The Gospel

According to
Rome
Session 3 Final Destiny

A Survey of How and

Why the Roman
Catholic Church Has
Departed From
Biblical Truth and
Authority
2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
To better understand:
Objectives for this Course
what the differences are between Roman
Catholicism and biblical Christianity
how Roman Catholicism departed from biblical truth
how to evangelize Roman Catholics by helping them
to know the truths of Scripture
why ecumenical efforts by Catholics and biblical
Christianity based on biblical error must be avoided

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

Psalms 119:105
2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute 2
 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Course Schedule
Session Date Topic Material Covered
We are
here 1 5/19/2013 Introduction Course and text overview
2 5/26/2013 Salvation - Justification TGATR, pgs 21-87
3 6/2/2013 Salvation Final Destiny TGATR, pgs 89-121
4 6/9/2013 The Mass and Sacraments TGATR, pgs 123-177
5 6/16/2013 The Role of Mary TGATR, pgs 180-228
6 6/23/2013 Church Authority - The TGATR, pages 231-261
Pope and Bishops
7 6/30/2013 Church Authority - The TGATR, pgs 263-280
Magisterium
8 7/7/2013 Church Authority - Tradition TGATR, pgs 281-310; 341-344
9 7/14/2013 The Vatican and the DVD
United States
10 7/21/2013 The Roman Catholic Bible TGATR, pages 337-340
and the Apocrypha
11 7/28/2013 Sola Scriptura TGATR, pages 344-355
12 8/4/2013 Ecumenical Outreach TBA
13 8/11/2013 TBA TBA

