Is the Catholic Church the One Described in the New Testament?

Many newspeople and commentators have operated under the assumption (as expressed in the past few weeks) that the Catholic Church has been around since the first century. Despite their efforts to trace their lineage back to that time period, the fact is that they bear no resemblance to the church that people read about in the New Testament. This article will not call names or intentionally demean Catholicism, but we will point out the differences, and the reader can decide for himself.

Structure

The New Testament does not teach there is a position in Christ's church called the pope, but before continuing, it would be helpful to consider some Old Testament prophecies. About 1,000 years before Christ, God made a promise to King David that his descendant would establish his kingdom (2 Sam. 7:12). Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is his son Solomon. But the next verse adds something vital: "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever" (v. 13). This promise is repeated in verse 16.

Solomon's kingdom did not last forever; in fact, it split in two when his son Rehoboam took the throne. Both the northern and the southern kingdoms were eventually taken into captivity. When they returned, it was without a king. More than 700 years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah spoke of a great event, in which the mountain of the Lord's house would be established; he promised that "out of Zion would go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isa. 2:2-3).

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who had taken captive the southern kingdom of Judah, had a dream, which Daniel interpreted for him. A kingdom would be established in the days of a fourth world kingdom (Rome) that would stand forever (Dan. 2:44). It is this kingdom that John the Baptizer announced (Matt. 3:2). He called it the kingdom of heaven, which tells us that this kingdom would be spiritual rather than physical. All three prophecies from the Old Testament refer to the spiritual kingdom, the church.

Jesus is the One who fulfills these prophecies. He is the king who is a descendant of King David, as the very first verse in the New Testament tells us (Matt. 1:1). At the end of Matthew, Jesus proclaims to His apostles, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth' (Matt. 28:18). Jesus is the only king, ruler, and head over the church (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18). Notice that Jesus did not say, "I am the head of the church in heaven, but I have appointed a pope on earth to take care of matters." The prophecies concerning the kingdom all describe an earthly head who is descended from David. Popes do not fit this description. Have any ever even claimed to come from the lineage of David? Even if Peter was (and there's no proof of it), who else was?

Christ is, therefore, the only head of the church, and He created no office known as the pope. Neither did He create cardinals. Only elders and deacons were to be appointed in each congregation (Acts 14:23; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; Phil. 1:1). Other offices were added by men several decades later. No man or group of men ruled over other congregations, either. Each church was autonomous.

The Catholic church also has a priesthood that is not authorized in the New Testament. Are there priests in the church? Yes, all Christians are priests. It is interesting that Peter does not mention anyone being an individual priest, but he writes of the priesthood twice in his first letter. He teaches that Christians are "living stones," which are built into a "spiritual house," and that we are "a holy priesthood" (1 Peter 3:5). Just a few verses later he adds:

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

The New Testament does not teach that we have a separate group of men who function as priests. All Christians are priests. No qualifications exist in the New Testament, like those in Roman Catholicism, for a male priest, one of which is that he must be unmarried. Nor is there a list of duties provided, such as that he must hear confessions of people's sins, which are none of his business. Those must be confessed to God. As for calling such a person, "Father," Jesus said, "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven" (Matt. 23:9). Is there a high priest, as there was in the Old Testament? Yes, and His name is Jesus. He—and only He—is our High Priest (Heb. 3:1; 4:14-15; 5;5, 10; 6:20; 7:26; 8:1; 9:11).

Worship

In the pages of the New Testament, one will nowhere find that Christians sang to the accompaniment of instruments of music. For 1,000 years after Jesus established His church, no Christians used instruments of music as part of their worship unto God. Not until the 11th century was it introduced into the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1500s, it was rejected by many of the Reformers, including John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and (later) John Wesley. True Christians still do not use it.

Catholicism teaches that the bread and the fruit of the vine actually become the body and blood of Jesus instead of just representing it. This doctrine makes Christians cannibals and has them drinking literal blood, which is a violation of the Law of Moses (Luke 17:10-14) and New Testament teaching as well (Acts 15:20, 29). Drinking blood is associated with paganism.

