In other words, the Roman Church has made a deep

impression upon those reared in its communion, but it is

often an impression based upon repetition of doctrinal
concepts over a period of years. Nevertheless, this kind
of religious authority is obviously no match for the God-
given authority of the Holy Scriptures.
At present Roman Catholic authority is in deep trouble,
and Roman Catholics are often open to listening to the
doctrines of salvation by free grace. Accordingly, there
is reason to believe that in our day Christ, the only
Two of the greatest proponents of Biblical, Refonned
Christianity in the Twentieth Century were Benjamin B.
Warfield andD. MartynLloyd-Jones, both of whom, as would
be expected, had pronounced views on Roman Catholicism.
In fact, both of them wrote on the subject. This article is only
an abbreviation and summary of their comments, with the
hope that the reader will obtain their works and read them for
themselves. The two works drawn from here are Warfield's
book, THE PLAN OF SALVATION, (Wm. B. Eerdmans
Pub. CO., 1955, Grand Rapids, Mich.), especiallychapterID,
entitled, "Sacerdotalism," and Lloyd-Jones article, ROMAN
CATHOLICISM, (THE TRINITY REVIEW, March/April
1985, Number 42, The Triniry Foundation, PO Box 169,
Jefferson, Md.).
I. THE PLAN OF SALVATION
by Benjamin B. Warfield
The Church has confessed Ihrough the ages that salvation is
from God, and from God alone. "Salvation is of the Lord,"
Jonah 2:9. "For from Him and through Him and to Him are
all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." Romans
11:36.
infallible Head of his church, will be pleased to graft into
his own body many who previously had trusted in human
fonns of mediation between God and man.
No matter how often and how loudly the voice of human
authority speaks, it cannot expose the inner world of the
human heart, nor call the sinner out of darkness into the
marvelous light shed by divine grace. But Scripture, as it
is applied by the Spirit of Christ, can do this very thing
(Hebrews 4: 12). n (See articles & authors page 23)
Although salvation is confessed to be wholly of the triune
God, who alone can save, Roman Catholicism has taught that
"God in working salvation does not operate upon the human
soul directly but indirectly," (pg. 52), that is through human,
institutional and ceremonial instruments committed to human
hands to administer. With this innovative view of Rome, "a
human factor is thus intruded between the saving grace of God
and its effective operation in the souls of men; and this human
factor indeed, is made the determining factor in salvation."
(pages 52-53).
Againstthis viewpoint all ofProtestantismraises its passionate
protest- "God the Lord himself works by his grace
immediately (directly) onthe souls of men, " (page 53), andhas
not made anybody' s salvation dependent upon the actions or
institutions of another human being. The welfare of the soul
is directly dependent upon the grace of God alone, and not
upon any other intennediaries at all. On the other hand,
Roman Catholicism teaches that "God the Lord does nothing
looking to the salvation of men directly and immediately: all
that he does for the salvation of men he does through the
mediation of the Church, to which, having endowed it with
powers adequate to the task, he has committed the whole work
of salvation." (page 53). In other words, in this present age,
the Church, in large measure, has taken over the saving work
of Christ.
"The radical religious defect of the conception (above) is that
it makes the sinner fall into the hand of man, rather than into
the hand of the all- merciful God. We look to God for
salvation, and we are referred to an institution, which in spite
of its lofty claims, is too manifestly leavened and controlled by
the thoughts of men like ourselves." (page 55)
The question Rome has not adequately answered is "whether
itis God the Lord who saves us, oris it men, acting in the name
and clothed with the powers of God, to whom we are to look
for salvation. "(page 56) This is the issue that separates Roman
Catholicism from Protestantism.
The Counsel of Chalcedon FebruarylMarch 1991 Page 43
"The (Roman Catholic) Church has completely taken the
place of the Spirit of God as the proximate, (nearest), source
of grace, and the action of the divine Spirit in applying
salvation is postponed to and made subject to the operations
of the (Roman Catholic) Church through its ordinallCes
(sacraments). Thus the soul is removed from immediate
(direct) dependence on God and taught r3ther to come to the
Church and to expect all endowments (gifts and blessings) of
grace directly from it." (page 64) (At this point in Warfield's
article, he is pointing out how both modem and
Lutheranism bothsharein this Roman Catholic view, although
in a "modified" and "much milder form. ")
"There are three aspects of the working of the' sacerdotal
(Roman Catholic) system which must be kept clearly in view,
if we wish to appraise with any accuraq the injwy to the
religious interests which it inevitably wow.