14 8/18/2013 Review and Exam Lectures

3
 Salvation - Catholicism vs. The Bible
Roman Catholicism Teaches The Bible Says
1. Justification is a transformation of the soul in which Justification is an act of God in which He declares a sinner to be righteous
original sin is removed and sanctifying grace is infused. in His sight, having forgiven His sins and imputed to him (or her) Gods
Catechism 1987-1995 own righteousness (in Christ). Ro. 3:21-4:8
2. Initial justification is by means of baptism (of infants or Justification is by faith alone (and is instantaneous at the moment of
adults). 1262-1274 rebirth or spiritual regeneration apart from water baptism). Ro. 5:28
3. Adults must prepare for justification through faith and God justifies ungodly sinners who believe (at the moment they believe
good works. 1247-1249 and trust in Christ) Ro. 5:4. Good works are the result of salvation not the
cause (of it). Eph. 2:8-9, Ro. 3:20.
4. The justified are in themselves beautiful and holy in Gods The justified are (and remain) in Christ, holy and blameless before God.
sight. 1993, 1999-2000, 2024. Eph. 1:1-14
5. Justification is furthered by sacraments and good works. Justification is the imputation of the perfect righteousness of God (2 Cor.
1212, 1392, 2010. 5:21). In Christ the believer has been made complete (nothing else is
needed for justification). Col. 2:10
6. Justification is lost through mortal sin. 1033, 1855, 1874. Justification cannot be lost. Those whom God justifies will be saved from
the wrath of God. Ro. 5:8-9.
7. Catholics guilty of mortal sin are (must be) justified again There is no second justification. Those whom God justifies He also will
through the sacrament of penance. 980, 1446. glorify. Ro. 5:9.
8. Salivation from the eternal consequences of sin is a lifelong Salvation from the eternal consequences of sin is an instantaneous and
(uncertain) process. 161-162, 1254-1255. secure act of God, coinciding with justification. Ro.5:9
9. Salvation is attained by cooperating with grace through Salvation is attained by grace (a free gift of God) through faith apart from
faith, good works, and participation in the sacraments. works. Eph. 2:8-9. Good works are the result not the cause of salvation
183, 1129, 1815, 2002. (and lead to rewards in heaven). Eph. 2:10, Heb. 11:6, 2 Jo. 8
10. Faith is belief in God and the firm acceptance of all that the Saving faith is the entrusting of oneself to the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
Church proposes for belief. 181-182, 1814. Ro. 10:8-17.
11. Sanctifying grace is a quality of the soul, a supernatural Grace is the undeserved (unmerited) favor of God (that He gives freely
disposition that perfects the soul. 1999-2000. to those who believe). Eph. 1:7-8. 4
12. The sacraments are necessary channels for the continual
infusion of grace. They bestow grace in virtue of the
(sacramental) rite performed.
13. Grace is merited by good works. 2010, 2027.
14. Venial sins do not incur eternal punishment. 1855, 1863.
15. Serious sins must be confessed to a priest. 1456-1457.
16. The priest forgives sin as a judge. 1442, 1461.
17. When the guilt of sin is forgiven, temporal punishment
remains. 1472-1473.
18. Acts of penance make satisfaction (or expiation) for the
temporal punishment of sin. 1434, 1459-1460.
19. Indulgences dispensed by the Church for acts of piety
release sinners from temporal punishment (in this life and
purgatory). 1471-1473.
20. Purgatory is necessary to atone for sin and cleanse the soul.
1030-1031.
21. 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,
22. No one can know if he will attain to eternal life. 1036, 2005.
23. Eternal life is a merited (or earned) reward. 1821, 2010.
24. The Roman Catholic Church is necessary for salvation. 846.
The child of God (he or she who believes) is the constant object of the
Fathers (continuous) grace. Ro. 5:1-2.
Grace is a free gift (of God). Ro. 11:6, Eph. 2:8-9.
Every sin is punishable by eternal death (unless one has salvation in Christ)
Ro. 6:23, Ro. 3:10.
Sin is to be confessed directly to God. (There are no priests in the New
Testament church). Mt. 6:12, 1 Jo. 5:14-15, Ezra 10:11, 1 Jo. 1:9, 1 John
1:8-2:2, Ps. 32:5.
No one can forgive sin (against God), but God. Mark 2:7; Act 26:18
When God forgives sin, He completely forgives. (No punishment remains).
Col. 2:13, Is. 43:25.
Jesus (though His death on the Cross) made perfect satisfaction
(propitiation) for all sins (of the believer). No penance is needed by
believers. 1 Jo, 2:1-2.
(No indulgences are needed). Jesus releases believers from their sins (and
the punishment of sin) by His blood (His sacrifice on the Cross). Rev. 1:5
Purgatory does not exist. Jesus made (complete and final)purification for
sins on the Cross. Heb. 1:3.
Those who sleep (have died as believers) in Christ need no help. To be
absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord. 2 Cor. 5:8.
The (any) believer can know that he has eternal life by the Word of God. 1
Jo. 5:13.
23. Eternal life is the free gift of God. Ro. 6:23.
24. 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. (Salvation is by belief in the Lord Jesus Christ
5
alone. Acts 16:30.)
Final Destiny - Determined According to Roman Catholicism
at the Particular Judgment (Text, page 91)

For a Catholic, death is the

moment of truth. In the death,
the separation of the soul from
the body, the human body decays
and the soul goes to meet God.
[997] There the individual learns

whether or not he has attained to

eternal life. This is a private and
personal event called the
particular judgment . It is when
God declares a persons final
destiny. [1005, 1013, 1022, 1051]

6
 The Threefold Communion of Saints
Drawing at right shows the Roman
Catholic view of the Church
Triumphant in Heaven, the Church
serving on earth, and the suffering
Church in purgatory with the mass
central to the work of the Church.

Note that the Mass is

central to the Communion
of the Saints. It is the
means to heaven whether
one is in this present life or
in purgatory . Masses are
often said on behalf of the
dead to gain them entry
into heaven.

