The following videos (11 minutes each) answer the above question from the Bible in terms of the doctrines of the Protestant Reformation.
I had to divide the video to upload it. I found the video on the following YouTube site: RIGHT RESPONSE MINISTRIES
During the initial few moments of the video, the speaker provides a casual explanation to the question; thereafter, he provides a very specific, biblical explanation.
[Bracketed statements, emboldening and underscoring are mine.]
Video HIGHLIGHTS [I think that listening to his video presentation is easier than reading the following and understanding it by yourself]:
Points for Part 1:
- Short answer to the question, Will Catholics go to hell? The good Catholic will go to hell; and the bad Catholic may not go to hell.
- What do you mean? The good Catholic who knows the doctrines of the Roman church and believes the and practices them will go to hell because Rome has been opposing the biblical gospel for more than 500 years, according to the council of Trent
- The bad Catholic is the one who calls himself a Catholic and doesn’t know Rome’s doctrines and may not even attend mass, it is possible that he may not go to hell [if by the providence of God, he comes to believe the biblical gospel]
- [He didn’t cite scripture references for his statements about the origins of faith, if you want to have deeper understanding, read Romans 3 and 4 wherein Paul says that the no one can earn salvation via law keeping, that the law was only intended to reveal sin; in Romans 4, Paul quotes Gen 15:6 about Abraham’s faith and Psalm 32 about David’s faith.
- Galatians 3 specifies that God gave the law through Moses to act as a school master, whipping the conscience with guilt…, until the SEED of Abraham appeared, Christ. Thereafter, the way of FAITH would be opened for those who believe in Him. And Paul stated that the true children of God are those who believe by faith like their father Abraham.]
- He explains why the council of Trent denied the biblical gospel; basically, they rejected that the gospel is wholly by faith without works; that works are given by God to his child who is already saved, works are not any part of becoming saved
- The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) contended with the reformers over the word, “alone”
- The reformers said that salvation was by faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, through the scriptures alone, to the glory of God alone
- Rome insisted that works must be added to faith, and to each point, Rome added something that he explains hereafter
- Faith is an empty hand that is open and receives the grace of that God gives
- [He did not go into how God gives grace, but that is by the following channels, usually called ‘means:’ prayer, Bible reading; hearing of gospel message; partaking of the Lord’s Supper and fellowship with Christians around the word of God, and of course, baptism]
- Through faith alone, God imputes (accredits) the righteousness of Christ to believers
- Many protestants say ‘saved by faith alone’ but he said it is more clearly states as, ‘we are saved by grace through faith
- Romans 4:3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” [Said Paul, quoting Gen 15:6; if you read Romans 3 and 4 and Galatians 3, and obtain understanding of these passages, then you will see how the RCC errs]
- The RCC says that salvation is by grace plus the sacraments
- That is, they believe that grace is NOT imputed through faith, but that it is infused through the sacraments
Points for part 2:
- Protestants have two sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper
- Catholics have 7 sacraments. The RCC requires believers to be infused with grace regularly through these means of the church [explained in a bit]
- Catholics and Protestants believe in original sin, mankind’s depravity
- Rome, via infant baptism regeneration, that an infant is lifted up by God’s grace when the Catholic performs baptism on an infant.
- Protestants believe that baptism is a sign that one is in covenant with Christ
- RCC believes that the benefits of baptism may be lost through sinning [he did not explain penance, wherein the priest gives a sinner something to perform to earn back his lost righteousness; or indulgences which apply here also]
- He noted that the child can be lifted back up in righteousness by catechism, confirmation, the Eucharist
- He briefly explained transubstantiation and the Mass as a sacramental grace
- He explained several of the sacraments and how they were means of grace [all the sacraments are as follows: Baptism, confirmation, holy communion, confession, marriage, holy orders by the priest, anointing of the sick]
- Again, salvation in the RCC is by grace + sacraments
- Moreover, salvation is not by faith alone, but by faith + works
- The equation that describes Protestant salvation is FAITH = SALVATION AND GOOD WORKS (that is, faith produces salvation followed by good works)
- The equation that describes salvation in the RCC is FAITH + WORKS = SALVATION
- The RCC doctrine of immaculate conception refers to Mary’s birth being without sin, therefore, she did not need a Savior and is Co-redeemer
- In addition to Christ, Catholics may turn to Mary and lesser saints for aid – Christ is seen as being too high, and the others more approachable
- Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” [John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 1Timothy 2:5 For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 1John 5:11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.]
- So, the RCC holds that salvation is by GRACE + SACRAMENTS; FAITH + WORKS; CHRIST + MARY AND LESSER SAINTS
- Scripture alone was another sola of the reformation; that is the doctrine of the Protestant Reformers
- The RCC believes that salvation is by scripture + church tradition; that each are equal streams of God’s grace
- Protestants can have a poor view of church history, minimizing the importance of the struggles the early church had in overcoming heresies; the creeds of church councils have answered many questions that were not clear in scripture, these creeds should be valued
- The authority of the church is not infallible, as is scripture
- Sola Deo Gloria: Glory be to God alone, the last sola
- The RCC would likely say that they agree, but when anyone looked at their doctrines, GRACE + SACRAMENTS; FAITH + WORKS; CHRIST + MARY AND LESSER SAINTS; AND SCRIPTURE + TRADITION, they would have to say that these indicate that God does NOT get all the glory (all the credit for salvation via His grace)
If you are Catholic and disagree with the above, then please listen to the following speaker who was a was born again by reading scripture and left the Catholic church after seeking answers to biblical questions from bishops and priests who could not answer his questions because of how they were taught (they were not taught the Bible). His teaching is plain and very understandable; and he has been where you are.
Link to 3 messages that prove that Catholicism teaches a false gospel:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCMxA9xyvJzHYOvPrKpEIECWXcQEGlgcw
Below is the narrative that accompanied his video at the YouTube site:
1,827 views Premiered Feb 18, 2022
It has been often argued by Protestants that Catholicism denies the Gospel. Is this true? If so, “how” does Catholicism deny the Gospel? And due to this denial, will Catholics go to hell?
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https://rightresponseministries.com/e…
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