In January 1547, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church met in Trent, Italy. There they wrote these words into their official teaching:
If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified … let him be anathema.
Council of Trent, Session 6, Canon 9
“Anathema” means cursed and cut off from the church. In plain words, Rome said: If you believe a sinner is made right with God by faith alone, you are cursed.
That curse has never been taken back. It still stands in Rome’s official teaching today. Now read what the apostle Paul wrote, about 1,500 years earlier:
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Romans 3:28
Both can’t be true. And this is no small family argument. It’s about the most important question any person can ask: How can a guilty sinner be right with a holy God?
In this article we shall let Rome speak in its own words, then test it by the Bible. Many Catholics love Jesus, and we’re not here to mock them. But love tells the truth when eternity is at stake.
KEY WORDS
- Gospel: the good news of what God has done to save sinners through Jesus Christ.
- Justification: God’s act of declaring a sinner “not guilty” and right with Him.
- Sanctification: the life-long work of the Holy Spirit that makes us more holy.
- Imputed righteousness: Christ’s perfect record put on our account, like money paid into an empty bank account.
- Infused righteousness: holiness poured into the soul, so that the person becomes righteous inside.
- Merit: a reward that is earned or deserved.
First, What Rome Gets Right
Let’s start with what we share. Rome believes in one God in three Persons. It teaches Jesus is fully God and fully man, that He died on the cross, rose bodily and will come again.
Rome also says we cannot be saved without grace. Trent’s first canon on justification curses anyone who says we can be made right with God by our own works, without grace.
So it isn’t fair to say, “Catholics think they can earn heaven by being nice.” We must describe Rome’s teaching correctly.
The problem isn’t whether grace is needed. The problem is what grace does—and what God looks at when He declares a sinner right with Him.
The Real Question: What Does God Look At?
Imagine you’re standing in a courtroom, clearly guilty. How could the judge ever say, “Not guilty”? There are only 2 possible ways.
- Rome’s answer: God pours grace into your soul. This grace really changes you inside, so you become truly righteous. Then God declares you righteous because you now are.
- The Bible’s answer: God declares you righteous because Christ’s perfect record is put on your account. You’re still a sinner inside, but you’re covered by His righteousness.
American Bible teacher RC Sproul explained the difference with 2 big words. Rome’s view is analytic: God looks into you and finds righteousness there. The biblical view is synthetic: something is added to you from outside—the righteousness of Christ. In the first, your hope rests inside you. In the second, it rests in Jesus.
Table 1: 2 ways of being made right with God
| QUESTION | ROMAN CATHOLIC TEACHING | WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES |
|---|---|---|
| What is justification? | Being made righteous inside—forgiveness plus inner renewal | God’s legal verdict that declares us righteous |
| What is it based on? | Grace poured into the soul (infused) | Christ’s perfect righteousness credited to us (imputed) |
| How is it first received? | Through baptism | Through faith alone in Christ |
| Can it grow? | Yes, through good works | No—it is complete from the first moment |
| Can it be lost? | Yes, through mortal (serious) sin | No—God finishes what He starts (Philippians 1:6) |
| Do good works earn anything? | Yes—more grace and eternal life | No—they are the fruit of salvation, not its cause |
| Can I know I am saved? | Not with the certainty of faith | Yes—God wants you to know (1 John 5:13) |
A CLASSIC DEFINITION OF JUSTIFICATION
“Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.”
—Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 33 (1647). In simple English: God forgives us and accepts us only because of what Christ did, and we receive this gift only by trusting Him.
No wonder the French pastor John Calvin called justification “the principal hinge by which religion is supported.” Break the hinge, and the door falls.
What Rome Actually Teaches—In Its Own Words
Let the Council of Trent and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Rome’s official summary of its faith, 1992) speak for themselves.
- Justification is inner renewal. The Catechism (paragraph 1989) says justification is “not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man.”