7
 Final Destiny Is Uncertain in the Roman Catholic View
Text, p.106
no one, as long as he
remains in this present life, Heaven
ought so to presume about the (Eternal)
hidden mystery of divine Souls purified
predestination as to hold for before death
Souls now
certain that he is purified

unquestionably of the number Souls with

venial sins
of the predestined . Council
of Trent 1543-1545 AD. At Death Purgatory
(Temporary)

1 John 5: 11-13 - 11 And this is the

testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and
Souls with
this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the mortal sins
Son has life; whoever does not have the Son Hell
of God does not have life. 13 I write these
(Eternal)
things to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God that you may know that you
have eternal life.
8
What the Catechism of the Catholic
Church says about

I. The Particular Judgment

1022 Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the
very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ:
either entrance into the blessedness of heaventhrough a purification594 or
immediately,595or immediate and everlasting damnation.596 (393, 1470)

III. The Final Purification, or Purgatory

1030 All who die in Gods grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified,
are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo
purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the
elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.606 The
Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils
of Florence and Trent (1563AD). The tradition of the Church, by reference to
certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:607 (954, 1472) 1 Cor 3:15; 1
Pet 1:7 9
 Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great 590-604 AD)
as quoted in the Catechism in support of 1031

As for certain lesser faults, we must believe

that, before the Final Judgment, there is a
purifying fire. He who is truth says that
whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor
in the age to come. From this sentence we
understand that certain offenses can be
forgiven in this age, but certain others in the
age to come.608 Gregory the Greats interpretation of
Matthew 12:31-32 Written in 593AD formally establishing the
practice.
Mt. 12:31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people,
but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks
a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the
Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (ESV)
10
 Second Vatican Council
(196265)
Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum Secundum

Text, page 92,

The truth has been divinely
revealed that sins are followed by
punishments. Gods holiness and
justice inflict them. Sins must be
expiated. This may be done on
this earth though the sorrows,
miseries, and trials of this life
and, above all, though death.
Otherwise, the expiation must be
made in the next life through fire
and torments of purifying
punishments. 103
11
 Depictions of
Purgatory by
Catholic artists
12
 Dedicated to the Suffering Souls in Purgatory
http://www.sufferingsouls.com/
"Alas! how feeble is our faith! If a domestic animal, a little dog, falls into the fire, do you delay to
draw it out? And see, your parents, benefactors, persons most dear to you, writhe in the flames of
Purgatory, and you do not consider it your urgent duty to relieve them; you delay, you allow long
days of suffering to pass for those poor souls, without making an effort to perform those good
works which will release them from their pains."
Fr. Schouppe, from his book: Purgatory, pp. 238-239, 1893 Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat

Our Lord told St. Gertrude the Great that the following prayer would release 1000
souls from Purgatory each time it is said:
"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most precious blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with
the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory. Amen." 13
(Text , page 93)
Roman Catholic theologians are not in agreement as to the
nature of suffering in purgatory. Some teach that the pain of
purgatory is chiefly from a sense of loss in being separated from
God. Others, following Thomas Aquinas, teach that souls in
purgatory suffer intense and excruciating physical pain from fire.
1031

Summa
Theologica

Thomas Aquinas
1225-1274AD
Dominican Doctor of the
Church
14
 Prayer for the Dead
Catholic teaching regarding prayers for
the dead is bound up inseparably with the
doctrine of purgatory and the more
general doctrine of the communion of the
saints, which is an article of the Apostle's
Creed. ,,, The most efficacious of all
prayers, in Catholic teaching, is the
essentially public office, the Sacrifice of
the Mass. Catholic Encyclopedia
2 Timothy 1:16-18, is often wrongly cited in
support of praying for the dead. Paul prays for
the Onesiphorus, who has died:
2 Tim. 1:16-18 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus,
because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain; 17 when he
arrived in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me 18 may the Lord grant
that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! And you know very well how much
service he rendered in Ephesus. NRSV. See also 2 Tim. 4:8 and 1 Cor. 3:13
15
 Primary Text Supporting
Prayers for the Dead
(text, p. 107-108)

