One of the first steps we usually take when we try to engage our Catholic friends and family in a gospel conversation is to attempt to disprove their belief system.
We might start off with disproving the authority of the Pope, the fact the sacraments cannot get you saved, or how Mary cannot be a mediator between God and humanity. It seems to be so obvious to Bible believing Christians.
That is why we must prove to them that their belief system is wrong.
However, having attacked their arguments and undermined their belief system does not change their standing before God.
The Apostle Paul’s ministry in Corinth is a testament to how we should minister to our Catholic friends and family. He spent six months there teaching the word of God among them.
He testified to the Jews that the Christ was Crucified (Acts 18:5). In fact, Paul was was to describe it as a time when he "did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2-3).
Paul did not rely on human wisdom but on God working through the gospel to change the people he spoke to.
How Paul spoke to the people of Corinth is a great example of how we should speak to our Catholic friends.
Our first and main priority is to tell them of the truth of the gospel.
Many Roman Catholics would not have ever had read the Bible for themselves.
Consequently, many Catholics do not have a solid understanding of what God has done for humanity in Christ and his reasons for doing so. In his study guide, The God Who Saves, Mark Gilbert attempts to address this through encouraging the person "to start studying it for yourself".
In four studies, the book demonstrates to the reader through the examination of scripture the reason we need to be saved, how God saves us through Jesus and what faith has to do with us being saved.
Each study deals with common misunderstandings people from Catholic backgrounds often have with concepts that Bible-believing Christians may take for granted.
For instance, many from a Catholic background, as with most religious traditions, would see sin as to do with the seriousness of particular actions that disobey God’s commands.
In the study on ‘Why we need to be saved?’, as the participant is taken through the Fall, it is demonstrated how it is not so much the seriousness of a particular sinful action, but of rejecting God and his authority to rule our lives that is the main problem.
The God who Saves is an invaluable tool to use if you plan to start reading the Bible with your Catholic friends and family.
Being a former committed Roman Catholic myself, going through this study guide along with Just for Starters (Matthias Media) was invaluable in helping me understand the foundational beliefs of the Christian Bible.
It operates on the premise that the person knows very little of the Bible, which sadly for many Roman Catholics is the case.
It is a non-threatening way for you to approach your Catholic friends and family in discussing Jesus and the Bible without having to start by telling them what is wrong with their beliefs.
There will come a time when they have to be confronted with the facts of the false nature of their belief system.
However, it is hoped that in God’s grace, they might come to trust Jesus as their Lord, and they will see the holes in the Roman Catholic belief system.
In fact, it is a study guide that could be used with people from all different religious backgrounds, Muslims, Jews, Buddhist and so forth to help them understand the foundational beliefs of the Bible.
Through the study of God’s word, it is hoped that their faith rests not in the arguments of humans, rather that their faith rests in the power of God working through the preaching and studying of His Word.
It’s an encouragement to us in all our evangelism to trust in God’s Word when we speak to our friends and family about the gospel.
David Ip
