Ecclesial Smorgasbord
I hinted at this in my first article, but my experience with “the Church” has been a bit of a smorgasbord.
I was raised Roman Catholic, but after I was saved I began attending a nondenominational mega-church. From there, I joined a small nondenominational church plant and now I am a covenant member of a Southern Baptist church.
All of this to say, if you asked me the question, “What is the Church?” my answer would look different depending on the stage of life in which you asked me that.
But is there an answer to that question — What is the Church?
The Bible certainly has something to say about that, but first, let’s consider what Rome says.
In this series of articles, I have been (and will continue to) illuminate what the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) claims to believe about different topics. Through The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) combined with various dogmatic claims from ecumenical councils, we can arrive at a clear picture of what the RCC believes about the Church.
Ecclesial Superiority
This really seems to be the best way to describe the RCC’s understanding of itself — the RCC believes it is the superior Church, in which everything necessary for salvation consists.
Consider what the CCC says:
- CCC 816 – “The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter’s pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it. … This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him.”
Did you catch it? The sole Church of Christ … subsists in the Catholic Church. That is the claim.
Consider these next three excerpts from the CCC:
- CCC 830 — The word “catholic” means “universal,” in the sense of “according to the totality” or “in keeping with the whole.” The Church is catholic in a double sense: First, the Church is catholic because Christ is present in her. “Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church.” In her subsists the fullness of Christ’s body united with its head; this implies that she receives from him “the fullness of the means of salvation” which he has willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession.
- CCC 834 — Particular churches are fully catholic through their communion with one of them, the Church of Rome, “which presides in charity.” “For with this church, by reason of its pre-eminence, the whole Church, that is the faithful everywhere, must necessarily be in accord.” Indeed, “from the incarnate Word’s descent to us, all Christian churches everywhere have held and hold the great Church that is here [at Rome] to be their only basis and foundation since, according to the Savior’s promise, the gates of hell have never prevailed against her.”
- CCC 837 — “Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who — by the bonds constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and communion — are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops.
There is a lot of complex language here, so it can be easy to get lost in it all. So what is being said exactly?
The claim of the RCC is that the true Church is the Roman Catholic Church, which is ruled by Christ through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops — in other words, through the Magisterium.
Furthermore, it is argued that the RCC possesses the fullness of the means of salvation, which is defined as “correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession.”
In other words, true salvation — the fullness of salvation — can only be found in the RCC’s confession of faith (Scripture and Tradition), seven sacraments (more on this in future articles), and the Magisterium.
And this leads us, I think, to the RCC’s true understanding of salvation. While the RCC may claim that salvation chiefly comes through Jesus, there is no real distinction made between Jesus and His Church. In other words, it is no stretch to say that the RCC understands salvation as coming through the Church.
This is made explicit in the following statement from the Second Vatican Council:
- Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, chapter 2 — This Sacred Council wishes to turn its attention firstly to the Catholic faithful. Basing itself upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition, it teaches that the Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation. Christ, present to us in His Body, which is the Church, is the one Mediator and the unique way of salvation. In explicit terms He Himself affirmed the necessity of faith and baptism and thereby affirmed also the necessity of the Church, for through baptism as through a door men enter the Church. Whosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved.
Again, from the Second Vatican Council:
- Decree on Ecumenicism, chapter 1 — Nevertheless, our separated brethren, whether considered as individuals or as Communities and Churches, are not blessed with that unity which Jesus Christ wished to bestow on all those who through Him were born again into one body, and with Him quickened to newness of life — that unity which the Holy Scriptures and the ancient Tradition of the Church proclaim. For it is only through Christ’s Catholic Church, which is “the all-embracing means of salvation,” that they can benefit fully from the means of salvation. We believe that Our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, in order to establish the one Body of Christ on earth to which all should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the people of God. This people of God, though still in its members liable to sin, is ever growing in Christ during its pilgrimage on earth, and is guided by God’s gentle wisdom, according to His hidden designs, until it shall happily arrive at the fullness of eternal glory in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Do not get lost in all the words. It is very clear what is being claimed here — chiefly, that true salvation can only be obtained through participation in the RCC, and all those who “would refuse to enter or remain in [the RCC] could not be saved.”
So, what does the RCC believe about the Church? The RCC believes it is the superior Church, in which everything necessary for salvation consists, and all those who reject the RCC cannot be saved.
Now, it is important to note that your Catholic friends would likely not agree with this, but this is what their Church has taught. And at the end of the day, in trying to understand what the RCC believes, their formal documents are the best guide, not any individual Catholic’s opinion.
Differences Between Baptists and Catholics
You might be wondering, what does the Bible actually say about the Church?
The Bible can use the word “church” in two ways, generally speaking. It can either use the word to refer to the universal church — the big “C” church consisting of all believers across all of time and space, from Abraham and Moses to Paul and Peter to you and me.
Consider Paul’s language in Ephesians 1:22: And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.
It is clear that this use of the word “church” is not in reference to one single local church in a certain geographical area, but rather it encompasses all believers everywhere — Jesus is head over all Christians everywhere, over the whole Church.
And yet, the Bible can also use the word “church” to refer to single, local gatherings of Christians in specific geographical areas — this is the most common use of the word in the New Testament.
For example, take any of Paul’s greetings at the beginning of his letters:
- “… to the church of God that is in Corinth” (1 Cor. 1:2, 2 Cor. 1:1)
- “… to the churches of Galatia” (Gal. 1:2)
- “… to the church of the Thessalonians” (1 Thess. 1:1, 2 Thess. 1:1)
And on we could go.
These uses of the word “church” clearly do not refer to all believers across time and space, but to specific believers gathering in a specific time and place.
So, what does all this mean and how does this help us define “the Church”?
The Church is all the redeemed of the Lord Jesus Christ across all time and space — and the church is all the redeemed of the Lord Jesus Christ in a specific time and place.
So, here is the key question — how does someone come into the Church? Is it as Rome says — through their teachings and sacraments? Or is it much simpler than that?
The good news of the gospel is that it is much simpler than that.
Remember Paul’s words in Romans 10:9: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Questions to Ask Your Catholic Friend
- Do you believe that the RCC inherently possesses everything necessary for salvation?
- Do you believe all those who reject the RCC cannot be saved?
- Do you think the Bible actually teaches what the RCC claims to be true of itself?
— Mikey Smith serves as the ministry director at Ridgewood Church in Greer, S.C. He has a B.A. in Christian Studies from North Greenville University. He has been married to his wife, Hannah, for four years.
