Twelve Theses on the Papacy: A Reformed Protestant Response
Rome has a new Pope. Leo XIV is the name. He is an American (with Peruvian citizenship). This is a first for North America, which was once the land successfully built by the descendants of the Puritans and Huguenots. The world is excited about this new pope. Social media is a buzz. Vatican flags fly. Catholic and non-Catholic journalists alike are tripping over themselves in admiration. Many Protestants whisper reverent congratulations. Some even defend him against criticism. Others would go so far as to suggest that we should listen more carefully to “His Holiness.” This is the state of protestantism in the 21st century!
But I digress. This is not merely a matter of curiosity. It is an earthquake that exposes the trembling ground beneath modern Christianity’s feet. The fault lines are ancient. They run through church history, crack through councils, tremble at the Diet of Worms, and split with the hammer-blow of Luther’s 95 Theses and the translation of Scripture by Tyndale and the writing of theological manuals by men such as John Calvin. But now, it seems, many of our contemporary brethren wish to build a comfortable ecumenical house upon this shaking ground. Dear reader, if you are a Christian, a Protestant of the Reformed persuasion, behold your heritage.
In an age when Reformation memory is evaporating faster than morning dew it is urgent and necessary that we remember who we are and why we are not Roman Catholic. I aim to do just that in this write-up. Through providing 12 theses, I seek to remind you that Reformed Protestantism and Roman Catholicism are two distinct religions, not two denominations under a big Christian tent. I shall walk you through history and doctrine to prove this. Brace yourself.
Thesis 1: The Papacy Was Never Apostolic – It Was Always Political:
Contrary to Roman myth-making, the papacy is not an apostolic office. It is a medieval innovation with imperial (empire) aspirations. The early church recognized the importance of the local church in the city of Rome, yes. But there was no single bishop ruling universally over all churches. The claims to Peter’s supremacy are built upon misinterpreted texts (e.g., Matthew 16:18) and later forged documents (e.g., the Donation of Constantine). By the time of Gregory I (590–604), the papacy had become a sort of monarchy. Ironically, Gregory himself rejected the title “universal bishop” as anti-Christian. But lo and behold! A few centuries later, Leo IX and his successors embraced it. It is not the Spirit of Christ but the spirit of Caesar that built St. Peter’s Basilica.
Thesis 2: The Reformation Was a Necessary Exodus:
When Martin Luther stood before Emperor Charles V and declared, “Here I stand,” he did not have in mind a denominational reshuffle. He stood because the gospel had been buried under layers of sacramentalism, clericalism, and superstition, inherited from the medieval Romanism. Calvin did not seek a polite revision of Mass rites; he sought the recovery of true worship. Zwingli, Cranmer, Tyndale, and Knox were not innovators; they were protestors. That’s why we are Protestants. The Reformation was not a schism from the true Church. It was a liberation from Babylon. Unbiblical practices and demands abounded, and the Scriptures were not understood in language or doctrine. These were the dark ages. Rome had become the very thing she accused others of being: schismatic from the gospel. And so this necessitated the Protestant Reformation historically and doctrinally. It was the only way to avoid heresy, spiritual bondage. To return to Rome would be to return to Egypt – only this time with incense and Latin.
Thesis 3: The Gospel Was Recovered, Not Reinvented:
Justification by faith alone (sola fide) was not a Divine revelation hidden for fifteen centuries and then suddenly discovered by Luther. It was the consistent teaching of the Apostles, contained in the Scriptures, that cannot be broken. But Rome and the papacy buried this core doctrine beneath a mountain of penance, indulgences, and infused grace. The Council of Trent (1545–1563), in contradiction to the Canons of the Council of Orange (529), anathematized sola fide outright (Canon 9, Session 6). Rome’s gospel is a different gospel (Galatians 1:6–9). The Reformers, by contrast and standing with the Canons of the Council of Orange, returned to the Biblical teaching that we are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. This is why Luther complained that the Roman Catholic councils and popes often erred and contradicted each other – they had no consistency, no true stand. To date, Rome says grace is a substance infused by the sacraments. The Bible says grace is God’s undeserved favour received by faith. D. Martin Lloyd-Jones was once asked what the biggest issue of the 20th century church was going to be and he said it is still the doctrine of justification by faith alone. I dare say, this remains true for the 21st century. The difference is not cosmetic. It is eternal life versus eternal confusion.
Thesis 4: The Pope Is Not a Successor of Peter:
One of the Puritans said, “The pope is Peter’s successor only in his denials of Christ.” The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith calls the Pope the Antichrist (26.4). Not a minor error. Not merely a misguided brother. The Antichrist. Why? Because the papacy usurps the authority of Christ. It claims to be the Vicar of Christ. This title and work belong only to the Holy Spirit, who is the only deputy or vice in His redemptive role that Christ will ever have, not inferior, but in place of. The pope places himself as the head of the universal Church. This is an honour Scripture gives to Christ alone (Colossians 1:18). The pope blasphemously receives titles like “Holy Father” (John 17:11), claims infallibility (ex cathedra), and demands submission on par with Scripture. No other office on earth rivals the blasphemy of the papacy. No other person so arrogantly exalts himself as the pope, any pope. Let that sink in.
Thesis 5: Authority: Scripture Alone or Scripture Plus Tradition Plus Magisterium?
This is the crux of the matter. Rome says the authority of the Church rests on three legs: Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium. In practice, this means Scripture is not sufficient. It must be interpreted by “the Church,” i.e., the Pope and his bishops. The Reformers responded with the thunder of Sola Scriptura. Scripture is not only “prima” (first); it is “sola” (alone) as “tota” (in full; as a whole total sum) in its necessity and finality on matters of faith and practice for every Christian. The inspired Scriptures are the infallible, inerrant, sufficient, authoritative, and clear Word of God. Tradition may be helpful; magisterial teaching may be historically interesting. But Scripture alone is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Scripture alone!
