Mary has opened her hands to help. The rays coming from her
hands describe her good acts. She stands on the globe; she
wants to help all people. She crushes with her foot the head
of the serpent, which means that she defeats the devil as
was prophesized in the Fall. ("…it shall bruise your head,"
Gen 3:15.) There is a short prayer around her picture: "Oh
Mary, born without original sin, pray for us, who put our
trust in you." Mary promised to holy Catharina Labourél in
Paris in 1830 that she would help anyone who carries this
medallion and by trusting her utters this prayer.
On the other side of the medallion there is the cross of
Jesus rising from the letter M. Jesus was born of Mary; and
Mary stood by the cross. She suffered and prayed with Jesus,
thereby assisting with His redemptive works. Below, there
are two hearts. One is the heart of Jesus. (But one of the
soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and immediately came
there out blood and water. John 19:34.) The thorns
surrounding the heart are caused by our sins that pain her.
The heart of Mary is beside the heart of Jesus. It is
pierced by a sword, as Simon prophesied (Luke 2:35). Mary
greatly suffered for us. The images are surrounded by twelve
stars – the twelve apostles -- the foundation of the Church.
The Church takes this good news to everyone around the
world.
How does the Mary of the Catholic Church differ from the
Mary of the Bible?
For the Catholic Church, Mary is important; you can't get
anywhere with it. However, it is a different matter whether
the picture of her created by the church is correct. It is
interesting to notice that when you compare the picture of
Mary created by the Catholic Church with what the Bible says
about her, they are completely different people. For the
Bible does not mention that Mary was in any way different
from other people and there are only a few brief references
to her. But the Catholic Church's Mary is a great queen
figure who acts as an intercessor, a mediator and even an
intermediary for salvation. Likewise, her life on earth is
believed to have been different from others in that she is
believed to have been an "immaculate virgin", meaning
someone who never sinned.
When it comes to the differences between the Mary of the
Catholic Church and the Mary of the Bible, it is good to
study them a little. Differences can be seen e.g. in the
following matters:
1. MARY, WAY TO SALVATION. The
significance of Mary as a medium of salvation in the
Catholic Church appears perhaps best in a book by Alfonso
Mary Liquori (1697–1787), Le glorie di
Mary (1784, The Glory of Mary). In the book, a person
who after his death was promoted to the position of teacher
and saint of the church describes the status of Mary as a
savior. Mary has been made a mediator between God and
people, savior, intercessor, the only hope of sinners and
the only way to salvation. This kind of a viewpoint is
nowadays quite ordinary both in the teachings of Popes and
elsewhere:
When Mary receives this grace for sinners, she will arouse
them back to life by her intercessions (p.54).
She has really been made a mediator of peace (p.56)
between sinners and God.
Only Mary has been given the gift of salvation by her
powerful intercession (p.101).
She is the hope of the wrongdoers (...) the only hope for
sinners (p.102).
The Holy Church teaches us, her children that we must
attentively and confidentially keep putting our trust in
this loving protector. Because of that, the church
determines Mary her own special worship (p.106).
Mary is called the gate of heaven, because nobody can step
into the blessed kingdom without passing her (p.134).
Were we to doubt to ask her to save us, when the way of
salvation is not open otherwise than through Mary (p.143).
How could she be anything else than full of grace, when she
has been made for the ladder of paradise, the gate of
heaven, the very realest mediator between God and people,
(p.128).
A person whom Mary protects, will be saved; who does not
have this protection, goes to damnation (p.144)
Often we
get what we peg for faster by calling the name of Mary than
calling the name of Jesus (p.228).
Mary is our life, because she gets us pardon for our sins
(p.54).
For she (...) is our salvation, our life, our hope, our
advice, our protection and our assistance (p.230). (1)
The
doctrine that salvation is available only in Mary appears,
in addition to the previous statements, also in a statement
of Pope Pius lX,
who was the pope in the 1800s (1846–1878). This Pope also
defined the doctrine about the Immaculate Conception of
Mary. According to him, by Mary it is possible to get hope,
grace and salvation:
God
has entrusted to Mary the treasury of good things, so that
everyone would know that by way of her all hope, all grace
and all salvation is available. (2)
So,
Mary has been presented as a way to salvation and it has
been said that she would be the "mediator" and "defender"
for us and the "fellow-Redeemer”, who, together with Jesus,
suffered in His death on the cross. It may also be directly
presented that Mary is "the mother of atonement" and that
the way to heaven is possible only through her.
What is remarkable is that when we study some references to
Mary in the Bible, we do not find anything about her task as
a mediator or her being a fellow-Redeemer together with
Jesus or the only hope of the sinners. Instead, it is
indicated that these many issues are connected with Jesus
alone, who is the only hope of people in salvation and also
the only way to heaven. This can be seen, for example, in
the next passages of the Bible. We can understand that the
statements of Jesus and His disciples are certainly more
important than these statements, which now, hundreds of
years later, may be presented:
-
(John 14:6) Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.
-
(John 10:9) I am the door: by me if any man enter in,
he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find
pasture.
-
(Acts 4:11,12) This is the stone which was set at nothing of
you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.
