Paper
Let Us Serve Christ Together
Jeremiah Caughran
Dr. Kelly, Sys. III
3-29-07
About thirteen years ago an article published in the May 1994 edition of First Things raised a lot of questions. The article was called “Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium.” “Should Catholics and Evangelicals work together?” is a question that many people have asked. Some see it as a good thing, a following of the Holy Spirit; others see it as a bad thing, leading to the ignoring of sola fide. There are questions that need to be searched out by each person who encounters this article: What is its meaning? Is it a problem for Evangelicals and Catholics to work together? Can we consider Catholics Christians? In all of this we must never forget that there are reasons for there being a division between these two groups. These are considerations that we must remember as we review this article and judge its ramifications.
The meaning of the article appears to be simple enough. It is a call for Catholics and Evangelicals to work together. It is a call for both sides to work on things that are important to us all. That much can be grasped simply from its title and a quick, fair read.
Now is this a problem; we Evangelicals working side by side with Catholics as Christian brothers and sisters? We have common cause on the issues mentioned in the article, such as: anti-abortion regulations, the concept of familial solidarity, and freedom of religion. These are things that are biblical in nature and healthy for society at large, and we should fight for these things together-not just as political allies, but as Christians who share a common worldview. This is what the article calls for us to do; to fight as brothers and sisters for things that are right.
What does it mean for the two groups to work together? In part, it is beginning to recognize that the two groups are both Christian at the core. Roman Catholicism is not a “different religion,” as John MacArthur feels. The crux of the matter is that Catholicism accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior as much as the Evangelicals do. This is something that the two groups behind the article affirm together along with the whole of the Apostles’ Creed, a short summation of the faith. In this, both groups are considered orthodox in belief, and thus are “brothers and sisters in Christ.” From there, the group describes what they wish to do together. One of the purposes of the article is to call attention to the things that bind Catholics and Evangelicals together. The point is to focus on the similarities, not the things that have historically kept the groups separate, though they continually recognize that there are theological points that do divide the groups. The main emphasis is on the things that bind us together, and thus gives a basis for us to desire the same things in the world. The whole of the article is based on the idea that we are Christians, regardless of denominational ties, and we should joyfully work side by side as Christians.
Now, all of this assumes that Catholics are Christians. If they are not, then this whole article has been based on a false assumption. If they are, then the article has a basis in reality. In this area the group is seen, by some, to have gone wrong in its assumptions. As stated by MacArthur, some feel that Catholicism is very much a different religion. Many others, aside from the signers of the article, do not feel this way. While they see Catholics as Christians, they do not endorse everything Catholicism does. As Packer bluntly says, “I could not become a Roman Catholic because of certain basic tenets to which the Roman system, as such, is committed.” He reminds us that there are many things wrong in the whole of the Roman system. These include the Roman church being the only church of Christ, the concept of the Mass as sacrifice, purgatory and such things as that which do notfind truly biblical merit. These are things that the writers have agreed are differences and that they plan to look at more deeply in future articles. Are these things, in themselves, enough to make Roman Catholicism a different religious group? If one looks at them alone, then yes it is. But one cannot see these things as isolated from the rest of Catholic theology. At the very bottom of it all, Catholicism still declares that only through Jesus one may be saved, He is the Son of God; He is God; to be a Christian one must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. These are essential teachings of Scripture and are held to in the Catholic Church as its official teaching. None of the signers are asking us to agree with everything in the Catholic Church, they are simply asking us to recognize that it is part of Christianity and, as such, we are brothers and sisters with Catholics.
Packer also reminds us that there are such things as bad or unconverted Roman Catholics and Evangelicals alike. These people ultimately create problems in working together. He mentions this to remind us that unconverted individuals do not negate the legitimacy of a group of Christians. If it did then no denomination could call itself Christian today, for it would be foolish and naïve to believe that all people in a denomination are Christians. We are reminded that we need to work with those that display a love for and desire to be like Christ, which is what all Christian groups desire to teach their flocks.
“Evangelicals and Catholics Together” is not intended to be a highly theological document. It is not an exegesis of Scripture; it is a statement of conviction from Scripture. It views Catholics and Protestants as both being legitimate groups of Christians, yet it is not an official document from any denomination. It is a group of likeminded Christians that desire to see Christianity become less fragmented and broken. It does not desire a false communion of groups where everyone acts like they believe exactly the same things. From the outset, it views Protestants and Catholics as being two very distinct expressions of Christianity. Bill Bright compares this to the first 3,000 believers at Pentecost. He says that if you had been able to give them a test on soteriology most of them would have probably flunked it. They all knew, however, that it was through Jesus being the Messiah that they had salvation from God. The point is well taken, as he also says that there are even some Protestant denominations whose teachings are not unlike those of Catholicism with an emphasis on your works as opposed to faith. Is there reason to believe that an erroneous belief, or teaching, as this would cause an individual to not be savable? That is a question that I would answer with an affirmative “No.”
While there are theological problems with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, that is no reason for us to deny them being Christians. Yet we must also remember that this document was not an official document between the two groups. It was simply a statement from Catholic and Evangelical believers that desire closer work between the two groups. It is a call for “orthodox believers to unite on the great truths of the faith,” and to press forward the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Churches will always have problems in theology; distinctions that will separate, but that should never stand in the way of individuals who believe Jesus is Lord working together to serve Him who has saved us.>