Thesis 6: Sacraments: Means of Grace or Chains of Control?
Rome has seven sacraments (e.g., penance, extreme unction, confirmation). They are neither instituted by Christ nor grounded in Scripture. Worse, they serve to bind consciences. Baptism is seen as necessary for salvation as the efficient cause of regeneration. The Eucharist (Mass) is declared to be a re-sacrifice of Christ (Council of Trent, Session 22), sustaining the grace of the partaker, not by faith but by participation. The Reformed view affirms only two sacraments (well, Baptists call them ordinances): baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These are the very commands of Christ, His orders. They are signs and seals of grace, not the means by which grace is manufactured. They point to Christ alone, not to Rome’s priestly power.
Thesis 7: Worship: According to God’s Word or Man’s Imagination?
The Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) asserts that we may worship God only in the ways He has commanded. Rome disagrees. Her worship includes images, prayers to Mary, the veneration of saints, incense, vestments, and other excesses of priestcraft. The Reformers stripped worship down to its Biblical essentials: the Scriptures read and preached faithfully, the ordinances administered, the church living in godly discipline, and prayer offered Biblically. Why? Because God is not pleased by our creativity in worship but rather by our faithful obedience in worship. Nadab and Abihu discovered that the hard way (Leviticus 10:1–3). It seems that the lesson is yet to be learned by many in the 21st century.
Thesis 8: Mary, Saints, and Idols:
Rome has not merely erred in doctrine; she has tripped headlong into idolatry. The Marian dogmas are especially offensive. The Immaculate Conception (1854), the Assumption (1950), and her title “Queen of Heaven,” which awkwardly places her as mediatrix between Christ and the church, are not just false – they are astoundingly blasphemous. Mary is not co-redemptrix. She is not a mediator (1 Timothy 2:5 – Christ is the only redemptive mediator of the New Testament/Covenant). She was a sinner saved by grace. She was a married woman who conceived other children with Joseph, her husband. She needed to be cared for by John the Apostle after Christ’s death. One day, she died, just like all others, and her soul went into the presence of God and of Christ. To pray to her or to the so-called saints is not a charming tradition; it is the evil necromancy of King Saul dressed in liturgical robes and mystical chants.
Thesis 9: Purgatory and Indulgences – Rome’s Ponzi Scheme:
Purgatory is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. It is a theological invention that serves one primary purpose: control and manipulation. You see, how it goes, if your loved one is in the painful flames of purgatory for a long time and the Church holds the keys to shorten their suffering, you will pay whatever amount, submit to whichever authority, and obey whatever rules and commands are necessary to free them. Better yet, if you can shorten your own time in purgatory by donating your wealth, and revering the men in authority, listening to every word they say. That’s not spiritual care. That’s extortion. Indulgences (money offered for the reduction of suffering because of sin), even post-Trent, remain in force. The 1999 “Enchiridion Indulgentiarum” (Manual of Indulgences) lists hundreds of indulgenced actions. The spirit of Tetzel lives on, even if his sales pitches are now digital.
Thesis 10: Ecumenism Is Not Unity But Treason
Modern evangelicalism is in love with the idea of “unity.” But unity without truth is like marriage without vows. Such unity is an empty and adulterous. The Reformed tradition has always valued true catholicity, that is, unity in the truth of the gospel. Rome demands unity on her terms, which means surrender of Biblical truths that so many of our spiritual ancestors died to preserve. The Reformed answer must be the opposite: “Come out of her, My people, lest you take part in her sins” (Revelation 18:4). Real unity is found at the foot of the Cross, not at the throne of the Pope.
Thesis 11: The Future Is Not Romeward But Christward
The Vatican is not the future of the Church. Christ is. The Church is not built on Peter but on the confession of Christ that Peter confessed – Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16–18). The future of Christianity is not a global papacy but a spotless Bride prepared for her Husband (Ephesians 5:27). Our eschatology is not papal triumphalism or merely a Unity of denominations. It is the Kingdom of Christ, glorified and under Christ alone. It is Zion, not Rome, that we yearn for – our heavenly home. The Pope is not the Morning Star. Jesus is. His coming will cast down all idols, all antichrists, and all counterfeit kings. Maranatha!
Thesis 12: Reformed Christians Must Stop Apologizing for Being Protestant
Let me be blunt. If you are ashamed of the Reformation principles, you are ashamed of the gospel. The Reformers were not spiritual adolescents rebelling against their ecclesiastical parents. They were gospel warriors rescuing Christ’s sheep from wolves in vestments. It is time for Biblical Christians to stop apologizing for speaking Biblical truths. Stop blushing. Stop looking longingly at Rome’s many-coloured robes. Rome is not our mother, we who believe in the Heavenly Father. She is the whore of Babylon (Revelation 17), an apostate church, the great pretender. She has another head, another gospel, and another spirit, an.d therefore must be another church, an impostor!
What Should We Do?
Do not be fooled by the pomp of Leo XIV or the wealth and influence of the Vatican. Do not be seduced by the ecumenical hugs and smiles. Rejoice not when the world celebrates a papal coronation. Rejoice when Christ is preached. Teach your children the history of the Reformation, and how that focuses on the priority of the Bible. Teach them the Five Solas. Read the Reformed confessions of faith. Shun being loved and preferred because you are ashamed of Christ. Above all, love the gospel of Jesus as it is divinely revealed and contained in the Bible. Stand in the gospel, and stand up for Jesus Christ, who alone is Prophet, Priest, and King. As someone said, Protestants do not care what the pope says since 1517. We protest and “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Never bow to Rome and her bishops.
Soli Deo Gloria!
