The Failure of Rome: Conclusion

Again, like I told you just a second ago, this is our sixth and final week. And if you want to turn to Hebrew 7, you can, that'll be our first passage to look at.

But we're just going to kind of wrap up. And what I'm going to do is, I'm just going to kind of barely touch on a couple of things.

So here's the deal about Roman Catholicism, like we could spend, you guys understand, we could spend an entire year of Wednesday nights, but to me, it would just be dark and it would just be like exhaustive and I'm not really wanting to do that.

So let me just touch on a couple of things tonight and then kind of get to the main thing. The first is the priesthood.

So I don't think in our series that we've really touched the priesthood.

So you understand that Roman Catholicism has priests, right? Do we have priests?

We have a priest, right? A great, the great high priest, which is

Christ. And then we have a lot of priests, which we call the priesthood of all believers, right?

If you're in Christ, you're a priest in the sense that you have access to God.

And so Rome says, though, there's a common priest. So got to think of it two classes. There's a common priesthood and there's a ministerial priesthood.

So let me summarize. I'm not going to read the whole thing. It was just too long. Let me just summarize this from the

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1547 to 1549. If you haven't been here, those are the paragraphs, not dates.

So the Roman Catholic Church teaches that ordained priests act in persona

Christi capitis, that is in the person of Christ, the head.

So by the verse, they have another made up, they have seven sacraments, one of their made up sacraments, they have five made up sacraments and then two, they mess up.

So but but one of their made up sacraments is the sacrament of holy orders. And that is the priesthood.

So through the priesthood of the ministerial class, the Christ is said to be actively present in the priesthood, leading his church.

The priest is the visible representative of Christ and the priest shares in Christ authority and function as a living image of God among the people.

There was a part in the debate, and I'm not going to say names or go through it all, but there's a part in the debate, you guys remember, where somebody said something and the priest on stage, he was like, really like, you know, firm is like, sit down, you know, and I was like,

Whoa, you know, like, I don't I don't really feel like I could say it like he did, but they have a little bit of authority.

So we could spend all we could spend all night on that. I'm not. Let me just give a couple of responses.

First, Hebrews, did I tell you chapter seven, so Hebrews seven, twenty three and twenty four says the former priest were many a number because they were prevented by death from continuing office.

But he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. So let me just push back here.

The whole idea is an unbiblical idea to bring back the

Old Testament priesthood. And that's what Roman Catholicism does. It tries to bring back what

Christ has abrogated in his ministry and his work.

And then Revelation one, five and six, you can turn it about just read it. John says to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom priest to his

God and father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

So it's very clear in the New Testament that the church is considered priests.

We are priests and we have access to Christ and we don't need another class of priest in between us and the great high priest.

Does that make sense? Let me read to you just to contrast a little bit. Let me read to you what we believe.

This is from the Second London Baptist Confession, chapter twenty six. I'm going to read a few paragraphs. So let me just show you how this contrast.

So just listen to every church gathered in this way. This is paragraph seven conforming to Christ's mind as declared in his word.

He has given all power and authority that is in any way necessary to conduct the form of worship and discipline that he has instituted for them to observe.

He has also given them commands and rules to use and carry out that power rightly and properly.

A local church gathered and fully organized according to the mind of Christ consist of officers and members.

The officers appointed by Christ are overseers or elders and deacons. They are to be chosen and set apart by the church, called and gathered in this way for the distinctive purpose of administrating ordinances and for carrying out any other power or duty

Christ entrusts them with or calls them to. This pattern is to be continued to the end of the age.

Christ is appointed the way to call someone prepared and gifted by the Holy Spirit to the office of overseer or elder in a church.

He must be chosen by the collective vote of the church itself. He must then be solemnly set apart by fasting and prayer.

The body of elders of the church must lay hands on him if there are any already in place. A deacon must be chosen by the same kind of vote and set apart by prayer and laying on of hands as well.

The work of pastors is to give constant attention to the service of Christ in his churches, in the ministry of the word and prayer.

They're to watch over the souls of church members as those who must give an account to Christ. The churches to whom they minister must not only give them all due respect, but also must share with them from all their good things according to their ability.

