And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them. (Acts 15:1-2, KJV)

The Church Of Rome Absolutely Does Not Preach The Apostolic Gospel

Lately, led by Christian compromisers like Purpose Driven Pope Rick Warren, who appear to seek the approval of other men, the apostatizing evangelical camp continues to head back home to Rome. This is also aided by The Cult of Guru Richard Foster which has slithered into the mainstream of the America Christian Church under the guise of Spiritual Formation.

But this itself is simply a vehicle to promote corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM) and Contemplative/Centering Prayer, all of which originally flowered in the antibiblical monastic traditions of apostate Roman Catholicism. This brings us back to the Protestant Reformation because the differences in doctrine between the actual Church of Jesus Christ and its counterfeit in Rome involve the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ itself: How is an unworthy sinner to become justified in the eyes of a holy and righteous God so as to be saved from Hell.

In Has The Roman Catholic Church Really Changed? here at Apprising Ministries I show you from official Roman Catholic sources that the Church of Rome has not changed one iota in their false teachings concerning justification and salvation since the Council of Trent anathematized the Biblical Gospel of salvation by God’s grace alone; through faith alone, in Christ alone.

So here in this piece we turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church from the online version at the official Vatican website. Under the subheading “The Necessity of Baptism”:

1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them. Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament.

 The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are “reborn of water and the Spirit.” God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments. (Online source)

Under the subheading “The Grace of Baptism”:

1262 The different effects of Baptism are signified by the perceptible elements of the sacramental rite. Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification, but also regeneration and renewal. Thus the two principal effects are purification from sins and new birth in the Holy Spirit.

For the forgiveness of sins . . .

1263 By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin.65 In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam’s sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God. (Online source)

Under the subheading “The Sacraments of Salvation”:

1129 The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. “Sacramental grace” is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. the Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. the fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior. (Online source)

From the above it’s crystal clear that the Roman Catholic Church teaches that in order to be saved; to receive justification from God, one must be baptized and further must also receive the “sacraments of the New Covenant” from the Church of Rome. However, this places this counterfeit church squarely in contradiction to the Word of the one true and living God in the Bible. And in his excellent little pamphlet Roman Catholicism: What You Need To Know James G. McCarthy is exactly right when he says:

1. Justification is an act of God in which He declares a sinner to be righteous in His sight, having forgiven his sins and imputed to him God’s own righteousness (Romans 3:21-4:8).

2. Justification is by faith alone (Romans 3:28).

3. God justifies ungodly sinners who believe (Romans 4:5). Good works are the result of salvation, not the cause (Ephesians 2:8-10).

4. The justified are in Christ holy and blameless before God
(Ephesians 1:1-14)

And so now is the choice before you: The non-gospel (i.e. another gospel) of Baptism, the Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church plus Christ or the Biblical Gospel of Christ alone. I close with the words of the great Church Reformer Martin Luther, which are as true today as when he first spoke them about the apostate Church of Rome. Are you listening Rick Warren:

Since the papal church not only neglects the command of Christ but even compels the people to ignore it and to act against it, it is certain that it is not Christ’s church but the synagogue of Satan which prescribes sin and prohibits righteousness. It clearly and indisputably follows that it must be the abomination of Antichrist and the furious harlot of the devil. (Online source)

See also:

ROMAN CATHOLICISM: WILL THE POPE DO?

THE HOLY AND CATHOLIC CHURCH IS NOT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

WHY THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION CANNOT BE UNDONE

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH CONDEMNS PROTESTANT EVANGELICALS—EVEN RICK WARREN

THE DECEIVERS OF ROMAN CATHOLICISM

ROMAN CATHOLICISM: A FALSE HOPE IS NO HOPE AT ALL

THINK YOU’RE A ROMAN CATHOLIC IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE POPE; BETTER THINK AGAIN