On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis died. Since it has been in the news over the last month, I thought I would share a devotional that might help to explain some things we’ve seen, then put it in the light of the Scripture.
Catholicism views the Pope as the Vicar of Christ, the direct representative of Jesus presiding “in the place of God.”1 Papal infallibility is taught, “a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks ex cathedra is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine “initially given to the apostolic Church and handed down in Scripture and tradition”. It does not mean that the pope cannot sin or otherwise err in some capacity, though he is prevented by the assistance of the Holy Spirit from issuing heretical teaching even in his non-infallible Magisterium, as a corollary of indefectibility.”2
Choosing the next Pope (which may have already been accomplished by the time you read this) is quite an intense procedure. Any baptized male Catholic is eligible to fill the role though typically, the Pope will be chosen from the group of eligible Cardinals during a conclave. The process involves the 135 eligible Cardinal Electors3 being sequestered in the Sistine Chapel until the next Pope has been selected. They have up to four times each day to get a two-thirds vote for an individual. People on the outside watch the chimney of the Chapel intensely. Whenever the Cardinals cast an indecisive vote, the ballots are burned, and chemicals are added to produce black smoke. When the decisive vote is cast, the ballots are burned with chemicals that produce white smoke. Cardinals will not leave the Sistine Chapel until a decision has been made.
The Pope influences more than church doctrine. He becomes a world voice speaking on behalf of humanitarian and social issues. Because Roman Catholicism has over 1.3 billion followers worldwide, the opinion of the Vatican matters and the Pope’s pontification on many subjects will be sought. Meetings with him will feature people venerating the Pope on bended knee, kissing his ring, and desiring his touch of blessing.
If one follows the beliefs of the Catholic church, how can they be saved and make Heaven their home? “In short, the Catholic Church teaches that salvation is a gift from God, and the normative way we receive that gift is through the seven sacraments, beginning with baptism (see the Catechism 1113ff.). Sacraments are sensible signs Jesus Christ instituted to confer grace, i.e., divine life (CCC 1131; 1114-16). The sacraments are made possible, first of all, by God’s becoming man in Jesus, and their saving effectiveness is derived from Jesus’ one paschal sacrifice, i.e., his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension (CCC
613, 1085).
“Jesus established the Catholic Church as his instrument of salvation through which the faithful are able to receive the sacraments…The Church also teaches that we must freely accept the gift of salvation and persevere in it, for, as St. James teaches, justification is by faith and works and not by faith alone (CCC 162, 1814-16; see also 1854-64).”4
What does the Bible say about all of this?
The near worship and deification of another human being horrifies me as it runs contrary to Revelation 19:7-10. “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. (8) And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. (9) And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. (10) And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Is the Pope infallible? Absolutely NOT in any area. Again, he is just a man with a sin nature like you and I that will never be eradicated this side of eternity. Paul, the premier evangelist of the New Testament wasn’t infallible. Read Romans 7. And he didn’t want anyone to think that his teachings were infallible. Acts 17:11 praises the Berean believers by saying, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” While they loved and respected Paul, they searched the infallible Word of God for themselves to see what the infallible GOD had to say.
As a side note, Roman Catholicism teaches that you cannot interpret the Bible apart from the church. “The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the bishop of Rome (Pope).”5
A final note concerns salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.” The saving Gospel message is defined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (2) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (3) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
Sacramental salvation is not Biblical salvation. Salvation is wholly the work of God through Jesus Christ apart from anything we might do. We do nothing to get salvation and there’s nothing we can do to keep salvation. Grace cannot be obtained. It is a gift mercifully given.
Let me set the record straight as I close this devotional. Please do not interpret anything I’ve written as Catholic bashing. I share all of this because many have no idea what goes on in Catholicism. All we know is that we are seeing a group of devout, hurting people because their church leader has died.
We need to know the truth of God’s Word. It’s not a matter of Baptist doctrine vs. Catholic doctrine. It’s a matter of ALL doctrine aligning with the Word of God.
We need to ask the Lord to help us share God’s Word, speaking that truth in love. We have the answer to their hurts, and it is found in Jesus. “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)
Like Jesus, we need to see the crowd and be “moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) The world’s need of a shepherd isn’t going to be found in a Pope or a preacher. It’s found in Jesus. “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; (38) Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)
1“The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians (2, 6:1)”. Catholic Encyclopedia; New Advent. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibility
3https://www.newsweek.com/cardinals-who-make-papal-conclave-pope-francis-2062179
4https://www.catholic.com/qa/how-to-get-to-heaven):
5https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-problem-with-interpreting-your-own-bible
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