Why We're Not Roman Catholic #3 - The Gospel Obscured: Rome’s Denial of Justification by Faith Alone

As mentioned in the first text of this series, one of the greatest—if not the greatest—problems with Roman Catholic theology is its denial of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. In recent years, due to Christianity’s clash with secularism and the progressive agenda, some have begun to think this doctrine is no longer a big deal—that at the end of the day, Romanists and Protestants are on the same side. There have even been attempts to bridge the two theologies, suggesting that we basically believe the same things, just explain them differently.

Well, let me explain why that is not the case.

First of all, we need to understand that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is not a human invention or a complicated theological idea. Quite the opposite—this is the clear teaching of Scripture. Read passages like Romans 3:28, Romans 4:4–5, Romans 5:1, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3:10–11, Philippians 3:8–9, and you’ll see that justification is God’s legal declaration that a sinner is righteous, based on the righteousness of Christ credited to them through faith alone. Justification is never earned or infused—it is received as a free gift by trusting in Christ’s finished work.

Now, it’s true that the gospel is not only about justification, but justification is at the very core of the gospel message. If you lose it, you lose everything. Rome has rejected this very core, and for that reason, it holds to a lifeless gospel. And it’s not just that Roman Catholicism fails to emphasize this doctrine—the Council of Trent (1545–1563) officially condemned the doctrine of justification by faith alone. It declared that anyone who believes we are justified solely by faith is anathema—accursed. This remains the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. Nothing has changed since then. The Reformation was necessary, justified, and still matters today.

The reason Rome denies this doctrine is that it collapses justification and sanctification into one process, making right standing before God dependent on personal moral transformation. But Scripture clearly distinguishes the two: justification is a once-for-all declaration; sanctification is the ongoing process of growth in holiness. Mixing them robs Christians of assurance and makes salvation uncertain and dependent on human effort.

Another important distinction is how we understand grace. In Scripture, grace is God’s unearned favour given freely to the undeserving. In Roman theology, grace becomes a kind of spiritual substance infused through the sacraments. This turns the gospel from a message to believe into a system to manage, where grace is received by degrees and can be earned or lost.

However, we are not Roman Catholics because we understand that justification is by faith alone. And by the grace of God, we are set free from the burden of performance—a performance we could never truly achieve. We rest in Christ’s perfect righteousness, not our flawed efforts. This brings joy, peace, and assurance because we trust in what Christ has done, not in what we must keep doing.

To be Protestant is to believe in the gospel and to reject the corruptions of Rome. Praise God for His Word and for how He worked in the hearts of men like Luther, Calvin, Knox, and many others to bring the gospel back to the center.

Nino Marques