An Urgent Plea To Roman Catholics

"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision." Joel 3:14

"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." Hebrews 10:10-14

Good afternoon neighbors,

It is my sincere hope and prayer before the Living God that any Roman Catholic reading the enclosed essay will be greatly encouraged to believe the gospel and soon cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy and deliverance. Only He can wash our sins away by His one-time sacrifice upon the cross at Calvary two thousand years ago. Only His finished work (death, burial & resurrection) can save us from Hell-fire. It is Jesus Christ alone that can deliver us from "dead works", from unbiblical traditions and false doctrine.

As a former-Catholic, I have compassion upon the lay-people within this religious organization. It was not until I departed the R.C.C. that I was blessed of God to finally understand a liberating and wonderful truth about Him. I found this truth in the holy bible; in the New Testament book of Ephesians ch.2, vss. 8-10, where I learned that a man is saved only by the "grace" of God (His unmerited favor bestowed upon His elect saints) through "faith" - both of which are GIFTS from God Himself!

The gentleman that wrote this essay is Mr. Ralph Ovadal of Wisconsin. I hope that this will prove to be one of the greatest blessings in your life. Above all else, May the LORD JESUS CHRIST be magnified (not mere men)!

With care,
Billy

P.S. Please note that all scripture given is from the old King James bible (aka, the Authorized Version), and I encourage you folks to run out and get one soon. You'll be glad ya' did so!

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"Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Proverbs 30:5-6

An Urgent Plea to Roman Catholics

"For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."I Peter 1:24-25

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The religious-political system known as the Roman Catholic Church began to take shape in the Fourth Century. As the years rolled by, the Roman church increasingly exercised power which was not delegated to her by God; and she increasingly promulgated unbiblical doctrine even as she persecuted those who obediently clung to the Word of God. Plainly stated, the pope and his underlings have been adversaries of God's revealed Word, the Bible. The Word of God and the word of the Roman church led by the pope are at direct odds with each other on many foundational issues, including, most critically, how one receives forgiveness of sin and salvation from God. It is impossible for one to be obedient to both the Roman church and the Bible, just as it is impossible to follow both the pope and Jesus. In the short space allowed by this tract, I would like to point out a few dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church which are in direct conflict with God's Word (Mat. 15:8-9). Due to space constraints, I will not directly quote the RCC documents which contain the doctrines I am dealing with, and I will simply reference Bible passages. I assume Roman Catholics will know where their church's teachings are found, or they will contact me for documentation. I pray that they read the Scripture verses referenced, which are representative of many more verses in each case.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the pope is Christ's vicar (representative, voice) on earth, the "Holy Father", and head of Christ's Church, infallible in matters of faith and morals when speaking officially in that office. Peter is held to be the first pope.

Roman Catholic claims concerning the papacy and Peter are soundly refuted by God's Word. The Holy Spirit, not the pope, is the voice of God to men's consciences, convicting of sin and confirming the Word of God (Jn. 14:26, 16:7-14; Eph. 6:17). The Bible nowhere sets up one man as the head of the Church but instead clearly states that Christ is the Head of His Church (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23, 5:23).

Peter never led others to believe that he was the head of the Church, but instead referred to himself as "an elder" (1 Pet. 5:1-3). Peter is never portrayed in Scripture as being the head apostle or "pope"; in fact, at key times during the apostolic era, other apostles seem to be in charge in a given situation (Acts 15:1-30). Further, if Peter was acting as the "Holy Father" in Rome, then a reading of Paul's letter to the Romans would seem to imply that Paul did not have much respect for Peter as the infallible head of the Church (Rom. 1:11-15; Gal. 2:11-16)! By the way, God's Word clearly commands Christians not to address anyone in a spiritual or religious sense as "father," let alone "Holy Father" (Mat. 23:9). In light of the Roman Catholic claims about their first pope, it seems more than a little strange that only James and Jude wrote less of the New Testament than Peter wrote. There is a plethora of other biblical evidences which make it obvious that the Roman church is dead wrong when it comes to its claims about the papacy.

Surely, the bloody and sordid history of the papacy is also proof that the pope is not the infallible, holy vicar of Christ. Some popes have been fornicators, homosexuals, and murderers as even Roman Catholic historians admit. Popes have anathematized their predecessors and wielded ungodly power over civil rulers while ordering brutal persecutions, including the mass murder of Bible-believing Christians such as the Waldenses. How could such men be the "vicar of Christ"?

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the bread and the wine of the Eucharist are Christ's literal body and blood.

This doctrine is wrongly based on a figure of speech Jesus used to show the Jews that He came down from heaven to provide eternal life for their souls as contrasted to the manna their fathers ate in the wilderness (Jn. 6:48-64). Jesus Christ is the staff of life essential to the sinner's salvation. By His death, the giving of His body and shedding of His blood, Christ purchased eternal life for sinners who repent and trust only in Him for the salvation of their souls. When Christ spoke of eating His flesh and drinking His blood, He was speaking in a spiritual sense, as He says in John 6:63. Surely those who are in Christ also receive all spiritual nourishment and grace by and through Him. Christ Jesus is the bread of life for His people.

Jesus also said that He is "the door" (Jn. 10:9) and "a light" (Jn. 12:46). The Bible identifies Jesus as a "Lamb" (Jn. 1:29) and as a "Rock" (1 Cor. 10:4). There are times when God's Word uses figures of speech to stress an eternal truth. Those instances are always obvious, but apparently not to the pope, his bishops, and his priests.