2 Maccabees 12:44-45
44 For if he (Judah, leader of the
Maccabean army, were not expecting
that those who had fallen would rise
again, it would have been superfluous
and foolish to pray for the dead. 45 But
if he was looking to the splendid
reward that is laid up for those who fall
asleep in godliness, it was a holy and
pious thought. Therefore he made
atonement for the dead, so that they Judah was the leader of the
might be delivered from their sin. NRSV Maccabean army in its 166BCE
revolt against the Seleucid
There is no mention of praying for the Empire, a Hellenistic state
dead in Old Testament! centered in Macedonia.
16
Earliest Mention of Prayer for the Dead
Tertullian 160c. 225 AD
The earliest mention of prayers for the
Heresy. Early Christian
apologist against heresy.
dead in public Christian worship is by
Never canonized by the the writer Tertullian in 211 A.D.
Roman Church.

However other early Christians

Lactantius 240-320 AD considered this wrong. Lactanticus said,
Advisor to Constantine, It is clear that those who pray for the
First Christian Emperor. dead do not act as becomes men. They
Held in high regard by will suffer punishment for their impiety
early church fathers.
and guilt. Rebellion against God. They
have violated every sacred law.
Lactantius

Praying for the dead is a common practice in

many pagan religions!
17
The Lighting of Candles
at the Altar
Catholics traditionally light
candles to accompany their
intercessory prayers to saints in
heaven or to Mary or on behalf
of the person for whom the
prayer is intended. An offering
typically accompanies the lit
candle. (Candles introduced in
320AD)

The light is symbolic of the

constancy of the persons prayer.
Some see it as extending the
efficacy of the prayer.
18
 What the Catechism of the Catholic
Church says about prayer s for the dead

1054 Those who die in Gods grace and friendship imperfectly purified,
although they are assured of their eternal salvation, undergo a purification
after death, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of
God.

1055 By virtue of the communion of saints, the Church commends the

dead to Gods mercy and offers her prayers, especially the holy sacrifice of
the Eucharist, on their behalf.

1689 . . . It is by the Eucharist thus celebrated that the community of the

faithful, especially the family of the deceased, learn to live in communion
with the one who has fallen asleep in the Lord, by communicating in the
Body of Christ of which he is a living member and, then, by praying for him
and with him.
19
 The Sacrament of Penance, p. 76-79
After baptism, if a Catholic sins, he or she must do penance
for their sin before they satisfy God and receive full pardon
or absolution for the sin.

1459 - Catholic Catechism on Penance Raised up from

sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by
doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must
make satisfaction for or expiate his sins. This satisfaction is
also called penance. (2412, 2487, 1473)

Priests impose acts of penance usually a number of

prayers (Our Father or Hail Mary)

1032 -The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences,

and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:
(958, 1371, 1479) 20
 Indulgences, text p.94-95
Roman Catholicism teaches that the Church has the power to
dispense indulgences that cancel temporal sin from a vast reservoir of
merit called The Treasury of the Church. Text, McCarthy, p. 94

The treasury of the Church is the infinite value, which can never be
exhausted which Christs merits have before God. Second Vatican
Council

Catholics can earn indulgences by doing good works, After earned,

they can be used in multiple ways.

The selling of indulgences was a

common practice in the Catholic
Church for centuries and was a major
cause of the Reformation.
21
 Spiritually Alive

Spiritually Dead

The Gospel According to Rome page 96-97 22

 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Sharing Your Faith With Catholics

To the Catholic Reader p. 311
To the Non-Catholic Reader- p. 313 Each week we
Pray for Catholics p. 315
will briefly
Develop Friendships p. 315
Stimulate Thought p. 316
review one of
Promote Bible Study p. 316 the guidelines
Address the Real Problem p. 317 for sharing our
Encourage a Clean Break p. 317 faith with
Anticipate Trials p. 318 Catholics
Continue to Learn p. 318
Oppose Ecumenism p. 319

Faith comes from hearing and hearing

through the Word of Christ. Romans 10:17
23
 End of Session 3
Thank you for your participation!

The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isaiah 40:8

24