The Pope of Rome and the Protestant

How Are We to Observe the Election Taking Place in the Roman See?

Good Morning,

Given the ubiquitous coverage the Roman Pope receives on American television, especially the channels that most of you watch on a regular basis, it is probably a good idea to talk a little bit in this prayer and worship help about why the Roman Catholic Church is treated as almost the one true Church by our Media. Some of that is because for whatever reason most of the talking heads on those networks are themselves Roman Catholic so it comes natural for them to report on stuff that they are interested in. Yet for those of us who are Protestants it can seem a bit odd. That is especially the case for those of us who are children of the Westminster Confession of Faith.

A large part of the reason of course for the more than normal conversation on this matter is that the College of Cardinals is meeting in Rome at present to select a new Pope after the death of Francis I. It is worth our time to take a second just to go over how that works. There are 133 Cardinal Electors from around the world who will use a ballot, much like what we use to elect elders and deacons to select the 267th Roman Pontiff. The ballot is rectangular, with the top-half bearing the Latin phrase Eligo in Summum Pontificem and the bottom-half left open for the cardinal to jot down the name of the man they desire to serve. The only men eligible for election are one of the 133 cardinals present for the vote. To be a Cardinal Elector one has to be under 80 years of age and specially appointed by the previous Pope for that role. Each time a vote is held the cards are taken and if there is not a 2/3s majority the ballots are burned and a black or grey smoke will appear. However, if the 2/3s majority is reached then the smoke will be white and the new pope will then be presented to the awaiting crowds in the St. Peter Square. The name of the pope is often seen as a testimony to what kind of Pope he will be, and it is carefully selected by the man beforehand and then told to the world in an amazing spectacle of grandeur.

Why should any of this matter to us? In the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church until 1976 we confessed that the Pope of Rome was, “ . . . that Antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalts himself, in the Church, against Christ and all that is called God.” Basically as Magisterial Protestants we are not fans of the Pope, to put it mildly. We believe that he is an enemy of gospel Christianity and is aligned with the Devil himself against the true body of Christ, which sounds bad because it is bad. We get that from places like Daniel 7 and 2 Thess. 2. As a teaser for the future on Sunday evenings in our second Lord’s Day worship service at 5:30pm in the Fall we will be learning more about how we as believers are to read what the Bible has to say about the end times and particularly what is says about how the Church is to act and live in the new covenant age as we patiently await the Second Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. In light of this we need to be reminded that for us it really does not matter whether the Pope is a conservative or a liberal. In some ways we should be praying that the new Pope continues Francis’s policies to move the Roman Catholic Church even further away from Biblical religion. A traditional-oriented Pope would give more people a false hope of salvation as he gives more credence to the old ways and then due to that we may see a somewhat “revival” of the Papacy, which we do not want. Our goal as Protestants (what does that word mean remember, we are Protesting against Rome) should be to see all men and women in Rome to become what we are, and that looks less and less Roman Catholic in worship, doctrine, and practice.

That all being said, we often in our day only look at things through the lens of secular politics and the ongoing culture war. If our goal is to win at that then we should be praying for a Cardinal Sarah or Cardinal Erdo to be named Pope. There is no doubt men like them are on “our side” when it comes to issues as far ranging as transgenderism and traditional worship. It would be in a sense better for the United States and for the world to have a Pope who is interested in rolling things back to what the Roman Catholic Church should be, in consistency with who she is, and was, for centuries. A conservative pope would be good for culture. But should that be our goal?

It may be as soon as today when the new pope is chosen. That’s part of why we have switched things up in our ordinary Tuesday prayer help and Thursday confessional. Our normal time spent in the Directory For Worship will be on Tuesday and Thursday next week. If he is chosen today, then it would be wise for us as believers to be ready to know how to witness to Roman Catholic family and friends. While we should always be charitable and treat with kindness those near to us it should also be the case that we would not be found to be falsely giving hope where there is no hope. It is not loving to approve of a religion that we would not class with gospel grace. A good test case for this is to ask about Mary, the Mother of God. We love Mary. Honor her as Luke 1 says, but unlike Rome we don’t believe she was immaculately conceived nor do we believe she was or is a co-redemptor with her Son. Marilotry is a big problem in Rome we cannot tolerate.

The Roman Church is not a true church, but a false one. It does not contain within it the good news of Christ. Is it possible to be a Christian and go to Heaven if one is allied with Rome? Sure, we would not say that membership in Rome is condemning in itself. And it is worth mentioning that Rome does confess the same creeds we do when it comes to the Apostles’, Nicene, and the Definition of Chalcedon. In that way Rome is really closer to us than some non-denominational churches who don’t really know what they believe and quasi-Christian cults like the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is part of the reason why we accept things like Roman Catholic baptism as legitimate. Understanding this goes a long way in helping us to answer the question I posed above about culture warrioring and our goals as Protestant Christians.

In closing, whenever the new Pope is named is fairly insignificant to us in the short term or the long term. He has no authority over us, and is in fact that Antichrist, that Son of Perdition and we should be praying for his defeat. While secular culture certainly matters, we should not be willing to make concessions to the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to win the culture, and that goes for Judaism as much as the RCC. For as our Lord says what do we gain if we have the whole world yet lose our soul? We must keep the good news central to our identity and our preaching and our living. Pray for your Roman Catholic friends, but mostly be praying that they come to a knowledge of the truth and put off Rome’s idolatry, for that is loving your neighbor.

Nothing extra today.

Blessings in Christ,

Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Pastor, Bethany ARP Church