Introduction: A Question of Two Gospels
There is no question of greater consequence than this: how is a sinner made right with a holy God? Upon the answer hangs the eternal destiny of every soul. And it is precisely on this question that Roman Catholicism and the Bible stand divided — not by a small misunderstanding, but by two fundamentally different gospels.
The Apostle Paul warned that there are men who would “pervert the gospel of Christ,” and he pronounced upon any such altered gospel the most solemn curse in all of Scripture:
This is not a matter of bigotry or unkindness toward Roman Catholic people, many of whom are sincere and devout. It is a matter of truth, and of love — for if the gospel of Rome cannot save, then to remain silent would be the cruelest thing of all. This article sets the teaching of Rome side by side with the teaching of Scripture, that the reader may judge for himself, with an open Bible, which is the true way of salvation.
I. The Central Issue: Justification by Faith, Not Works
The doctrine of justification — how a guilty sinner is declared righteous before God — is the hinge on which everything turns. Martin Luther called it “the article by which the church stands or falls.” Here Rome and the Bible part ways completely.
Rome teaches that justification is a process — begun at baptism, increased by good works and the sacraments, and capable of being lost and regained. In this system, a man’s own works, performed by grace, genuinely contribute to his being made righteous. The Council of Trent (1547), which remains the official Roman position, declared an anathema (a curse) upon anyone who says that a sinner is justified by faith alone.
The Bible teaches the opposite. It declares that justification is not a process but a declaration — an act in which God, on the basis of Christ’s finished work received by faith alone, declares the believing sinner righteous. The works of the law contribute nothing. The Apostle Paul could not be plainer:
Notice how completely this verse closes the door. It is not that works plus faith justify; it states three times over that justification is “by the faith of Jesus Christ” and “not by the works of the law,” concluding that “by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” The same Apostle drives the point home again and again:
The reason works cannot justify is simple: God’s standard is perfection, and no fallen man can meet it. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Our best efforts are stained by sin; Isaiah says “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). If salvation depended in any part upon our works, no one could ever be saved. This is why the gospel is good news: it rests not on what we do, but on what Christ has done.
II. Scripture Alone, or Scripture Plus Tradition?
Beneath the question of salvation lies the question of authority: who has the final word? Rome teaches that divine authority rests on three legs — Scripture, sacred Tradition, and the teaching office of the Church (the Magisterium), with the Pope able to speak infallibly. In practice, the Church’s tradition stands as the authoritative interpreter of Scripture, and where tradition and the plain text conflict, tradition prevails.
The Bible presents itself as the sole infallible rule of faith. It is “given by inspiration of God,” and is sufficient to make the man of God “perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Our Lord rebuked the religious leaders of His day for exactly the error Rome commits — elevating human tradition above the Word of God:
The noble Bereans were commended not for submitting to a teaching office, but for testing even the Apostle Paul’s preaching against the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). The Word of God, not the word of any church, is the final court of appeal.
III. The Major Doctrines, Compared
When the teachings of Rome are set beside the teaching of the Bible across the major doctrines, the pattern is consistent: Rome adds human mediation, human merit, and human authority where Scripture points to Christ alone.
| Doctrine | Roman Catholicism Teaches | The Bible Teaches |
|---|---|---|
| Justification | A process by faith plus works and sacraments; can be lost and regained; faith alone is condemned (Council of Trent) | A declaration by God, by grace through faith alone, apart from works (Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:28; Ephesians 2:8–9) |
| Authority | Scripture + Tradition + the Magisterium (the Pope and bishops), with papal infallibility | Scripture alone is the inspired, sufficient, final authority (2 Timothy 3:16–17; Matthew 15:6, 9) |
| The Priesthood | A special order of priests who mediate grace through the sacraments; the faithful approach God through them | Christ is the one Mediator; all believers are priests with direct access to God (1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 4:16) |
| The Mass | The sacrifice of Christ is re-presented (made present again) upon the altar at each Mass for the sins of the living and dead | Christ was offered once for all; His sacrifice is finished and never repeated (Hebrews 7:27; 10:10, 12, 14; John 19:30) |
| Forgiveness of Sin | Confessed to a priest, who pronounces absolution; penance and works of satisfaction required | Confessed directly to God, who forgives freely for Christ’s sake (1 John 1:9; Psalm 32:5; Acts 10:43) |
| Mary | Sinless (Immaculate Conception), bodily assumed into heaven, “Queen of Heaven,” co-mediatrix; prayers offered to her | A blessed but ordinary sinner saved by grace, who called God “my Saviour”; prayer is to God alone (Luke 1:46–47; Romans 3:23; 1 Timothy 2:5) |
| Purgatory | A place of suffering after death to purge remaining sin before entering heaven; shortened by Masses and indulgences | No such place; the blood of Christ cleanses completely; to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (1 John 1:7; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Luke 23:43) |
| The Saints | Departed saints are venerated and prayed to as intercessors before God | Believers pray directly to God through Christ alone; the dead are not to be consulted (1 Timothy 2:5; Deuteronomy 18:11) |
| Baptism | Regenerates the soul, removes original sin, and is necessary for salvation (baptismal regeneration) | An outward sign of an inward grace already received by faith; salvation is by faith, not the water (Acts 8:36–37; Ephesians 2:8–9; 1 Peter 3:21) |
| Assurance of Salvation | Ordinarily impossible to be certain of final salvation; presumption is condemned | The believer may know he has eternal life (1 John 5:13; John 10:28–29; Romans 8:38–39) |
| The Head of the Church | The Pope is the visible head and Vicar of Christ on earth | Christ alone is the Head of the Church; He has no earthly vicar (Ephesians 1:22–23; Colossians 1:18) |
IV. The Finished Work of Christ Versus the Endless Sacrifice of the Mass
One difference deserves special emphasis, because it touches the very heart of the gospel: the sacrifice of Christ. Rome teaches that in the Mass, the sacrifice of Christ is re-presented — offered again — upon the altar, and that this offering has true propitiatory power for the sins of the living and the dead. This implies that Calvary was not enough, that the sacrifice must be repeated continually.
