The Truth About Roman Catholicism: What Every Catholic Needs to Know

By Steve Urick

Catholic popes and Vatican councils have pronounced many teachings which, they say, are necessary to believe, such as:

It is necessary for salvation to submit to the Roman Pontiff.
Christians must keep the law and do good works to be saved.
Anyone who says they are certain they are saved and going to heaven is anathema (cursed, damned as a heretic).
Mary was immaculately conceived, remained a virgin her whole life, never sinned, was taken up body and soul into heaven, and exalted as the Queen of Heaven.
Only priests can forgive sins after one confesses to them.
Christians must purge some of their sins in Purgatory.
Some people in non-Christian religions will be saved.

But are these, and many other Catholic dogmas, biblical?

The Truth About Roman Catholicism examines several key doctrines of the Catholic Church (as stated in the official Catechism of the Catholic Church) in light of the Bible. The reader will be shown the difference between the gospel of Christ and the gospel of Rome, and the crucial choice that must be made to obtain eternal life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496935151

Steve Urick

Steve Urick was saved at a Billy Graham Crusade in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1979, at age 21. He then began doing various evangelistic outreaches and also attended Moody Bible Institute and studied theology and evangelism. In 1989, Steve began writing Soul Seeker Tracts and, in 1999, formed Gospel Press, a gospel and apologetics publishing ministry that grounds Christians in the basics of Christianity and equips them for the work of evangelism and discipleship. So far, tens-of-thousands of Bible tracts and booklets have been sent across America and around the world.

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© 2014 Steve Urick. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   08/28/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-3516-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-3515-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014914759

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the KJV Center Column Reference Edition, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Copyright © 1984 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

CONTENTS

Preface

1.    The Gospel of Grace

2.    The Gospel of Rome: Sacramental Salvation

3.    The Papacy

4.    The Mediating-Sacrificing Priesthood

5.    The Unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass

6.    Confession and Penance

7.    Mary: Ever Virgin, Queen of Heaven

8.    Purgatory and Indulgences

9.    Rome and the Modern Ecumenical Movement

10.    Answers to Questions and Objections by Roman Catholics

Epilogue:    My Personal Testimony

Appendix I:    Summary of Rome’s Plan of Salvation vs. God’s Plan of Salvation

Appendix II:    The Origin of the Pontifex Maximus

Appendix III:    The Origin of the Queen of Heaven

Appendix IV:    Roman Catholicism’s Connection to the Ancient Mystery Babylon Religion

Appendix V:    Paul and the Eucharist

Recommended Books

The Fundamentals of the Christian Faith

Christian Discipleship and the Local Church

Signs of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the End of the World

The Church in the Coming Great Tribulation

Acts 1 Dispensationalism

Evangelism and Christian Apologetics

Major Cults and False World Religions

False Teachings and Divisive Movements

Calvinism vs. Arminianism

End Notes

All Scripture quotes are taken from the King James Bible.

THE TRUTH ABOUT ROMAN CATHOLICISM

Copyright © 2005, 2014 by Steve Urick

Other paperbacks and eBooks by the author include:

Acts 1 Dispensationalism

The Fundamentals of the Christian Faith

Christian Discipleship and the Local Church

Evangelism and Christian Apologetics

Practical Christian Living

Major Cults and False World Religions

False Teachings and Divisive Movements

The Church in the Coming Great Tribulation

Signs of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ

and the End of the World

Nowmillennial Dispensationalism

Calvinism vs. Arminianism

The Truth About Islam

This book is dedicated to the late Bart Brewer, ex-Catholic

priest, turned Baptist evangelist, and founder of Mission

to Catholics, who encouraged and charged me to make

Roman Catholic evangelism a priority in my life.

"Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields;

for they are white already to harvest."

John 4:35

Keep making waves.

"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over

which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church

of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know

this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among

you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise,

speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them."