-
(1 Cor 3:11) For other foundation can no man lay than that
is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
The status as mediator. Secondly,
it has been attempted to raise the status of Mary so that
she would be the mediator between God and people. This
viewpoint appears, for example, in a revelation that
occurred in Medjugore, and in
which a person called "Mary" appeared and spoke. (Of course,
it was not “the real Mary” but only an evil spirit appearing
as Mary, for example, Isa 8:19). Millions of sincere Roman
Catholics have made a pilgrimage to this place. In the revelation it
is said:
Today I called you, so that you would get an answer to your
question as to why I am with you for so long. I am the
mediator between you and God. (Marija, Medjugore,
Croatia, 17 July 1986)
If
we think about the status of Mary as mediator, however, we
might ask ”Can a sinner act as a
mediator for sinners?” In the Gospel of Luke (16:24), when a
rich man prayed to Abraham, Abraham was not able to help
him, even though Abraham was called God’s friend. (James
2:23). If Abraham was not able to help, how can Mary help
us?
The only possibility is that we are provided with a
perfect mediator -- such as Jesus Christ alone was and is --
because He was sinless when He lived on the Earth (John
8:46: "Which of you convinces me of sin?...”).
The Bible also tells that there is only one mediator between
God and people. If there is only one mediator, then there
cannot be two. It is, therefore, impossible for Mary to be
the mediator in our relationship with God:
-
(1 Tim 2:5,6) For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who
gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in
due time.
- (Hebr 9:15) And
for this cause he is the
mediator of the new testament, that by means of
death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might
receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Status as defender and intercessor. Mary's
task as mediator also includes that she is believed to be a
defender and an intercessor.
When Jesus is seen in the Roman Catholic Church as a
harsh judge and difficult to approach, Mary is seen as a
defender and an intercessor full of understanding and pity
as a mother, who then – high in the heaven – prays for her Son
to forgive and to pity those Roman Catholics who turn to
Mary. It has also been suggested that Mary does not need to
do anything more than show to her Son the "breasts which he
has sucked", for His anger to immediately abate (This was
taught, for example, by Alfonso Mary Liquori,
[1696–1787], who was called the teacher of the Roman
Catholic Church.).
Another problem with this teaching is that we cannot find in
the Bible a single reference to Mary or any other
"saints" acting as our defender and intercessor in heaven.
Instead, Biblical references identify Jesus as defender,
intercessor and merciful high priest, and advise all those
who are weary and heavily burdened to turn to Him. If Jesus
is the perfect Defender and Intercessor, why would we turn
to others who cannot help us before God? Consider:
-
(1 John 2:1,2) My little children, these things write I to
you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous:
2
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our’s only,
but also for the sins of the whole world.
-
(Rom 8:34) Who is he that comdemns?
It is Christ that died, yes rather, that is
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
makes intercession for us.
- (Hebr 7:25) Why
he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to
God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession
for them.
-
(Hebr 2:17,18) Why in all things
it behooved him to be made like to his brothers, that he
might be a merciful and faithful high priest in
things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the
sins of the people.
18
For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is
able to succor them that are tempted.
-
(Matt 11:28) Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.
Receiving grace. How
Mary has darkened Jesus' role as savior in the Catholic
Church is also evident from how she has been made the
"sharer of all graces." She has been made the sharer of all
graces, not only in the sense that she conveyed her grace by
giving birth to Jesus in this world, but also in the sense
that all the time, through her intercessions, she
distributes grace to people. Indeed, many Catholics believe
that all of God's grace and favor comes to mankind solely
and exclusively through Mary. A good example of this belief
is Pope Leo Xlll (1878 - 1903), who once said:
It
can be confirmed as the truth that of God’s will from that
enormous treasury of all grace that God has
reserved, nothing comes to us except through Mary (...)
how huge is the wisdom and grace that has been informed in
this plan of God (...) Mary is our excellent mediator, she
is the powerful Mother of the Almighty God… (3)
This pope, too, had not read his Bible very carefully. If we
look at the Bible, it shows very clearly that grace has come
and will come through Jesus, not Mary. Placing Mary into
this subject is futile, and only confuses matters. The
importance role of Jesus as the mediator of grace is
reflected in many passages, such as the following words,
written by the apostle John in his Gospel, and Paul in his
letter to the Corinthians. They have written that grace is
given to people through Jesus, and not through Mary. We
should believe in this and not try to bring in other
grace-givers who are not that:
-
(John 1:14,16,17) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled
among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
16
And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for
grace.
17
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by
Jesus Christ.
-
(1 Cor 1:4) I thank my God always on your behalf, for the
grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
Discussion of the status of Jesus and Mary.
To understand that salvation comes solely and exclusively
through Jesus, it is good to read the following dialogue. It
gives us a good picture of Jesus' position as an instrument
of salvation, a role for which Mary is not in the least bit
suited. This dialogue is from the book Fifty Years in the
Church of Rome (Charles Chiniquy). In it, the main
character of the book, who acted as a Catholic priest, has
conversations with his superior, the bishop, at a time when
the many distortions of the Catholic Church had begun to
bother him. The conversation talked about:
-
Esteemed bishop, who has saved you and me on the cross?
-
Jesus Christ.
-
Who has paid by his blood for our sins, Jesus or Mary?
-
Jesus Christ.
-
When Jesus was on earth, who loved sinners more: Jesus or
Mary?
-
Jesus.
-
Did any sinner ever come to Mary asking for salvation?
-
No, they all came to Jesus.
-
Did Jesus ever command those sinners who came to Him to go
to His mother, for example?
-
No. Jesus received them all.
-
Do you remember from the Bible that Jesus has ever said, "Go
to Mary and she will save you?"
-
No, I don’t.
-
Do you remember that Jesus has said to miserable sinners,
"Come to me and I will never drive you away?”
-
Yes, I remember.