- It begins at baptism. “Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith” (Catechism 1992).
- It grows through good works. Trent’s Canon 24 curses anyone who says good works are only the fruit and sign of justification, and not a cause of its increase.
- It can be lost. Mortal (very serious) sin destroys the state of grace (Catechism 1861). To get it back, you need the sacrament of penance—which the Catechism calls “the second plank” after a shipwreck (1446).
- Good works earn eternal life. Trent’s Canon 32 says a justified person’s good works “truly merit increase of grace, eternal life.” The Catechism (2027) agrees.
- No one can be sure. Trent says no one can know “with a certainty of faith” that he has received God’s grace (Session 6, Chapter 9).
WHY THIS MATTERS
Put together, this is a salvation that begins with grace but depends on how well you keep it—and you can never be sure you have kept it well enough.
What Does “Justify” Mean?
Much of the problem comes down to one word. In the New Testament, “justify” translates the Greek word dikaioō. It is a courtroom word. It means to declare someone righteous, not to make someone righteous.
But the Western church read the Bible in Latin for a thousand years, and the Latin iustificare sounds like “to make righteous.” The Oxford historian Alister McGrath shows how this Latin reading shaped the Catholic view.
- In court: judges must decide cases by “acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty” (Deuteronomy 25:1). A judge does not make a person innocent. He declares him innocent.
- About God Himself: the people “declared God just” (Luke 7:29). No one can make God righteous.
The Scottish scholar John Murray put it plainly: justification is a judge’s verdict, not a change in the heart. God does change our hearts too—but that is sanctification, a different gift.
Think of a courtroom and a hospital. Justification happens in the courtroom: one final verdict. Sanctification happens in the hospital: lifelong healing. Rome brings the hospital into the courtroom and makes the verdict wait until the patient is well.
Paul’s Test Cases
- God justifies the ungodly. “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Romans 4:5). Not the inwardly renewed—the ungodly.
- David was counted righteous without works. Paul speaks of “the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works” (Romans 4:6).
- Grace and works do not mix. “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6).
- Not even our best works. “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy” (Titus 3:5).
- A righteousness from outside. Paul wanted to “be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own … but that which comes through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3:9).
- The great exchange. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our sin was counted to Christ. His righteousness is counted to us.
“I’m so thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it.”
J. Gresham Machen, in a telegram to John Murray, sent from his deathbed (1937)
As he died, the Princeton scholar John Gresham Machen did not look to his own holiness. He looked to Christ’s “active obedience”—the perfect life Jesus lived in our place, now credited to every believer.
TWO MEN WHO PROVE THE POINT
- The tax collector simply prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Jesus said he “went down to his house justified” (Luke 18:13–14). No baptism, no penance, no merit.
- The thief on the cross could not be baptised, go to Mass or do a single good work. Yet Jesus promised, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
The Galatians Test
The false teachers in Galatia believed in Jesus and spoke about grace. They simply added one thing—circumcision and law-keeping—as part of what makes us right with God.
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel … But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1:6, 8
Later he adds: “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5:4).
In Christianity and Liberalism (1923), Machen noted that these teachers agreed with Paul on almost everything. Yet Paul saw that adding one human work to Christ destroys the gospel.
Table 2: The Galatian teachers and Rome compared
| QUESTION | THE FALSE TEACHERS IN GALATIA | THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH |
|---|---|---|
| Did they believe in Jesus? | Yes | Yes |
| Did they say grace is needed? | Yes | Yes |
| What did they add to faith? | Circumcision and keeping the law | Baptism as the means of justification, penance, merit and satisfaction for sins |
| Paul’s verdict | “A different gospel” (Galatians 1:6) | The same test applies |
If one addition was enough to make it “a different gospel”, how can several additions be safe?
A Finished Work and a Sure Hope
On the cross, Jesus cried, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The book of Hebrews explains what this means: “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).
