Jun 11, 2010

A Primer on Roman Catholicism (pt. 6)

2 Min Read

Continued from Part 5

This last of the five common sacraments requires only brief comment. It represents no new principle. It is only the final transition before death to the next world of purgatory or paradise. Since Vatican II, it is not restricted to “Last Rites” (extreme unction), but is more commonly related to anointing for serious sickness.

These sacraments and theological principles which I refer to briefly here are more fully treated elsewhere in the book Justification by Faith ALONE, published by Soli Deo Gloria in 1995. I append this discussion only to show how far away from home these sacraments and principles will carry all who sincerely adopt them.

I don’t fear the Roman theologians who will simply reject what I have written. All they can do is reject, not refute. For slaves of men that is all that is necessary, alas! The next event on the divine calendar, however, is to appear before the Judgment Seat of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10).

The ones I do fear (because they are so pervasive, though even less persuasive) are those who raise the banner of freedom of religion. They take the legal right to believe whatever one pleases to be a moral right. Our government allows all sorts of hell-deserving religions to flourish and carry millions with them to perdition. These “religious” people hate argument, detest debate, and refuse even to listen to friends who would save them from ruin. They consider it a crime even to try to prove error and save souls.

But to all who are seeking “Home,” I dedicate this essay, hoping that they may come to realize and believe that only the way of the cross leads home. Perhaps the best way to show these people the true way to true home is to point them again to the only divinely inspired map, Holy Scripture.

To be continued...

Excerpted from Primitive Theology by John H. Gerstner.

Series Contents: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part 5

Note: This primer is intended to give an overview of the significant theological differences between historic Protestantism and historic Roman Catholicism. In a primer of this size, it is not possible to give a thorough examination of a theology that has been controverted for centuries. For a fuller treatment of the main difference between Catholicism and Protestantism—justification by faith alone—see Justification by Faith Alone or, for Dr. Sproul's response to "Evangelicals and Catholics Together," see Getting the Gospel Right: The Tie That Binds Evangelicals Together.