Do Protestants Need to Believe Catholic Doctrine?
| Do Protestants Need to Believe Catholic Doctrine?
Hey There man... long time no talk. Question: Can you post the link to download the program that can make word documents pdf. files? I remember you posting a purgatory study and it had the link on the bottom.
Also... if the Bible is clear on salvation, believing in Jesus... would we as protestants have to worry about our salvation because we don't believe in Catholic doctrine??
Hi Lemoyz,
In regards to the PDF, my Bible Study document on Purgatory can be found at the following link, if the link does not work, the program is called "Win2Pdf":
Glad somebody was paying attention to that Purgatory doc. You never know really what fruits your personal work can cultivate.
Your second question is tough, for our teachings on Salvation are not as "black and white" as many Protestants would have it to be. In other words, many fundamentalist Christians would say, "Once saved always saved." This is also called the "Perseverance of the Saints" if you are a Calvinist. It states that if one is truly saved, then his works are a natural OUTCOME, but not necessary. That is, our good works are PROOF of our Salvation. This "salvation" is attained, first and foremost, by simply "accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior." Catholics do not believe we are "SAVED" in the past tense, but we are BEING saved while we strive to lead a good and virtuous life called for by our faith (Acts 2:47, 27:20; 1 Cor 1:18, 15:2; 2 Cor 2:15). Therefore, faith and works are two sides of the same coin. We do not believe we can be saved with either/or, but both. Paul does say that "works of the law do not justify us, but by faith" (Rom 3:28). This is true because the Mosaic Law was done away with, with the coming of Christ. We are under a new law, a new covenant; we are no longer under the "law" but under grace (John 1:17; Rom 6:14; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; Heb 12:24).
I do believe that salvation is clear in the Bible, but I disagree that it is just as simple as having intellectual belief in Jesus. Don't forget what St. James taught us, ".even the demons believe and shudder" (James 2:19). Our faith should be a faith which is LIVED in the life of the works of love and charity. Indeed the Bible teaches that among faith, hope and love (charity), the greatest is love (1 Cor 13:13). I mean, what is faith really, if it is not actualized in our daily lives? St. James teaches us that faith without works is a dead faith (James 2:14). Also, the best Scripture passage which supports the Catholic teaching on salvation as a continuous process throughout our life is:
Philippians 2:12 ESV Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling
For me to answer your question is dangerous territory for me. This is a sensitive subject and I am not your judge. I will give you what the Catholic Church teaches, however.
1. You are not responsible for Catholic doctrine because you are not a Catholic.
2. If you have never been presented properly the Catholic faith, then you are not responsible for your remaining a Protestant.
3. However, you must continue questioning and seeking, and God's grace will lead you to the truth.
4. You would thus be in a state called "invincible ignorance"
5. However, if indeed you have been presented with the Catholic faith, having been told that the Church is indeed the universal sacrament of salvation and is necessary, then I would be worried.
I would worry less about the title "Catholic doctrine." The message of salvation is believed to be passed on to us in two forms, written and oral tradition, Scripture and Tradition. As such, we believe that the Catholic Church transmits the fullness of that revelation. As I have pointed out above, with a few choice passages, we can see that the Catholic view of salvation is a bit different from a Protestant.
The question is not "do Protestants need to believe Catholic doctrines to be saved?" (If that were true, then you would cease to be Protestant and be Catholic). Rather, it should be: "In my reading of the Bible, on the means to salvation, and how to lead a good and God-filled life, am I taking into account the entire Bible as a whole?" From Genesis to Revelation, is undoubtedly the God-breathed "word of God" and as such, all of it fits together like a jigsaw puzzle.
The simple answer is: No, you do not "need" to believe Catholic doctrine to be saved. Your salvation is up to God, and relatively proportional to your understanding of the truth. So, again, if a Protestant understands that Christ established a church (Matt 16:18), and He had the authority (Matt 28:18), and Jesus gave this authority to Peter and the Apostles (Matt 16:19, 18:18; John 20:22), and He desired for this Church to continue in their offices to lead the faithful in Christ to salvation (Acts 1:20), with the faithful turning to the church as the pillar and buttress of truth (1 Timothy 3:15), and if the Protestant understands all this, and rejects the church, then all I can say is, I pray you are not that person. Please, continue searching, and questioning.
God loves you and He desires for you to be with Him and all the elect, for all eternity. So let's keep on serving Him as best we can.
God Bless,
Laurence |
Posted at 10/11/2005 3:51:50 AM
Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 2:51 PM
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Do Protestants Need to Believe Catholic Doctrine?":
That was truly beautiful. You're very objective in your writing and it is not often you see that. I ma Catholic and so I may be a little more biased because of what I've learned but I believe that the more you learn, the more your beliefs change. That is well with the Catholic faith. If you continue to ask questions about it, you discover more about its roots in the life of Jesus.
I'm not saying that Protestant beliefs are in anyway wrong but if you continue to delve deeper, you will see that before the churches split, it is the true doctrine that Jesus Christ himself taught and the apostles handed down that is the roots for our faith.
As you said, I agree, we must always keeping searching for the truth.
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