-
Has Jesus ever – as far as the teachings of the Bible are
concerned – said to us that His above-mentioned words would
no longer be valid?
-
The words of Jesus are valid.
-
Who then is the most powerful and marvelous Redeemer of the
sinners, Jesus or Mary?
-
Jesus, of course.
-
Esteemed bishop, why would we then not go to Jesus and to
Him alone for salvation of our soul? Why do we priests call
miserable sinners to Mary, when – in accordance with our own
confession – Mary is nothing like the Savior?
No answer.
-
Jesus and Mary are both in heaven. According to the doctrine
of the Church, Mary has even been bodily taken to heaven.
Where is the word, that came from heaven, and by which the
way to Jesus goes by Mary. (...)
Can we find any biblical truth to confirm even a little the
Roman Catholic dogma about the status of Mary?
The bishop wasn’t able to answer. (4)
2. ”IMMACULATE VIRGIN". The
fact that Mary is dear to Roman Catholics can be seen from
the numerous names she has been given. She may be called,
for instance, “the Queen of
Heaven,” “the Empress
of the Angels,”
“the Gate of
Paradise,” "the Mother of God," "the Ark of the Covenant,"
and countless other names. Whether or not there is any
biblical foundation for these names is a different issue
altogether.
One of the titles given to Mary is also "Immaculate Virgin",
which means that Mary is believed to have walked this earth
completely without sin. She is also believed to have
experienced an "immaculate conception" before that, so that
original sin did not affect her at all at the beginning of
her life.
This viewpoint, which became a doctrine of the Roman
Catholic Church in 1854 under the leadership of Pope Pius lX,
is very clearly expressed in publications, such as a book
published by the Catholic Information Centre of Finland (Katolisen uskon perusteet or The
Fundamentals of Catholic Faith, Helsinki 1992, p. 115) (Above,
we mentioned the Roman Catholic prayer book, in which was
written that "not even the smallest sin can access her," and
that God preserved her completely from the original sin.) In The Fundamentals
of Catholic Faith is written:
"... the Church believes that God also preserved her [Mary]
from sin until the end of her life and took her after her
death, with her body and her soul to heaven."
The
Finnish Catholic Catechism (1953, p. 25) refers to the same
matter. It, too, very clearly shows how deeply Catholics
have been rooted in the doctrine of the sinless life of
Mary. It is said there that Mary was preserved from the
stains of original sin for the sake of the merits of Jesus:
Who
alone has been spared original sin? The most blessed virgin
Mary has, by special grace, because of Jesus' merits, been
spared from all the stain of original sin. (The celebration
of Mary's Immaculate Conception).
However, if we look at the Bible, we have no grounds to
believe that Mary was sinless. The Bible does not support
this idea in any way, and neither does it support other
Roman Catholic beliefs regarding Mary. Paul, who wrote to
Romans, said, for example, that "For all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23) and "…for
that all have sinned" (Rom 5:12).
In the same way, when we read the Gospels, we can read
how Mary rejoiced in God, her Savior. If Mary rejoiced in
her Savior, this implies that she had also sinned – she was
not sinless – and she needed to be freed from her sins as
did everyone else:
-
(Luke1:46,47) And Mary said, My soul
does magnify the Lord,
47
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
3. MARY’S ASCENSION TO HEAVEN. One
of the beliefs connected with Mary is that she ascended to
heaven in a bodily form, so that her body was not permitted
to disappear. This is another experience that the Bible
attributes to Jesus alone. It is described in the first
chapter of the Acts, for example. Some effort has been made
to equate Mary with Jesus in this regard.
This doctrine can be seen very well in the Catechism of the
Roman Catholic Church (published in English in 1994),
passage 966. It describes the status of Mary as " the Queen
of Heaven," which is one belief concerning her. The same
passage also refers to how Mary lived without sin.
The
Lord took the Immaculate
Virgin, who had been preserved free from the stains of
original sin, when her earthly life came to an end, up to
the heavenly brightness with her body and soul, and raised
her as the Queen of All, so that she would be just like her
Son, who is the Lord of Lords and the winner of sin and
death. The Blessed Virgin’s ascension means that she has a
special part in the resurrection of her Son and it heralds
the resurrection of other Christians.
However, we must note again that in the same way it was
difficult to find proof for Mary being sinless, it is
difficult to find evidence in the Bible that Mary ascended
to heaven. The last reference to Mary is when she was
praying together with others, (Act 1:14). After that
nothing is said about her. We can assume that if she really
did ascend to heaven, it would certainly have been mentioned
in the Bible. Why is this not mentioned anywhere in the
Bible? Is that not a clear indication that Mary's ascension
to heaven never really took place?
Instead, it is mentioned as the words of Jesus that no-one
has ever gone to heaven except Him – this excludes Mary's
ascension to heaven. Certainly, the words of Jesus are more
important than people’s opinions about this issue.
-
(John 3:13) And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he
that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in
heaven.
4. ”A PERMANENT
AND EVERLASTING VIRGIN". As
we study more beliefs about Mary, we must not forget one of
the most common among them: that Mary is a "permanent and
everlasting virgin." It has been said that when Mary gave
birth, she remained a virgin, and that she did not have more
children after Jesus. One example of this special doctrine
is, for instance, a position that Pope Martinus I
confirmed in 649: Mary is an everlasting virgin:
"Blessed forever virginal and immaculate Mary is the mother
of God, because without losing her virginity, she gave birth
to Him (Jesus) and after His birth preserved her virginity
as holy."