They must do this so their pastors have a comfortable living without having to be entangled in secular matters.

And so they can show hospitality to others. This is required by the law of nature and by the explicit command of our

Lord Jesus, who is ordained that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel. Final paragraph. Although overseers or pastors of churches must be engaged in preaching the word as a function of their office, yet the work of preaching the word is not totally restricted them.

Others who are also gifted and prepared by the Holy Spirit for it and approved and called by the church may and should preach.

OK, I'm just we're at all that. So you understand the contrast of our position.

Do we believe that elders here have a special status of mediation between between you and Christ?

No, right? No. And by the way, who has Christ given the authority to?

Is it elders or is it the church? Who holds the keys to the kingdom? Is it the elders or is it the church?

Do we believe in elder membership or church membership? Church membership.

Do we believe in elder discipline or church discipline? Church, but you understand there's differences and and it's it's quite important.

So the biblical position is that there's no separate sacrificial or mediating priesthood in the church.

Christ is our only high priest. All believers are priests in him. The office of elder is not a continuation of Levitical priesthood.

By the way, bishop, elder, overseer, pastor. How many offices is that?

It's just one. It's all the same. And the New Testament church, they had plurality. So, OK, questions, comments on that and we'll move on.

OK, that was quick, I know we could have spent a lesson. All right, number two, let me mention the Eucharist again.

We could spend a long time on this. I'm going to keep it brief. I will read now from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1376.

And they quote the Council of Trent and it says, because Christ, our Redeemer, said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the

Church of God. And this holy council now declares again that by the consecration of the bread and wine, there take place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our

Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change, the

Holy Catholic Church is fittingly and properly called transubstantiation. All right. So what are they saying?

All right. Can you spit that out back really quick? What they're saying is that the elements of bread and fruit of the vine become the body and blood of Christ transubstantiation.

It's a and then it becomes a it's not a their language, to be fair, a re -presentation of Christ's sacrifice.

They call it an unbloodied sacrifice. And I know I kind of caught some flack for this, but you need to understand they do bow to the wafer.

The priest holds it up and if they walk by or whatever, they bow to the wafer. Why do they bow to the wafer?

Because they say it's Christ. Right. So a couple of things

I said, like we spent a whole time on that one, the theological refutation. Let me just give it the theological refutation.

Let me ask the kids. Let me ask the children for a second. OK, children, somebody can answer this.

I want you to stick your hand up if you know the answer to this question. OK, where is.

OK, Joe, you know. OK, but you're just getting ready. You're getting ready. All right. Get the elbow ready.

Stretch it out. OK, here we go. Where is the body of Christ presently?

All right, Ridge. Oh, the body of Christ. That's a trick question.

I know a little bit up there in the attic. No, no, no, no, no.

I know what you mean. You mean in heaven? You mean at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty? That's what you meant, right?

Yes. Very good, Joe. That's excellent. The body of Christ. Now, it's confusing because Ridge is right.

The divinity of Christ is where? Everywhere. So it's right. But the body of Christ is in a location.

It's in heaven at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. OK, so theologically, you say we don't believe in transubstantiation because the body of Christ is not in two places at once.

That actually makes mincemeat of the doctrine of incarnation of the incarnation. Secondarily, though,

I'll just read one verse again. We could spend a long time with this. Hebrews 10, 14. For by single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

How many offerings? How many offerings does it take for us to be sanctified?

How many offerings? One. And Jesus has given that offering. And it's really just nonsense to continue to say, well, he's being represented, represented, represented.

Let me say this, too, by the way, you can be part of the mass your whole life. OK, you can be part of the mass your whole life and at the end commit a mortal sin.

And the Roman Catholic Church says you go where you go. You go to hell.

Right. If that's not rectified. So the idea of Hebrews 10, 14, by a single offering, he has perfected all the time those who are being sanctified.

It just absolutely butchers it. And I'll say one more thing. It's important, but it has to do with Aristotelian metaphysics.

It's just the idea that Aristotle, so you have Aquinas in the 13th century who takes the logic of Aristotle with the idea of elements and accidents and all these things.

And so that's when, so when Rome says, oh, yeah, we've always believed this. No, you haven't.

