Welcome to part 2 of our new series for the summer. The series is called: What's the Difference?

I want to begin where the Bible begins — with a call to honest examination.

In Acts 17:11, the Bereans were called noble because they received the Word eagerly and searched the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were true.

That is the spirit of this series. We are not here to mock anyone, win arguments, or tear people down. We are here to ask a serious question: what is the difference between the Christian faith we preach here at Pathway and the systems around us?

Today is part 2 of our series, What's the Difference?
What's a Nice Italian Boy Like You Doing in a Non-Catholic Church? Part 1

Before I get into it, we have these cards for you, as a thank you for coming to church this summer. 2 cards... as a catch up.

I want you to know that you are looking at a pastor who was baptized as in infant in the Catholic Church. I didn't grow up Catholic, but I did get that start.

You are also looking at a pastor who has stood alongside Catholic Priests in Catholic Churches. I've done weddings with Catholic priests in Catholic Churches. I've done funerals. I've be part of last rites.

All my Italian family are Catholics, and I love them. And I always say, if you are going to be Catholic, be a saved Catholic.

And if you are Catholic, I respect you for being here. My heart today is that you will feel loved, respected, heard.

So today's question is not whether Catholics are sincere. Many are.
The question is whether the Catholic system and the evangelical gospel are the same thing.

And because this matters forever, we need to say it carefully and honestly.

I want to start with... things I admire and respect in the Roman Catholic Church.

 

1. Catholicism has always taken history seriously.
In a world that erases its memory every 24 hours, the Catholic Church offers an anchor to a 2,000-year-old story. In a culture with amnesia, Catholicism reminds people that the faith did not begin yesterday. It has roots, memory, continuity, and a sense of sacred inheritance. When everything feels disposable, ancient feels trustworthy.

2. Catholicism has always taken beauty seriously.
Let's be honest. Many evangelical churches look like a warehouse or a concert venue. A Catholic cathedral on the other hand, looks like heaven tried to break through the ceiling. Too many churches look functional but forgetful. Catholic cathedrals preach with art, architecture, and reverence. They communicate that God is not common.

3. Catholicism has always taken community seriously.
Catholicism understands that humans are not isolated spiritual freelancers. We need belonging, identity, and shared worship.

Finally, and most importantly of all, let's be absolutely clear on the massive, essential, doctrinal ground that evangelicals and Roman Catholics stand on together.

We both affirm the Trinity—that there is one God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We both affirm that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, the divine Son who became flesh for our salvation.

We stand together on the historic facts of the Virgin Birth, the crucifixion and physical Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and his promised Second Coming.

We both believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God.

And in a world that is losing its way, we stand together on the sanctity of human life, from conception to natural death, because every person is made in the image of God.

These are not small things. These are legitimate human longings that the Catholic tradition has honored for centuries. Honesty, and the Bible, requires us to start right there.

So, in some ways, we agree on more than we disagree on. So this means there are a lot of things where we can work together.

That being said, the places where we disagree are real and they are major. 

So, with respect and love, let's look at three questions.

 

The Catholic Claim:
In the Roman Catholic system, divine truth flows through what is often called a "three-legged stool": Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Teaching Magisterium, which is the official teaching office of the Church.

The key is that these three are so interconnected that, in the words of the official Catholic Catechism, "one of them cannot stand without the others." 

(CCC ¶95)

In other words, when it comes to truth, the Catholic Church, the traditional teachings of the Church, and the Bible are all equals.

This view raises a question of interpretation—when a passage is unclear or a tradition is debated—who holds the tie-breaking vote? Who has the final authority?

The Catholic answer is unambiguous. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states it plainly:

 

"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone." (CCC ¶85)

I know Catholic people who have been told they must not read the Bible for themselves, because only the Church can accurately interpret it.

The Evangelical Response:
Now, as evangelicals, we value tradition, but honestly not enough. The creeds, the councils, the great thinkers of church history—these are precious gifts that keep us from reinventing a new Christianity for every generation.

And this brings us right back to the verse where we started. The apostle, named Paul, was journeying to Athens, which we talked about last time.

One of the towns he went to on his journey is called Berea.

In Berea, Paul taught about Jesus in the synagogues. Then this happened.

"These Jews were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all willingness and examined the scriptures daily to determine whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11 NAB)

That NAB is the New American Bible which is an authorized Catholic version of the Bible. All my Scripture readings today are from the NAB.

Notice 3 crucial observations:
1. The people who were searching the Scriptures were not priests, but ordinary people like you.

This puts to rest the Catholic claim that only the hierarchy of the church can make sense of the Bible.

2. The authority for truth was the Scriptures themselves... It is the written word of God that is determinative.

Whether "these things were so" or not depended on what the Bible says — it says so right here — because the Bible always has the final say.

And this is most important:
3. The teaching they were evaluating came from Paul who was an Apostle.

This is super important because in the Catholic Church, the highest authority is the Pope and the pope is considered a successor to the Apostles..

Paul the Apostle taught them, and then, with the Apostle's encouragement, they opened their Bibles and searched the Scriptures to judge whether or not Paul got it right!

So, who had the greater authority, the Apostle or the Scriptures? The Scriptures! If even an apostle couldn't prove his teachings from Scripture, then the people could call him on it and say, We stand on Scripture alone.

That's what Paul knew. That's what the Bereans knew. That's what St. Luke knew when he wrote Acts 17:11. That's what God's people have always known.

Against this, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC para 80 says:

"The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone."

This contradicts St. Paul, St. Luke, the Bible itself, and ultimately Jesus.

In 1519, during a massive debate with the Catholic Church's top experts, a Catholic priest named Martin Luther dropped a bombshell that shook the world. He said: "A simple layman armed with Scripture is to be believed above a pope or a council without it."

He was the first to translate the Bible into the German language so everyone could read it.

A few years later in England, a scholar named William Tyndale made it his life's mission to translate the Bible from Greek & Hebrew into English so that ordinary people could read it.

The Catholic authorities were furious. During a debate with a highly educated, high-ranking Catholic scholar, Tyndale said: "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that drives the plow to know more of the Scripture than you do."

Tyndale was eventually strangled and burned at the stake for doing this.

Why does this history matter for you today?

Because of the psychological weight it lifts off your shoulders.

When an institution holds the final authority, your access to God is always indirect. You are dependent on a hierarchy.

But the Berean standard—the standard of Luther and Tyndale—gives you direct access. You don't need a priest or a pope to tell you what God sounds like.

You have His Word, and you have His Spirit living inside you.
You have a new nature to give you a new mind.

Even if the leaders fail, even if the institution crumbles, your foundation is perfectly secure because the Word of the Lord stands forever.

The first reason this little Italian boy isn't Catholic is because I believe the Bible has the final say.

The second reason has to do with how people like us can actually experience the grace of God...