It
is actually no wonder that no evidence for the permanent
virginity of Mary can be found in the Bible. Even though
many sincere Roman Catholics would gladly believe in this,
it is difficult to find confirmation for it in the Bible.
Instead, several verses of the Bible refer to the fact that
Mary was an ordinary Jewish girl and later on quite an
ordinary mother. Her privileged status was restricted only
to the fact that she was virgin when the Holy Spirit came on
her, and that she got to bring Jesus into this world;
otherwise, she experienced the ordinary life of a mother.
The following issues, for example, reflect the family life
of Mary:
Joseph, Mary’s husband. The
Gospel of Matthew, for example, very clearly states that
Mary had a husband by the name of Joseph. The Gospel says
that Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, and that she
was called his wife. Also, they had sexual intercourse after
the birth of Jesus, because Joseph is said to have had no
union with Mary until after Jesus’ birth. How can Mary be
the "Permanent Virgin", if she also had normal sexual
intercourse with her husband after Jesus’ birth?
-
(Matt 1:18-20) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this
wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together, she was found with child
of the Holy Ghost.
19
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and
not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put
her away privately.
20
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of
the LORD appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, you son
of David, fear not to take to you Mary your wife:
for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
-
(Matt 1:24,25) Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as
the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took to him
his wife:
25 And
knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son:
and he called his name JESUS.
Jesus’ brothers. The
second good example of the ordinary family life and marriage
of Mary and her connection with her husband are the brothers
and sisters of Jesus. They are mentioned several times in
the Bible and some of their names are provided. Mary and
Joseph had other children, so Mary cannot be the Everlasting
Virgin. What is special is that these siblings did not
believe in Jesus at first, but already in the Acts of the
Apostles they are mentioned praying together with other
believers:
-
(Luke 8:19-21) Then came to him his mother and his
brothers, and could not come at him for the press.
20
And it was told him by certain which said, Your mother
and your brothers stand without, desiring to see you.
21
And he answered and said to them, My mother
and my brothers are these which hear the word of God, and do
it.
-
(Mark 6:3) Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the
brother of James, and Joses, and
of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?
And they were offended at him.
-
(John 7:3-5) His brothers therefore said to him, Depart hence,
and go into Judaea, that your disciples also may see the
works that you do.
4
For there is no man that does any thing in
secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do
these things, show yourself to the world.
5 For
neither did his brothers believe in him.
-
(Acts 1:14) These all continued with one accord in prayer
and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of
Jesus, and with his brothers.
-
(1 Cor 9:5) Have we not power to lead about a sister, a
wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brothers of
the Lord, and Cephas?
-
(Gal 1:19) But other of the apostles saw I none, save James
the Lord’s brother.
5. PRAYING TO AND WORSHIP OF MARY. Prayer
to and worship of Mary is one of the main points of Catholic
belief. In the Roman Catholic Church, people really pray to
Mary and turn to her like they would to God. They can pray
to and worship Mary just like God, and this is not deemed
strange. People are even advised to give their life to Mary
— to dedicate themselves to her as they would to Jesus
(Jesus said, for example: “Follow me…” - Matt 4:19). Mary
may also be regarded as “the Queen of Heaven," "the Mother
of God," who from heaven regulates the events of the world;
the change from an ordinary Jewish mother to her current
status in the minds of people is dramatic.
In order to get a good view of the current interest in Mary,
let’s consider some examples. The familiar "Hail Mary",
which apparently dates back to the 1200s, describes this
well. It says:
"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed
art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.”
Also, the Roman Catholic catechism (Finnish catechism,1953)
brings out the same issue. It includes, for instance, the
following passages about turning to Mary and other saints:
Which saint must we especially respect and ask for help?
We
must especially respect and ask for help from the most
blessed Virgin and the Mother of God, Mary. (p. 71)
Why
must we especially honor Mary and ask for help from her?
We
must especially honor and ask for help from Mary,
1)
Because she is the Mother of God;
2)
Because she in grace and holiness defeats all angels and
saints;
3)
Because her prayers most benefits us with God. (p. 71,72)
As
far as the Bible is concerned, nothing is said about this
area. Nothing is written about praying to Mary (or other
saints) or worshipping her. Neither is it mentioned that
Mary in heaven would in some way conveys people's prayers
and requests to Jesus or God.
The only reference that could at least in some way refer to
the worship of Mary is the case mentioned in the Gospel of
Luke - that too in a negative sense. In this case, a woman
referred to Mary's bliss because she had been allowed to be
the mother of Jesus. However, Jesus immediately turned his
attention to God's word and its observance, which of course
should also be true for us:
-
(Luke 11:27,28) And it came to pass, as he spoke these
things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice,
and said to him, Blessed is the
womb that bore you, and the breasts which you have sucked.
28
But he said, Yes rather, blessed
are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
Further, as regards to praying, Jesus clearly told us what
to do in order for our prayers to be heard. According to
Him, people must either pray directly to Him or to turn to
the Father in the name of Jesus – Jesus said nothing about
Mary and the saints. If Jesus Himself, the Son of God, has
given us instructions on how we must act, why would we
disobey?
-
(John 14:13,14) And whatever you shall ask in my name,
that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14
If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will
do it.
-
(John 16:23,24) And in that day you
shall ask me nothing. Truly, truly, I say to you, Whatever you
shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24
Till now have you asked nothing in my name: ask, and you
shall receive, that your joy may be full.
