In my recent trip to Ireland and the Rob Zins debates, I shared my testimony of how God used a seminar taught by members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal to lead me to a saving knowledge of His Son. As a reborn child of God, I loved and hungered for God's word. And the more I read the Bible, the more I saw contradictions between what Scripture said and what was taught by the Catholic Church. But many factors made it difficult for me to leave: e.g., the Eucharist, culture, family ties, and familiarity. After almost a year remaining a Catholic, I prayed that God would show me the truth about His Church. I was drawn to the book of Colossians. Over a period of several days, I prayed and read Colossians over and over again. It was through reading Colossians that I became convinced to leave the Catholic Church. I asked the question: "Where is Jesus to be found?" and God's word provided the answer. Colossians confirmed Christ, exposed Catholicism, and exhorted me in Jesus.

When my sons were young, we bought them several "Where's Waldo?" books. The author's goal was to make it challenging to find Waldo, a man in a red and white stocking hat. There were people who looked like Waldo and dressed like Waldo. Colorful props, like red and white umbrellas, distracted you from finding him. And he was very small in a large sea of people. See if you can find Waldo at the beach.

Satan has a similar game plan: he does all in his power to prevent people from finding Christ. He does this in four ways:

1) He attempts to replace Jesus,

2) He attempts to hide Jesus,

3) He attempts to add to Jesus, and

4) He attempts to take away from Jesus.

In Col. 1:18, Paul writes that Jesus is the head of the Church.

But Catholicism teaches that the Pope is the all-powerful head of the Church:

For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered. CCC 882.

 Catholicism also teaches that every priest is "Christ himself":

In the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of the Body...Now the minister, by reason of the sacerdotal consecration which he has received, is truly made like to the high priest and possesses the authority to act in the power and place of the person of Christ himself. CCC 1548.

As Christ, the priest is authorized to forgive sins in the sacrament of Penance. He also has been given the power to change bread and wine into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus by the miracle of transubstantiation. CCC 1374. Catholicism teaches that in the Sacrifice of the Mass, the priest re-presents in an unbloody manner the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Since Jesus offered himself at Calvary, the priest becomes Jesus - he is "alter Christus" - in order to offer up the transubstantiated body of Jesus. Again, the priest is Christ himself.

A family member, a devout Catholic, once confided in me that she felt close to God the Father, and understood the Holy Spirit. But she didn't feel close to Jesus. I proposed the cause for her lack of intimacy - the many mediators that separate the Catholic from Jesus. I told her that each mediator (the Pope, Mary, the priest, the Saints, the Church, and the Sacraments) could be compared to a Russian doll. By the time you get to Jesus, he is the tiniest doll of all. Much like Waldo, Jesus is hidden among a sea of mediators and Saints.

Catholics are especially taught to look to Mary for the gifts of salvation:

Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation...Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. CCC 969.

But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle, the faithful still strive to conquer sin and increase in holiness. And so they turn their eyes to Mary: in her, the Church is already the "all-holy." CCC 829

How strange and how sad! To Mary is given the roles of the Holy Spirit (Advocate, Helper) and Jesus (Mediatrix). And Catholics are told to "look to Mary" to achieve holiness. Christians are to look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith (Heb. 12:2).

 

But the Catholic Church tries to add to Christ's fullness by creating extraneous spiritual aids, requirements and traditions not found in the Bible. When I became a Christian, I was credited with the perfect righteousness of Jesus, and declared to be a child of God. The Catholic Church denies this, and claims a person must be inherently perfect before they may be declared righteous. The righteousness of Jesus (received in baptism and renewed by the sacrament of Penance) is allegedly enough to keep a Catholic out of hell. But in order to get to heaven, they need the temporal consequences of their sins to be paid for so that they can get out of Purgatory. Since the saints and Mary had more righteousness than they needed to enter heaven, this surplus righteousness was added to the treasury of merit which is meted out by the authority of the Pope by granting indulgences. Entrance into heaven is achieved through the sacraments, the receipt of indulgences, and the use of Sacramentals. Praying to Mary and the saints, venerating relics, using holy water, wearing special clothing and medals, attending mass on certain holy days, abstaining from meat at prescribed times - these are all additions that keep the Catholic from the only means of salvation - faith alone in Christ alone.

But the Catholic Church takes away the hope of the gospel and Christ's perfect righteousness and requires me to merit my own salvation:

Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life. CCC 2010.

In Catholicism, Jesus did His 95%, now I must do my 5%. What is this minimum spiritual effort that I must perform? There are five precepts that, if performed, "guarantee to the faithul the very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort":

1) Attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation, and rest from servile labor;

2) Confess my sins to a priest at least once a year;

3) Receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season;

4) Observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church;

5) Help to provide for the material needs of the Church.

As a Catholic, I am saved by participating in the Sacraments, and by obeying the laws of the Church. But how do I ever know if I have confessed all my serious sins? How do I know if I am giving enough to the Church?

In Colossians Chapter 1, God told me that Jesus is my Lord, my unique, and sufficient Savior.

In Colossians Chapter 2, God warned me that Catholicism replaces the Lordship of Jesus with the Pope, the priest and the wafer; it hides the uniqueness of Jesus through its mediators; it adds man-made traditions to the sufficiency of Jesus; and it takes away from the righteousness of Jesus by requiring meritorious works to achieve salvation.

In Colossians Chapter 3, God tells me where Jesus is! He is seated at the right hand of God in heaven. Far from being absent from me, though, Jesus is ever-present. When I worry, he reminds me that He is my Lord and the peace of Christ reigns in my heart (Col. 3:15). When I struggle with sin, I am taught and admonished by the sufficient word of Christ that dwells in me richly (Col. 3:16). When I question my worth, He reminds me of my identity with His saving Name (Col. 3:17) and assures my life has purpose.  And when I am in need, he reminds me to be thankful because everything I will ever need** comes uniquely through Him.

 

** What I received through Jesus:

 

Grace and truth (Jn. 1:17)