Why We Resist The Doctrines Of The Church of Rome
Part 5 in a series of articles by A.G. Ashdown, from The Protestant Alliance
Reproduced by Manchester Orange Order under kind permission from The Protestant Alliance.
IS THE ROMAN CHURCH TRULY “CATHOLIC”?
The Roman Church has always claimed to be “catholic” but Protestants have always Regarded the clause in the Apostles’ Creed “I believe in the Catholic Church” as true. However the two definitions of the meaning are widely different. It has only been in Recent times that Protestants have been willing to refer to the Roman Church as the “Catholic” Church. In former times a more exact term was used, the “Papal” Church and its people as “Papists” The most distinguished feature of the Roman Church is the Papacy. Other ancient Churches do not have it. In the old Orthodox Churches of the East all Bishops are regarded as equal, there is no one primate Bishop, a Pope. This is true in the Anglican Church. The Archbishop of Canterbury has no comparable position to that of the Pope. He can make no claim to be the Vicar of Christ, or to rule his world-wide Church in the way the Pope claims to rule his.
THE BIBLICAL PROTESTANT VIEW OF A UNIVERSAL CHURCH
The way in which the true Protestant understands the term “Catholic” is in the light of Scripture. It is clear from the Bible that the only way into the Church of Jesus Christ is by the “New Birth”, the personal experience of repentance from sin and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Nowhere does the Bible teach that the rite of Baptism has in itself the power to save the soul. Philip was very plain when he said to the Ethiopian eunuch, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest”
(Acts 8:37). It was because of his belief, that saving act of repentance and faith, Philip was prepared to baptise him. It follows that all who have experienced that “New Birth” are truly members of the Church of Christ. They are not the people of one exclusive denomination but are widely scattered in both evangelical bodies and even in apostate, and at times heretical, bodies. This is the Church that has true spiritual unity for which the Saviour prayed in
John 17:21, being indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. This is the “Catholic” Church of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 18:4 is the exhortation to true believers to come out of the Great Harlot Church of Rome.
THE ROMAN CLAIM UNSCRIPTURAL
The way in which the Roman Church understands the term “Catholic” is quite different.
She makes the claim that our Lord founded the Church on Peter and also appointed him as the first Pope. Neither history or Scripture can be made to support this view. In spite of its widespread acceptance there is no definite historical evidence that Peter was ever in Rome, much less the Bishop of Rome. In his day the Roman Empire was just beginning to persecute the Church. The dividing up of the territory of the Empire into areas presided over by Christian Bishops was a long way into the future. The Bible supports the view that Peter was in Babylon, from where he wrote his first general Epistle (
1Peter 5:13). He was the Apostle to the circumcision, the Jews.
Owing to the war between the Jews and the Romans from A.D. 63 to 73 many Jews, including some who had become Christians, fled through Antioch to Babylon. Peter had a dispute with Paul at Antioch (
Galatians 2). Further, if the story of Peter’s residence in Rome were true he would have been there at the time Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans and would have been the leader of the Church there. In spite of the list of greetings at the end of the Roman Epistle being the longest of all such lists in Paul’s writings, there is no mention of Peter at all. When Peter writes in his Epistle of elders, he states concerning himself that he was an elder. He does not take the place of a pope above other elders of the Church, (
1Peter 5:1). The whole structure of the Papacy is based on supposition and not on fact.
THE ROMAN CLAIM UNHISTORICAL
The reason why the Pagan Emperors persecuted the Church in the early centuries of the Christian era was the passion they had for a universal religion throughout their dominions.
When the Emperor Constantine became a Christian the Roman Empire became Christian and the Bishop of Rome became an important figure in the city of Rome. When the Emperor moved his capital to his new city on the Bosphoros, Constantinople, the Bishop of Rome attained great importance and it was on this the Papacy was founded. As the Empire decayed and was invaded by the barbarian hordes, it was the Bishop of Rome who treated with them and finally ruled them as their Pope when they had turned to Christianity.
It was however true that at no time was there a Bishop of Rome who was regarded as the
“Universal” or “Catholic” Bishop, primate of the whole undivided Church. A long struggle took place between the Bishops of Rome and Constantinople leading in the end to the division of the Greek (Byzantine) Church from the Church of Rome. So, historically, there has never been a truly “Catholic” Pope of Rome.
A HISTORY OF CRIME AND WICKEDNESS
Then again the whole history of the Papacy has been one of political strife and is still so today. A body that is Roman cannot be “Catholic” or “Universal” too, it is a contradiction of terms. It is true that for many centuries Popes were always Italian. There have been French Popes and one English one, Adrian 1V, who gave to English Monarchs the right to the conquest of Ireland. There have been heretical occupants of the Papal Chair, such as Liberius an Arian and Leo X who was an atheist. At times the Papacy has sunk to dreadful levels of immorality and wickedness. Popes have supported and promoted wars, opposed democratic government and education. This raises the question, how can this be the universal Church of Christ?.
A HISTORY OF USEFULNESS AND BLESSING
On the other hand, in the great revivals of true religion, there has always been an emphasis on the great central truths believed by that invisible truly “Catholic” Church. The Reformation was not just a great revolt against the Roman Church, it was a recovery of the truth. It opened the Bible and cast out so much superstition, it promoted all forms of education and enquiry. The Evangelical Revival of the 18th Century in England prevented a revolution such as France experienced. It can be seen that the body of true believers are the Godly remnant, the little flock, the true “Catholic” or “Universal “ Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.