I’d like to discuss why Protestants believe Catholics are wrong. What do Protestants find false about Catholicism, and why are they incorrect? I believe this is an easy argument to make, and I will demonstrate this in my talk. This is not a prepared talk, so bear with me if I wander a bit, but I think I can explain this clearly and convincingly.
The name “Protestant” indicates that these Christians define themselves by their opposition to Catholicism. The term comes from the Latin “protestantes,” meaning “protesting ones.” Their identity is in relation to Catholicism. You can’t have Protestants without Catholics. Therefore, we need to understand what they are protesting and whether their protest is justified.
When we look at history, we see that this protest started around 1500. Most history books mark Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 Theses in 1517 as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. I prefer to call it the Protestant Schism or Division, which occurred in 1517 in Germany. We can use 1500 as a rough estimate for when this schism began. This period around 1500 is also marked by significant events like Christopher Columbus discovering the Americas in 1492, indicating a time of great upheaval and change. Amidst this, we find the Protestant movement emerging within the Catholic Church and eventually separating from it.
The arguments of key figures like Martin Luther stemmed from their frustration with the Catholic Church. They argued that the leaders of the Church had apostatized or fallen away from the true teachings of Christ and the apostles, claiming that the Roman hierarchy was corrupt and that the Church’s teachings and practices were false. They believed a reformation was necessary to return to the true teachings of Christianity. At the heart of this movement is the assumption that there was a point where the Catholic Church deviated from true Christianity.
The first problem with Protestantism is the lack of historical evidence for such a falling away. There is no point in history where the Catholic Church suddenly changed direction from true Christianity. This is a myth. Similarly, modern traditionalist Catholics argue that the Church fell away from apostolic tradition during the Second Vatican Council, but they never prove any radical change. These accusations lack evidence and are largely baseless.
The Protestant argument is based on a false interpretation of the Gospels. They believe the Catholic Church teaches that salvation is earned by good works. However, this is not true. The Catholic Church teaches that salvation is a gift from God’s grace, not something earned by good works. This is evident in practices like infant baptism, which demonstrates that salvation is given, not merited.
Protestants argue that Jesus’ message was that salvation comes by faith alone and that institutional religion, like that of the Jewish leaders, is unnecessary and false. They see Jesus as opposing the established religion, promoting a simpler, personal relationship with God. This interpretation is attractive because it eliminates obligations to institutional religion, but it is not supported by the Gospels. The actual disagreement between Jesus and the Jewish leaders was not about faith versus works, but about the interpretation and practice of Jewish law within the context of their time.
In conclusion, the Protestant critique of Catholicism is based on a misinterpretation of both the Catholic teachings and the Gospels. The Catholic Church teaches that salvation is through God’s grace and not by our works, aligning with the message of the Gospels. Therefore, the Protestant argument fails to stand against historical and theological scrutiny.
It’s a Jewish problem, a Jewish religious dispute. Jesus is arguing as a Jewish rabbi against other Jewish rabbis, it’s a disagreement of interpretation of the Jewish religion. So we’ve got Jews on one side with one idea, and we have Jews on the other side with a different idea. It’s not salvation by faith versus salvation by good works. It’s not a message to be brought to non-Jewish countries. What Jesus is discussing in the Gospel is a Jewish religious dilemma.
We see this most clearly in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus actually explains the problem. He does not say, “In the old days, it was said that you have to do good works to be saved, but I say, you only need to believe to be saved.” That message is never taught in the New Testament; that is the Protestant message. But that message is not in the New Testament.
The actual controversy that Jesus deals with has to do with the purpose of the Law of Moses. What is the intention of the Jewish worship system, the Jewish temple religion? What is the purpose of that teaching in the Old Testament? The Jews who opposed Jesus believed that the system of religion established by Moses in the Bible was to be maintained for all time, that it was the way of salvation. They believed salvation was only available to Jewish people because only Jews followed the Law of Moses and worshiped God as commanded by the Law of Moses. Only Jews could be saved and have a relationship with God, but only if they entered into the Jewish system of religion, starting with circumcision.
Circumcision was the law of the covenant of Abraham, and it was equivalent to what Christians would find in baptism. For a Jew living according to the Law of Moses, step one was circumcision. This became a problem if you were a Roman or a Greek. If you were learning about the Jewish religion, reading the Book of Genesis, and saying, “I believe there is a Creator like the one described in Genesis 1, and I believe the Ten Commandments are excellent laws, and this God is morally superior to the Greek and Roman gods, and I would like to learn more about this God, worship, and serve this God,” the Jews would say, “Step one, Mr. Greek or Roman, is that you need to be circumcised.”
You can imagine a Greek or Roman adult hitting the brakes and saying, “Are you serious? In order for me to worship God, I have to have the foreskin of my private part cut off?” The Jews would say, “Yes, this is commanded by the Law of Moses.” They would tell this non-Jew that he had to become submissive to all the requirements of the Jewish system of worship in Jerusalem—all the feasts and ceremonies, sacrifices, and so on. For anyone outside of Israel, this was practically impossible.
