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How is the Protestant church different from the Catholic Church?
There are two main differences. They can be summed up in two phrases:
"Scripture alone," and "faith alone."
Scripture alone means that while there may be a many good books out there about God, only one is God’s Word, the Bible. And, it is the standard by which all other books and ideas about God are evaluated.
Why is that? Because when God gave us the Scripture He did something unique. The apostle Paul said that,
“All Scripture is God-breathed…” (2 Tim. 3:16 NIV)
“God-breathed” means that the Scripture is a direct word from God, just like we have to breathe out to speak. That’s what the Scripture is. It’s literally God’s direct, first hand word to us—just as if He were standing here speaking to us. It says exactly what He wants it to say. And because it came from Him, it is true from cover to cover.
Of course, God did use human writers, and even their own personality and style, but he kept human error out of the Scriptures. How did He do that? The apostle Peter explained,
“no prophecy of Scripture…was ever made by an act of human will; men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21 NASB)
The same Holy Spirit who made Jesus’ birth possible to the Virgin Mary also made it possible for God’s Word to flow from a human pen. Scripture alone has the distinction of being God-breathed.
But the Catholic Church adds two other sources of authority alongside Scripture. They add Church Traditions, and when the Pope speaks officially, or “ex cathedra.”
Let’s talk about church traditions first. Every church develops traditions—ways of doing things, books, and teachings about the Scripture. Why don’t we put them right alongside of Scripture with equal authority? Because Jesus warned against all man-made traditions. He told the religious leaders of His day:
“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." (Mark 7:8)
If we put our traditions on the level with Scripture, over time they tend to replace Scripture. It’s just human nature. Instead, we must put Scripture first, and use it to constantly re-evaluate our human traditions and teachings. And if we find that something contradicts God’s word, or is no longer useful, we drop it. Someone said “sacred cows make great steaks.”
What about the Pope when he speaks ex cathedra, on doctrine or morals? Is he infallible—unable to make a mistake? This teaching became official only in 1870, when the Vatican Council declared it to be so. Their reasoning was that Peter was the leader of the early church, so Jesus gave him (and all Popes) this special ability.
But was Peter the leader of the early church? Peter did play a significant role in the early church, but the Book of Acts records James as the one who made the final call in the first ever official doctrinal council of the church (Acts 15). And, it shows Paul as the dominant figure in spreading the church, and as the writer of most of the New Testament. In fact, Paul even had the authority to publicly confront Peter on one occasion in front of the Galatians church when Peter was being a hypocrite (Gal. 2:11-14).
There wasn’t one central leader in the early church who spoke infallibly. Instead, it was the Word of God that was central and without error. God’s Word is the “rock” Jesus would build His church on (Matthew 16:18), not any one leader. Someone has said, “The church didn’t create the Scripture; the Scripture created the church.”
The second great distinction is Faith alone.
Faith alone means that it is only through my faith in Jesus as my Savior that I am saved from the penalty of sin. I can’t earn my salvation by doing good works. It is by God’s grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 says,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
“Not of yourselves” means there is nothing I can add to what God already did. He sacrificed His Son for me to purchase my salvation. Imagine telling God that He didn’t do enough! That’s exactly what we say to God when we try to earn our salvation by adding our good works to what He already did.
Why can’t my good works earn heaven? Isaiah 64:6 says, "All our righteousness is like filthy rags." Even our best efforts can't work off sin. Instead, we have to admit our sin to God and trust completely in His solution for our sin—the death of His Son on our behalf. Once you put your faith in Christ as your Savoir, you still aren’t perfect, but are forgiven!
Ironically, while good works can’t save me, they are the product of my being saved by faith. The next verse in Ephesians 2 says,
“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
The Christian life is the greatest adventure you’ll ever have. God saved us so we could serve Him out of love and gratitude, knowing that all is forgiven in Christ. “Created in Christ” means that I’m a new person, and that same Holy Spirit who gave us the Scripture has taken up residence in my life permanently to give me the power to live for God. |
