Are Roman Catholics saved? If you asked them, just about all Roman Catholics would tell you quite bluntly that they certainly are NOT saved, but that they are trying, with the help of their church’s sacraments, to obey the Ten Commandments (impossible!) and church laws in order to remain in a mortal-sinless “state of grace” so as to be able to merit Heaven at the moment of their death. Catholics talk about “grace” and “faith,” but how they understand those terms is completely different than how Bible Christians understand them. Christians are saved, not by anything we have done, but by the imputed perfect righteousness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. After we have repented of our sins and accepted Christ as Savior by faith alone, we then strive to follow Him in obedience as Lord, albeit imperfectly.
Two weeks ago, I posted the excellent short video, “What are the differences between Catholics and Protestants?,” from the evangelical apologetics ministry, Got Questions. See here. Today, I’m posting another excellent, short 7-minute video, “Are Roman Catholics Saved?,” from the evangelical apologetics ministry, CARM (Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry). I hope you are blessed by this video.
Living Biblically
CBS, Monday Nights, 9:30 EST
Episode #4, Thou Shalt Not Steal, March 19th
Last night, I was able to watch episode #4 of the new CBS comedy, “Living Biblically,” via on-demand. Remember, the premise of this show is that Chip, a Roman Catholic and a self-confessed “good person,” desires to be an even better person by strictly adhering to Biblical precepts. In this episode, “Thou Shalt Not Steal,” Chip starts off, just like in previous installments, by being judgmental about others. But with the help of his “god squad” advisors (a priest and rabbi who pontificate at the neighborhood saloon), Chip confronts his own routine acts of thievery such as cable theft (so he and his wife can watch “Game of Thrones”) and stealing office supplies from his workplace. Chip decides to return every item he’s ever stolen and manages to annoy his wife and co-workers with his scrupulosity. The rabbi counsels the frustrated Chip, telling him, “Maybe the reason people are so upset is because, in trying to live YOUR life by the Bible, you keep futzing with theirs.” No Gospel here, folks.
By the way, here’s a relevant article on the extremely popular, “Game of Thrones,” from Kevin DeYoung.
Going to come back to watch that video and comment more on it later this afternoon; gotta do some errand
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That was a good video and Matt Slick documents from the Catechism itself to show the official denial of the Gospel. Good post.
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Thanks! Yup, it’s a good, succinct message. Catholics have sent in comments in the past saying that to boast of being “saved” is the ultimate in arrogance, but as we know, it’s the opposite. To come to Christ without one single plea requires a humble heart.
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“To come to Christ without one single plea requires a humble heart.” Amen! On that note about arrogance I think it is arrogant also for Evangelicals to say all Catholics are saved when Catholic theology says Catholics don’t know if they will be saved. It is presumptuous to know more than the individual and we don’t know people’s heart.
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Yes, the fact that Catholics openly admit that they are “trying to be saved” through ongoing sacramental grace and meritorious works should be a wake up call for any ecumenical evangelical, but there’s tremendous pressure to avoid such doctrinal distinctions. We see influential people like Geisner, Lane Craig, Strobel, Zacharias, etc., leap frog right over them and so “trying to be saved” becomes “close enough.”
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It is so sad to see the compromise
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Agreed. 😢
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Thanks Tom, very good video!
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Thanks, Crissy! Praise the Lord that there are still some evangelical apologetics ministries that reach out to Roman Catholics as a mission field.
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