In comparing Roman Catholicism with the Word of God, there are many differences and contradictions. The Roman Catholic church teaches many doctrines that are in disagreement with what the Bible says. These include worship of saints or Mary, prayer to saints or Mary, the pope / papacy, justification by faith plus works, infant baptism, transubstantiation, and purgatory. While Catholics claim Scriptural support for these concepts, none of these teachings have any foundation in the clear teaching of Scripture. In fact, they all clearly contradict what the Bible declares. The most crucial of these is the Roman Catholic belief that faith in Christ alone is not enough to save a person. The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that a person must believe in Jesus Christ AND be baptized AND receive Catholic communion AND obey the decrees of the Roman Catholic Church AND etc., etc., etc. Catholic divergence from the Bible on this most crucial of issues means that yes, Catholicism is a false religion. If a person believes what the Catholic Church officially teaches, he/she will not be saved.

At the same time, there are believers who attend Roman Catholic Churches. There are many Roman Catholics who have genuinely placed their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Catholic Christians remain in the Catholic church out of ignorance of what the Catholic church truly stands for, out of family tradition, or out of a desire to reach Catholics for Christ. However, these Catholic Christians are believers despite what the Catholic Church teaches, not because of what it teaches. To varying degrees, the Catholic church teaches the Bible and points people to Jesus Christ as the Savior. As a result, people are sometimes saved in Catholic churches (Isaiah 55:11). At the same time, the Catholic church also leads many people away from a genuine faith relationship with Christ. The Roman Catholic Church is not the church that Jesus Christ established. It is not a church that is based on the teachings of the Apostles.