Paul's Letter To Catholics

The New Testament book of Hebrews is generally acknowledged as having been written by the apostle Paul. He was pointing out in the book how Christians are not bound by the Mosaic law with its priestly hierarchy structure and its system of rituals and sacrifices. He said that we Christians only need Jesus Christ as our priest, our high priest, He being the only mediator between God and man.

As I grew up and lived as a Catholic in the early years of my life, I can now see a parallel in Paul’s teaching from the book of Hebrews to those early Christians and in what Paul would probably say to Catholics had Paul lived into the Catholic era. Just as Paul in his letters was critical of some of the practices which developed in the early churches, I feel certain that Paul would have criticized the hierarchy structure of the later Catholic church. So much of what we see about the priestly structure of Judaism which Paul said had been done away applies in principle to the Catholic hierarchy.

I am going to paraphrase the relevant parts of the book of Hebrews and apply the message to the Catholic hierarchy. Let’s start with Hebrews 7:11-12 – If the old Judaic priesthood or the Catholic priesthood could really make people perfect, then what need would there be for Christ to come and dwell within the individual believer in a new priesthood? But the whole idea of priesthood has been changed by the New Covenant.

V. 18 – There has been an annulling of the entire concept of human priestly hierarchy because of its weaknesses.

V. 22-28 – This makes Jesus the guarantee of a far better way between us and God, one that really works! It is a new covenant with only one mediator, Jesus Christ. Under the priestly hierarchy system, there are a lot of priests but they die and have to be replaced. But Jesus’ priesthood from within us is permanent. He’s there from now to eternity to lead and guide us to the Father through Him, always on the job. So now we have a high priest who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God’s presence in heaven itself. Unlike the priestly hierarchy, He doesn’t have to offer the Sacrifice of the Mass every day before He can get around to us and our sins. He’s done it, once and for all: offered up Himself as the sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. The Catholic hierarchy appoints as priests men who are so often never able to get the job done right.

8:6-8 – Jesus’ priestly work far surpasses what ordained human priests can do because He’s working from a far better plan. If the whole first Judaic system of priestly hierarchy had worked out, a second covenant wouldn’t have been needed. But we know that the first was found wanting because of the weakness of the people AND of the priestly hierarchy itself.
9:1 – When you have a Catholic priest hierarchy, they work out through a system of rituals within a worldly sanctuary, through the Sacrifice of the Mass, and all the other duties performed for the laity, the subservient common people.

V. 11 – But when Christ lives within you, there is no need for the power structure of the hierarchy, and He bypasses the need for priests to perform sacramental duties and rituals. The original sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are administered by the everyday people of the church.

V. 23-24 – When the real sacrifice of Christ on the cross has taken place once and for all, there is no need to carry on a system of sacrificial Masses offered by the hierarchy. All connection to God is through Christ within on a personal basis, and through the transcendent Christ in the presence of God for us.

10:1-2 – The Old Testament plan of priestly hierarchy was only a hint of the good things in the new plan. The old Mosaic law plan wasn’t complete in itself, it couldn’t complete those who followed it. And no matter how many Sacrifices of the Mass are offered year after year, the Catholic hierarchy plan of dispensing God’s power through priests con never add up to a complete solution. God’s guidance and power can only come through the indwelling Christ.

V. 10-11 – The body of Christ was offered once for all. But Catholic priests go to work at the altar each day offering the Sacrifice of the Mass for the laity who already have Christ living in them.

V. 19-22 – So, Catholic friends, realize that you can now, without hesitation, walk right up to God and say, “Thanks for making me a child in Your Family because Christ lives in me and You see Him when you look at me.” So let’s do it, full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out, without working through the power of the hierarchy.

12:2-3 – Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. He never lost sight of His union with the Father within Him, and we are never to lose sight of our union with Christ within us.

V. 7 – God is educating you; that’s why you should never be discouraged. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. God doesn’t reject His children because of weaknesses, He trains them by correction.

13:5-8 – The Catholic hierarchy says to Christians, “You need us to keep you out of hell.” But Christ says that because we have chosen to make Him Savior and Lord, we are forever saved from hell because He will never leave us or forsake us. We may boldly say that Christ is in union with us and we have nothing to fear. We don’t have union with a changeable Christ who loves us one day and rejects us another. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

In conclusion, I love Catholics. Many of my best, old time friends are Catholic. What I am presenting here is a condemnation of the Catholic priestly hierarchy system. Catholic education tends to see the hierarchy as a necessary mediation system between God and man. But this is not so. Christ Himself is the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5).

When the first New Testament churches were established in the book of Acts, there was never any mention made of a hierarchy of priests to handle the laity. There was only a system of a pastor and those local Christians who showed gifts of leadership. It took a century or more after the apostles’ deaths for the Catholic church to establish the hierarchy system of appointment of power.

But Catholics might say, “What difference does it make for us as Christians if we have priests to serve us?” Let me respond this way:

* The rituals of the Mass and other devotions are an institution requiring clergy power. The more you depend on priests for spiritual guidance and power, the less you are able to trust and depend on the indwelling Christ.

* Priest are all too human as we have seen from the Catholic church sexual scandal. Since the human tendency of a priestly hierarchy is to appear holy and blameless, the coverup by the movement of accused priests is the natural inclination. The movement of priests among parishes by a central authority is not biblical.

My Catholic brothers and sisters:
Know who you are in union with the eternal Jesus Christ. Develop a personal relationship with Him in prayer and trust Him alone for power and guidance. Find a local church without priestly hierarchy.

For other articles about hierarchy, click here and here.

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