DEALING WITH CATHOLICS

Catholics believe that one cannot know until death if one is saved or not. Many have the idea that good works outweigh the bad. They rely more on their own works then in the vicarious death of Christ. If it is a matter of works, it is impossible for one to know until the Day of Judgment what the balance was between bad and good.

The Bible teaches that salvation is by grace, not by works (Romans 11:6, Titus 3:5). The works are taken into account, not for salvation but for the reward you will receive in the future life (Matthew 16:27, Revelation 22:12).

If salvation is simply to accept what Christ has done for us and trust Him as our Savior and Lord, there is no reason to be in doubt about our salvation now. The Bible teaches us that we can and we must be sure of our salvation. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." (John 3:36). The first epistle of John was written to Christians to free them of any doubt about his salvation: "... that ye may know that ye have eternal life" (I John 5:12-13).

We have the reliable external testimony of the Word of God and the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. He lets us know that we are children of God, and leads us to enjoy the privileges that we have (Romans 8:14-16).

We must remember that many Catholics sincerely love God and have dedicated their lives to serve Him. They do not have the light of the gospel that we have, but they deserve our respect for their sincerity and dedication.

Instead of attacking their doctrines, let's start where there are similar starting points.

1. We have virtually the same Bible. If possible use a Catholic Bible in dealing with them.  The Nacar-Colunga version is one of the best. It's best if they are convinced of the truth with their own Bible.

2. The Catholic Church like us, believe that the Bible is divinely inspired, the infallible Word of God.

3. They believe in the virgin birth and the deity of Jesus, in His atoning death, resurrection, ascension into heaven, and return in glory.

4. They believe in the reality of sin, atonement, salvation, the future judgment, heaven and hell.

5. They have reverence for divine things.

6. Believe in miracles and have faith in the supernatural.

WHERE TO EMPHASIZE

Highlight the love of God for them. He is not indifferent to their problems and needs. Instead of arguing if the saints can hear us or not, emphasize the great privilege we have to go directly to God in prayer. Our personal testimony and our own prayer life can better convince than arguments.

Some have cited the example of the need to report to the secretary before you can go to a personage such as the nation's president. It's good to show them that the president's son can go directly to his father, and we also speak directly to our heavenly Father.

What pain a loving parent would feel if their children had so little confidence in him that he never dared to speak to them!  Would it be any less pain to our heavenly Father when His children are always looking to others to present their petitions and speak on their behalf?

Strive to have them pray with you. The more they open their heart to Christ in prayer, the more the Holy Spirit will enlighten them to see and accept the truth. Once they are in communion with the living Christ, it will be easy to leave images.

Let's also focus on the privilege of knowing now that we are born again, we are saved by faith in Christ and not by works. We need not live in fear of purgatory.

MARY

Catholics believe that Protestants despise the Virgin Mary. We must explain to them that we believe that Mary was honored by God above all women to be chosen to be the mother of our Lord. We all owe her our gratitude for the care she gave to our Savior during the years of his childhood. Don’t discuss the issue of whether she had other children or not. We should tell them to read the Gospel of Luke so they can read the story of Mary and Jesus.

Do you want to honor the Virgin? What better way than to keep the only commandment that she left us: "Do whatever He says to you" (John 2:5) and the first message that Christ preached was: "Repent and believe the gospel" (Mark 1: 15).

IMAGES

Catholics say that the use of pictures and images is just like having a portrait. A wife, or girlfriend, sometimes kisses the picture of her husband or boyfriend when they are absent. This illustration permits us to mention that Christ is with us always. What would the husband say if he is present, and his wife would ignore him and spend all the time looking and kissing the picture? Surely he would take the picture away from her. In the same manor Christ wants us to speak to Him, to worship Him in spirit and truth, instead of putting flowers or candles around an image of Him.

Some brothers put much emphasis on ensuring that from the beginning the people who are interested in the gospel destroy their pictures and images. Nothing is achieved by persuading people to abandon their false gods unless you accept the true God. Nothing is accomplished by removing their pictures and images from the wall if they still have them enthroned in their heart. Usually, when they begin to seek God, they soon realize that the images are impotent and useless.

RECOMMENDED STEPS

1. Try to interest them in reading their own bible.

2. Do not speak against their religion, or against their church, but try to give them the light of truth.

3. Lead them to trust in God, believing what He says (John 5:24; Jud. 24, I Jn. 5:13; Acts. 10:43).

4. Show them that they must be born again and that water baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.

5. Demonstrate what repentance is, acknowledging his sin, feel sorry for it, and leave it completely (Isa. 55:7; Prov 28:13).

6. Show them that it is possible that they can now receive forgiveness of all their sins. Christ wants to save them (Acts 13:38-39, Eph. 1:7, Isa. 1:18).

7. Show them that they can, at the time they accept Jesus and are baptized, know that they are saved (John 5:24, I Jn. 5:13).