-
(John 16:26) At that day you shall ask in my name:
and I say not to you, that I will pray the Father for you:
The
next conversation also refers to how we must pray. If we
pray to saints God does not hear us, because He answers only
those prayers that have been presented in the name of Jesus:
-
Is it very bad, Raul? Probably it is better to pray
something than not to pray at all!
-
No, mother, this is not true. If you do not pray to God by
Jesus, you don't, as a matter of fact, pray at all. Those
"saints" are not in any way more important than you to God!
-
Raul! Do not say that! Mother frowned and seemed doubtful. -
The saints of the church are significant people – not
ordinary people like me!
-
Mother, the Bible says that we all are holy! Mother
held already her forehead, terrified. I had to laugh at her
shock. She could not imagine herself as a saint. And she
certainly couldn't imagine me that way!
I snatched the Bible from the shelf and searched the
letter to the Ephesians from the New Testament. - Listen,
mother. ”Paul, an apostle of
Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in
Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus" Do you know, what the
word "saint" means? It means "set apart, devout, blameless,
sanctified." And we will all be that when Jesus forgives our
sins and saves us.
-
But the church has chosen the saints, because they have
performed miracles... Mother looked at me with suspicion. –
Shouldn’t we honor them for that reason?
-
We are all able to do miracles, mother. Even you could raise
people from the dead, if God wanted you to do that. I could
too. We could all see visions. We could all heal
the sick. We could all change the history of the
mankind – with the help of the power of God that lives
inside us.
Mother sipped her tea and looked out the window. She had
difficulties digesting my words. I annulled everything she
had ever learned, but she still had a feeling that there was
a hidden truth in my words. Finally, she said:
-
Now I see what you mean. Now I won’t pray the saints any
longer. - That is most important! The Bible says that there
is only one person who can speak to God for us – and that
person is Jesus. He is said to be our "Mediator." If we pray
someone else, we displace Jesus from the place which belongs
to Him. (...) (5)
Spiritualism. Worshipping
Mary and the saints has one danger for the Roman Catholics:
when they turn to worshipping saints, they are actually
practicing an ancient form of spiritualism; they are turning
to the worship of deceased humans and familiar spirits, and
the Bible absolutely forbids such activities. Thus, even
though they sincerely think so, people are not connecting
with saints, but are actually turning to worship spirits of
the deceased -- to evil spirits. The Bible teaches us to
avoid turning to such spirits. Consider the following
example:
-
(Lev 19:31) Regard not them that have familiar spirits,
neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am
the LORD your God.
-
(Lev 20:6) And the soul that turns after such as have
familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after
them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will
cut him off from among his people.
-
(18:10-12 There shall not be found among you any one that
makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or
that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an
enchanter, or a witch.
11
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a
wizard, or a necromancer.
12
For all that do these things are an abomination to the LORD:
and because of these abominations the LORD your God does
drive them out from before you.
Author and evangelist Nicky Cruz described how people can
even do healing work with help from these "saints." The
event he described occurred in his home; these “saints”, or
spirits of the deceased, were what the Bible describes as
familiar spirits, or demons who seek to bind our lives. If
you are bound by these spirits you can be freed through
faith in Jesus Christ, who defeated them once and for all
Col 2:15.
Everybody believed that mother and father didn’t only speak
to the dead, but also did healing work with the help of the
deceased – especially with the help of the very holiest
saints of the Bible.
Now I know that the word of God says that we live only once.
Then He will condemn us before we continue into heaven or
into everlasting punishment – and from both places there is
not return. Well, what supernatural power then pretended to
be my grandfather that evening? A demon. Some evil spirit, a
fellow-worker of Satan.
I believe that our beautiful jungle home was full of such
devilish beings. When mother went into a trance, she allowed
these evil, lying spirits to come into her and to speak
through her – demons who have an ability to pretend that
they are our loved ones sending messages from beyond the
grave. (6)
Another point to be mentioned here are the numerous
revelations of “Mary and the saints", experienced for
instance in Fatima of Portugal, (1917; these revelations
"of Mary" are significant in that at least six Popes have
given their support to them), in Medjugore of Croatia
and in numerous other places around the world, to which
places millions of devoted Catholics also have made
pilgrimages.
We can understand that these revelations did not originate
from these deceased saints – Mary, or holy Teresa, for
example – but that they were caused by misleading spirits
pretending to be these persons (2 Cor 11:14 And no
marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of
light.) They – the lying spirits – can imitate our dear
deceased, because they know very much about our love ones’
lives on earth (for example, Acts 19:15). Many who see these
apparitions, like ordinary mediums, are thus lost because
they do not know what they are connected to and from whom
they received their revelations.
So that this matter does not remain unclear, we need only
look at the content of these revelations. If Mary of the
Bible is really speaking in them, wouldn't it be appropriate
to expect that she would at least not exalt herself as the
way of salvation or something else that is not mentioned in
the Bible? Shouldn't he rather exalt Jesus alone as the way
of salvation, since this was the clear teaching of the early
church? However, we see a very different teaching in these
many revelations. It is certainly not the Mary of the Bible.
Instead, we can well conclude that these revelations are the
doctrines of demons and the false doctrines that Paul warned
against:
-
(1 Tim 4:1) Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed
to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
-
(Gal 1:8,9) But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel to you than that which we have
preached to you, let him be accursed.
9
As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any
other gospel to you than that you have received, let him be
accursed.
