The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed by Brenda Rivera of Orlando, Florida from the tape, GC 1301-O, titled "Bible Questions and Answers Part 17."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. ©1978. All Rights Reserved.

Question

I’d like to comment on your tape, I believe it’s “Prostitute in the Last Days.”Am I correct? It’s the apostates; you spoke about certain religions. But I have a question that I can’t answer being that I was raised a Catholic and my family are Catholic. You spoke that they [Catholics] "so call" themselves Christians. Do I take the position that you believe that they are not Christians?

Answer

Basically, I believe that there are Christians in the Catholic Church, but they are not Christians because of the Catholic Church.

Questioner

Well then, I’d like to ask you this question that’s in my mind. They believe that the Virgin Mary is also an intercessor for sins am I correct?

Answer

Sure they believe that. They even believe she’s Coredemptrix with Christ. And the Pope, the present Pope, has a new symbol. And his personal symbol is a huge cross, this is his personal symbol that he chose, it’s a huge cross with a crosspiece that’s lopsided and extends further on the right side and under it is a huge “M”-- that’s his personal symbol. Mary Coredemptrix with Christ.

Questioner

Well, I realize the seriousness that these people are following, I mean it’s a burden in my heart, but is it possible… Here’s a question, because I was confronted with this question and I hope I didn’t give the wrong answer. This person supposedly believes that Jesus Christ is God, but they also believe that without Mary there is no salvation, in other words, she is also an intercessor for sin. Now, it’s either Jesus or it’s either Mary to me. And they asked me, "I’m saved?" and that’s what it came down to and I said, "No." The reason I said that, I based my assumption on John 14:6 and I believe if Jesus wanted anybody else to be co-equal with Him, He would have mentioned it. That’s my own belief.

Answer

How about Acts 4:12? “Neither is there salvation any other, for there is none other name under Heaven given among men where by we must be saved.” There is no other name. You’re right, that’s the right answer.

Questioner

This Charismatic movement, it seems to me that they are blending in, because my father and mother-in-law are working with people to try to lead them to Christ and away from the doctrines they have, because as you said in Jeremiah, I believe, when they talk about the Queen of Heaven? If a person believes that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, but they also accept, in that religion, their other doctrines like the host, and I’m not going to get into that, but also Mary--and is a person actually saved?

Answer

The only way that a person can be saved is by believing that there is no salvation in any other name than Jesus Christ, and there is no salvation in any other work than His atoning redemptive work on the cross and through the open tomb. If they believe salvation encompasses any other person or any other act in addition to that, they nullify salvation.

Questioner

Well, I really thank you because see I said, if he says "yes" then I was really going to put myself in a spot, because if we accept that, then we have to also accept Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and have to accept everybody else, right?

Answer

Right, and that’s exactly what’s happening. And that is my personal problem that extends over all other problems of the Charismatic movement. All you have to do is say you believe in Jesus and they throw their arms around you and make you an instant member. And immediately a person is under the false assumption that he’s a believer. The worst thing you could possibly do with a lost person is make them think they are a Christian. You’ve just shut off their hope.

Questioner

Right. It says in the Word that you know that you’re responsible for the answers that you give and I just wanted to make sure that I hope I didn’t give a wrong answer. No, you gave the right answer.

Answer

That’s good, God bless you. People sometimes think that I’m an anti-Catholic and I am not. In fact I get on the case of the Protestants more than I do the Catholics. I say more about what I’m not doing and what you’re not doing as people at Grace Church, than I do about anybody who is Catholic. But you step on a tender spot.

The Roman system is not biblical, period. It is not of God. There are Christian people in that thing I can’t deny that because there are people who are trusting Christ and Christ only for their salvation because God has worked a work in their hearts and in spite of the system they are redeemed not because of that system. That system will send men to Hell. It has been doing it for centuries. The system will not save anybody. It will confuse people about Christ, it will confuse them about salvation, it will confuse them about sin, it will confuse them about everything. And so it’s in spite of the system not because of the system. And the Charismatic movement moves in and you say, "Well, but they’re leading some to Christ." Perhaps. But others, they’re saying, “Hey, you believe in Jesus?” I mean, I know they’re doing this, I’ve been there when they’ve done it. "Here’s our dear Christian brother," they introduce him and all his life he’s been a Catholic and he hasn’t got a clue in the world about salvation by grace through faith and the absolute utter Lordship of Christ, doesn’t have a clue. But because he wants to talk about Jesus and so forth, they give him the stamp "Christian" and then he goes out with a big smile on his face, he’s O.K.

I think the Methodist Church is full of people who aren’t saved, and the Baptist Church, and we’ve got some at Grace Church. So please don’t think I’m picking on the Catholics, I just think that system sends people to Hell. And unless people see the truth apart from the system they’re going to be doomed, because that system is not true. And we can say a lot more about that but let me just add one footnote and then I’ll let you ask your question.

The Roman Catholic system does not come from the Bible, it comes from the mystery religions of Babylon. All you have to do is just read a little historical background and you find that. Mary is called the Queen of Heaven, the Queen on Heaven is an idolatrous title, you can find it in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, it’s a title used for worship of Ashteroth, the mother supposedly of Baal. It has nothing to do with Mary. And we talked about Lent right? Were did the 40 days of Lent come from? They’re not in the Bible. Forty days of Lent was a forty day morning period that Baal might be resurrected from the dead because he was killed by a wild boar. And it was superimposed on Christianity. And do you realize that when the Pope speaks "ex cathedra" he believes that he is speaking as the Vicar of Christ in the world, and that that he speaks is inerrant? And that the church council makes a decision that is inerrant?--That is the mind of God. The whole system is a cultic marriage with Christianity to create a highbred that is utterly confusing and chaotic, lead the world into the dark ages, out of which the reformation extracted the truth.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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