If you are Roman Catholic, here is what the Apostle Paul might say to you:
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Listen14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? [1] Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.” (ESV)Footnotes
[1] 6:15 Greek Beliar
He does not say you are not a Christian. Perhaps you, perhaps you aren’t. You should examine yourself to see whether you are truly in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).
However, if you find you do not “fail to meet the test,” and that you are a true Christian according to the Bible’s definition, I believe the Apostle Paul himself would ask you to leave the Roman Catholic Church.
Speaking with as open a mind as I think possible, the RCC is a church filled with both true Christians as well as false Christians. But I think many non-RCC Christians would say it is predominantly filled with false Christians. Certainly the teachings and doctrines of the RCC are a mixture of truth and falsehood. A melting pot and salad bowl might make for a strong nation, but diversity of doctrine does not make for a strong church.
That’s why Paul asks these rhetorical questions, “For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial [an idol]? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God.”
In other words, if you are a true Christian, and the Holy Spirit dwells in you, you are considered the dwelling place of God Himself. You are the temple of the living God. So why would you worship God in a place predominantly filled with non-Christians who only think they are Christian because they were baptized in the RCC (or whatever), in a place which teaches stuff that goes against what the Bible itself teaches? In a place which teaches darkness rather than light?
God’s Word “is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). God’s Word gives us light in this cold, dark world. We were born not knowing where we came from, not knowing who we are, not knowing where we’re going, what the meaning of life is, why we’re here in the first place, etc. But God’s Word gives us light to understand all these things. God’s Word dispels the mysteries of life. Not only that, but God’s Word injects life with meaning. God’s Word explains to us that we are where we are because of our sin. Because our parents Adam and Eve sinned most grievously against God. Because we ourselves sinned most grievously against God. We are rebels rightly thrown out of the kingdom.
And still our hearts hated God and all the good which He stands for. We don’t necessarily think we hate God like, say, Stalin did — an ex-seminarian who became an ardent Communist and atheist, and mass murderer — when he expired on his deathbed. Even though he was an atheist, he died literally shaking his fist in anger at God. Then his heart gave out and he died. That was his last action in the world.
We might not be like Stalin, but in our own way we nevertheless rather enjoy sin, don’t we? Maybe in big doses like those who are promiscuous and enjoy sleeping around, or those who enjoy physically hurting people like serial murderers. Or maybe we enjoy sin in smaller doses. We fight and curse and get drunk. If the price is right, we allow ourselves to be used for sex. We abuse ourselves with drugs. We grieve those who love us. Or maybe we enjoy middle-class sins. We like to talk back to our parents. We lust and indulge in our fantasies by looking at naked flesh. We may not lie, we just tell white lies. We may not steal, we just fudge numbers here and there — but only to “make things fair,” as we deem fairness. We may not murder, we just get angry with or even hate certain people. Or we gossip maliciously about them. We may not fall prey to the sin of pride, we just think we’re better than others, at least at this certain task or ability, or deserve this or that over such and such a person. We may not be lazy, we just aren’t very self-disciplined. Or we just like to take it easy now and again, to slack off here and there. Much more could be said, but I think you see where I’m going with this.
So that’s why we are in darkness. God could’ve left us to ourselves. To eventually destroy one another. Or He could’ve destroyed all of us and started over again. But in His infinite love and mercy, He decided to save His people. To redeem us. He sent His Only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and thus save His people. Jesus Christ then raised Himself from the dead to be our King, our blessed Mediator forever. Prove you are one of His by trusting wholly and solely in Him and Him alone. He is our hope. He is the Meaning to our lives. Above all, He is our Lord and Savior. We need above all else a Savior from sin and our evil, deceitful hearts, and thankfully, God has provided. God’s Word tells us all this and much, much more. That’s why it is light.
On the other hand, darkness is used to describe that which lacks God’s Word, God’s teachings. Since the RCC obscures the simple and plain good news of Jesus Christ with its own system of salvation, with its own complex doctrines, its members are in darkness. At best the RCC is not a place for a Christian to grow and mature spiritually. It is simply too doctrinally muddled.
In reality, it may actually be worse than that the RCC’s teachings are “muddled.” The problem is that the RCC as a house of worship, as a church, does not worship the God of the Bible in the way which pleases Him. It has become a house of idols. There is the idol of the mass — that Christ Himself is literally, physically, bodily present in the wafer which you eat and the wine which you drink. If it is true, it would be cannibalism. It would be sin. Or were the following verses in the Bible written in vain (mouse-over to read): Lev. 7:26-27; Lev. 17:10-14; Lev. 19:26. Also, there is the idol of Mary as Co-Redemptrix — as if anyone let alone another created being could share the position of Mediator with Christ Himself. There is the idol of Papal Supremacy, of his word as binding when spoken “ex cathedra,” even if it contradicts the Word of God. (For the RCC, the Bible is not the Bible. They also include the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books. These are regarded as on par with or a part of the Bible itself.) There are idols such as worshipping relics and saints and the like. Just travel to Itay for a while and you’ll quickly see how superstitious some Catholics can be, and more importantly, how the RCC even encourages reverence for the supposed body parts, etc. of saints. There is much more idolatry, too, in the unofficial Catholic “folk religion” that worships holy places and holy people, statues and images, and so forth, in certain parts of the world. I sometimes wonder whether an ancient pagan could tell the difference between parts of Catholicism and his religion.
For such reasons, the Apostle Paul commands true Christians to flee from these idolatries. In other words, if you are truly Christian, if you are one of God’s children and people, then “go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” The passage does not claim you are not a Christian, that you are not already a child of God. In fact, the passage leaves wide open the possibility that you are. And so, if you are, come out from the midst of the RCC and be separate from them! And God will welcome you as a father his child. He doesn’t say He is not your Father, but from your standpoint, and from the standpoint of other true Christians, your position as a child of God is at least partially in doubt because you do not fellowship with other true Christians. It’s like constantly having dinner, night after night, with someone else’s family rather than with your own family. It doesn’t mean you’re not a member of your family, but it is questionable since what child would eat with any family but his own? Therefore, prove yourself a true child of God by coming out and by coming to God Himself. The proof is in the coming out and coming to God and His family.
By the way, do you find my words too harsh? If so, sorry to adopt a seemingly harsh tone. But please look past any issues you might have with how I say things or with me personally. Look at the truth. Honestly read the Bible and compare what it teaches with what you’ve heard or been taught from your priest or other Catholics. After all, there are only two possibilites: either I’m right or I’m wrong about the RCC. If I’m right, then by examining the Bible, you’ll be in the true light and thus be blessed. If I’m wrong, then by examining the Bible, you’ll see where I’m wrong, know why I’m wrong, know why the Bible is right, and thus be blessed, too. It’s a win-win situation for you. You have nothing to lose and all to gain. So if for no one else, do it for yourself.
In short, prove yourself noble-minded like the Bereans who “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
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