Examples of these revelations are mentioned in the cases
below. These revelations clearly show how "the Mary of
revelations" raises doctrines that were quite unfamiliar to
the early church:
Jesus wants you to serve Him, so that people would know and
love me. He wants to start everywhere in the world a belief
in my Immaculate Heart. To all those who want to join in
this belief, I promise salvation. Their souls are dear to
God as the flowers that I set to decorate His throne. (Lucia
Santos, Fatima, 13 June 1917)
I
promise to be with everybody at the time of their death and
bring to them the grace they need to be saved, if they
confess their sins on the first Saturday of five months,
receive my holy Eucharist, pray the prayers of the rosary
and will be with me for 15 minutes thinking about the
miracles of the rosary and thus easing my condition. (Lucia
Santos, Portugal, 10 December 1925)
I
love you with maternal love and ask you to open perfectly to
me, so that I by each of you could convert and save the
world, in which there is much sin and immorality. (Marjana, Medjugore,
Croatia, 25 August 1992)
Today I called you, so that you would get an answer to your
question as to why I am with you for so long. I am the
mediator between you and God. (Marija, Medjugore,
Croatia, 17 July 1986)
All
the children in the world will soon know that I am the
mediator of all grace. (Julia Kim, Naju,
South Korea, 26 November 1991)
I
want to blow my spirit into those children of mine who do
not know me, and to allow (my) light (to) shine from them as
a flow. But how can they understand my words, if they keep
their heart closed? (Julia Kim, Naju,
South Korea, 21 October 1986)
Those who do not acknowledge me as the Queen of Heaven and
the Earth, will see God’s greatness and their pride and
stubbornness will be broken. They will see the truth and
know that God has not become smaller, even though He has
given honor to a humble creature. On the contrary, He has
been glorified through my virtues and obedience. (Cyndi Cain,
Bella Vista, Arkansas, USA, 8 January 1992)
Mary as Queen of Heaven and Mother Goddess.
It is significant that when in Roman Catholicism, Mary is
elevated to the position of Queen of Heaven and Mother
Goddess, this is completely consistent with the pagan
customs that existed before. The cult of the queen of heaven
and the mother goddess is by no means a Christian origin,
but it is a paganism that existed in the surrounding
Mediterranean countries already in the time of Jesus and
several centuries after this - the last temples of the
goddesses were destroyed in the 5th century.
Even then, pagans prayed and worshiped their mother goddess
and turned to her. The only difference was that in those
days the name of the mother goddess was not Maria, but more
famous were e.g. Semiramis, Astarte, Isis and Artemis.
Similarly, these "queens of heaven" of that time were
usually depicted as mother figures full of pity and mercy -
like Mary - who then promised her help and mercy to people.
The similarities with the current Maria cult are quite
obvious.
Paavo Hiltunen has described the similarity of the worship
of Isis to the current worship of Mary. This cult was the
most widespread of the mother cults in 3rd-4th century Rome:
When we compare this message of Isis to her faithful
supporter and what "Mary" says to her successors in the
so-called revelations of Mary in different parts of the
globe, the expressions are surprisingly similar. Did the
same spirit speak through Isis that now appears as Mary?
Isis was to her believers what Mary was to her followers:
savior, lover, donor of gifts, protector, helper. Her power
reached even the kingdom of death. Such as Mary, Isis had an
ability to help hopeless cases. She healed the blinds,
paralyzed and those who were rejected by doctors. The
writings and paintings on which those, who believe in her,
have drawn their thanks are similar to those in Lourdes.
Even the titles of Isis are strikingly reminiscent of the
titles of the Christian mother of God: dear mistress,
loving mother, Queen of Heaven, goddess ascended to the
throne, queen of the sea, sharer of grace, savior,
immaculate, holy queen (Sancta Regina). (7)
The
following quotes illustrates how, in the Mediterranean
region of that time, worship of goddesses later was
transferred to worship of Mary. The second quote clearly
highlights the fact that Mary, whom Catholics now pray to
and worship, is in fact in the form of the goddess Isis
Mary. Thus, paganism has not been destroyed, but Isis has
taken on a new form in Mary:
""There were several popular mystery cults with a mother
goddess as the main figure in Rome during the time when
Jesus was born. These included the cults of Caereen,
Cybele (Magna Mater), Artemis, Astarte and Isis,
whose evidence can be found up to the beginning of the fifth
century. All the properties and epithets connected with
these divinities can be found later connected to Mary, such
as the Morning Star, the star of the sea, the mother of
believers and the Queen of Heaven." (8)
“Mary became an instrument to fill the need of the
semi-pagan people who joined the church for their goddesses.
In fact, the mother of Jesus did not become the Queen of
Heaven, but that status was taken by the goddess of
antiquity who was worshipped in all countries around the
Mediterranean. It was a disastrous legacy." (9)
In
order to gain yet another perspective, we are going to study
Mary worship in the light of several other examples and in
the light of Biblical instruction. We are going to look at
Asia, for example, where similar worship of the goddess
mother is seen nowadays. These examples well illustrate that
current worship of the "Queen of Heaven" is nothing new, and
that it appears similarly in other countries. God was, and
is, angered by this idol worship:
1. References in the Bible to the Queen of Heaven
-
(Jer 7:17-19) See you not what
they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of
Jerusalem?
18
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire,
and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the
queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to
other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
19
Do they provoke me to anger? said the LORD: do they not
provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
-
(Acts 19:27,28) So that not only this our craft is in danger
to be set at nothing; but also that
the temple of the great goddess Diana should be
despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all
Asia and the world worships.
28
And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath,
and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the
Ephesians.
2. The worship of the Queen of Heaven in modern Asia
"The third month of the moon calendar is the month of Matsu.
