged – I have seen this first-hand)

  • Because people are no longer being taught Scripture and how to apply the Bible to everyday life, prophecy is being ignored, people are being led astray and are accepting practices from non-Christian sources, Eastern Religions, and the occult, with no idea of the extreme danger they are in and how they are being deceived.

In future blog posts, I will be looking at many of these deceptions that are impacting people’s lives and how to avoid or escape them.

Today, however, I want to concentrate on ONE aspect from ONE particular church which has led and is still leading thousands and thousands of people astray and away from the Truth of God’s Word.

The Counterfeit Christianity of Roman Catholicism

There is no easy way to say it but, the RC church does not follow the Bible. I am speaking here about the hierarchy of the church who are misleading their members. My heart goes out to those being misled. The RC church sadly denies the sufficiency and inerrancy of Scripture. The RC church goes by tradition, as well as papal decrees and the decrees of the councils.

Their doctrines and practices actually contradict the Bible! In their teaching about salvation, for example, the Council of Trent states:

“If anyone says that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation but are superfluous, and that without them or without the desire of them men obtain from God through faith alone the grace of justification, though all are not necessary for each one, let him be anathema.” … (Section 7, Canon 4 of the Sacraments in General from the Decree Concerning the Sacraments …1547)

So, the Catholic church teaches that you cannot come to Christ, and be saved through simply putting your faith in Him alone? You can only be saved through the sacraments of the Catholic church. That is not Biblical – the exact opposite is true! When Paul was asked, “What must we do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30), he didn’t say a word about the sacraments, being baptized as an infant, prayers to Mary or the saints ... all the things the RC church say are essential. The Bible, however, does say very clearly, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved …”

And, by the way, the word “anathema” is a very strong word – check it out for yourself. In fact, the Bible uses it when speaking about anyone who proclaims “another” gospel. “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8)

Furthermore, the Bible says that Christ appeared ONCE at

the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. In contrast to the Old Testament sacrifices which had to be repeated, Hebrews 10:12-22 says that “Christ, having offered the one sacrifice [the all-sufficient sacrifice of Himself] for sins for all time, sat down [signifying the completion of atonement for sin] at the right hand of God [the position of honor], … For by the one offering He has perfected forever and completely cleansed those who are being sanctified [bringing each believer to spiritual completion and maturity]." But what does the Catholic church say? - Christ is continually being sacrificed. - Christ is this little wafer and He is being offered over and over and over.

The Gospel, according to the Bible in 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that, Christ died for our sins. But the Catholic church says… He is dying for our sins – He is continually dying

So, this fundamental truth of the Gospel message, is rejected by the Catholic church – it rejects the sufficiency of Scripture. In so doing, they reject the sufficiency of the Cross.

Christ Himself said: “It Is finished”. The Catholic church therefore contradicts what Jesus Himself said and it teaches its followers that the work of Christ on the Cross is not finished. The Catholic church teaches that Christ is still dying. Vatican 2 begins … “for it is in the sacred liturgy, especially in the sacrifice of the Eucharist, that the work of our redemption is accomplished". This is absolutely NOT true! The Bible says redemption was accomplished on the Cross.

There are therefore so many ways in which the Catholic church actually contradicts Scripture and especially when it comes to such an essential and eternal issue regarding the redemption of souls.

The "Gospel" of Catholicism doesn’t even compare with the Bible… You get so-called “infused righteousness” and … although it is by God’s grace through what Christ did … YOU still have to become righteous and therefore a Catholic always remains under a cloud of guilt. Why? Because they feel and believe that they need to become righteous and they’re not righteous enough to be saved.

The Bible clearly says that Christ died for sinners. He justifies the ungodly. So, one can see there is a huge difference. The good news in Romans 4:5 is: “But to the one who does not work [that is, the one who does not try to earn his salvation by doing good], but believes and completely trusts in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is [a]credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God)” (Amplified Bible) "But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners."(New Living Translation)

My question …. Would you rather believe God through His revealed Word, the Bible, OR would you prefer just to believe sinful man and his counterfeit gospel?

I have only touched on this one aspect today. The reason I’ve started with this issue is that it is fundamental to the salvation of souls. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). If you want to be in a right standing with God; if you want to know your sins are forgiven, all you need to do is repent of your sin and seek His forgiveness. Put your trust in the One who gave His life for you on the Cross of Calvary.

Romans 3 tells us clearly that “… we are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood… “… and Hebrews 9:28 says “… so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people”.

And now a prayer: Precious Father, we come to You in the wonderful Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. You have invited us to come as we are. Thank you that You loved us so much that You gave Your one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, will not perish but have everlasting life. Thank you that there is nothing more for me to do, simply to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust You for cleansing from sin and to live for You.

References:

  1. Counterfeit Christianity of Roman Catholicism #11 -Q&A video with Dave Hunt, by Christian Answers.

  2. Council of Trent documents - (Section 7, Canon 4 of the Sacraments in General from the Decree Concerning the Sacraments …1547)

  3. Selections of Scriptures from the following versions of the Bible .... New King James Version of the Schofield Reference Bible, New Living Translation, Amplified Bible, New International Version.

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