Jesus or the Pope: You must choose one or the other
[Editor’s note: The image above is AI generated, but the Pope did say that all religions lead to God.]
There has been a continuing movement to erase the divisions created by Martin Luther and the other Reformers. From the Evangelicals and Catholics Together statement in 1994 to the recent departure of J. D. Vance from evangelicalism to Catholicism, there is a growing and rather high-profile movement to eliminate the doctrinal corrections of the Reformation. Former Evangelical Theological Society president Francis Beckwith reverted in 2007. Hank Hanegraph, the Bible Answer Man, converted to Greek Orthodoxy in 2017. Now, it is also true that gospel preaching churches are still welcoming thousands of converts fleeing the false doctrine of Catholicism and Orthodoxy. So the thoroughfare is two-way. Still, the question is why is this happening?
Before we attempt to answer that question, please make no mistake. The Roman Catholic Church is no closer to the genuine gospel of Jesus Christ than it was in the days of Martin Luther. As recently as September 13, the Pope declared openly that all religions are a path to God. This happened upon his return from Singapore—a country with several different dominant religions. Here is what he said.
“They are like different languages in order to arrive at God, but God is God for all,” the pope said, who had set aside his prepared text and spoke largely off the cuff. “Since God is God for all, then we are all children of God.”
This ecumenical message is a satanic false doctrine that dooms those who embrace it to everlasting torment. It is a direct denial of the words of Jesus Christ who said:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
and
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and [b]difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
So what would make people who seem to be theologically literate abandon the plain teaching of the scriptures regarding the gospel?
Theological confusion regarding the gospel of the New Testament.
N.T. Wright and others have introduced a novel interpretation of the writings of the Apostle Paul that blurs the New Testament teaching on the gospel. It is often called the New Perspective on Paul and it is accomplishing its desired purpose—to create a theological environment in which Protestantism and Catholicism can reunite. The problem is that it abandons the gospel in the process and replaces it with works-based religion. You can see an explanation of it here.
Superficial evangelical Christianity.
It is no secret that many evangelical churches, to appeal to the masses, have practically abandoned the distinctions of New Testament Christianity. As they embrace WOKE theology and same-sex unions, they abandon the lifestyle that is intended to be the result of genuine Christian faith. Some are also abandoning scripture, such as the Genesis account of creation, to be more appealing to the masses. The links I am providing are just quick examples, the departure is widespread. As many in evangelicalism abandon the holy life required of believers, the Catholic and Orthodox churches look more consistent and less hypocritical to the masses. Amazingly, it seems this way to many despite the massive sex scandals reported in Catholicism over the past twenty years.
Self-centered worship.
Most of evangelicalism has replaced reverence with personal gratification in what is called but is not worship. In a confession entitled Showtime No More, a leading evangelical pastor in my city, confesses how he had depended upon entertainment to build his church rather than the transformational gospel The sense of the bigness, holiness, and transcendence of God is lost in a form of worship that is designed to appeal to the flesh of lost people. While it did not start with Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church the practice of designing worship services to appeal to the appetites of the unconverted paved the way for a consumer-driven form of worship that loses sight of the divine. For many fed-up evangelicals, the ritual of Catholicism is more genuine and more appealing.
Unconverted evangelicals.
I am shocked as I talk to people who attend local evangelical churches to find out how few of them not only do not have a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, but also do not understand the gospel at all. They are completely theologically illiterate—even of the gospel itself. Church for them is a religious experience on Sunday followed by a pious pep talk. Ray Comfort believes that there are so many unconverted sheep because they have unconverted shepherds.
Emphasis on conservativism and the lack of it.
Many have abandoned the faith because of the conflation of biblical faithfulness with political ideologies. This problem occurs at both ends of the political spectrum. Some are repulsed that it seems you have to be a very conservative Republican to be considered a Christian, or they are repulsed at the sordid personality and background of Donald Trump. But in so doing, they move away from the theological roots that are a genuine part of their faith.
But this happens on the other end. As evangelical leaders abandon such clear biblical issues as abortion, the biblical definition of marriage, and gender identity, they gravitate toward the portions of Catholicism that speak up on the subject.
It is helpful to remember that when we vote, we are not choosing a leader (especially a spiritual one) as much as we are hiring someone to do a job. Our primary consideration should be who will be the best candidate for the job at hand.
For evangelical and fundamentalist Christians frustrated with the state of the church around them, let me challenge you with the words of the Apostle Paul.
But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15)
We need true revival, not apostasy.
For the audio version of this post, see here: Jesus or the Pope: You must choose one or the other (substack.com)