The Roman Catholic Church teaches many false doctrines that are not found in or contrary to the Bible.
"Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
SALVATION
BRACKETED NUMBERS ARE REFERENCES TO THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Justification is a transformation of the soul in which original sin is removed and sanctifying grace infused [1987-1995].
The Bible Teaches:
Justification is an act of God in which He declares a sinner to be righteous in His sight, having forgiven his sins and imputed to him God's own righteousness (Romans 3:21-4:8)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Initial justification is by means of baptism [1262-1274].
The Bible Teaches:
Justification is by faith alone (Romans 3:28)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Adults must prepare for justification through faith and good works [1247-1249]
The Bible Teaches:
God justifies ungodly sinners who believe (Romans 4:5). Good works are a result of salvation, not the cause (Ephesians 2:8-10).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The justified are in themselves beautiful and holy in God's sight [1992, 1999-2000, 2024].
The Bible Teaches:
The justified are In Christ holy and blameless before God (Ephesians 1:1-14).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Justification is furthered by sacraments and good works [1212, 1392,2010].
The Bible Teaches:
Justification is the imputation of the perfect righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). In Christ the believer has been made complete (Colossians 2:10).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Justification is lost through mortal sin [1033,1855,1874].
The Bible Teaches:
Justifications cannot be lost. Those whom God justifies will be saved from the wrath of God (Romans 5:8,9).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Catholics guilty of mortal sin are justified again through the sacrament of penance [980, 1446].
The Bible Teaches:
There is no second justification. Those whom God justifies, He also glorifies (Romans 8:30)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Salvation from the eternal consequences of sin is a lifelong process [161-162, 1254-1255]
The Bible Teaches:
Salvation from the eternal consequences of sin is an instantaneous and secure act of God coinciding with justification (Romans 5:9)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Salvation is attained by cooperating with grace through faith, good works, and participation in the sacraments [183, 1129, 1815, 2002].
The Bible Teaches:
Salvation is attained by grace through faith apart from works (Ephesians 2:8,9). Good works are the result, not the cause, of salvation (Ephesians 2:10).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Faith is belief in God and the firm acceptance of all that the Church proposes for belief [181-182, 1814].
The Bible Teaches:
Saving faith is the entrusting of oneself to Christ as Lord and Savior (Romans 10:8-17).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Sanctifying grace is a quality of the soul, a supernatural disposition that perfects the soul [1999-2000].
The Bible Teaches:
Grace is the undeserved favor of God (Ephesians 1:7,8)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The sacraments are necessary channels for the continual infusion of grace. They bestow grace in virtue of the rite performed [1127-1129].
The Bible Teaches:
The child of God is the constant object of the Father's grace (Romans 5:1,2).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Grace is merited by good works [2010, 2027].
The Bible Teaches:
Grace is a free gift (Romans 11:6).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Venial sins do not incur eternal punishment [1855, 1863].
The Bible Teaches:
Every sin is punishable by eternal death (Romans 6:23).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Serious sins must be confessed to a priest [1456-1457].
The Bible Teaches:
Sin is to be confessed directly to God (Ezra 10:11).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The priest forgives sin as a judge [1442, 1461].
The Bible Teaches:
No one can forgive sin but God alone (Mark 2:7).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
When the guilt of sin is forgiven, temporal punishment remains [1472-1473].
The Bible Teaches:
When God forgives sin, He completely forgives (Colossians 2:13; Isaiah 43:25).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Acts of penance make satisfaction for the temporal punishment of sin [1434, 1459-1460].
The Bible Teaches:
Jesus made perfect satisfaction for all sins (1 John 2:1,2).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Indulgences dispensed by the Church for acts of piety release sinners from temporal punishment [1471-1473].
The Bible Teaches:
Jesus releases believers from their sins by His blood (Revelation 1:5).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Purgatory is necessary to atone for sin and cleanse the soul [1030-1031].
The Bible Teaches:
Purgatory does not exist. Jesus made purification for sins on the cross (Hebrews 1:3)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Poor souls suffering in purgatory can be helped by those alive on earth offering up prayers, good works, and the sacrifice of the Mass [1032, 1371, 1479].
