The following "Question" was asked by an attendee at the 2005 Shepherds' Conference (a ministry of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California), and was "Answered" by John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from "General Session #4 John MacArthur - Q&A."  A copy of the CD, cassette tape, or MP3 can be obtained by going to:  www.shepherdsconference.org  ©2005. All Rights Reserved. Grace Community Church.

Questioner

If we define the word “Catholic” to mean “all those who agree with and live according to the official writings and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church,” would you agree with the following statement: “All Catholics go to hell”? Within the context of that definition, is that fine then to make an absolute statement?

John MacArthur's Answer

Well, I would say everybody goes to hell who doesn’t believe the true gospel.  Is that fair?

I do not believe that Catholic theology can save anyone.  Isn’t that the whole point?  I mean, you heard it this morning.  That’s a horrible way to live your life!  That’s just a horrible thing.  I was talking to one of our missionaries in Italy today and he was saying, “What you heard this morning is compounded by the rest of the system that’s so convoluted and warped, that just makes it worse.”  That’s the foundation of it that’s so bad. 

I think, for a person—somebody attending a Catholic church—could possibly be saved, but it wouldn’t be because of the theology of the system.  Maybe they’re reading the Bible…  Maybe in his or her own reading of the Scripture or hearing something…  Maybe just like R.C. [Sproul] mentioned, “the publican beating on his chest”—where did he get that information?  That came out of his own heart because he was one of those people who had been trying to establish his own righteousness and came to the conclusion that he was so filthy on the inside, all he could do was cry out to God for mercy—and that’s how Old Testament conversions happened.  I think conversions can happen like that in a Catholic environment, where a person is just absolutely at the end of their rope, a la Martin Luther, but it’s not because of the system.  It’s because they have been crushed by the weight of sin and have nowhere to turn, but to mercy available from God through Christ. 

But I do not believe that people in the Catholic Church, who believe Catholic theology, are saved.  One step removed from what you heard today is the fact that what you heard R.C. articulate to you—that understanding, which is an accurate representation of Roman Catholic theology—I do not believe, could be explained by the average Catholic.  I don’t think they even know what the theology is behind the stuff, behind the symbols.

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

Tony Capoccia
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