It's in, let's see, it's in the 13th century, I believe, when they actually solidify and dogmatize their doctrine of transubstantiation.

So anyway, questions, comments on that? We could spend the whole time and then we're gonna spend the rest of time on this last one.

Questions, comments? All right. Then the last one and we're going to be done.

And I'll spend a little more time on this because I want to hammer this home and that is the doctrine of justification.

So I think I've hinted at this. We've talked about this in the series, but I want to, we could spend a whole 10 lessons on this, but I want to make this clear.

All these things we've talked about are important. They're all important. But this is really the dividing line, if you will.

This is why we would say Rome preaches a different gospel. So just a reminder,

I think we've covered this, but Rome teaches justification is received in baptism.

And then it involves an infused righteousness. That infused righteousness, so the language here, technical jargon for some of you, infused versus imputed.

OK, so we're arguing for a legal declaration and Rome is teaching, no, no, no, no, no, no.

The righteousness of God, of Christ is infused into you. And so now you have to cooperate in order to keep that up, to maintain it, to increase it.

All right. The Council of Trent, session six, paragraph 16. Why do I quote the councils? These are authoritative, right?

These are authoritative in Rome. So it says life eternal is to be proposed to those working well to the end or the catechism of the

Catholic Church. Twenty sixty eight. All men may attain salvation through faith, baptism and the observance of the commandments.

Yeah, what does the Bible say? Let's go to Romans four. This is

I mean, what's all over the place. Romans is just as good as others. Romans four. I'll just read one through eight.

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather, according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due. And to the one who does not work, but believes in him, who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

Just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works.

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the

Lord will not count his sin. This is the biblical position that justification is a legal declaration whereby

God does not count your sin against you. There are sins that you have committed, but they are not counted against you because they've been atoned for in Christ.

And instead, what is counted to your account is the righteousness of Christ, which is received by faith alone.

Rome collapses justification and sanctification. So your right standing before God, sure,

Jesus is important, but it's not just based on that. OK, it's also based on you maintaining and keeping that up.

So your final justification depends on you working with God in obedience to Rome and you have to work well to the end.

OK, but I want you to think about that phrase work well to the end.

What is the problem with that? I'm going to argue for a second that Rome does not understand God's law.

So just all of you need to hear this. The law of God is a perfect standard.

God cannot take his law and bend it to us. It's an old illustration, but I think it's helpful.

You're in college, you take the test and you're always mad at the one smart person in the class because you made a

D and you want the professor to grade on a curve, but you have this one person made like a 98.

So that affects the curve, right? But you're so we think, well, maybe God's like that. OK, no one can measure up.

So God just lowers the standard. They're kind of great on a curve for us. Of course, what's the reality of that?

No, God cannot do that because God is holy. OK, so how do you work well to the end?

Well, those who standard of the question is whose standard of well are we talking about here?

Is it God's standard in the law? Well, if it's that standard, you're not meeting it.

OK, well, OK, so then you say, well, maybe it's not that standard. I need to meet Rome's standard and I can just do what

Rome says and I'll be OK that way. But but you need to ask yourself tonight, what gives

Rome the right to replace the perfect standard of God's law with their own standard and their own made up and imposed standard of human works?

All right, Galatians 2 16. Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ.

So we have also believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law, no one will be justified.

So Rome, don't they read that verse? They do. And here's what they say. Oh, we can't be justified by works of the law.

We agree with that verse. And then they will say things like this,

Trent, no one ought to flatter himself up with faith alone, fancying that by faith alone he has made an error.

So what is it? Is it faith alone or is it faith in works? So you're justified by works of the law.

No, Rome will say, no, no, no, we're justified by good works. Well, this is where it gets confusing. OK, well,

Rome, what are good works? Well, Rome doesn't give an exhaustive list, but they talk about things like charity, giving, making sure you attend mass.

Right. And through this religious process, according to the Catholic Catechism 2010, moved by the

Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity and for the attainment of eternal life.

I hope you're getting this. But what they're saying is justification is a process that you have to keep.

Yes, yes, yes. We need grace. But you better keep up your end of the deal.

