How can I teach my Roman Catholic friends?

Answer:

It is easy to get caught up in the short-term battle and lose the long-term war. I remember the frustration I had in my youth trying to talk to friends about the Scriptures. I knew even back then that I wanted to preach, but I often wondered if I could since no one I talked to responded. It wasn't until decades later that I began having old acquaintances contact me just to say thank you for being a big influence in their lives. I might not have convinced them right then, but the example I left by living a Christian life in a consistent manner stuck with several.

Teach as the opportunity presents itself. In other words, look for good chances to bring the Scriptures into the current conversation. You might have a friend mention that he went out drinking last night. Here is a good time to ask whether such is approved by his religion. If he says no, then ask why he chooses to do what he knows is wrong. If he says yes, then ask how they justify it. This allows a two-way conversation to occur. Often a direct attack on a wrong belief just makes a person dig in his heels and defend himself to death. But talking about the reasons behind beliefs leaves the door open.

When you do teach, avoid presenting things with "I think" or "I believe;" instead, bring up a verse that shows what God says. "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen" (I Peter 4:11). It will keep you accurate and it will help your friends greatly. Few people, Catholics or not, really understand their Bibles. Sure, you will get teased about being a walking Bible, but I can't think of a better compliment. If your friends disagree, they will find themselves disagreeing with God.

We have a couple here who came out of Catholicism. The pivotal moment was when the preacher pointed out that most of the saints in Roman Catholicism were not in the Bible. The woman's favorite saint was Veronica, who supposedly gave Jesus a cloth to wipe his face on the way to his crucifixion. She and her husband set out to prove the preacher wrong and after literally reading through all four gospels, realized that the preacher was right and that she had been lied to all these years. The point is that you can't make a person become a Christian but you can give them reasons to want to be a Christian and not a Catholic. The person has to see the need, and that might take time.

Strangely, you don't need to directly attack a person's church. Few people hold to the teachings of their particular denomination. Instead, look at what a person does or says and help them learn to go to God for their answers. A person who does so won't last long in a denomination because they will soon find too many inconsistencies.