Salvation

Catholicism teaches that one must believe and be baptized in order to be saved. What? Yes, that is the doctrine that is taught, along with salvation being a gift that comes from God. For them, baptism can come first. Another problem is that what they are calling baptism is, in fact, sprinkling. For several hundred years the Catholic Church immersed people for their sins; later, they accepted sprinkling. According to the Internet,

The Catholic Church officially recognized both immersion and sprinkling as valid modes of baptism in 1311 AD at the Council of Ravenna. While immersion was historically the primary practice, the Council of Ravenna declared that either immersion or sprinkling was sufficient for a valid baptism.

Since it is so much easier to sprinkle than to immerse, sprinkling gradually replaced immersion. Of course, the Greek word, baptizo, means "to immerse"; no one in the New Testament was ever sprinkled for his sins to be removed. Catholics will often cite Romans 6:3-5 as a passage that teaches baptism; yet it teaches that baptism is a burial in water (Rom. 6:4). The Catholic Church is correct to require baptism for the remission of sins, but sprinkling does not symbolize the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. If Jesus had wanted people to be sprinkled, then He and His apostles would have taught salvation by that means, but they did not.

Mary

Several erroneous ideas have surfaced concerning Mary, the mother of Jesus. No one in his right mind would for a moment wish to denigrate this wonderful lady. Of all the women in the world, she alone had the honor to carry Jesus and give birth to Him, which was a great privilege. Furthermore, she was a virgin at the time she conceived Jesus, and she remained one until after He was born. The New Testament clearly teaches these truths (Matt. 1:18, 25).

However, the Catholic Church seeks to honor her beyond what the Bible teaches. On one occasion, Jesus asked who His brothers and mother were? He answered by saying, "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother" (Matt. 12:50). On another occasion, a woman said to Jesus, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You" (Luke 11:27). That seems reasonable enough, but Jesus answered her: "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it" (v. 28). Mary was a very special person, but so are all who obey the gospel.

Mary, however, did not have her own immaculate conception. Some may think that phrase refers to her conception of Jesus, but it does not. Kathryn Lopez, on Townhall (May 10, 2025) explains: "The Immaculate Conception has nothing to do with Mary and Joseph never having had sex. It is about the sinless nature of Mary, from the moment of her conception." No verses in the New Testament can be cited to support this claim. In fact, does it not detract from her virtue? It would mean that God chose her from before she was born and made her better than other women—rather than choosing her because of her virtue and faithfulness.

Neither is Mary the Queen of heaven or a mediatrix. There is only one mediator between God and men—the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). Mary has no power to answer prayers; only God can do that. Mary was not a perpetual virgin, either; she gave birth to four brothers of Jesus and at least two sisters (Matt. 13:55-56).

The Sacraments

The New Testament does not mention sacraments (either in the singular or the plural). Some of the current seven sacraments relate to a Biblical topic, but the idea that they are Christian "ordinances" is false. Baptism (#1) is never called a rite or an ordinance. The eucharist (#3) is not used of the Lord's Supper in the New Testament. Marriage (#7) is not a church ordinance; God originated the concept in the Garden of Eden.

Although God does require people to repent of their sins and ask forgiveness, the Bible does not require any such thing as penance (#4). Jesus paid the complete price for sins; nothing we do can improve on that. Likewise, the New Testament knows nothing of "holy orders" (#6). Another practice is for a priest to administer extreme unction (#5) for those about to die. This is yet another phrase that appears nowhere in the Bible.

Then there is confirmation (#2), which is not used in the Catholic sense of the word in the Scriptures. This practice was added some time after the Catholic Church began to sprinkle infants. They believe that baptism saves a person; so, they baptized infants for many centuries. Then they switched to sprinkling infants. But they have misunderstood the power of baptism. It saves, all right, but it is only valid for those who first believe (Mark 16:16). No infant was ever baptized in the New Testament. A child under the age of two does not understand sin, cannot repent of it, and cannot confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. All of these precede the decision to be baptized (Acts 2:38; 8:37).

Conclusion

These are just a few comparisons, but they are sufficient to see that the Roman Catholic Church bears no resemblance to the church described in the New Testament. One never reads about the "sacraments" there, nor does anyone pray to Mary or exalt her beyond the praise she is worthy of. Furthermore, the church Christ died for (Acts 20:28) did not have a structure with someone besides Christ being head over it on earth. Jesus has been the only king over this spiritual kingdom—the only head—since the first century. Most of all, the church that Jesus built still baptizes sinners (those who understand they are lost) by immersion so that the blood of Christ can wash away their sins (Rev. 1:5: Acts 22:15).