The goddess of the Sea, the Queen of Heaven, the Holy Mother
of Heaven, the Concubine of the Emperor of Heaven is the
object of worship in hundreds of thousands of homes and
approximately in four hundreds temples.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims go to the fishing center
of the western coast, to the town of Peikang,
where the largest pai-pai of
Matsu’s birthday is concentrated.
(... ) Over time, the Goddess of
the Sea has become a mild, immortal helper who is present
everywhere. The fishermen pray for protection at sea, the
farmers rain on theirs fields, the young mothers boy
babies, the sick healing. An amulet from the temple of Matsu
may be suspended on the neck of a young man going to the
army. (...) Everybody accepts the assistance of the Holy
Mother of Heaven." (Matleena Pinola, Pai-pai,
p. 58-60)
"However, Buddhism had to go through a powerful process of
change before it was ready as a religion of the Chinese. The
doctrines that came from the outside had to be adapted to
the Chinese way of thinking. (...) The goddess of grace, Kwum Yum,
who is very popular among the Buddhist, got a competitor,
the Taoist Queen of Heaven or Tin Hau.
These competing divinities can be found nowadays in many
temples side by side on the same altar, in perfect
harmony." (Olavi Vuori, Hyvät henget ja pahat,
p. 35)
What about the pictures of Mary and the saints?
When Mary is exalted in the Catholic Church, one form of
this is her images and statues, which can be found in almost
every Catholic church. They each usually have some sort of
collection of pictures and statues of her, and people can
pray and worship in front of them. These pictures can also
include Jesus, but usually only as a small child. In the
still lifes, the dominant and adult Mary and the little
Jesus, whom Mary carries in her arms, are usually
highlighted. Mary, whom Catholics consider the queen of
heaven, has gained an advantage over Jesus in this area as
well.
What is special is that to support the worship of Mary and
the saints, the Church has even removed the second
Commandment from the Ten Commandments: the second
Commandment forbids making and worshipping of idols.
Instead, this Commandment has been replaced by dividing the
tenth one into two parts – like this, the number of the
Commandments has remained the same.
The next comparison of the Finnish Catholic catechism (1953,
p. 4) and the Bible also show this matter. We can see how
the Commandments have changed:
CATHOLIC CATECHISM:
1.
“I am the LORD your God. (…) You shall have no other gods
before me.
2.
You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God. (…)
3.
Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy (…)
4.
Honor your father and your mother
5.
You shall not murder.
6.
You shall not commit adultery.
7.
You shall not steal.
8.
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
9.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10.
You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s things.”
The Bible (Deut 5:6-21):
1. I am the LORD your God... You shall have none other gods
before me.
2. You shall not make you any graven image, or any likeness
of any thing that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the
waters beneath the earth: You shall not bow down yourself to
them, nor serve them…
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…
4. Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it …
5. Honor your father and your mother
6. You shall not kill
7. Neither shall you commit adultery
8. Neither shall you steal
9. Neither shall you bear false witness against your
neighbor
10. Neither shall you desire your neighbor’s wife, neither
shall you covet your neighbor’s house, his field, or his
manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any
thing that is your neighbor’s
The
support of the Roman Catholic Church to worshipping
idols can also be seen in a decision made in the Synod of
Trento (session 25), for example. This decision strongly
supports respecting and worshipping of idols. It is said:
“The pictures of Christ and the Virgin Mary, mother of God,
such as other pictures of saints must be kept in the Church,
and people shall respect and worship them."
Even though the Catholic Church accepts worshipping of
pictures, the Bible teaches that this is not God’s will by
any means. Several verses of the Bible indicate that God
does not want people to make any idols, pictures of neither
a man nor a woman. It is also said that he does not want
people to make any statues, which he hates. The following
list also includes a passage of how apostle Paul was angry,
when he saw how the city of Athens was full of idols:
-
(Lev 26:1) You shall make you no idols nor graven
image, neither raise you up a standing image,
neither shall you set up any image of stone in your
land, to bow down to it: for I am the LORD your God.
- (Deut 4:15,16) Take
you therefore good heed to yourselves; for you saw no manner
of similitude on the day that the LORD spoke to you in Horeb
out of the middle of the fire:
16 Lest
you corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the
similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
- (Deut 27:15) Cursed
be the man that makes any graven or molten image, an
abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the
craftsman, and puts it in a secret place. And all the people
shall answer and say, Amen.
- (Deut 16:22) Neither
shall you set you up any image; which the LORD your God
hates.
-
(Isa 44:15-19) Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he
will take thereof, and warm himself; yes, he kindles it, and
bakes bread; yes, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes
it a graven image, and falls down thereto.
16
He burns part thereof in the fire; with part thereof
he eats flesh; he roasts roast, and is satisfied: yes, he
warms himself, and said, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the
fire:
17
And the residue thereof he makes a god, even his graven
image: he falls down to it, and worships it, and prays to
it, and said, Deliver me; for you
are my god.
18
They have not known nor understood: for he has shut their
eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they
cannot understand.
19
And none considers in his heart, neither is there knowledge
nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the
fire; yes, also I have baked bread on the coals thereof; I
have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the
residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the
stock of a tree?
-
(Acts 17:16) Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his
spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given
to idolatry.
Sometimes, Roman Catholics may, in spite of all, justify
their idols by saying that they are only reminiscing about
these people and establishing a contact through them with
God.
To this, one can respond that God certainly does not need
to make a connection with us through images that He has
forbidden. He certainly does not need images in order to
communicate with His people, because He has provided us with
the one and only direct connection: His Son (John 14:6). Why
would we not use the connection that is already there?