Acts 20:28-30

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times

some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,

and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their

conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and

commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be

received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth."

1 Timothy 4:1-3

Preface

There are more than one billion Roman Catholics in the world today. Many are devout and many more are nominal. In either case, most have never read the Bible, thus have no ability to discern spiritual truth vs. error. Nor have most Catholics ever read the official dogmas (teachings) of their own church, and so, have no real understanding of what they are involved in. Even worse, most have no clear understanding of what the true gospel of Christ is and how to apply it by faith in order to be saved! Instead, hundreds-of-millions of Catholics go to Mass, week after week, year after year, to partake in repetitious rituals and hear a short anemic message from a priest who never teaches through the Bible expositionally (verse-by-verse), nor ever clearly preaches the gospel of grace. As a result, Catholics are left in the dark, as they attempt to do the best they can to appease God and hopefully earn salvation and go to heaven when they die.

The purpose of this book is to help precious Roman Catholics (the largest ripe mission field in the world) to understand the origin and key teachings of Roman Catholicism, compared with God’s infallible Word, the Bible. Also, to show how one can know for sure they are saved and going to heaven when they die. Since eternity is forever, nothing is more important!

God loves all Catholics and desires that they be saved from the penalty of sin by trusting in His Son, Jesus Christ. How? By believing in the one true gospel and receiving the free gift of eternal life in Christ (read chapter 1). When you do, the Bible says the Holy Spirit will come into you permanently and guide you into all truth (John 16:13).

As an evangelist and Christian apologist (defender of the faith), I do not hide the fact that I am out to convert Catholics to Christ, so they can have eternal life. I am not trying to ecumenicalize or merge Christianity with Catholicism, or sugar-coat the teachings of either, in order to tickle people’s ears by saying things that make them feel good, but contradicts the Bible, or leaves out crucial truths. Neither am I out to bash Catholics, but rather, compare the New Testament (especially Paul’s epistles) with the teachings and traditions of Roman Catholicism and openly refute error. Truth should not be feared and avoided, but embraced as our guide that leads us to true wisdom and eternal life.

One final statement to any Catholic that might be reading this; I do not hold any animosity toward you. As an ex-Catholic (born and raised in it), now a born again, Bible-believing Christian, no Catholic has harmed me, so I am not carrying a chip on my shoulder (although it does disturb me that the Church of Rome has harmed many people in many ways down through the centuries—emotionally, physically, and spiritually). Many Catholics are kind and decent people, who just need to be told the truth concerning salvation.

Having said that, if you are one who is wondering where you will go when you die, and want to know how to have assurance of eternal life, then keep reading this book. Also, search the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, to confirm what I say is true.

1

The Gospel of Grace

In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, the apostle Paul defined the one true gospel (good news) that saves a sinner’s soul:

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you THE GOSPEL which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also YE ARE SAVED, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you—unless ye have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that HE ROSE AGAIN the third day according to the scriptures."

Salvation is described in the New Testament as a FREE GIFT that cannot be merited or earned by anything we do, but rather, by what Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has DONE for us. The apostle Paul stated this clearly in Ephesians 2:8-9:

"For by GRACE [unmerited favor] are ye SAVED through FAITH [in the gospel of Christ]; and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT of GOD: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast."

Why do we need salvation? The Bible says no one (except God) is righteous (Romans 3:10). We have all broken God’s laws (commandments), thus no one will be justified by the law, since the law only serves to expose our sin and guilt, but does not wash away sin. This means trying to keep the 10 Commandments, performing good deeds, rituals, ceremonies, observing holy days and fasting, etc., will not save anyone.

Since no one will be justified by law-keeping, the Bible declares we must rely on Christ’s death on the Cross alone, as sufficient payment for our sins:

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his [God’s] sight: for by the law is knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20).

"For ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

The result?

"For the wages of sin is DEATH [spiritual, physical, and eternal death in the lake of fire]; but the GIFT of God is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

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