1. Roman Catholicism "separates the soul from direct
contact with and immediate dependence upon God the Holy
Spirit as the source of all its gracious activities. It interposes
between the soul and the source of all grace a body of
instrumentalities, on which it tempts it to depend; and it thus
betrays the soul into a mechanical conception of salvation."
(page 66)
2. Roman Catholicism "deals with God the Holy Spirit, the
SOllrce of all grace, in utter neglect of his personality, as if he
were a natural force, operating, not when and where and how
he pleases, butuniformIy andregularly wherever his activities
are released." (page 67). Frankly, Rome's view "is equivalent
to saying that saving grace, God the Holy Spirit, is kept on tap,
and released at the Church's will to do the work required of it. "
(page 67)
3. Roman. Catholicism subjects the Holy'Spirit "in his
gracious operations to the control of men. Instead of the
Church and the sacraments, the means of grace, being
conceived, as they are represented in the Scriptures, and as
they must be thought of in all healthful religious conceptions
of them, as instrumentalities which the Holy Spirit uses in
working salvation, the Holy Spirit is made an instrument
whichthe Church, themeansof grace, usein workingsaivation.
The iuitiative is placed in the Church, the means of grace, and
the Holy Spirit is placedattheirdisposal. - Atbottom,itcon-
ceives of the divine operations as at the disposai of man, who
uses God for his own ends; and utterly forgets that rather God
must be conceived as using man for his ends." (pages 67-68)
Warfield concludes his chapter on "sacerdotalism," (i.e. , a
system of salvation by sacraments), with this paragraph: "It
is to away from all this and to tum to God the Holy Spirit
TbeCounseJ of Cbalcedou FebruaryIMarcb 1991 Page 44
in humble dependence upon him as out gracious Savior, our
personal Lord and our holy Goveinor and Leader, that evan-
gelicalism refuses to have anything to do with sacerdotalism
and turns from all the instrumentalities of salvation to put its
sole trust in the personal Savior of the soul." (page 68)
ll. ROMAN CATHOUCISM
by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Warfield's chapter on Roman CatholiCism is.scholarly, yet
warm. Lloyd- Jones' sermon on Roman Catholicism is
passionate and urgent. He makes it clearfrom the start that in
dealingwith Roman Catholicism, "we are looking at a system; '
and I would not hesitate to assert that this system, known iis
Roman Catholicism, is the devil's greatest It is
such a departure from the Christian faith and New Testament
teaching, that I would not hesitate with the Refonners of the
sixteenth century to describe it as ('The pages of
this article are unnumbered.)
Lloyd-Jones proceeds to defend his assessment of Roman
. Catholicism by exposing its main errors:
1. Roman Catholicism "has been guilty of introducing
idolatry and superstition," by teaching her people to worship
and venerate "graven images," i.e., statues, representations,
relics.
' .,. '" '.'
2. The whole system and teaching of the Roman CathOlic
Church comes between us and the Lord Jesus Christ This is
also Warfield's point, youremeinber. Lloyd-JODes points out
five ways in which this is so: ' . , ,
a. The Church itself is placed between us and Christ, for
Rome confesses that there is no salvation outside the
Catholic Church. Ouly the Roman Catholic ' Church can
define and interpret the. truth. "She, and she alone, is able to
understand and to interpret the ScriptuI!: and to tell us what to
believe," as over against the Protestant teaching of "the
priesthood of all believers," who have the rigbt and duty to
read and interpret the Bible for themselves under the
illumination of the Holy Spirit
"In the end it comes to this, that she claims our totalitarian
allegiaree. She claims to govem us in what we believe and in
what we do. She' claims to be responsible for our soul and its
salvation. We muSt therefore submit utterly and aboolutelyto
what the Church tellS us and what the ChtU"ch teaches us. She
has a totalitarian system." .
b. Anothermanifestation of this ecclesiastical totalitarianism
is the Papacy, (the Popes), who is the Holy Father of all
Christians, the Vicar of Christ, and who speaks infallibly,
when speaking officially, "ex cathedrn."
c. A third manifestation is the Roman Catholic priesthood.
