KingJ
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- Mar 31, 2015
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I want us to pause, to reflect not on our differences, but on the profound contributions of the Catholic Church to the Body of Christ and why it is both unwise and ungracious to find fault in those who worship Christ in a tradition different from our own.
1. The Catholic Church: A Pillar of Christian History
We must first be honest with history. The Catholic Church was the Church for over a thousand years before any major divisions occurred. The early Church fathers, men like Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, and Gregory were Catholics. They shaped our understanding of Scripture, doctrine, and Christian living.
The Canon of Scripture itself, the Bible that we all revere, was discerned and preserved under the guidance of the Catholic Church. Councils like Nicaea and Carthage prayerfully sought the Holy Spirit’s direction to affirm what writings truly bore the mark of God. That Bible you carry? You owe it, in large part, to the Church that safeguarded it for centuries.
Catholic missionaries carried the Gospel to the corners of the known world, long before denominational distinctions existed. The love of Christ was preached in jungles, deserts, mountains, and cities through the blood, sweat, and tears of countless Catholic saints and martyrs.
2. The Fruit of Faith: Not to Be Dismissed
Jesus told us, “By their fruit you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16). Look at the fruit of Catholicism:
Millions of hospitals, schools, and charities built across the globe in Christ’s name. A deep commitment to prayer, contemplation, and spiritual discipline. Reverence for the sacraments. Love for the poor. A legacy of lives wholly devoted to Christ.
Is every Catholic perfect? Of course not, just as no Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, or non-denominational believer is perfect. We all “see through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12). But to dismiss the entire Catholic tradition, or to suggest that it is somehow un-Christian, is not only historically ignorant, it is spiritually arrogant.
3. Romans 14: Let Us Not Pass Judgment
Paul reminds us in Romans 14:5 that some will honor one day above another, others will not. Some will eat certain foods, others will abstain. But each should be fully convinced in their own mind and, more importantly, not pass judgment on others in matters that do not touch the heart of the Gospel.
The Catholic Church believes in:
A. The Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
B. The deity of Christ.
C. His virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection.
D. Salvation by grace. Yes, even if they articulate it differently than some evangelicals.
E. The authority of Scripture,
F. The necessity of the Church, and
G. The call to holy living.
Are there differences? Yes. But are these differences cause for division? No. As Paul says earlier in the same chapter: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall.” (Romans 14:4)
4. The Call to Unity
Jesus prayed in John 17:21: “That they may all be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.”
This was not just a wish it was a prayer. A divine desire. And we are the ones who must choose whether to answer that prayer in our generation.
We must learn to say: “You worship in a cathedral, I in a storefront. You pray the rosary, I lift my hands. You take the Eucharist, I call it Communion. But if Jesus is your Lord, and the cross is your hope, and the Spirit is your guide, then we are family.”
Conclusion:
It is silly, yes, silly to attack or belittle the Catholic Church. Not because it's above critique, but because to do so with ignorance or malice is to deny the very roots of our faith. It is to reject a branch of the Body that Christ Himself nourishes.
Instead, let us be humble. Let us honor our shared history. Let us rejoice in the diversity of God’s family. And let us move forward not as splintered factions, but as one Church, holy, catholic (meaning universal), and apostolic, grounded in the Gospel and ablaze with the love of Christ.
1. The Catholic Church: A Pillar of Christian History
We must first be honest with history. The Catholic Church was the Church for over a thousand years before any major divisions occurred. The early Church fathers, men like Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, and Gregory were Catholics. They shaped our understanding of Scripture, doctrine, and Christian living.
The Canon of Scripture itself, the Bible that we all revere, was discerned and preserved under the guidance of the Catholic Church. Councils like Nicaea and Carthage prayerfully sought the Holy Spirit’s direction to affirm what writings truly bore the mark of God. That Bible you carry? You owe it, in large part, to the Church that safeguarded it for centuries.
Catholic missionaries carried the Gospel to the corners of the known world, long before denominational distinctions existed. The love of Christ was preached in jungles, deserts, mountains, and cities through the blood, sweat, and tears of countless Catholic saints and martyrs.
2. The Fruit of Faith: Not to Be Dismissed
Jesus told us, “By their fruit you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16). Look at the fruit of Catholicism:
Millions of hospitals, schools, and charities built across the globe in Christ’s name. A deep commitment to prayer, contemplation, and spiritual discipline. Reverence for the sacraments. Love for the poor. A legacy of lives wholly devoted to Christ.
Is every Catholic perfect? Of course not, just as no Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, or non-denominational believer is perfect. We all “see through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12). But to dismiss the entire Catholic tradition, or to suggest that it is somehow un-Christian, is not only historically ignorant, it is spiritually arrogant.
3. Romans 14: Let Us Not Pass Judgment
Paul reminds us in Romans 14:5 that some will honor one day above another, others will not. Some will eat certain foods, others will abstain. But each should be fully convinced in their own mind and, more importantly, not pass judgment on others in matters that do not touch the heart of the Gospel.
The Catholic Church believes in:
A. The Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
B. The deity of Christ.
C. His virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection.
D. Salvation by grace. Yes, even if they articulate it differently than some evangelicals.
E. The authority of Scripture,
F. The necessity of the Church, and
G. The call to holy living.
Are there differences? Yes. But are these differences cause for division? No. As Paul says earlier in the same chapter: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall.” (Romans 14:4)
4. The Call to Unity
Jesus prayed in John 17:21: “That they may all be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.”
This was not just a wish it was a prayer. A divine desire. And we are the ones who must choose whether to answer that prayer in our generation.
We must learn to say: “You worship in a cathedral, I in a storefront. You pray the rosary, I lift my hands. You take the Eucharist, I call it Communion. But if Jesus is your Lord, and the cross is your hope, and the Spirit is your guide, then we are family.”
Conclusion:
It is silly, yes, silly to attack or belittle the Catholic Church. Not because it's above critique, but because to do so with ignorance or malice is to deny the very roots of our faith. It is to reject a branch of the Body that Christ Himself nourishes.
Instead, let us be humble. Let us honor our shared history. Let us rejoice in the diversity of God’s family. And let us move forward not as splintered factions, but as one Church, holy, catholic (meaning universal), and apostolic, grounded in the Gospel and ablaze with the love of Christ.
