Q. Really, what is the true religion of Jesus? I consider myself Catholic, and many of my friends and relatives consider themselves Christian. I go to a Catholic Church, and they find a church to their liking and attend it. Personally, I think they have gone elsewhere because they do not like how the Catholic Church operates. However, I don’t think that is how God operates. Yes, he loves us all, but for our salvation, we have to get it right. The Christians tell me that they receive the host sometimes in their chosen church. Is it not written that a priest stands in for God hearing confession and giving Communion? I am confused.
Your question reminds me of the conversation Jesus had with a Samaritan woman, as recorded in the Gospel of John. This woman had many questions similar to yours. Her basic concern was how to “get it right,” as you put it. And that is a good and important thing to be concerned about.
In his response to her, Jesus described what true religion is. He explained that it is a matter not of what or where but of how. He told her, “The time is coming, and now is here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
This is how God wants us to get it right. So what does it mean to worship God “in spirit and in truth”? Those are both very rich concepts. During my years as a pastor, I once preached a whole series sermons about their meaning. So this is something one could literally talk about for hours. But the basic ideas are that God is looking for worshipers who truly believe in Jesus, who believe what is true about Jesus, and who are speaking the truth when they worship Jesus (for example, when they say that they have forsaken their sins). Our worship should be of a spiritual quality (that is, it should not be a mere human activity), since it is an interaction with God, who is spirit, and it should be guided by the Spirit of God and empowered by the Spirit.
The implication of this, as I understand it, is that believers in Jesus may validly worship in a variety of settings in a diversity of communities, as long as they are worshiping in spirit and in truth. I should specify that all genuinely practicing Catholics are Christians, since they believe in Jesus as their Savior and serve him as their Lord. There is not really a difference between “Catholics” and “Christians.” All sincere Catholics are Christians, although not all Christians are Catholic.
And I think that is acceptable. The Bible does not actually say anywhere that a priest must serve communion and hear confession and grant absolution. I respect the beliefs that my Catholic brothers and sisters in the faith hold about this, and I would not try to get them to believe or practice otherwise. But personally (and I will acknowledge that I am a Protestant, speaking from a Protestant perspective), I do believe that it is possible for followers of the true religion of Jesus to approach this differently. In the New Testament, which records the earliest practices of Jesus’ followers, we see them sharing the Lord’s Supper together in home gatherings, without any reference to a priest being present and presiding. James, the brother of Jesus and the leader of the first-century Christian church in Jerusalem, wrote in a general letter to believers, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another.” This suggests to me that fellow believers may hear confession, if I may use that expression.
I appreciate your concern for the salvation of your friends and relatives, and I hope that what I have said gives you some reassurance about them. In fact, if they genuinely believe in Jesus, and if they are participating in churches that are places of active, ongoing worship, community, and service for them, I hope you will be happy for them. And I also hope that they will appreciate and respect your expression of the Christian faith and be happy for you.
Good Question 