The Bible Teaches:
Those who sleep in Christ need no help. To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
No one can know if he will attain to eternal life [1036, 2005].
The Bible Teaches:
The believer can know that he has eternal life by the Word of God (1John 5:13).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Eternal life is a merited reward [1821, 2010].
The Bible Teaches:
Eternal life is the free gift of God (Romans 6:23).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The Roman Catholic Church is necessary for salvation [846].
The Bible Teaches:
There is salvation in no one but the Lord Jesus Christ, "for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
THE MASS
BRACKETED NUMBERS ARE REFERENCES TO THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Last Supper was a real sacrifice in which Christ's blood was poured out for our sins in the cup [610-611, 621, 1339].
The Bible Teaches:
The Last Supper was a Passover meal. Christ's blood was poured out for our sins at the cross (1 Peter 2:24)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The bread and wine become the real body and blood of Christ [1373-1377].
The Bible Teaches:
The bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Christ's body and blood exist wholly and entirely in every fragment of consecrated bread and wine in every Roman Catholic church around the world [1374, 1377].
The Bible Teaches:
Christ is bodily present in heaven (Hebrews 10:12,13).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The consecrated bread and wine are heavenly food which help one to attain to eternal life [1392, 1405, 1419].
The Bible Teaches:
The bread and wine are symbols which help one to remember Christ (Luke 22:19).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
God desires that consecrated bread and wine be worshiped as divine [1378-1381].
The Bible Teaches:
God forbids the worship of any object, even those intended to represent Him (Exodus 20:4,5; Isaiah 42:8).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Christ has ordained certain men to a ministerial priesthood to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross [1142, 1547, 1577].
The Bible Teaches:
Christ has ordained every believer to a holy and royal priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices, the praise of their lips, and lives yielded to God (1 Peter 2:5-10; Hebrews 13:15, Romans 12:1).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
the Sacrifice of the Mass is the sacrifice of the cross [1085, 1365-1367]. Only the manner in which it is offered is different [1367].
The Bible Teaches:
The sacrifice of the cross is a historical event. It occurred once, approximately 2000 years ago, outside Jerusalem (Mark 15:21-41).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated in the Sacrifice of the Mass [1323, 1382].
The Bible Teaches:
The sacrifice of the cross is finished (John 19:30).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The Mass makes Christ present in His death and victimhood [1353, 1362, 1364, 1367, 1409].
The Bible Teaches:
Christ cannot be made present in His death and victimhood, for He has risen and is "alive forevermore" (Revelation 1:17,18; Romans 6:9,10).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
At each Mass, the priest represents to the Father the sacrifice of Christ [1354, 1357].
The Bible Teaches:
Christ presented the sacrifice of Himself to the Father "one at the consummation of the ages" (Hebrews 9:24-28).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The Mass is an unbloody sacrifice which atones for the sins of the living and the dead [1367, 1371, 1414].
The Bible Teaches:
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Each Sacrifice of the Mass appeases God's wrath against sin [1371, 1414].
The Bible Teaches:
The once-for-all sacrifice of the cross fully appeased God's wrath against sin (Hebrews 10:12-18).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The faithful receive the benefits of the cross in fullest measure through the Sacrifice of the Mass [1366, 1407].
The Bible Teaches:
Believers receive the benefits of the cross in fullest measure in Christ through faith (Ephesians 1:3-14).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The sacrificial work of redemption is continually carried out through the Sacrifice of the Mass [1364, 1405, 1846].
The Bible Teaches:
The sacrificial work of redemption was finished when Christ gave His life for us on the cross (Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 1:3).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The Church is to continue the sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of the world [1323, 1382, 1405, 1407].
The Bible Teaches:
The church is to proclaim the Lord's death for the salvation of the world (1 Corinthians 11:26).
MARY
BRACKETED NUMBERS ARE REFERENCES TO THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin from the first instant of her conception (the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception) [490-492].
