Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus? < Part 1 >

I was on facebook yesterday, and one of the posts is from a friend who attended a Catholic Mass as part of his Dip. Ed. placement. One of his comments was that, "they are so close, yet so far." And how right he was!

For those of you that don't know me, I was brought up as a in a Catholic family, we didn't really go to church as often as we should, but we regularly hang out with friends and family who were also Catholics. I went to a Catholic kindergarten; Catholic primary school, and youuu... guessed it! A Catholic high school! So from a young age, I was quite familiar with the teachings and the doctrines. So to be a good Catholic, you have to complete all six sacraments before you cark it! They go so far to say that these sacraments are essential for salvation! But the most memorable teaching was the "Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus" - Outside the Church there is no salvation.

Before I explain what that means, please bear in mind that the best lies are the ones that on the surface looks like the truth.

You see, the statement "Outside the Church there is no salvation" is somewhat biblical! The church is the body of Christ, and well Christ Jesus... he's the head. (Colossians 1:18) And if you believe that you're saved by grace through faith in Jesus, then you are part of his body, which is the church. So it is right that there is not salvation outside the church. However, when the Catholic church only acknowledge one church, which is the Holy Roman Catholic Church. And when they say that outside the church there is no salvation, they mean that outside the "Roman Catholic Church" there is no salvation. So there is no salvation unless you are a member of the physical Catholic Church on earth.

There is no evidence throughout scripture supporting this claim that you have to be part of the physical church in order to be saved. But the bible does talk about being saved in Christ alone (Galatians 2:21), it does talk about the atoning work of Christ on the cross (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus is the only mediator between God and man.

The Catholic Church seems to be so close from the truth, but close as it may be, it's still not the truth. So it is only fair to say that they are so far away from God. Because there is only one truth that leads us to our heavenly Father, and that is in Jesus.

So I guess at the end of the day, you really have to ask yourself, is the traditions of the Catholic Church infallible or the Word of God?