And if anywhere along the way you commit mortal sin, you're out. And all the venial sins that you commit along the way, like we are talking about there, that's going to come back to you in purgatory.

Now, again, the grace that Rome talks about, this is very, very important word that you need to hear tonight.

The grace that Rome talks about is not sufficient. What does the word sufficient mean?

What'd you say? Good enough. It is enough. Does somebody say something else? Enough.

It is enough. So is the grace in Rome enough to get you to the end? No, no, it is not.

You have to activate it. You have to cooperate with it.

So what Rome does is put you back in the Garden of Eden. I just that's my analogy.

And Rome puts you back in the Garden of Eden and says, oh, you're back here by God's grace. Now, do not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

They put you back there. That's not the gospel. Rome teaches that the righteousness of Christ is infused into the believers or sorry, righteousness is infused into the believer's soul through sacraments, and it requires continued cooperation and merit.

But the biblical truth is justification is a legal declaration based on the imputed righteousness of Christ alone received by faith alone.

The righteousness of Christ is not infused within us. It's legally accredited to our account.

Can that really be true? Yes. Philippians three, eight, nine. Indeed, Paul says, I count everything is loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing

Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I've suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain

Christ. Now, listen to this verse nine and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own.

That comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.

Second Corinthians 521 for our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

OK, remember God's law. It requires perfection. You cannot meet that. You cannot meet

God halfway on that. But the gospel is Christ has met this and he was made sin.

First Peter 224 carrying our sins in his body on the tree. Our sin was imputed to Christ.

Was Jesus a sinner? No, but our sins were credited to his account, imputed to his account, and he was held legally responsible for our sins.

And he died under that judgment. That's the judgment and wrath of God. And then he rose again on the third day.

And of course, we know Ephesians 2, 8 through 10, I think it's helpful. For by grace, you have been saved through faith.

This is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of work so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which

God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Can we not just understand that? Right. So we are credited with the righteousness of Christ legally upon our account by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

By the way, this is all God's doing. Why? So that no one may boast. Right. Roman Catholicism gives you the opportunity to boast.

Why are you in heaven or why am I in heaven and you're not? Because I cooperated and you didn't.

I kept going, I kept taking the the the sacrament, I kept taking the

Eucharist, I kept going to confession, I kept it up.

That's why I'm in heaven. Does that sound like boasting in God alone? No, no.

And even this, even our faith, the scriptures teach, is a gift of God. Even our faith is effectually worked by the

Holy Spirit in us. This week we have a catechism question. Question thirty three. How does the spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?

Answer. The spirit applies to us the redemption purchased by Christ by working faith in us and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.

This is all the work of God. This is all grace. Is the grace of the Bible sufficient?

Yes or no? Yes. The grace that God truly gives his people, it actually brings us all the way home.

It's I know it's a song, it's not Bible, but it is a biblical song with amazing grace. Right. Grace has brought me safe thus far and what grace will lead me home.

Amen. And then justified believers, we do walk in good works. Not because not because we don't walk in good works, because we are meriting anything.

It's because God's grace is at work within us. We won't read it tonight, but another place you go,

Romans three, twenty one through twenty six. But let me give one final note about justification in Rome.

And that is Rome says essentially they don't say this,

I'm not quoting their documents, but by their practice and what they teach, they say we'll break God's golden chain of redemption.

Now, what is that? What is God's? Who can tell me without going to it or before we go to it?

Who can tell me what is God's golden chain of redemption? What?

Who said something you say? Yeah, OK, can we do it? So where's that found?

Yeah, Romans eight, twenty nine and thirty. So let's go there. Romans eight, twenty nine and thirty.

I'm just going to read verse 30. So this is what theologians call the golden chain of redemption.

You can't break any of these chains. OK, so Romans eight thirty says it this way.

Those whom he predestined. He also called and those whom he called, he also justified and those whom he justified, he also glorified.

So I'm just going to take verse 30 and I'm going to take those one, two, three, four chains.

So you just tell me what are those not four chains, four links? What are the four links? According to verse 30, what are these four links in the chain?

You can give them to me. Well, four known is in verse twenty nine, but we could take that, too, but those he foreknown or foreloved.

The second link in the chain is predestined. OK, and then called and then justified and then what glorified all this goes together.

