Expert: Dr. Ronald E. Shultz - 5/20/2008

Question

what is the harm in being unequally yoked in marriage. Born again christian to a faithful catholic? Thank you


Answer
Diane, what’s the harm in mixing truth with error or truth with lies?   That is exactly what brought about the downfall of Catholicism.  They started bringing in all sorts of paganism as a means of “converting” the pagans and their doctrine disintegrated turning them into a cult instead of remaining a part of the true Church.  

Indeed, Evangelicals are repeating the same errors in the “seeker” churches by trying to “redeem” various aspects of cultures and sub-cultures by putting a Christian twist on them to bring in people.  The motive may be pure but the method is polluted.  Christ turned more people away when He started preaching hard doctrine then He drew with His miracles.

I had a fellow approach me about doing his wedding.  He was Catholic and she was Baptist.  I said the priest won’t marry you and he replied that I was correct.  I said that neither would I.  I suggested a Justice of the Peace.  

Look at the doctrine. If a person is truly born again he believes a great deal of what is contrary to Catholicism.  A Catholic can never say that they are sure that they will die and go to Heaven.  IF they keep all seven sacraments, make regular confession and don’t die in mortal sin the best that they can hope for is that their time in purgatory may not be as long as someone else’s and that their loved ones will buy lots of candles and have masses said for them to maybe knock a couple of hundred years off of their time.  

Yes, they believe in the Trinity, but they also believe in praying to saints to get to Jesus when Jesus clearly said that He was the only mediator between God and men and He told people to come unto Him directly.  Dead people, no matter how godly, cannot hear our prayers or intercede for us.

Jesus said that He paid for our sins and it is His work not any of our works that save us.  No works will ever save us or keep us saved.  He did that work once and is now set down on the right hand of God. Yet, Catholicism crucifies Christ thousands of times daily in the Mass because they say that the wine and the wafer literally become the body and blood of Christ putting Him to an open shame as we are told would be the case in Hebrews 6 if we could lose our salvation and wanted to regain it.  

The lists of differences are long and Amos rightly asks, “How can two walk together except they be agreed?”  IF a person is born again and is in Catholicism they should come out of it.  It is not hard to see the Roman Catholic Institution as the Harlot in Revelation.  Any person that is Catholic and saved will be so in spite of being Catholic, not because of it.  There is truth but it is buried by so much ritual and paganism that it would be hard for the average person to find it.  They are training their people to use terms that sound evangelical as a means of thwarting missionary work to Catholics but if you ask for more definition you can see the error.

My Senior Pastor’s father actually trained for the priesthood before he was born again and died many years later as a very popular local Baptist pastor.  Many of the members of my church are former Catholics.  One lady was a teacher of their catechism.  I once was pretty much the only German, Baptist, Republican in a Polish, Catholic Democratic neighborhood.  I know a bit about Catholicism.

I have read things that the Pope gave his imprimatur meaning that there is nothing in the content that is contrary to Catholic doctrine.  One story was supposedly about a man that was condemned to Hell by the Father and Jesus, but as the demons were dragging him off to Hell He cried out to Mary.  She came out of the heavenly city and rebuked the demons for touching her servant and took him to Heaven with her.  Hmm, who is running the universe, the Trinity or Mary?  Remember this story was approved by a Pope who is supposed to be the Vicar of Christ and he said that story was in line with Catholic doctrine.  

Yet, what about the Pope that was pulled out of his grave, dressed in his papal garments, tried as a heretic and burned.  All of the papal bulls he issued should have been null and void and what about those who died after having gotten special dispensations from him to do things or he absolved them of their sins.  Did they go back five hundred years of punishment in purgatory or even drop from purgatory into Hell since a heretic would not have had the rightful authority to give those things. Did they just go to Hell from the start?  It is a very complex organization where one really must live in fear instead of joy and peace in Christ.

What will you teach your children?  Some priests will allow a Catholic to marry a non-Catholic as long as they vow to raise the children Catholic.  What a horror!  I have had Catholics tell me that their priest told them that reading the Bible was a sin as only the priest can truly understand it.  Others do allow it but of course are careful to be sure their people don’t come to Non-Catholic conclusions.

The same things can be said about marrying inter-denominationally.  The reason there are denominations is because of doctrine and no matter how hard they may deny it a non-denominational church is doctrinally some denomination.  All the major doctrines have been concluded for centuries.  If it is true, it is not new and if it is new then it is not true. All the no name, generic church movement has done is opened wide the floodgates for any crazy person to start a church and name it Grace Bible Fellowship or Heavenly Harvest Community.  They could be anything from far Left to far Right or a cult. God is not the author of confusion and that is what has happened.  For all the talk about unity the Church is more divided than it ever was under “denominationalism.”

Baptism is an important doctrine.  What mode is correct and who are biblical candidates to receive it?  The founders of the major denominations taught that immersion was the proper mode though most now sprinkle of pour though the word baptize means immerse or dunk.  Most will “baptize” babies though there is no scriptural support of such an act but since they came out of Catholicism they carried it over with them.  

Why would a believer in baptism by immersion for believers only want to fellowship let alone marry someone that holds to infant baptism?  How can someone who believes in eternal security walk with someone who thinks they can lose their salvation?  Just keep going down the doctrinal differences and ask the same questions.

If you truly believe that what you believe is truth then why be unequally yoke with someone unsaved or even of different doctrine?  Why confuse your children?  They may just dump God period since nothing seems to matter since Dad believes one thing and Mom totally opposite so many none of it real.

What is the harm of mixing truth and error? Ask Mother Eve.  God said, “Don’t eat.”  She added, don’t touch and from that one little error we ended up in the state that we are in.  

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Doctrine is important and we need to be sure we know the truth because we will stand before God one day to see how well we rightly divided or interpreted His truth.

May God grant you great wisdom as you seek Him through His Word and His Son who is the truth.