Recently I heard a pastor declare to his congregation that Catholics aren't Christians due to their theology. This deeply grieved me on many levels. I have heard this charge before, it isn't new. First it's based on a misunderstanding of Roman Catholic doctrine. Their theology of Christ is the same as Protestants. In fact they hold to the ancient creeds more faithfully than the rest of Christendom.
It also grieves me when I look at the world around me. Most of those who are being killed for the name of Christ are not Protestant. They are Catholic and Orthodox. How can one uphold the martyrdom of the Christians being killed in the Middle East while at the same time denying their salvation? To do so is to dismiss their status as martyrs for the Glorious Name!
Scripture is clear; believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. You don't have to subscribe to a certain set of doctrinal beliefs. As long as you have a proper understanding of who Christ is (which Catholics and Orthodox do) then you are saved. We are saved through Christ alone. Our pitiful attempts to understand doctrine does nothing to save us but allows us to understand the character of the God who did save us.
Jesus, in His high priestly prayer, prayed that we would be one as He and the Father are one. He didn't pray that we would have perfect doctrine. He prayed that we would be one. As we have been baptized we have been made one with Christ. And as we partake of the Sacrament we are made one with our fellow believers around the world. It is one cup of salvation that we share. To declare that someone as a non-Christian because we don't like their theology is to attack the very body of Christ.
Oh would we repent for those times when we have allowed ourselves to be used by Satan as a voice of accusation.