The book of Hebrews was written, in large part, to refute exactly this idea. It contrasts the endless, repeated sacrifices of the old priesthood with the single, perfect, never-to-be-repeated sacrifice of Christ:
And from the cross itself, the Lord Jesus declared the work complete with one Greek word, tetelestai — “It is finished” (John 19:30). The verb was used in the ancient world to stamp a debt “paid in full.” If the work is finished, it cannot be repeated; and a sacrifice that must be offered again and again is, by its very repetition, a confession that it was never finished at all.
V. Why This Matters
Some will say these are mere differences of emphasis among Christians, and that we should not divide over them. But the gospel is not a matter of emphasis. If a man believes he is saved partly by his own works, his sacraments, his penances, and the mediation of priests and saints, then he has not understood — and is not resting in — the finished work of Christ. He is, in Paul’s words, seeking to be “justified by the law,” and of such Paul says the sobering words:
To add anything to the finished work of Christ is not to improve the gospel but to destroy it. Grace and works, as the ground of salvation, are mutually exclusive: “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace” (Romans 11:6). A man must choose. He cannot stand on both.
VI. Conclusion: Only Christ, and Christ Alone, Without Merit, Saves a Person
When all the doctrines are weighed and all the Scriptures are heard, the conclusion is as clear as it is glorious: only Christ, and Christ alone, without any human merit, can save a sinner. Salvation is not Christ and the Church, nor Christ and the sacraments, nor Christ and Mary, nor Christ and our works. It is Christ alone, received by faith alone, by the grace of God alone.
Christ Alone, Without Merit, Saves
This is the testimony of the whole of Scripture. There is no other name and no other way:
“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)
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5)
And this salvation is wholly without our merit, lest any man should boast:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.” (Titus 3:5)
He bore our sin and gave us His righteousness, that the exchange might be entirely of grace:
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
This is the gospel that the Reformers recovered, that the martyrs died for, and that the Scripture proclaims from Genesis to Revelation. The sinner who rests upon his own works, or upon any mixture of Christ and his own merit, has no ground to stand on before a holy God. But the sinner who casts away every claim of his own and flings himself wholly upon Christ — trusting the finished work of the cross, and nothing else — that sinner is justified freely, fully, and forever.
Reader, on which ground do you stand? Will you trust in a system of works, sacraments, and mediators that the Word of God nowhere commands and everywhere contradicts? Or will you flee to Christ alone, who alone is mighty to save? Lay down every merit of your own. Come empty-handed. And receive, as a free gift, the salvation that He purchased in full at Calvary.
Sources and Scripture References
- The Holy Bible (King James Version) — Galatians 1:8; 2:16; 5:4; Romans 3:23, 28; 11:6; 8:38–39; Ephesians 1:22–23; 2:8–9; Titus 3:5; Isaiah 64:6; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; Matthew 15:6, 9; Acts 4:12; 17:11; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 7:27; 10:10–14; John 14:6; 19:30; 1 John 1:7–9; 5:13; 2 Corinthians 5:8, 21; Luke 1:46–47; 23:43; Revelation 22:17.
- The Council of Trent (1545–1563), Sixth Session, Decree on Justification — cited for Rome’s official position condemning justification by faith alone.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church — on the Mass, the priesthood, purgatory, Mary, and the sacraments.
- The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and the 1689 Baptist Confession — historic Protestant summaries of the biblical doctrine of justification.
- Martin Luther, on justification as the article by which the church stands or falls.