INTRO: To say we are Protestant may seem overly obvious to some, because the meaning of the word has changed over the years. Nowadays it means, "not Catholic or Jewish." But originally it meant "Protesters." In 1529, only 12 years after Luther nailed his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, the German government tried to stifle the Reformation. Lutherns and other Reformed Christians issued a document called a "Protestation." They were protesting against this movement back toward Roman Catholicism. So, a Protestant is not just a non-Catholic, and a non-Jew. A Protestant is a person who protests against two things: 1) Roman Catholic Doctrine. 2) Any move by government or church officials to bring Christians back to Rome. (Incidentally, there are many today trying to do just that. For example, see TIME magazine, July 6, 1998, "A Half-Millennium Rift.")

Protestant churches that remember their roots, and which are serious about keeping the name "Protestant," need to speak to the issue of Roman Catholicism. The RC church is by far the largest denomination in the USA, and around the world, so this is really important. Today I want to say just two things about the RC church:

I. WE MUST REALIZE THAT WE HAVE MANY BRETHREN WHO ARE ROMAN CATHOLICS.
A. No denomination has a corner on salvation.
B. The RC Church teaches much that we agree with. We can recite the
Apostle's Creed together.

The Apostles' Creed
in Modern English

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
maker of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus
Christ His only Son, our Lord; who was
conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of
the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried.

The third day He rose again from the
dead. He ascended into Heaven, and
sits at the right hand of God, the Father
Almighty. From thence He shall come
to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy
Christian church, the communion of the
saints, the forgiveness of sins, the res-
urrection of the body, and the life ever-
lasting. Amen.

C. American RC's especially, are NOT faithful to Roman Catholicism.
(see article in Presbyterian Journal, Sept. 10, 1986)
D. Because many are our brothers, we need to love them, and work
and pray with them for the Kingdom of God.
E. We should really appreciate the stand the Pope has taken for
unborn children, and for male leadership in the Church.
F. We should really appreciate the moral leadership of people like
Sister Teresa.

II. WE STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH MANY DOCTRINES OF THE RC CHURCH.
A. Their elevation of the Pope. Consider the titles the RC church
gives him: Vicar of Christ, Pontifex Maximus, Holiness. He is
considered to be infallible, and empowered to set up and put
down all earthly rulers. There is no such office in the Bible.
The Bible says that Christ Himself is head of the Church, and no
one is His "Vicar" or standin. (Colossians 1:15-20)

B. Their claim to exclusivity. They insist that we return to their fold.
(See page 119 of "What Would You Like to Know..."
There are NO denominations in the Bible. All who know Jesus as their
Savior are already in the one true Church. (Acts 2:46-47)

C. Their claims for priests to forgive sins, and to magically
transform the bread and wine into the true body and blood of Jesus.
(See page 121 of "WWYLTK." Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of
me." Obviously a memorial service, not magic. We feed BY FAITH! not
by literally eating Him!

D. Their insistence that salvation is not by grace alone, through
faith alone, but that it is by works (see TIME article again). Eph. 2:8-10.

E. Their veneration of the saints and Mary in particular. They pray
to the saints, and to Mary. Instead of praying to God, they ask
the saints and Mary to go to God for them. They call Mary the
"Mother of God," "Queen of Heaven," and even "Co-Redemptrix,"
i.e. she adds her merits to Christ's merits to help pay for our
sins. The Bible teaches:
1. There is no treasury of the saints, and we need to go directly to God.
2. Mary herself was humble, and rejoiced that she now had someone
to save her from her own sins (Luke 1:46-48).

F. Their doctrine of Purgatory. Acc. to the RC church most Christians
are not saints, and do not go to heaven when they die, but to suffer
in the flames of Purgatory for thousands of years, until they pay
for their own sins. (See "Catholic Standard" article) The Bible teaches
1. We don't pay for our sins, Jesus did it all.
2. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

CONCLUSION: The PCA is a church of the Reformation, and we are a Protestant church. We should be protesting unbelief, protesting against the cults, and protesting these unbiblical doctrines of the Church of Rome. It is vital that we keep alive the true meaning of the word "Protestant," and that we resist the ecumenical forces that would take all denominations back to the Roman Catholic Church. We should love our Roman Catholic brethren, but we need to be able to help them become mature in Christ through a deeper knowledge of the Word of God. May the Lord help us remember our history, and continue to be truly Reformed and Protestant, faithful to the Bible, not any church's mere traditions.