The Bible Teaches:
Mary, a descendant of Adam, was born in sin (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Mary, "the All-Holy," lived a perfectly sinless life [411, 493].
The Bible Teaches:
Mary was a sinner; God alone is holy (Luke 18:19; Romans 3:23; Revelation 15:4).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Mary was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ [496-511].
The Bible Teaches:
Mary was a virgin until the birth of Christ (Matthew 1:25). Later she had other children (Matthew 13:55,56; Psalm 69:8).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Mary is the Mother of God [963, 971, 2677].
The Bible Teaches:
Mary was the earthly mother of Jesus (John 2:1)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Mary is the Mother of the Church [963, 975].
The Bible Teaches:
Mary is a member of the church (Acts 1:14; 1 Corinthians 12:13,27).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Mary is the co-redeemer, for she participated with Christ in the painful act of redemption [618, 964, 968, 970].
The Bible Teaches:
Christ alone is the Redeemer, for He alone suffered and died for sin (1 Peter 1:18,19).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
We should entrust ourselves to Mary, surrendering " 'the hour of our death' wholly to her care" [2677]
The Bible Teaches:
We should entrust ourselves to the Lord Jesus, surrendering the hour of our death wholly to His care (Romans 10:13; Acts 4:12).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
God has exalted Mary in heavenly glory as Queen of Heaven and Earth [966], She is to be praised with special devotion [971, 2675].
The Bible Teaches:
The name of the Lord is to be praised, for He alone is exalted above heaven and earth (Psalm 148:13). God commands, "You shall have no other gods before ME" (Exodus 20:3).
AUTHORITY
BRACKETED NUMBERS ARE REFERENCES TO THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Peter was the head of the apostles [552, 765, 880].
The Bible Teaches:
Christ was the head of the apostles (John 13:13)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The bishops are the successors of the apostles [861-862, 938]
The Bible Teaches:
The apostles had no successors, for to succeed them one needed to be a witness of Christ's resurrection (Acts 1:21,22).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The Pope, as the Bishop of Rome, is the successor of Peter [882, 936].
The Bible Teaches:
Peter had no successor.
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The bishops, with the Pope as their head, rule the universal Church [883, 894-896].
The Bible Teaches:
Christ, the head of the body, rules the universal church (Colossians 1:18)
The Catholic Church Teaches:
God has entrusted revelation to the Roman Catholic bishops [81, 86].
The Bible Teaches:
God has entrusted revelation to the saints (Jude 3).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The Magisterium is the authoritative teacher of the Church [85-87].
The Bible Teaches:
The Holy Spirit is the authoritative teacher of the church (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 John 2:27).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The Magisterium is the infallible interpreter of Scripture [890-891, 2034-2035].
The Bible Teaches:
Scripture is the only infallible interpreter of Scripture (Acts 17:11).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The Pope is infallible in his authoritative teaching [891].
The Bible Teaches:
God alone is infallible (Numbers 23:19).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The Magisterium alone has the ability and the right to interpret Scripture [85, 100, 939].
The Bible Teaches:
Every Christian, aided by the Holy Spirit, has the ability and the right to interpret Scripture (Acts 17:11; 1 Corinthians 2:12-16).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Scripture is to be interpreted in the sense in which it has been defined by the Magisterium [113, 199].
The Bible Teaches:
Scripture must be interpreted in the original sense intended by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 3:14-16).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
The Magisterium has the right to define truth found only obscurely or implicitly in revelation [66, 88, 2035, 2051].
The Bible Teaches:
No one has the right to go beyond what is written in Scripture (1 Corinthians 4:6; Proverbs 30:6).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Scripture and Tradition together are the Word of God [81, 85, 97, 182].
The Bible Teaches:
Scripture is the Word of God (John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21). Tradition is the words of men (Mark 7:1-13).
The Catholic Church Teaches:
Scripture and Tradition together are the Church's supreme rule of faith [80, 82].
The Bible Teaches:
Scripture is the church's rule of faith (Mark 7:7-13; 2 Timothy 3:16,17).