Jesus Christ, "the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:18), for our sake possesses a resurrected, glorified body (Phil. 2:5-11; Jn. 20:26-27) just as His followers will one day possess (1 Cor. 15:35-58). He sits at the right hand of God the Father (Rom. 8:34). Christ's body cannot be and is not split up thousands of ways every day by Roman priests all over the world in the mass. Further, if Christ meant for us to literally eat His flesh and drink His blood, He would have been commanding us to commit cannibalism. During the Last Supper with His disciples, Jesus was physically present when He handed out the wine and bread, saying, "This is my body . . . my blood . . ." (Lk. 22:17-20). The Lord's Table is an ordinance of His true Church which is done solely "in remembrance" of Christ's vicarious sacrifice on the cross (Lk. 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). Through the mass, the Roman church teaches its members to literally worship a wafer of bread, and her priests claim to have the power to turn physical elements into the Son of God and then "immolate" Him on their altars. By this ritual, they profess to repeatedly sacrifice Christ for the remission of sin! The Scriptures make it clear that Jesus' death on the cross was fully sufficient and completely efficacious for the salvation of all who repent and believe the gospel (Heb. 7:27, 9:12, 9:26-28, 10:10; 1 Pet. 3:18). What Jesus Christ has commanded His followers to do as a "remembrance" of His death and their inheritance of eternal life through faith in Him (Lk. 22:19-20), the Roman church has turned into a blasphemous ritual which misleads millions, separated from Christ and salvation. No true Christian can have any part of it (1 Cor. 10:20-22).

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that, for salvation to be gained, one must do certain works and sacraments ordained by the church.

The gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims salvation by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. This is the truth everywhere proclaimed in the Word of God and affirmed by the Spirit of truth in the hearts of all true followers of Christ. To insist that salvation is obtained by works of the law or any combination of works plus grace is to teach that God owes sinners salvation rather than it being a free gift of God (Rom. 4:1-8, 6:23, 5:15-19)! Salvation is all of God and none of man. Salvation is all of grace and none of works. "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work" (Rom. 11:6). "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5).

The Roman church teaches salvation is made possible only by a life of sacramental works and the assistance of her priests. This is a blasphemous lie which mocks the efficacy, sufficiency, and omnipotent power of the life, death, resurrection, and priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ who is "able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25). The pope and his priests, in order to keep sinners in bondage and in their kingdom rather than in Christ's kingdom, "wrest" the Scriptures "unto their own destruction" to justify their false grace plus works gospel (2 Pet. 3:16). For instance, they cite James chapter two and say it proves Abraham was justified by faith and works. But Scripture is interpreted by Scripture, and the rest of the Scriptures testify that Abraham was justified by faith alone! Besides, justification is clearly being used in a different sense by James in that instance. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, James is simply showing that a faith without works is a dead faith and no true faith at all. Abraham's works after being saved justified, or showed, his faith to be true. Although the Scriptures teach over and over that all men are commanded to obey God's holy law and live holy lives, it is impossible to be justified and saved through the law or by any work of obedience but only by grace through faith (Rom. 3:20-28; Gal. 2:16, 3:11; Eph. 2:8-9). While true salvation will result in righteous works, salvation does not in any way result from righteous works. Those who teach that man must do certain works to secure salvation - or­ for that matter, keep it ­- substitute the unrighteous works of corrupt, spiritually dead men for the precious blood of Christ and His spotless righteousness. The Roman Catholic Church cannot be the true Church since it teaches a false gospel. And how can the pope, an "accursed" false teacher, be Christ's vicar (Gal. 1:8-9)?

The Roman Catholic Church insists that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was conceived sinless, lived a sinless life on this earth, was a perpetual virgin, and was assumed into heaven.

The Roman Catholic Church contradicts the Bible with these claims and many others that they make about the mother of Jesus. Mary was a young woman whom God sovereignly chose to bear the Messiah. She was a virgin until after His birth, and then Joseph "knew" her (Mat. 1:25). In other words, their marriage was physically consummated after Jesus was born. To say otherwise is to indulge in the same flight of fantasy as the homosexuals who claim that the sodomites who wanted to "know" Lot's two guests merely wanted to become acquainted with them (Gen. 19:5)! It is also to ignore the unimpeachable biblical evidence that Jesus had natural brothers and sisters, some of whom are even named in the Scriptures (Mat. 13:53-56; Mk. 6:1-3). Mary was a pure, godly woman, no doubt; but she was not sinless any more than she was a perpetual virgin. Mary spoke of "God my Saviour" (Lk. 1:47). Mary, like every human being, belonged to Adam's fallen race and needed a Savior! The Scriptures tell us, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Nowhere does the Bible tell us that Mary was an exception to that rule just as it nowhere tells us that she was assumed into heaven.

There is also no biblical justification ­- quite the contrary - ­for praying to Mary as the Roman Catholic Catechism encourages. And to hear the prayers of millions of Roman Catholics all over the world, Mary would have to be omnipresent just as is God! Tragically, the Roman Catholic Church has turned that humble Jewish woman into their goddess, even bestowing such blasphemous titles on her as "Queen of Heaven" and "co-mediatrix."

These are a few of many instances where the Roman Catholic Church's doctrines are in direct contradiction to God's Word. Roman Catholics can believe the pope or believe the Word of God. Roman Catholic reader, please consider all the fundamental ways in which your church is in serious conflict with the Word of God. You cannot have it both ways. You cannot serve both the pope and Jesus.

To be forgiven of your sins, born again, and filled with the blessed assurance of salvation (Rom. 8:16), believe the Word of God instead of the pope. Confess your sins to God rather than to a priest. Call upon the name of the Lord for salvation instead of praying to Mary and "the saints" and relying on pagan rituals. Then follow Jesus and live your life according to God's Holy Word instead of the corrupt decrees of Rome.

­Pastor Ralph Ovadal
Pilgrims Covenant Church (non-incorporated)
http://www.pccmonroe.org/index.htm