Expert: Mrs. Priscilla Lyons - 7/3/2006

Question
How would you answer a Catholic who says that his Church is the only one with legitimacy because it can trace its origins, bishop by bishop, back to the Apostles and the early church, while Protestantism can only be traced back to 1517 at the earliest? The Catholic would say that Protestantism makes a liar of Christ, who wanted us to all be one, who established a church and who promised that He would be with us always and that the gates of hell would not prevail against that church He established? Connected with that idea is that Sola Sciptura is the cause of religious anarchy and that it, and Sola Fide, are nowhere found in the early church. How would you respond to that?

Answer
Dear Orion,
   Thank you for writing.  The Catholic Church's history of its popes (bishops) is not one to be proud of.  There were murderers and sexual perverts among them as well as crass materialism, which helped bring on Protestantism.
   There is no physical Church (Protestant or Catholic) that is the Church the Bible speaks of being all one.  Jesus tells Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).  The true Church is the unity of all believers in all physical churches (or even those without a church) who worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  
   Only Scripture, by faith alone isn't anarchy if we believe God's Word and surrender our will to Him.  Just as the fantastic, colorful variations in nature point to a creative God, just as the more facets a diamond has, the more brilliantly it reflects light, so God created each individual unique to better reflect His awesome image (Genesis 1:26).  Under His control, Christians make a symphony of different sounding instruments.
   The truth is that no church or religion can add anything to God's wonderful salvation that He alone can provide.  To worship God in spirit and in truth, one must accept that God's standard is perfection and that only Jesus Himself meets that criteria.  Unless we die to ourself and allow the resurrected, perfect life of Jesus to live in us, we cannot enter a perfect Heaven.(Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:1-5)  No rituals or penance can perfect us.  We must realize not even our best efforts can prepare us for a perfect eternity.  Ephesians 2:8-10 show us that our lives are changed by God when we entrust our lives to Him.  Colossians 1:27-28 It is Christ in you that allows you to be presented perfect in Christ Jesus.
   Like I tell Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Catholics, and all others who aren't true Christians, there can be no peace without pride, when you depend on your own efforts to add to salvation in Jesus alone.  Faith alone is only valid if it's faith in Jesus rather than faith in our own faith or religiosity.  If you've honestly given your life to God and received the perfect life of Jesus to live in you, then you can know you have eternal life (I John 5:12-13).  It is wonderful to have peace about eternity because my confidence is in Christ, not in myself.  That is the Good News we have to share with a Catholic who is depending on the rituals of his church for salvation instead of depending on Christ alone.
   We can't read the heart of a Catholic or Mormon, etc. who may, in spite of his church teaching, rely on Christ alone for his salvation.  We want to be faithful to share God's Good News whenever we can, but it is the Holy Spirit Who will reprove (convince) the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8).  Pray that God will open minds that have been blinded by Satan (II Corinthians 4:4), so they will accept Christ for His salvation.
   May you reflect God's true Light to many people.
   Priscilla