Single offering. Perfected. For all time. Nothing more needs to be paid. Yet Trent calls the Mass “truly propitiatory”—a sacrifice that turns away God’s anger, offered again and again. Rome also teaches purification after death in purgatory. Both suggest Christ’s work is not quite enough.
The Bible gives what Rome cannot: certainty.
- “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
- “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
Answering Rome’s Best Objections
Catholic teachers have serious answers. A strong case must face them honestly.
Table 3: Catholic objections and how the Bible answers them
| ROME’S OBJECTION | THE BIBLICAL ANSWER |
|---|---|
| “James 2:24 says we are not justified by faith alone.” | James is talking about showing faith to other people: “I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18). Abraham was declared righteous in Genesis 15:6, years before he offered Isaac (Genesis 22). James shows what faith does; Paul shows how we are declared right. |
| “Paul only rejects ‘works of the law’—Jewish rituals like circumcision.” | Paul also rules out works of every kind, including “works done by us in righteousness” (Titus 3:5) and works that could let us boast (Ephesians 2:9). |
| “Rome teaches it is all by grace, so this is not salvation by works.” | Rome stresses grace, but makes it a power that helps us become righteous enough. Romans 11:6 says that once works are part of the basis, grace is no longer grace. |
| “Faith works through love” (Galatians 5:6). | True faith always produces love. But love is the fruit of being made right with God, not its foundation. |
| “Trent only condemned a cold faith that ignores the will.” | Canons 12 and 24 settle it: Rome condemns simple trust in God’s mercy for Christ’s sake as justifying faith, and says works cause justification to grow. |
“It is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone: just as it is the heat alone of the sun which warms the earth, and yet in the sun it is not alone, because it is constantly conjoined with light.”
John Calvin, Antidote to the Council of Trent (1547)
How Did We Get Here? A Short Timeline
- AD 50s—Paul writes Galatians and Romans: sinners are justified by faith, apart from works.
- 1517—Martin Luther posts his Ninety-Five Theses: the Reformation begins with a protest against selling forgiveness.
- 1547—Trent’s decree on justification: Rome formally curses “faith alone” and teaches infused righteousness.
- 1962–1965—Second Vatican Council: Rome speaks more warmly of Protestants as “separated brethren”, but withdraws nothing from Trent.
- 1992—Catechism of the Catholic Church: Rome restates Trent’s teaching on justification and merit for today.
Isn’t This Just Arguing About Words?
Some say, “Both sides believe in grace and faith. Why fight over details?” But this decides whose record you stand on before God on Judgement Day—yours or Christ’s.
If your hope rests on your own inner holiness, you will always wonder if you have done enough. If it rests on Christ’s finished work, you can rest completely.
Martin Luther understood this. He wrote that on this teaching “nothing can be yielded or surrendered”, even if heaven and earth should fall (Smalcald Articles, 1537).
How to Talk With Catholic Friends
- Start with what you share. Thank God together for the Trinity, the cross and the resurrection.
- Ask a gentle question. “If you died tonight, are you sure you would be with God? Why?”
- Read Romans 4 together. Let God’s Word do the work. Ask what it means that God “justifies the ungodly”.
- Speak with love. Peter tells us to give a reason for our hope, “yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
Conclusion: Nothing in My Hand
So what is wrong with Rome’s version of the gospel? It is not that Rome forgets grace. It is that Rome mixes grace with our works, our sacraments and our merit—and so takes away the certainty and joy of a finished salvation.
The Bible’s gospel tells the ungodly to stop working and start trusting. Everyone who believes is declared righteous—fully, finally and forever.
Augustus Toplady said it best in his hymn “Rock of Ages” (1763):
Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.
Augustus Toplady
That’s not Rome’s gospel. But it is the gospel of Jesus Christ—good news for every sinner who comes to Him with empty hands.
Tough Questions, Honest Answers
Can a Catholic be saved?