Many people outside of Israel, who had learned about Jewish religion and teachings, were impressed and attracted to this monotheistic religion and the notion of an almighty supreme God who created the whole world. But their religion stopped because of the requirements that the Jews said were necessary for all men for all time. The Jews believed that the Law of Moses was the final word on the worship of God and the way of salvation, and that the only way to be saved was to become subject to the religious requirements of the Law of Moses.
This is what Jesus told the Jews they were wrong about. This is the whole problem between Jesus and the Jewish leaders. Jesus told the Jewish leaders that their understanding of God’s intention and the Law of Moses was wrong. What Jesus was actually telling the Jews in the Gospels is that their understanding of God’s intention for the Law of Moses and God’s plan of salvation was wrong, and that what they were doing and telling people was wrong.
Jesus taught the Jewish people that worship according to the Law of Moses was temporary. Jesus taught the Jews that worshiping God according to the Law of Moses was temporary, that temple worship was temporary, that the sacrificial system of offering animals as sacrifices to God was temporary. The need to become subject to the Jewish religion, as it was taught in the Law of Moses, was temporary. Jesus came into the world to bring that temporary system of worship to an end and to establish universal worship, a way of salvation not just for those who were circumcised in Israel, but for the entire world, for all time.
Jesus taught the Jews that the time had come with His incarnation, with His coming into the world. The time had been fulfilled for the temporary Jewish religious system to come to an end and be replaced with a universal worship system that would spread throughout the entire world and continue until the end of time.
Jesus said, “I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses. I didn’t come to end it. Contrary to what Protestants say, I did not come to tell you that the Law of Moses should be rejected.” Even during Jesus’s life, the time was not yet fulfilled. Jesus Himself voluntarily subjected Himself to the Law of Moses. He said, “I did not come to tell men living in Israel in 30 AD that they should reject the Law of Moses. I’m not telling my disciples to reject the Law of Moses. I’m not telling my disciples to stop worshiping at the temple in Jerusalem. I’m not telling my disciples that they don’t need to be circumcised or that they don’t need to offer sacrifices and say their prayers and participate in the religious ceremonies of the Law. I’m not telling anybody that. What I have come into the world to do is actually bring this period of salvation history to a close and lead the world into the final and perfect form of divine worship, which will continue until the end of time and fill the whole world. I have not come to abolish the Law.”
When He talks about the Law, He’s not talking about morality. He’s not saying by the Law, the command, the moral commands. When Jesus talks against the Law, He’s not saying, “I don’t think it’s right to tell people they can’t lie. I don’t think it’s right to tell people they shouldn’t commit adultery.” He’s obviously not opposing the moral law. He’s opposing the religious laws. He’s opposing the religious system and explaining that it is coming to an end. He is going to accomplish the work of salvation, which brings all of that to an end. The Jewish system of worship was not an end in itself. The Jewish system of worship, with the temple, the priesthood, the animal sacrifices, and all the different symbols and images of their worship, was not the end but a sign that pointed to the end.
The Jewish worship was temporary. The Jewish worship was a sign established for a time by God to teach men what would come, to show men or prepare men for the final and universal worship, which would not come until Christ came into the world and offered Himself as the Lamb of God, fulfilling the signs and images of all the sacrifices of animals, which were just signs of the true sacrifice that was necessary. When Christ came into the world and carried out this work of self-sacrifice for the atonement of all human sin, He ascended to heaven and sent the promised gift of the Holy Spirit upon the earth, by which human beings could be restored to righteousness, which is what it means to be justified. They could be restored to righteousness by having that sanctifying power given to them by Christ.
Christ was telling the Jews that the time for Jewish worship, the time for temple worship in Jerusalem, this exclusive Jewish worship, had come to an end. The gospel of salvation, the worship of God, was now going to move from Jerusalem, from this temple, to the ends of the earth. Jesus was going to establish the universal church through which God would be worshipped in spirit and truth, everywhere on earth, until the end of time. This was the message: the temple system was going to be shuttered and replaced by something greater to which it was designed to point. John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way of the Lord.
Now, once you understand what the actual issue was between Jesus and the Jews, if you go and read the New Testament, you’ll see how crystal clear everything becomes. If you start with the Protestant interpretation and read the New Testament, you’ll run into passages all over the place that make absolutely no sense. They make no sense if God was not to be worshiped according to the Jewish law. If the Pharisees were all wrong, why did Jesus Himself submit to the Jewish religion? Why did Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to be circumcised? Jesus was a circumcised Jewish man; all the apostles—Peter, James, John—all of them were circumcised Jewish men. If Jesus didn’t believe that God was to be worshiped by the works of the Jewish law, why was He celebrating the Passover with His apostles at the end of His life? Everything about Jesus was Jewish. Where did Jesus teach? Jesus taught in the temple. Jesus read the scriptures in the Jewish synagogue. Jesus was a Jewish worshiper who was obedient to the Law of Moses.
