There are so many arguments against the Catholic Church that are false or skewed. Some are so far off that it is hard to take them seriously. The Catholic Church does not teach that we are saved by Peter or the pope, Mary, the Saints, or anyone else as is often claimed.

Likewise, the Catholic Church does not teach that we are saved by Catechisms, candles, holy water, and most of the other things on the anti-Catholic list on Catholic inventions we are going by. We would like to ask the person who made this picture where the Catholic Church teaches that candles, tithing, or holy water, for example, saves a person in place of Jesus, or at all?

Analogously, the Church has never taught that Mary saves us or died for us, or anything of the sort. In fact, the Catholic Church teaches the opposite and states that only Jesus saves us and that He alone justifies us by His body and blood on the cross. The Church has taught this for over 2000 years now.

For any doubters out there, here is some official Catholic teaching on it:

Catechism of the Catholic Church: Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men.” … “Since God alone can forgive sins, it is God who, in Jesus his eternal Son made man, “will save his people from their sins”. in Jesus, God recapitulates all of his history of salvation on behalf of men.”(430, 1992)

And many more could be cited!

Catholics and Salvation!

Catholics believe that Jesus died once and for all on the cross to save us from our sins. Only His body and blood forgives us our sins, and without it, we cannot be saved. Period.  That is what Catholics believe! However, salvation is not a one time event. It is a life long journey of Christ saving us. For example:

Many Protestants say (like in the picture above) that Baptism doesn’t save you. However, this is incorrect. The Bible itself says “Baptism saves you” (1 Peter 3:21) speaking of a water baptism. Scripture cannot be any more clear! When Protestants read a verse like that, they immediately get uncomfortable and retract saying, “No, only Christ saves you.”

Well, of course only Christ saves you. But the Bible clearly states that “Baptism saves you.” Do not ignore the verse because it makes you feel uncomfortable or you do not understand it. Catholics are not uncomfortable at all because they understand that Christ saves us, but He chooses to use different means to do so, like Baptism. It’s not the water that saves, but Jesus Christ who saves us through Baptism, which is why Scripture (in Romans 6 and other verses) talks about being born again in Christ through Baptism. It is Christ who saves us this way and anti-Catholics try to tie His hands claiming He cannot. (Note: Lutherans and other Protestant groups agree with Catholics on this; they believe that Christ saves through Baptism which regenerates us).

Bible Cherry Picking

Cherry picking means you take one line from the entire Bible and make that your argument. The picture above quotes one verse that says we are saved by “believing in Jesus,” which is true. However, it is not just an intellectual belief only that saves you but a living, breathing, working faith. In other words, there are many other things that Jesus commanded us to do, that if we do not do them, we will not be saved. Like Baptism, for example (Mk. 16:16 – “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.”)

Also, Scripture is clear that we must have more than an intellectual faith. We need to do things do be saved. Unlike what the picture above says, we need to repent (Acts 3:18); we must confess our sins (Rom. 10:9); we must live out our faith in good works (Mt. 25:31-46 and many others), and we must follow the commandments (Mt.19:17-21) and do God’s will (Mt. 7:21).

Likewise confession is part of God’s plan and Jesus Himself gave men the power to forgive sins (Jn. 20:21-23) and last rites is Biblical too (James 5:16).

Likewise confession is part of God’s plan. Jesus Himself gave men the power to forgive sins (Jn. 20:21-23) and last rites also Biblical (James 5:16).

In other words, the initial picture says we must believe in Jesus, which is true, but it is taken out of context and forced to mean something that it does not. This is common among anti-Catholics who quickly sling Bible verses at Catholics but almost always take them out of context.

This is why we need to step it up in the Catholic Church and learn our faith again. It’s time! Generations of uncatechized Catholics have been killing the Church and giving it a bad name. Christ called us to be the “light of the world!” Therefore, we need to know know our Bible and our faith! After all, the Bible is a Catholic book. We are the ones who made it and gave it to the world!

So, check out the awesome resources below which will absolutely help you to learn, love, and share your faith. I guarantee that if you read a few of those books, your faith fill not only grow, but Catholicism will become more exciting and fulfilling! I have a library of books (Catholic and anti-Catholic) that I have read, and I’m passing it on to you…

As always, thanks for reading! Share this post with others, Protestant or Catholics, that need to know more about the truth of the Catholic faith. And, as always, if you have any questions about anything listed in the picture above, just ask.