Rome attributes to her priest miracle-working powers. "Here
we come to a very central and crucial matter. They claim that
the priest is able to change the water that they use in baptism
so that grace enters into it. They claim that the priest is able
to work a miracle in connection with the bread and wine at the
Lord's Supper. - They say the bread is no longer bread but
that it becomes the body of Christ; that the accidents (non-
essential characteristics) of color andso on remain, but that the
substance has been changed into the hody of Christ, and that
this miracle has been worked by the priest who has the power
to work such a miracle.
''1heir theory is, that this miracle having been worked by the
priest in the water and the bread and the wine, these are now
charged with the grace of God in a special manner, and so they
work more or less automatically. Their phrase is that they
work 'ex opere operato.' - This, you see, is all a manifestation
of this subtlety of the devil, of the wiles of the devil. All this
is added, there is nota wordaboutitin the New Testament. But
before we leave the priest we have to remember this, that he
is also one to whom we must go and confess our sins, because
he has power to pronounce absolution and to grant us
forgiveness of sins. Nobody else can do it except this
priesthood.... - So there is another manifestation. I am
showing you the ways in which this system comes between us
and the Lord Jesus Christ"
d. A fourth manifestation of this principle is the cult of the
Virgin Mary. Roman Catholicism views her as the "Queen of
Heaven," the one to whom we are to go primarily. Why?
Because Christ is so stem and aloof, and Mary is so tender and
inviting. "So we should pray to the Virgin Mary and ask her
to intercede on our behalf. She is right there between us and
the Son of God, the Savior of our souls."
e. Roman Catholics are taught to pray to the saints in
heaven. Rome believes that some saints lived such perfect
lives that they built up a reserve of merit, much more than they
needed for themselves. So they have a superabundance of
merit 'The result is that you and I, who may be failing and
who are so lacking in merit, can go and pray to the saints and
ask them to give us a certain amount of their superabundance.
They call this the work of ' supererogation,' that the saints can
intercede for us, and can even impart some of their overplus of
merit to us to make up the deficiency and the lack which is to
be found in us. - You see, the merit of Jesus Christ is not
enough, you must have something extra; it needs to be
supplemented. "
3. Roman Catholicism robs Christ of His position and
detracts "fromthe glory and theperfectionandthecompleteness
of the great salvation that He offers us and gives us."
a. Instead of teaching that sinners are justified by faith in
Christ alone, "Roman teaching is that good works, meritorious
works are possible in man, in sinful man; that man can
contribute something to his ownjustification."
b. Rome teaches that justification, (forgiveness of sin and
renewal of life), is the result of baptism. "You see how it
works- everything in their teaching makes you dependent
upon the Church. Are you saying that you can repent and go
to Christ andbelieve inHirn and be saved? No, you must have
this operation worked upon you by the priest through your
baptism. All along it makes the priest and the Church
absolutely essential. You are helpless without them, you are
bound to them. There is no direct trafficking with Christ ... "
c. In Roman Catholicism, the emphasis in its teaching on
the Christian life "is not so much upon holy living as upon our
observation of ceremonies and rites. They teach their people
not so much to strive after holiness ... ; they teach the people to
attend Mass and to go and confess to the priest - Instead of
holy living in its simplicity as we have it in the Scriptures, you
have ceremonies and rites and observances.
d. Roman Catholicism completely denies the doctrine of
assurance of salvation. "Protestant teaching is that the blood
of Jesus Christ still cleanses us fromallsinand unrighteousness;
that what He did on the cross covers my past sins, my present
sins, my future sins. The one act was enough." No, says
Rome, that is not enough. Your post-baptismal sins must be
dealt with in the confessional booth, in the church sacraments,
by doing penance, and when death comes, there is stiIl
purgatory to face for centuries. So, even after death, there
remains the necessity of indulgences and "prayers for the
dead" by your family and friends.
