Is the catholic church the only true church?

Question

Do the words from the bible in Metthew 16:18-19. mean that Peter and all other followed popes have the authority to make a person to not enter heaven? Does it mean that all people outside the catholic church would not enter heaven.In my community i see many people casting demons, and speaking with new tongue claiming that they do all that in the name of Jesus aren't these the signs of those who believe in him as said in mark 16:17? but they are not catholics. what bugs me in this is that how can they be able to do that and yet say bad words about the catholic church in their ignorance of the church, as in the bible say in mark 9:39..PLEASE HEEELLLPPPP!!!

Answer 1

The Catholic Church teaches about other Christian Churches:

Many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church:
+ The written Word of God
+ The life of grace
+ Faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.

Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church.

All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Any person who truly believes in Jesus, and possesses a proper understanding of His teachings, is a member of His Church.

Try not to think of it in terms of Catholic or non-Catholic. Those who are in the Catholic Church are direct followers of Jesus Christ. Believers from non-Catholic Christian denominations are also members of the Catholic Church, albeit indirectly.

If one can be saved as a Catholic, or a Baptist, or a Methodest, etc, what makes the Catholic Church 'direct', as opposed to 'indirect'? The Catholic Church embodies the Fullness of the Truth. Non-Catholic Christ denominations possess varying degrees of the Truth. Why settle for less when you could be exposed to the Fullness?

Having said that, I want to say that there are many non-Catholic Christians doing more with less Truth than some Catholics are doing with the Full Truth. It is wrong for a Catholic to "look down" upon their non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters in Christ. At the same time, it is wrong for non-Catholic Christians to 'beat-down' Catholics and their Doctrine for the same reason - we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

There are those who might personally disagree with what I have just said. But it's not about what we think. It's about what God thinks.

The Bible also says "not everyone who says 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven'. These words are made clearer by the parable of the two sons; where one says yes but does not do the will of his father, and the other says no, but does do the will of the father.

This means that our words and actions must be in sync. Those who's actions and words are different, have yet to discover some of Jesus' teachings.

Answer 3

Let's look to the Bible: (I encourage you to look some of these up.)

1.) Individual interpretation of Scripture is not biblical
~ 2 Peter 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20; Acts 8:27-31
We need guides and teachers.

2.) Where do we look for truth? Is it the Bible? No, 1 Tim. 3:15 says that the Church of the living God, not the Bible (which did not exist when 1 Tim was written) is the pillar and foundation of Truth. So we look to the Church for the truth. (I'm not saying we don't need the Bible!!!!)

3.) Well, now we have to ask ourselves "which church?"
A. Catholic Church
B. Orthodox churches
~ 10-12 different Orthodox churches
C. Protestant denominations
~ 25,000+ denominations

Know this first of all that there is no prophesy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation…
- 2 Peter 1:20

4.) Three Possibilities Regarding Christianity
A. Jesus established more than one church
B. Jesus established an invisible, abstract, spiritual church in which all believers, regardless of denomination, are members. In this church, either:
(1) Doctrine does not matter, or
(2) Conflicting and contradictory doctrines are acceptable.
C. Jesus established one Church, which is visible and in which doctrine matters and does not conflict. This church contains the fullness of truth as revealed by God; all others have partial truth, at best.

Jesus prayed, “And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be ONE, as we are ONE…”
- John 17:22

A. Jesus established more than one church...?
~Matthew 16:18
"And on this rock I will build my church” - singular
~ John 10:16
One “flock” - not 25,000+
~ Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians 1:18, 24; Ephesians 2:14-16;Ephesians 4:4
Church is the “body” of Christ-only one body, not bodies of Christ.
B. Jesus established an invisible, abstract, spiritual church in which all believers, regardless of denomination, are members...?
~ John 17:20,21,23
The world has to see it; therefore, it must be visible. The world cannot see the spiritual
~ Matthew 5:14
~ Matthew 18:15-17
“Tell the church” - which church?

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
- Matthew 5:14


B. Since an invisible church of all believers would include people from every denomination, either doctrine does not matter or conflicting doctrine is okay.
Does doctrine matter...YES!
~ 1 Timothy 1:3; 1 Timothy 4:1; Ephesians 4:14; Titus 1:9
Can we divide doctrine into essential and non-essential...NO!
~Matthew 4:4; Matthew 5:18; Matthew 5:19
Is conflicting, contradictory doctrine okay...NO!
~ John 14:26, John 16:13; Malachi 3:6

"I repeat the request that I made of you when I was on my way to Macedonia, that you stay in Ephesus to instruct certain people not to teach false doctrines."
- 1 Timothy 1:3
So doctrine DOES matter.

C. Jesus established one church, which is visible and in which doctrine matters and does not conflict; this church contains the fullness of truth as revealed by God; all others have partial truth, at best...YES!
~ Ephesians 1:22-23
Church is the “fullness” of Christ
~ Acts 4:32
Believers were of one heart and one soul
~ 1 Corinthians 1:10
no dissensions, same mind and judgment
~ Philippians 1:27
one mind, one spirit
~ John 17:22-23
Christians should be one as Jesus and the Father are one

The community of believers was of one heart and one mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own.
- Acts 4:32

I hope these verses help. Please listen to the below link. Jesus did give us a Church to guide us, not 25,000+ denominations. This is not what he meant when he prayed for us to be one. I believe that one Church is the only Church that claims to be one, holy, catholic (universal) and apostolic. The Holy Catholic Church.

God Bless you.

Answer 4

The Catholic Church is not the True Church of God. They are not the only ones who will be in Heaven. The popes do not have the power to say who does and who does not enter Heaven, and Matthew 16:18-19 does not support such a thing.

Answer 5

well, as you know there are all sorts of religion and faith out there. jus coz of what is stated in the bible is like that, that does not mean that being of another faith and or religion cant enter the gates of heaven. and if you really read what's in the bible, you would that Jesus died for all. He died and He opened the gates 4 all His children... of course, anyone can speak in tongues...! heck my so called relatives speaks in tongues and yet they act like hypocrites!!! so, you think the ppl in ur community are bad...? think again...! there are all sorts of ppl out there... anyone can enter heaven. you dont have 2 be a saint is all i have to say...

Answer 6

There are many theories out there. Some believe the Catholic Church is the one and only true church. Others believe the Catholic church is the apostate church. Others believe all churches are the one church combined into many.

So what are we to believe?

Answer 7

All the religions founded by the Messengers of the One True God are true churches.
In the past there were many varieties because the believers depended on human interpretations. In our time now, men are mature and literate, all the Holy Books are easily accessible on the Internet, so every one can read directly and can obtain divine lessons for his daily living.

Answer 8

The Catholic Church holds the fullness of religious truth.

Other religions hold some religious truth, at least to the extent that they mirror Catholicism.

.

Answer 9

Jesus said that the true mark of his true followers would be love.John13:35,1cor13:13,1John4:20.it is up to you to find a religion that does live by this principle in everything they do.e.g not prejudiced on racial differences,not involved in politics which only promotes division,not participating in any kind of wars and doing all that God requires from A to Z without compromising.

Answer 10

Nope (this statement is going to be popular) many Christians consider the RCC to be the great whore written about in Revelation. They see it as the beginnings of the One World Church of the Anti-Christ.

I don't go that far but I believe the RCC has many errors and the vast majority of its members are not saved Christians. Works based (to earn or "keep salvation"), prayers to Mary, and confessions before a Priest to name a few are all unbiblical.