(Note: in this tract, the subject matter will concern ONLY adults with normal mental capacities)
If you are a Protestant then you have probably heard often that salvation comes through grace which comes via faith alone - and NOT by works. And this "faith" is presented NOT as a series, or systems, of beliefs in specific doctrines, but rather as a "trusting confidence" in Jesus. It is (so we are told) "expressed" as a personal relationship, and NOT as a list of true statements concerning religious matters. It is called "believing in Jesus...not a system."
This is, of course, total non-sense, and a position which NO real Christian can adhere to...and this tract will (briefly) explain why.
FIRST, it is dishonest. Religious faith EXACTLY and PRECISELY means holding some doctrines as true and rejecting others as false. Faith means (among other things) drawing a clear distinction between what one holds to be eternally true and forever false. "Trusting" Jesus MUST mean - IF it is to mean anything at all - agreement with His truth...and agreement with His Church, which - IF it be His Church - MUST teach His truth. However, the Protestant does not hold this. According to him a "believer" in sect A (who holds to "eternal assurance of salvation") is EXACTLY as much a believer as the fellow in sect B (who rejects this belief). At least, this "equality" exists in the Protestant system. And according to the Protestant system, "trusting" Jesus leads NOT to "one faith" (Eph 4:5), but rather to a house "divided against itself."
Yet this is unavoidable in Protestantism.
SECOND, this "relationship faith," by rejecting distinctions between true and false doctrines, DESTROYS the value of truth. If truth is NOT necessary for salvation, then it has no ultimate value. And this would, of necessity, mean that Jesus loses His value, for He identified Himself as Truth (Jn 14:6).
THIRD, this "trusting confidence" DESTROYS the value of Scripture. According to the Protestant system, one can "believe in Jesus," and yet DENY His Virgin Birth. Oh yes, the Bible clearly states this as a FACT...but Jesus nowhere says it Himself. Therefore, one can "believe in" Jesus without this. As the Protestant loves to say: "Systems of beliefs only get in the way between God and man." If one were actually silly enough to accept this Protestant "principle" then one may "trust" Jesus while rejecting the trustworthiness of the very same books which contain some of His teachings.
As this is a key point, I shall develop it a bit more.
IF Jesus does not require that His followers affirm some positions as true, and reject others as false, THEN He could have never told His followers to teach what He taught and commanded (Mt 28:20).
But He did precisely this! And if He meant it to be taken seriously (and He did!) then a true Christian MUST be able (and willing) to determine which doctrine, which action, which form of worship, is correct, and which is against God's will.
And for this to be done, there MUST be more than trust; there must also be facts, truth, understanding, and knowledge. After all, Jesus told His followers that they would KNOW the truth (Jn 8:32). And if one has knowledge of the truth, then one has the ability to determine which doctrines are true. If one still (like the Protestant) refuses to "take a stand" on the issues, then one can only be indifferent to truth itself.
If this seems like a strong statement, consider the only alternative. As noted above, Jesus told His followers to teach EVERYTHING to EVERYONE. To do this, one must have a way of coming to a knowledge of what this "everything" is. Otherwise one would be "trusting" someone who asks the impossible and/or does not know what he is talking about.
But of course, neither of these situations apply to Jesus. He asks us to do what is possible, and He provided the means by which we may come to a knowledge of truth (1 Tim 2:4). This means (as He is no longer here teaching us the way He taught His disciples) that His Church would continue that role as it is "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim 3:15). It is through His Church that we true Christians can learn what is true. And what this means is, of course His Church will endure through time (Mt 16:19).
Jesus required that we know and teach truth. If He is trustworthy, then He would have provided us this Church to help us meet this requirement. Only then could He truly be called "trustworthy."
What this means is that IF one were to accept the Protestant position of "trusting Jesus" as the KEY element of Christianity, then the absolute necessity of the one true Church becomes self-evident.
But as shown before, this one true Church CANNOT be any of the Protestant sects. This is because they do not hold truth to be of value (remember one can believe or reject whatever one wants to - and still be a "good" Protestant). And because the Protestant rejects the value and necessity of the true Church (remember one can be a member of any "church" and still be saved - according to them) he is not being consistent in "trusting Jesus."
No one can "trust" Jesus and not "trust" the very means He established by which man would come to know truth and learn His teachings. Yet, incredible as it seems this is EXACTLY what the Protestant does.
If you are a Protestant, I ask YOU this,"YOU never really have been honest about believing (or examining) this bit of nonsense, have you"? I sincerely ask YOU to think about it now. There is still hope, and (as you are not dead yet) still time.
And if YOU are a Catholic, do consider increasing YOUR efforts to Protestants, so that they will be "set free" from the lie, and come to "know the truth," as Jesus said. We Catholics CANNOT say that we are His followers, if we do not love our brothers enough to try to bring them to the FAITH that truly saves.
And they won't learn it outside of the Church of Rome.
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