What does Lloyd-Jones offer as the antidote to Roman
Catholicism? ''1hereis only one teaching, one power, thatcan
stand against this horrible counterfeit, it is what is called here
'the whole armor of God. ' Itis a biblical, doctrinal, theological
presentation of the New Testamenttruth. That was how it was
done in the sixteenth century . Lutherwas not just a superficial
The Counsel of Cha\cedon FebruarylMarch 1991 Page 45
Boettner--continued from page 35
people astray from the Gospel. These things have been
shown to be not peripheral but to concern the very heart
of the Christian message as setforthin the New Testament.
To an unbelievable extent Rome has apostatized from the
faith. - All of this is a strong indictment of the Roman
system. But it is no stronger than the facts justify.
"We have attempted to show that the Achilles heel of
Romanism is the false theological basis on which the
system rests, and that the strength of evangelical
Protestantism is its rigid adherence to what the Scriptures
teach. Protestantism can never defeat Rornanism, nor
even defend itself againstRomanism, merely by pointing
out the latter's corrupt political alliances, its inordinate
greed for money, and its suppression of political and
religious liberties. All of these things are true and should
be exposed. But they relate only to external methods and
practices. Romanism is basically a religious system and
must be challenged and forced to defend its doctrines on
the basis of Scripture. This method, and this method
alone, can bring victory to the evangelical faith." (page
449-450)0
Warfteld & Lloyd-Jones
continued from page 45
evangelist, he was aroighty theologian; so was Calvin; so
were all of them (the Reformers). It was that great system
of truth, worked out in its details and presented to the
. people, that undermined and even shook the Church of
Rome. Nothing less than that is adequate to meet the
present situation.
"Christian people, your responsibility is terrible. You
mustknow the truth, you must understand it, you must be
able to counter false teaching. There are innocent people
who are being deluded by this kind of falsity ,anditis your
business and mine to open their eyes and to instruct them.
Not only that, it is as we stand foursquare for the truth of
God that we shall be entitled to pray with fervor and with
confidence for the blessing of the Holy Spirit upon us. It
is as we stand on tlle Scripture and its truth that the Spirit
of God, I believe, will descend upon us in a mighty
revival. And nothing less that such a revival can shake
that homble institution, that great ' whore' which calls
herself, 'The Church of Rome. "'0
Authors & Articles on Evangelism
Wetrustthatthe material we present inthis magazine
will be LJsefulin helping youto understand and apply
the Scriptures to your life and increase your zeal to
speak out boldly for the cause of Christ. Some of
the authors of articles in this current issue have
written material that could be very helpful to you in
learning howto faithfully do the work of evangelism.
Dr. Morton Smith was for many years the Stated
Clerk of the PCA, taught at Westminster and
Reformed Seminaries, and is currently the Dean of
the Faculty at Greenville Presbyterian Theological
Seminary. Among his books is one on evangelism
entitled, Reformed Evangelism published by Multi-
Communication Ministries, Inc. Clinton, MS. Dr.C.
John Miller serves on the faculty of Westminster
Seminary and is Pastor of New Life Presbyerian
Church (OPC) in Jenkintown, PA. His article
"Witnessing to Roman Catholics"is reprinted from
the Westminster Theological Joumal. He also
authored two excellent and practical books that will
be very helpful to you on evangelism, Evangelism
& Your Church, published by Presbyterian and
Reformed Publishing Company, Phillipsburg, New
Jersey and Repentance and the 20th Century Man,
published by Christian Uterature Crusade, Fort
Washington Pennsylvania. John Murray (1898-
1975) was Professor of Systematic Theology at
Westminster Seminary from 1930 to 1966. His
article "The Crux of the Reformation" appears in
Volume 1 pp.298-304ofhis Collected Writings. Also
in that same volume pp.124-135, appears an article
on evangelism, "The Message of Evangelism"
published in an attractive four volume set by The
Banner Of Truth Trust, Carlisle, PA. He also
authored one of the greatest books ever written on
the atoning work of Christ, entitled, Redemption
Accomplished and Applied, published by Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids Michigan.
All of the articles and books listed above are highly
readable and would be an excellent place to develop
a theologically sound and practical evangelistic
ministry.
"For God sent not his Son Into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world should be saved through him."
(John 3:17)0
The Counsel of Chalcedon FebruarylMarch 1991 Page 23