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A Plea to Our Catholic Friends

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A Passionate Plea to My Catholic Friends: Turn to the True Gospel

MY DEAR CATHOLIC FRIENDS, I come to you with a heart overflowing with love and urgency, pleading with you to hear the truth about the dangers of the Catholic faith. As your friend, I cannot stay silent when I see you entangled in a system that strays from the pure gospel of Christ. With Scripture as our guide, here are five critical warnings, praying they will open your eyes to the truth and lead you to the freedom found in Jesus alone.

FIRST, Jesus Himself warned us in Matthew 23:9, “Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.” Yet the Catholic Church exalts the Pope, calling him “Holy Father” or “Papa,” a title reserved for God alone. This is no minor mistake—it elevates a man to a position that belongs only to our Heavenly Father. Paul referenced himself “as a father” but never took on the title as “Holy Father.” He often used humbling language and pleaded with people not to bow down to him. “Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:” (Acts 14:15). I implore you to reject this practice and honor God alone as your Father.

SECOND, the organization of the Catholic Church, with its hierarchy of popes, cardinals, and priests, contradicts the biblical model for the church. In 1 Timothy 3:1-10, Paul outlines the qualifications for elders and deacons—humble, local leaders who serve the local body of Christ, not a global institution with supreme rulers. The Catholic structure, centered in the Vatican, adds layers of human authority that Scripture never endorses. The largest organization of the Lord’s church on earth is the local church with autonomy from any other. Please, compare this to God’s Word and see the difference for yourselves!

THIRD, the Catholic religion preaches a perverted gospel, which Paul condemns in Galatians 1:6-10. The Catholic Church distorts the biblical gospel by adding human inventions like infant baptism, the granting of indulgences, an infallible Pope, and purgatory, which obscure the truth of salvation. Scripture teaches that salvation comes through faith in Christ, expressed in obedience to His commands, such as believing and being baptized, as Jesus declared in Mark 16:16: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” In Acts 19:1-5, Paul taught the Ephesians to believe and be baptized, and they demonstrated repentance by burning their magic books, showing fruits worthy of their faith. While Ephesians 2:8-9 affirms salvation is by grace through faith, not by works of human merit, this faith is active and obedient, not a mere mental assent. By contrast, Catholicism’s reliance on sacraments, human mediators to forgive sins, and man-made doctrines perverts the gospel’s simplicity. Paul warns, “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed!” My friends, this is a matter of eternal life—reject these false teachings and embrace the true gospel of Christ’s grace and obedient faith!

FOURTH, the Catholic Church elevates men above what is proper, violating 1 Corinthians 4:6, which warns us “not to think of men above that which is written.” The veneration of Mary, the canonization of saints, and the authority given to priests and popes place mere humans on pedestals that belong to God alone. Mary was a humble servant, not a co-redeemer; saints are all believers, not an elite class; and no man can stand between you and Christ as your mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). I plead with you to humble yourselves before God and reject these man-made traditions!

FINALLY, the Catholic Church promotes false signs and a misunderstanding of saints, contradicting 1 Corinthians 1:2 and 13:8-11. In 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul calls all Christians saints, not just those canonized by the Church. The Catholic obsession with miracles, apparitions, and relics often borders on idolatry, and 1 Corinthians 13:8-11 tells us that miraculous signs were temporary, meant to confirm the gospel in the early church, not to be sought after today. Turn away from these deceptive signs and embrace the sufficiency of Christ and His Word!

MY FRIENDS, I know these words may be hard to hear, but they come from a heart that loves you and longs for you to know the freedom of the true gospel. The traditions of Catholicism may feel comforting, but they are a trap, leading you away from the simplicity and purity of Christ. I beg you, search the Scriptures for yourselves, test what I’ve said, and turn to Jesus alone for salvation. He is enough! May God open your eyes and draw you to His truth. With all my love, I pray for you.

—Anon

If I met the Pope

the 5 Mistakes of MICAH (Judges 17)

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“And he said unto them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, But their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.”  (Mark 7:6-7)

There’s nothing new under the sun. Mankind has been fooling around with God’s commands since the beginning. The story of Micah, not to be confused with the prophet Micah by the same name, is no different. (Judges 17 & 18).

From chapter 17 of Judges, we can glean 5 mistakes that MICAH makes in his religion that modern folks continue to make today.

Some may ask, why so negative? Couldn’t you present a more positive lesson? My reply is sure, but that’s not what God reveals to us. I guess you could say that if we do the opposite of the mistakes we will be pleasing to God.

The 5 mistakes of MICAH (Judges 17)repeated today.

The first mistake is that he Shared in his MOTHER’S error.

“And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand for my son, to MAKE A GRAVEN IMAGE AND A MOLTEN IMAGE: now therefore I will restore it unto thee” (Judge 17:3).

Many today follow the religion of their parents without ever checking to know if it is right on the eyes of the Lord. “That’s where my parents and grandparents always went to church.” Your parents likely worshipped in all sincerity, but that is not how we determine what God wants. Consider Jesus, He said, “For I am come to set a man at variance against his FATHER, and the daughter against her MOTHER, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. [36] And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. [37] He that loveth FATHER OR MOTHER more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:35-37).

We are to worship God according to his word, not according to the traditions of our Fathers & Mothers.

“Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. [9] And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7,9).

How do we correct this mistake? Ask for biblical evidence for everything said and done in your religion. Search the scriptures to find if what is being taught, & practiced is according to the word of God. (Act 17:11)

The second mistake is that Micah had made IDOLS.

“Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah” (Jud 17:4).

We have idols today. Many have GRAVEN images and idols of Jesus on the cross, (we don’t know what Jesus looked like) that folks kneel down before to pray. Some even erect little shrines in their homes to pray over.

Most of us practice a different kind of IDOLATRY called COVETING.

“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and COVETOUSNESS, which is IDOLATRY:” (Col 3:5)

How do we correct this mistake? We can examine ourselves and our practices through the New Testament doctrine of Christ. It also says in Colossians… “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col 3:17).

The third mistake of Micah is that he CHANGED the law to suit himself.

“And the man Micah … consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest”

(Jud 17:5b).

Priests were from the tribe of Levi and had some very specific criteria. Micah didn’t follow that, because he and his sons were not from the tribe of Levi, they were from Ephraim (cf. Leviticus 9; Heb 7:14). Therefore, they were disqualified from being priests under the Law of Moses.

How do we correct this mistake? We can examine all of our practices in religion (& other areas) in light of the scriptures.

When we find a practice that is different from, or not found in scripture, we are to conform to the word of God. When we see alterations to the Eldership, to teachers, or adding offices that are foreign to scripture, we need to stop.

Here’s a short list of places to start:

How are we saved? (Matt 7:24; John 8:32; Luke 13:3; Matt 10:32; Mark 16:16; Rev 2:10)

How do we worship? (John 4:24; Col 3:16; Act 2:42)

Next week we’ll examine the last 2 mistakes and the ways to correct them.

The church that assembles here at Franklin & Juniper don’t claim to be perfect people, but we do strive to learn, know the truth, and practice the truth.                                                                    

Agape, Spencer