The Gospel

According to
Rome

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
The Gospel According to Rome
I. PURPOSE: Review major errors of the
Roman Catholic Church according to
Scripture.
II. LENGTH: 14 week survey.
III. TEXTBOOK. The Gospel According to
Rome. Available in bookstore.
IV. REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:
A. Reading, attendance, class participation
30%
B. Paper A 1200 word paper on a major
doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church
30%
C. Exam 40%

2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute 3

 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Course Schedule
Session Date Topic Material Covered
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

4
 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

About the Author

http://jamesgmccarthy.com/bio.shtml
founder and director of Good News for
Catholics.
former Catholic , large Irish Catholic family
missionary to Ireland
James G. McCarthy
1975 - came to faith in Christ in Bible Study at
US Army Presidio in California
1977 - left Catholic Church two years later when convinced that
Roman Catholic teaching could not be reconciled with the biblical
gospel of salvation.
currently author of several books other books and Bible teacher
elder at Grace Bible Chapel, San Jose CA
http://grace.biblechapel.net/

5

Table of Contents of the Text The Gospel According to Rome
Foreword by John MacArthur - 7
Prologue 11
Part One Salvation
1. Infant Justification 21
2. Adult Justification 35
3. Increasing/Preserving Justification 53
4. Rejustification 71
5. Final Destiny 89
Part Two: The Mass
6. The Body of Christ 125
7. The Blood of Christ 145
Part Three: Mary (or Mariology)
8. The Mother of God 181
9. The Queen of Heaven and Earth 199
Part Four: Authority
10. The Pope and the Bishops - 231
11. The Magisterium 263
12. Scripture and Tradition 281
2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Epilogue The Junction 311
Appendices:
A. Infant Baptism Justification 323
B. The Seven Sacraments 333
C. The Roman Catholic Bible 337
D. NT References to Tradition 341
E. Sola Scriptura 345
Notes 355
Scripture Index 385
Subject Index - 381
Author:
James G. McCarthy
Available in bookstore or
online at
http://jamesgmccarthy.co
m/store_gospelrome.shtml
6
 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Why the book was written . (from page 12)

I have written this book because I owe a debt , a debt of love

to my Catholic family and friends and the millions of sincere
Catholics whom they represent. My motivation in writing is the
same desire that Paul had for his kinsmen:
Brethren, my hearts desire and my prayer to God for them is for their
salvation . For I bear them witness that have a zeal for God, but not
according to knowledge. Romans 10:1-2

7
 From page 14 of the text
I n 1985, an extraordinary synod of bishops meeting in Rome
proposed the creation of a single catechism for the worldwide
Roman Catholic Church. The goal was to provide a summary of the
essential and basic teachings of the Roman Catholic faith in the third
millennium.
Written by a commission under the direction of Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger and approved by Pope John Paul II in 1992, the Church
released the English translation of the book in 1994 under the
title, Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Now for the first time in modern history, Catholics and non-
Catholics alike have available to them in a single volume an
official explanation of the Roman Catholic faith.

To Mary, Mother of Christ, whose Assumption body and soul into

heaven we celebrate today, I entrust these wishes so that they may be
brought to fulfillment for the spiritual good of all humanity. From
Castel Gandolfo, August 15, 1997, the nineteenth year of the
Pontificate.

http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-
believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-
2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
church/epub/index.cfm# 8
 Examining the Claims
of the Roman Catholic Church (p. 13 of text)

Questions for Catholics

Is Roman Catholicism the faith received from Christ?

Does the Roman Catholic Church actually extend

back to the time of Christ?

Does the Church have a legitimate claim to the

teaching, ruling, and sanctifying authority of Peter
and the apostles?

Are sacraments of the Church able to make a person

holy and acceptable to God?

Does the Roman Catholic way if salvation lead to

heaven and eternal life with God?

2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute 9

 The Roman Catholic
Church is getting its most
positive media coverage in
decades,

2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute 10

 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Luis Palau says Pope Francis will seek to build bridges with
evangelicals showing respect, knowing the differences, but
majoring on what we can agree on: on the divinity of Jesus,
his virgin birth, his resurrection, the second coming. As a
result Palau predicts that tensions will be eased between
Catholics and evangelicals. 13 March 2012 Christianity Today Interview
Is this a good thing or not? 11
The major question- - What are the differences
between the Roman Catholic Church and Bible-
based Christianity?
Just how serious are those differences and what
difference does it make to 1.2 billion members of the
Roman Catholic Church today?

12
2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

The Scriptures condemn false teaching concerning the

gospel of Christ with very strong words of warning . . .

Galatians 1:6-9
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who
called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different
gospel 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some
who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you
a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be
accursed! 9 As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone
proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that
one be accursed!
13
 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Other relevant Scriptures* . . .

