Was The Apostle Peter The First Pope? (A Biblical Response)

Roman Catholics claim that the Apostle Peter was the first pope.  They base this assertion on several passages in the Bible, but primarily on Matthew 16:16-19.  

(Matthew 16:16-19)"Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.  And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (ESV) 

When Peter said Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, he was speaking on behalf of the other apostles as well.  The rock on which the church is built is Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, not Peter himself.  This is the confession of all true believers.  Jesus says, "on this rock" referring to the confession of Peter.  He does not say on you Peter I will build my church.  

Also Catholics believe the giving of the keys of heaven was meant for Peter alone as pope and not for the other apostles.  But in Matthew 18:18 this authority is given to all the Apostles, not just Peter.  

Peter never refers to himself as the pope, in fact in 1 Peter 5:1 he refers to himself as a fellow elder.  Peter also refused to be worshiped and said I too am a man (Acts 10:25-26).  The apostle Paul never refers to Peter as pope and he actually rebuked Peter in Galatians 2:11-14.  This would be strange conduct from Paul if Peter was the infallible Pope.  At the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 Peter functions as one of the apostles and not as pope, while James seems to direct the meeting.  

The office of pope is found nowhere in the Bible.  The papacy is not Biblical and therefore has no authority.    

What Do Catholics Believe About The Pope?

Roman Catholics believe the Pope is the "Vicar of Christ" on earth.  In other words they believe the Pope is the representative of Christ on earth.  They see the Pope as the head of the church on earth.  Catholics believe the Apostle Peter was the first pope and the ones that followed him are his successors.  

Roman Catholics teach that the Pope is infallible when he speaks "ex cathedra" or from the chair.  This means he cannot be wrong when he speaks in his official capacity as Pope.  Catholics often refer to him as the Holy Father and the term pope actually means father.  

Roman Catholics reject the Protestant doctrine of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone as the ultimate authority).  They believe the authority resides in the Magisterium of the Church, that is the Pope and the bishops.  Catholics believe Scripture can only be interpreted authentically by the Magisterium of the Church.   

The Bible Refutes The Immaculate Conception

The immaculate conception is the Roman Catholic doctrine that Mary herself is without sin, that she was born without sin.  The Bible does not teach the immaculate conception, it actually refutes it.  

(Luke 1:46-47)"And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior," (ESV) 

These verses come from what is known as the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).  Mary refers to God as my Savior, and only sinners need a Savior. If Mary was without sin she would have no need for a Savior.  

The Roman Catholic Church holds to the immaculate conception and other false doctrine because of it's rejection of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone).  Nowhere does Scripture teach that Mary was without sin.  Mary found salvation by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.   

Pope Francis VS The Bible

 In a recent interview Pope Francis said that people are fundamentally good.  The Bible teaches the exact opposite.  

(Romans 3:10)"as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one;" (ESV) 

(Romans 3:23)"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (ESV) 

(Ecclesiastes 7:20)"Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." (ESV) 

The faulty theology of Pope Francis undermines the gospel itself.  Fundamentally good people do not need a savior.  Sinners need a savior.  Christ came to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).  

We must take the Word of God over the word of the pope.  Scripture alone is the ultimate and final authority. 

Romans 3:28 (Protestants & Catholics)

 (Romans 3:28)"For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."  (ESV)

To justify means to declare righteous.  This verse plainly teaches that justification is by faith alone.  In fact Martin Luther in his German translation of the Bible translated this phrase in Romans 3:28 as justified by faith alone.  We stand righteous before God by faith alone in Christ alone.  This is the Protestant position.  

But the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church declares that if anyone holds that justification is by faith alone let him be anathema (cursed, condemned).  Roman Catholicism holds that justification is by faith plus works.  God and man work together to accomplish salvation.  

Roman Catholic teaching is in clear contradiction of Romans 3:28.  The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the true gospel and is proclaiming a different gospel.  The Catholic gospel has God and man sharing the glory.  Salvation is the work of God alone and all the glory belongs to him.  Justification is by faith alone in Christ alone.  

(Romans 4:5)"And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness," (ESV)

Pope Francis Approves Of Homosexuality, Opposes God

 In a documentary Pope Francis has given his endorsement to civil unions for same sex couples.  He referred to homosexuals as children of God who must be accepted.  We must not that Pope Francis did not say this in his official capacity as Pope.  Therefore it is not considered an infallible and binding proclamation by Roman Catholics.  But it is still teaching from the Pope and one wonders what conservative Catholics are thinking right now.  

The Bible is the Word of God and most traditional Catholics would at least agree with that.  What the Bible says is what God says.  The Bible calls homosexuality an abomination (Leviticus 18:22), dishonorable, unnatural (Romans 1:26-27), and deserving of death (Romans 1:32).  Homosexuality is referred to as unrighteous and we are told not to be deceived, that homosexuals among others will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).  Homosexuality is such an offense to God that in Old Testament Israel the punishment for it was the death penalty (Leviticus 20:13).  

Pope Francis is leading people astray teaching them to disobey God.  People following his teaching will end up in hell.  The office of Pope is not found in the Bible.  Therefore the Pope has no authority.  Unfortunately the Roman Catholic Church is full of errors.  It does not even get the gospel right.  The Roman Catholic Church proclaims a different gospel of justification by faith plus works (see Galatians 1:6-9).  Our Roman Catholic friends need to embrace the true gospel of justification by faith alone in Christ alone.  They also need to reject the teaching of the Pope and the bishops and embrace Scripture alone as the ultimate authority. 

Roman Catholics, Protestants, And Salvation

Salvation is the central issue and of the utmost importance, our eternity depends on it.  Do Catholics and Protestants differ on the issue of salvation?  If there are differences are they major or minor?  

