What Should We Make of the Pope's Visit?

It's been quite a spectacle to observe and listen to, hasn't it?  Seeing the crowds roll out in the tens of thousands, many of them having NO connection to the Roman Catholic Church, and listening to newscasters falling all over themselves to make us all believe this is the greatest event in US history has been, to say the least, a worrisome curiosity.

He has been called the greatest Christian leader of the world, a holy man, the vicar (representative with same power and authority) of Christ, among other examples of lavish praise.  As Christians, those who hold to the cardinal truth that salvation is by grace through faith alone, what should we make of this visit by Pope Francis?  First let's look at the obvious.

1.  He IS the leader of the Catholic church.  Since the fifth century, the Catholic church has been led by an elected pope, the first likely to be Leo I.  There is some debate on that.
2.  He is probably a very moral and decent man, certainly one who understands the need to pay less attention to pretense and more to the common people.
3.  He is addressing some things that need to be addressed to a church that has been rocked by perverse and immoral scandal, such as sexual abuse by the priesthood.
4.  He is immensely popular among the vast majority of the Catholics who are used to seeing popes that are so old and out of touch that they cannot connect with the people of the church.
5.  He has caused those who are NOT Catholic to see the church, and the papacy in particular, with a more positive view.

But, as Christians, let's not get swallowed up in the love fest that is taking place in Washington today.  We must remember that this man, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, holds tightly to the doctrines of the church, doctrines that can find no real basis in Bible truth. Among those are:

 

The Worship of Mary - Roman Catholics believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus and was sinless all of her life. She is worshiped in the Catholic church as the “Mother of God” and the “Queen of Heaven.” St. Bernard stated that she was crowned “Queen of Heaven” by God the Father, and that she currently sits upon a throne in Heaven making intercession for Christians.  She is often referred to by the church as the co-redeemer with Christ.  The Bible teaches otherwise.

  

Purgatory - The Catholic Church teaches that a Christian’s soul must burn in purgatory after death until all of their sins have been purged. To speed up the purging process, money may be paid to a priest so he can pray and have special masses for an earlier release. 

This heresy began creeping into the Roman Church during the reign of Pope Gregory around the end of the sixth century, and it has no scriptural support. In fact, Jesus warned us about this pagan practice in Matthew 23:14 when He spoke of those who devoured widows houses and made long prayers for a pretence. Psalm 49:6-7 tells us that a person couldn’t redeem a loved one, even if such a place did exist: “They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:”

Peter addresses this issue in Acts 8:20 when he says, “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.” God’s word is clearly against the doctrine of purgatory.


 The Mass - By perverting the Christian practice of the Lord’s Supper (Mat. 26:26-28; I Cor. 11:23-27), the Catholic Church has created the Mass, which they believe to be a continual sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

 The Catholic Encyclopedia states the following:
In the celebration of the Holy Mass, the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ. It is called transubstantiation, for in the Sacrament of the Eucharist the substance of bread and wine do not remain, but the entire substance of bread is changed into the body of Christ, and the entire substance of wine is changed into his blood, the species or outward semblance of bread and wine alone remaining.” (Vol. 4, pg. 277, Article: “Consecration”)  The Catholic Church teaches that the “Holy Mass” is a LITERAL EATING AND DRINKING OF THE LITERAL FLESH AND BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. The priest supposedly has the power to change the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.

Now, what does God’s word say about such practices? If you’ll read Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:11-12, and Acts 15:29, you will find that God absolutely FORBIDS the drinking of blood all through the Bible.  Rome teaches that the Mass is a continual “sacrifice” of Jesus Christ, but God’s word states that Jesus made the FINAL sacrifice on Calvary! This is made perfectly clear in Hebrews 10:10-12:
“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.”

 Salvation by Works - Through infant baptism, keeping sacraments, church membership, going to mass, praying to Mary, and confession (just to mention a few), the Catholic church has developed a system of salvation through WORKS. God’s word says that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not through works:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” Ephesians 2:8,9
“But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5 

While the pope's visit may be a landmark occasion, it is not a visit by the greatest Christian leader of our day.  While he may be the most popular pope in history and the "people's pope", as the leader of a church that holds to totally unbiblical doctrines mentioned above, he cannot rightfully be called a Christian at all.