Titus 1:9 - He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be
able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict
it.

2 Peter 1:1 - But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be
false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even
denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift
destruction.

1 John 4:1 - Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see
whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the
world.

Ephesians 4:15 - Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every
way into him who is the head, into Christ,

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
* English Standard Version, The Holy Bible: English Standard
Version. 2001 Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. 14
 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

An example of a major departure

from the Scriptures from the
Vatican website . . .
The coat of arms of Pope John Paul II is
intended as an act of homage to the central
mystery of Christianity, the Redemption.
The main representation is a cross, whose form,
Pope John Paul II however, does not correspond to the customary
1978-2005 heraldic model.
The large and majestic M recalls the presence
of Mary beneath the cross and her exceptional
participation in the Redemption.
The great devotion of the Holy Father to the
Virgin Mary is manifested in this manner, as it
was also expressed in his motto as Cardinal
Wojtyla: TOTUS TUUS (All yours).
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/biograp
hy/documents/hf_jp-ii_bio_19781016_stemma_en.html 15
 A quick, but
important
look back in
history

2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

16
 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

In the 15th and 16th

centuries these men and
hundreds of thousands
of their followers thought
the Roman Catholic
Church had so departed
from the truth of
Scriptures that they
considered it apostate
and separated from it at
great risk to their lives.

Were they wrong?

Does the Protestant

Reformation matter today?
17
 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute 18
 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

The Five Solas

formed the precepts
and presuppositions
for the Protestant
Reformation and still
are the basis of
biblical Christianity
today!

Unfortunately the
Roman Catholic
Church continues to
reject all of them!
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20
 2013, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Roman Catholicism is a Mix of Biblical Truth and Error

1. The Trinity God is One in Three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
with Mary having many attributes of deity
2. The attributes of God
3. The deity of Jesus Christ
4. The virgin birth (but teaches Mary as the sinless Mother of God)
5. The nature of Christ fully man, fully God (two natures in one Person)
6. The bodily resurrection of Christ (assumption of Mary)
7. The bodily ascension of Christ into heaven (along with Mary)
8. The bodily return of Christ (amillennial, replacement theology)
9. The Bible as the revelation of God (but tradition and Apocrypha is equal)
10.The creation of Adam and Eve as the first man and woman
11.The reality of original sin inherited by every person (with two exceptions)
12.The immortality of the soul
13. Mans need for salvation (but only merited salvation via the Church,
sacraments, and Mary)
14.The bodily resurrection of all persons
15.The judgment of the unbelievers and their consignment to hell
21
 Key Documents, References, and Sources
Cited in The Gospel According to Rome pgs 15-18.
1. The Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church 1997
2. The Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils (21 universal councils referenced
in the Catechism over 1000X))
3. Papal Documents (The Catechism references 256X)
4. The Code of Canon Law 1983 contains 1752 laws referenced by the
Catechism 197X
5. The Liturgy of the Church cited in the Catechism 114X
6. The Roman Catechism (The Catechism of the Council of Trent 1566) cited
in the new Catechism 27X
7. Summa Theologica Written by Thomas Aquinas (125-1274 AD) - the
Catechism cites the Summa 48X.

Additional Primary Sources Critical of Roman Catholicism:

1. The Sermons of John MacArthur on Exposing the Heresy of the Roman
Catholic Church http://www.gty.org/
2. Romanism The Relentless Roman Catholic Assault on the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, Robert M. Zins Th. M. 1993
3. Upon This Rock: A New Look Catholicism, Israel, and the Church by Kenneth
J. Morgan.
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
Thank you for your participation!

The grass withers, the flower fades,

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

24
Back Up Slides

25
 Apostolic Letter of October 11, 2011,Porta Fidei. . . , Pope Benedict
XVI declared that a "Year of Faith" will begin on October 11, 2012
and conclude on November 24, 2013. October 11, 2012, the first day
of the Year of Faith, is the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the
Second Vatican Council. . . (Vatican II) and also the twentieth
anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. During the Year
of Faith, Catholics are asked to study and reflect on the documents
of Vatican II and the catechism so that they may deepen their
knowledge of the faith.
The upcoming Year of Faith is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to
the Lord, the One Savior of the world (Porta Fidei 6). In other words, the Year of Faith
is an opportunity for Catholics to experience a conversion to turn back to Jesus and
enter into a deeper relationship with him. The door of faith is opened at ones
baptism, but during this year Catholics are called to open it again, walk through it and
rediscover and renew their relationship with Christ and his Church.
Let us entrust this time of grace to the Mother of God, proclaimed blessed
because she believed (Lk 1:45). Pope Benedict XVI

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27
Pope John Paul II Pope Benedict XIV Pope John Paul II
1978-2005 2005-2013 2013 - present

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