Yes. We are saved by trusting Christ, not by belonging to the right church. Throughout history, many Catholics have trusted Christ alone, sometimes in spite of what their church taught. But a person who rests on baptism, the sacraments and his own good works is resting on the wrong foundation. The real question is not “Which church do you attend?” but “Whom are you trusting to make you right with God?” As Paul says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Did the 1999 Joint Declaration end the dispute over justification?
On 31 October 1999, the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in Augsburg, Germany. Both sides agreed that we are justified by grace through faith in Christ. But the document did not cancel the Council of Trent, and it left key questions open—for example, whether a believer is righteous and a sinner at the same time. Many Protestant scholars in Germany publicly objected to it. Agreeing on the same words is not the same as agreeing on what they mean.
Did Martin Luther add the word “alone” to Romans 3:28?
Yes. In his 1522 German New Testament, Luther translated the verse “by faith alone”, although the Greek text has no separate word for “alone”. In 1530 he explained that good German needed the word to bring out Paul’s meaning, since Paul says we are justified “apart from works”. Luther was not the first to use the phrase. The medieval Catholic teacher Thomas Aquinas wrote of hope of justification “in faith alone” when explaining 1 Timothy 1. The Catholic scholar Joseph Fitzmyer also listed several early church writers who used it. If works are excluded, faith alone is what remains.
What did the early church fathers teach about justification?
The early church fathers lived long before this debate, so they were not always precise. Still, some spoke very clearly. Clement of Rome, writing around AD 96, said that believers are “not justified through ourselves … but through faith.” Other fathers said things Catholics like to quote, too. That is why the fathers, though helpful, are not the final judge. Like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, we must test every teacher by Scripture.
Does Trent’s “anathema” still apply to Protestants today?
An anathema is a formal curse that cuts a person off from the church. Today Rome speaks much more kindly. The Second Vatican Council called Protestants “separated brethren”, and the Catechism (818) says those born into Protestant churches cannot be blamed for the sin of separation. But Rome treats Trent’s canons as unchangeable dogma, so its condemnation of “faith alone” still stands. We can welcome the kinder tone, but we should not confuse it with a change of teaching.
Why do Catholics confess their sins to a priest?
Rome teaches that serious sins after baptism must be confessed to a priest in the sacrament of penance. It points to John 20:23, where Jesus tells the apostles that if they forgive sins, they are forgiven. But the apostles “forgave” sins by preaching the gospel—declaring that all who believe are forgiven. The Bible teaches that “there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). We may confess straight to God, and “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). James 5:16 does tell Christians to confess to one another, but that is for mutual prayer and support, not for priestly pardon.
Is purgatory in the Bible?
The word “purgatory” is not in the Bible. Rome points mainly to 2 Maccabees 12, which is part of the Apocrypha—books the Jews never treated as Scripture. It also points to 1 Corinthians 3:15, but that verse is about the testing of church leaders’ work on Judgement Day, not about burning away sins. Scripture says Christ Himself made “purification for sins” (Hebrews 1:3). That is why the dying thief was promised paradise “today” (Luke 23:43), and why Paul expected to be “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Related Reads
- Lutheran vs Reformed Christology: How Are the Two Different?
- Did Jesus Die for the Non-Elect? What the Cross Did for Them
- Salvation: By Faith Alone or by Works? The Biblical Answer
- Christ’s Righteousness: Is it Infused or Imputed to the Believer?
- Are We Justified ‘By’ Faith or ‘Because of’ Faith? And Does It Matter?
- Faith Vs Works: Are Paul and James at War?
- Assurance of Salvation: How Can I Know I’m Truly Saved?
- The Reformation’s Five ‘Solas’: Cornerstones of Salvation
- Does the Bible Teach Purgatory? Scripture’s Clear Answer
- Luther’s 95 Theses: What They Said and Why They Matter
- The Case for Sola Scriptura: Can We Trust the Reformers?