It's an unbreakable chain. But think think about this way. So God says, how many of those that God just look at the text, how many of those that God justifies?

Does he glorify? Yeah, give it. I'm kind of simple.

Give it to me in a percent. OK, a hundo.

Got it. One hundred percent. So all those God justifies. He what? He glorifies.

Now, Rome says there are many who are justified.

And then what happens? They they lose the grace of justification.

Right. They're never glorified because they commit mortal sin. They never return and they're gone.

OK, so they break that chain. Let me be clear. If if a single justified person fails to be glorified, then what does that say about Romans 830?

God is a liar. If it's ninety nine point nine percent. Yeah, everybody made it ninety nine point nine percent.

But well, yeah, there's this one guy, you know, he was really bad. No, no, no. God is true.

And every man a liar. God is true. Scripture says he cannot fail. He cannot lie.

Romans 833, who you look down a few verses, who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

It is God who justifies. OK, so the Catholic gospel, by allowing for the loss of justification through mortal sin, works to break this unbreakable chain of redemption.

So this creates a gospel where justified believers, you're not guaranteed.

OK, if at any point in your life you're justified, you will be what? Glorified, but not under Rome's system.

OK, Rome's system, false biblical gospel assures that all justified by faith will be glorified through God's sovereign grace.

So in Rome's system, justification is insurgent. I try to put these two words together, uncertain and contingent.

In the biblical gospel, justification is final, secure, and it's rooted in God's unchanging decree,

Christ's perfect and sufficient work and the Holy Spirit's sufficient and sovereign application.

All right. Land in the plane, because I want to say this, and then when we get through, we'll have time for discussion.

But I want to remind Providence Baptist Church tonight that this series is not about pridefulness.

And I need to, because we've made jokes and stuff, I need to be careful. This is not about hostility to Rome.

So first and foremost, like it's not like, I don't know, something silly. Let's go nail 95 theses on all of Roman Catholics doors.

OK, first and foremost, this is about the gospel. All right. Galatians one says, how many gospels are there?

We sing this, by the way. There's how many gospels? One gospel and Galatians one teaches that if you twist this gospel, if you change this gospel, if you add to this gospel, then you are anathema, which means accursed.

And so Roman Catholicism in their slavery to manmade tradition teaches a different gospel, one that depends on something more than the finished work of Christ and the sufficient grace of God.

So by pomp and ceremony, they appeal to the human senses, which

I'm studying Hebrews right now to prepare for Mexico. But it's very similar to what the author of Hebrews.

He's arguing against these things to the Jews, to the

Hebrews. He's saying essentially quit putting all your awe and trust and hope in these physical things.

Well, Rome, it's like they don't read Hebrews and they go back and they do all this pomp and this ceremony, this tradition.

And if you talk to some Roman Catholics, that's really what pulls them in. They love to see all these things.

They love to see all the the beauty and the ceremony and the and the ritual and the recitation.

And and you can go online and you can listen to a mass. I mean, it's like, boom, you know, the priest starts off one thing and everybody's like, you know, repeating it's memorized and all these things.

It's like, whoa, that's attracted them. But this is why I argue and I don't say this lightly, that Roman Catholicism is demonic because it's designed to attract and then trap its adherents.

Rome, I'm saying, has departed from the apostolic faith once delivered to the saints.

And our aim in this series has been to expose these errors with clarity, but also compassion.

All right. One, we want to enable us to engage those caught in this dark system. You probably have friends, neighbors, family, co -workers.

You probably know somebody who's a Roman Catholic. Well, I want you to be equipped where you can have a real and meaningful conversation.

And I don't want you to just assume, oh, yeah, they're a believer. Well, not if they adhere to Rome. Now, can there be believers within Roman Catholicism?

Yes, but it's in spite of what Rome teaches, not because of it. And if they are believers within Rome, they need to come out of her.

She is lost. So, one, I want to engage those caught in the system.

Two, I want to help Providence Baptist Church to hold fast to the glorious gospel of grace because it's only one.

That sinner has always been true. Sinners are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

May we never compromise on this truth. May we be faithful stewards of it in our churches, homes and witnesses in the world.