We read all through the Gospels, even into the Book of Acts, about Jesus and His apostles going up to Jerusalem in honor of all the different feasts, all the obligatory ceremonies that were held in Jerusalem. Jesus got lost at the temple when He was 12 years old because His family was worshiping God in Jerusalem. All through the Gospels, Jesus is practicing the Jewish religion. There is no conflict between Jesus’s teaching and the Jewish religion. There’s no conflict. There’s no conflict between Jesus’s religious teaching, Jesus’s practice, and the requirements of the Law of Moses. Jesus is a temple Jew in the land of Israel for His whole life. As I said, the last events of His life, we find Him celebrating the Passover with His disciples. Jesus is a Jew. He is not opposed to the Jewish law. He said, “I did not come to abolish the law. I didn’t come to abolish, but to fulfill.” Everything established by Moses was looking forward to the Savior. In the gospels, the Savior announces to the Jewish people, “I am here, the time has come.” Jesus calls the Jewish people to follow Him, literally saying, “Come, follow me, the time has come to move from the temporary worship of the Mosaic system to the permanent worship of the Messianic system. I am the Messiah. Come, follow me.” He declares, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
When you understand this true dilemma in the gospels, everything Jesus, John the Baptist, Mary, Zacharias, Simeon, and the disciples say makes perfect sense. Trying to bring the Protestant message into the Gospels or the book of Acts doesn’t align with what the apostles ever discussed. The New Testament writings explicitly contradict Protestant teachings. Nowhere in Scripture do Jesus or the apostles instruct people to invite Jesus into their heart or say that believing Jesus died for their sins guarantees salvation. This realization led me out of Protestantism. I simply read the scriptures and found that what is preached in our Protestant church pulpits is never taught by Jesus or any of the apostles.
Protestants often pull verses from their own Bible translations, which have been manipulated to align with their ideas. They build an entire religion on a handful of cherry-picked verses, which are contradicted by the broader context of Scripture. In the New Testament, you will never find an apostle saying we are saved by faith alone or that good works are unnecessary for heaven. Nor will you find an apostle teaching that simply asking Jesus to be your Savior grants eternal life.
The apostles were sent to establish churches. St. Paul, a miracle-working apostle, wrote to different cities, instructing them on how to run their churches and appoint leaders. The apostles ordained leaders and issued decrees to resolve church controversies, which were accepted by all Christian churches. The New Testament never teaches a private, individualized religion. The notion of a personal relationship with Jesus, as preached by Protestants, is not found anywhere in the New Testament. This idea was invented by Protestants because they are separated from the Apostolic Church.
Protestants hope that their message is true, despite lacking evidence for it in the life of Jesus or the apostles. The book of Acts describes a growing, hierarchical church under apostolic authority, not random individuals starting their own churches and appointing themselves pastors. The dilemma between Jesus and the Jews was not about faith versus good works. The Jews were not saying, “To be saved, we must be really good people.” They lacked the Holy Spirit and the promises of the gospel were yet to be fulfilled.
Jewish religion was accepted by God according to the state of salvation history. The Jews were accepted by God’s mercy, which allowed animal sacrifices and ceremonial worship until the Messianic age and the coming of the Kingdom of God. Jesus offended the Jewish leaders by calling them to follow Him to a higher place, as they were prideful and envious of His authority and miracles. They knew He was a teacher sent from God, as Nicodemus admitted in John 3. Jesus’s power and authority were evident, making the Jewish leaders view Him as a threat to their religion.
The real dilemma was whether the law of Moses was the permanent, perfect form of religion or a temporary system preparing for the Messianic age. John the Baptist proclaimed, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” He baptized with water, a temporary sign, while Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. John recognized Jesus as the Savior and directed his disciples to follow Him, symbolizing the Jewish religion’s role as a precursor to the Messianic fulfillment.
Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. The dilemma in the gospels was about moving from the Mosaic worship to the new Messianic, universal religion. In 70 AD, Jerusalem was sacked, the temple destroyed, and Jewish religion effectively ended. Jewish religion was temporary, pointing to the time of fulfillment when Christ would come, offer Himself as the atoning Lamb of God, merit salvation for all, rise from the dead, and give the Church the Holy Spirit.
The Jewish leaders rejected this fulfillment, while many Jews accepted and followed Christ. The Protestants’ false interpretation of the New Testament creates an imaginary conflict between faith and good works. They misinterpret the Catholic Church’s promotion of good works as contrary to Jesus’s message. Jesus came to establish the means for true holiness, not to denounce good works. The Protestant view that the Catholic Church is like the Jewish leaders opposing Jesus is a fundamental misinterpretation.
In summary, Jesus did not come to condemn good works but to establish a new way of worship through His sacrifice and the giving of the Holy Spirit. The Protestant idea of faith alone is a misreading of the New Testament, which emphasizes the necessity of good works as part of a faith-filled life. Understanding the true message of the gospels reveals the continuity and fulfillment of the Jewish religion in Christianity, rather than an opposition between faith and good works.
I hope this helps.
God bless,
Mr. William C. Michael, O.P.
Headmaster
Classical Liberal Arts Academy
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