The Catholic Church Definitely Was Not Established By Jesus Christ

An excerpt from the book "Some serious, popular false doctrines answered from the Scriptures" by Dr. John R. Rice 1970

"One of the easiest things in the world to prove is that there was no Catholic church in New Testament times. There was no Pope in Bible times. There were no priests in the New Testament church. There was no sacrifice of the mass. There were no nuns. There were no monks. There was no confessional. There were no prayers to Mary. There was no teaching of purgatory. Neither the Roman Catholic organization nor anything even remotely like it existed. The present doctrinal stand of the Catholic church did not exist nor was there anything like it in the New Testament churches.

On the contrary, there were simple local congregations of Christians. Everybody who was saved was baptized and received as a member in a local congregation. The word “bishop” in the New Testament refers to a pastor of a local congregation. There were no denominational bishops, secretaries, popes, or cardinals. All of these have been invented later by worldly-minded men.

Peter never went to Rome. He was not accepted as superior by Paul, but openly rebuked when he was wrong (Gal. 2:11-14). He was never regarded as infallible. He did not even preside in the Council at Jerusalem (see Acts 15). He never went to Rome. When Paul wrote to Rome, among many, many people he greeted, Peter was not ever mentioned. When the book of Acts tells how Paul came to Rome, it makes quite clear that Peter was not in Rome. In all the letters wrote from Rome he never mentioned Peter. On the contrary, Peter was at Babylon, as he plainly tells in his epistle, which was far in the other direction (1 Pet. 5:13)

The whole idea of priesthood, nuns, monks, popes, bishops, of purgatory, Masses, prayers for the dead, prayers to the Virgin Mary and all the statues and images, feast days and programs of the Catholic church – all were wholly unknown in Bible times. Anyone who is acquainted with the Roman Catholic organization, doctrine, and practice would not have found anything even remotely like them in the New Testament churches. Jesus organized no denomination. It always means a local assembly or that general assembly including every person ever saved in all the ages who will be caught up to meet Christ in the air at the rapture. That group of all ages who are born again will be the body and bride of Christ in Heaven, and in that sense, those who are saved are in the true church.

The worldly idea of a human super-church organization like the Roman Catholic system is not taught in the Bible. Jesus would have had nothing to do with it when He was on earth. He did not start it. And the Catholic Religion is not at all New Testament Christianity, either in doctrine, in organization, or in historical sequence.

The monstrosity of heresy and worldliness which is the Roman Catholic church today is a growth through the centuries. It was not until 1870 that the Catholic church officially decided on the doctrine that the pope is infallible when he speaks officially. At the same time, it was decided as a law of the church that the church tradition is as authoritative as the Bible. It was not until 1950 that it became official Catholic doctrine that the body of Mary was taken to Heaven. In doctrine and in organization and practice, The Roman Catholic church has far departed from Bible Christianity.

Jesus built no denomination and all of the denominations, He would have most certainly repudiated Catholicism as being untrue to the Bible, untrue to what he Himself taught and trained His apostles to teach. No, Jesus did not establish the Catholic church and only the most biased or ignorant could so declare. "--John R. Rice