At issue is justification or how is a person considered righteous before God.  Roman Catholics see justification as an ongoing process and not a one time thing.  It starts with infant baptism and continues with the Catholic sacraments.  Catholic doctrine teaches that one needs faith plus good deeds to earn salvation.  In the Catholic system it is God and man working together.  A person can have no assurance of salvation and one could lose his salvation.  Catholics also hold to the doctrine of purgatory which is a temporary punishment for purification.  The idea of purgatory comes from the book of 2 Maccabees found in the Apocrypha.  

On the other hand Protestants believe a person is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone.  Justification is a one time event where the sinner is declared righteous.  Christ takes our sins on himself and we receive his righteousness.  Christ paid for all of our sins once and for all.   We can add nothing to our salvation it is totally by God's grace.  We are justified by faith alone and not by our own works.  Salvation is the work of God alone and to him alone belongs the glory.  Believers can have assurance of their salvation and cannot lose it.  Purgatory is not Biblical and is not even needed because Christ has taken care of our sins and provided us with his perfect righteousness.  

Roman Catholics and Protestants really have two different gospels.  In Catholicism it is the work of God and man together.  In Protestantism it is the work of God alone.  At the Council of Trent in 1546 the Roman Catholic Church declared that if anyone says he is justified by faith alone let him be anathema (condemned).  The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the Biblical gospel.  A person is justified by God's grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.  

Roman Catholics, Protestants, And The Bible

With the recent visit of Pope Francis the spotlight has been on the Catholic Church.  Do Protestants and Catholics basically agree on things?  Actually they have different views of Scripture and its interpretation.  

Roman Catholics and Protestants disagree on the matter of interpreting the Bible.  Catholics believe only the Pope and bishops provide the correct and authoritative interpretation of Scripture.  Protestants believe individual believers may come to the correct interpretation of the Bible themselves with study and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  For a long time the Roman Catholic Church would not allow the Bible to be translated into the language of the people.  In effect the Roman Catholic Church kept the Bible out of the hands of the people.  

The Roman Catholic Church believes written Scripture, church tradition, and the Pope and bishops are all authoritative.  They believe the Catholic Church is the ultimate authority and the Bible gets it's authority from it.  During the Reformation of the 1500's Protestants proclaimed sola Scriptura which means Scripture alone.  Protestants view Scripture as the ultimate authority and not the Pope or church tradition.  They believe that the church gets it's authority from the Scripture.   Protestants believe the Bible is clear and sufficient as well.  

The Catholic Bible has seven more books or parts of books included in it's Old Testament.  These books are known as the Apocrypha and were included in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament done around 200 B.C.  The Apocrypha was not part of the original Hebrew Bible.  The early church did not recognize it as part of Scripture and believed that it had errors in it.  

When Jerome translated the Bible into Latin in A.D. 382 he included the Apocrypha after initially intending to leave it out.  Jerome's translation known as the Latin Vulgate became the Bible of the church up until the time of the Reformation in the 1500's.  Martin Luther and the other Reformers rejected the Apocrypha and returned to the original Hebrew Bible.  

Catholics believe the Roman Catholic Church is the ultimate authority and that Scripture as interpreted by the Pope and bishops is authoritative.  They also believe that the Pope is infallible in matters of faith and morals.  Protestants believe that Scripture alone is authoritative and that the Pope and bishops are not.  They believe that the Bible is inerrant and infallible because it is the Word of God.  

A New Pope, A Protestant Perspective

The Catholic Church has a new Pope.  He is called Pope Francis, is from Argentina and is named after Francis of Assisi.  Pope Francis is said to be a simple and humble man and this is to be admired.  With the recent scandals he needs to clean up and reform the Vatican and the church.  Secularists and secular minded Catholics want women priests and acceptance of homosexuality.  But Pope Francis is said to be traditional, conservative, and pro life.  Hopefully he will stand strong on moral and social issues and not give in to secular forces.  He has criticized capitalism but has stood against Liberation Theology which is Marxism with Christian language.  

But most importantly the Roman Catholic Church needs to be reformed by the Bible.  Oddly enough, if Pope Francis were to reform it by the Bible he would have to eliminate the office of Pope.  Catholics claim Peter was the first Pope, but their is no evidence of this.  The Pope is said to be the vicar of Christ (that is his representative on earth).  But the Holy Spirit is the representative of Christ on earth.  There are also prayers to and the veneration of Mary and the saints (this is idolatry).  Veneration is said to be less than worship but is seems to get awfully close to it.  Mary is also said to be without sin and is basically made to be a co-mediator with Christ.  This is not what the Bible teaches (1 Timothy 2:5).  There is also the Mass where the elements are believed to become the actual body and blood of Christ, this is called transubstantiation.  The Mass is seen as a continual sacrifice of Christ.  But once again this is not what the Bible teaches (Hebrews 10:10-12).   

But the biggest problem with the Roman Catholic Church is it's doctrine of salvation.  They believe salvation is accomplished by faith in Christ plus their own works.  They deny that we are justified by faith alone, even though it is what the Bible plainly teaches (Romans 3:28, Galatians 2:15-21).  Unfortunately, Catholics seek to earn favor with God through sacraments, rituals, and works.  Roman Catholicism ends up denying that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.  They end up teaching a different gospel than the one taught in Scripture (see Galatians 1:8-9). 

The Catholic Church doe not believe that Scripture alone is authoritative.  They see the Catholic Church itself as authoritative.  There are some true Christians in the Catholic Church but Roman Catholicism is not Biblical Christianity.