The second good question is, “Why
should anyone remember others – the deceased – when wishing
to speak to God?” Would not the worship of other people and
things only remove us from the worship of God, and distract
our thoughts from Him? Why do we need to rely on props,
whose use is futile and from which we cannot benefit? The
next conversation illustrates the futility of using such
props:
When mother told me about her disappointment with the
church, it started to trouble me. I thought about how she
displayed statues in her home. She tried so hard to do what
is right. But she did not have a real relationship. One
afternoon, I drove to her home just for fun. I walked in
through the front door and said, “These idols must be taken
down, mother!” She was horrified. “But Raul, they are not
idols. I do not pray to them.”… Her
voice became faint when she tried to explain powerlessly
that the images “were only a reminder.”
“What do you mean you don’t pray to them? Why are there
candles, then? You can’t keep all these things around you.
It prevents you from knowing Jesus.” Then I started to tell
her what the Bible says about idols and about who Jesus
really is. (10)
2. Mass and Holy Communion
When Jesus was at the final phase of his earthly life, He
wanted once more to have a meal together with His disciples.
When He ate with them, He also taught His disciples about
the meaning of the bread and the wine and how they
represented His crucifixion and His death. We call this the
Lord’s Supper (the Holy Communion). He started this custom a
little before His death – or perhaps earlier – and the
custom was handed down to the early Christian church.
To Roman Catholics, the Holy Communion and Mass are also
important. They are symbols in the Catholic Church. But like
many other things that have changed since the time of the
early church, the concept of Communion has also taken on new
forms and meanings in the Catholic Church. It has acquired
meanings that did not originally belong to it and that make
it completely different. We look at some of the most common
changes:
The doctrine of changing bread and wine into Christ’s body
and blood is
one issue that has changed. According to this doctrine, when
the priests during the Mass read a blessing, bread and wine
are no longer bread and wine, but they literally change into
Christ, into His body and blood; in other words, into God.
The Roman Catholic Church also teaches that only priests are
authorized to read the blessing that can bring about this
change. This was put into the form of a regulation some
centuries ago during the Synod of Trento (2nd canon
of Trento):
"Who says that bread and wine remain in the Holy Communion
as bread and wine (...) will be cursed."
The
doctrine of change has been confirmed in the Catholic
Catechism as well (Finnish Catechism 1953). It is stated how
bread and wine really should change into Christ’s body and
blood:
What happened to the bread and wine, when Jesus pronounced
over them the words: "This is my body – this is my blood?”
The
bread and wine changed into Jesus Christ’s actual body and
blood; only the forms were left over. (p. 123)
So what
is on the altar after this change?
After the change, there are on the altar, in the form of
bread and wine, the body and blood of Jesus Christ, surely,
really and essentially present. (p. 124)
However, there are problems with this doctrine of change
(transubstantiation) that need to be raised. Among them, the
following can be noted:
A symbol. When
the Catholic Church tried to justify the changing of bread
and wine, it used as its support mainly the words of Jesus
in connection with the Holy Communion: "This is my body
(...) this is my blood..." (Matt 26:26-28).
However, to this we can say that Jesus certainly did not
mean this literally, but symbolically. For He did not say
"touto gignetal" ("this has changed"), but "touto
esti" ("this describes"). This means that the Holy
Communion was only a metaphor of how Jesus later on the
cross gave His life for us. Then He shed His blood and truly
gave His body for us. These kinds of symbols that Jesus
used to describe Himself also appear elsewhere in the Bible.
We must see that these matters must be just symbols, because
otherwise Jesus would also be a door, a wine tree, a way, a
rock, a morning star, etc.:
-
(John 10:9) I am the door: by me if any man enter in,
he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find
pasture.
-
(John 6:35) And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of
life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he
that believes on me shall never thirst.
-
(John 15:5) I am the vine, you are the branches:
He that stays in me, and I in him, the same brings forth
much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.
-
(John 8:12) Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying, I
am the light of the world: he that follows me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
-
(John 14:6) Jesus said to him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but
by me.
-
(Matt 21:42-45) Jesus said to them, Did you
never read in the scriptures, The stone which the
builders rejected, the same is become the head of
the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in
our eyes?
43
Therefore say I to you, The kingdom
of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation
bringing forth the fruits thereof.
44 And
whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken:
but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to
powder.
45
And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his
parables, they perceived that he spoke of them.
-
(Rev 1:17) And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.
And he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, Fear not; I
am the first and the last
-
(Rev 22:16) I Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you
these things in the churches. I am the root and
the offspring of David, and the bright and morning
star.
Jesus himself ate. One fact
that makes the doctrine of transubstantiation impossible
is that Jesus Himself was there enjoying bread and wine. He
certainly did not eat Himself and did not change into some
kind of liquid and bread, but He was bone and flesh all the
time and blood flowed in His body. The physical presence of
Jesus should be the clearest evidence against
transubstantiation.
Why can we not see this change each time? If
bread and wine have really literally been changed by the
words of a priest into the body and blood of Christ, should
this not be seen at every single Mass? Why can we not see
this? Why can no change be seen in any mass, even though
communions are carried out in every Catholic Church and have
been carried out thousands of times? Is this not a clear
piece of evidence against the whole doctrine of
transubstantiation?
Literal offering that is repeated. Another
special feature of the Roman Catholic Mass is that during
each mass, there should be a new offering of Christ, and the
priests have the authority to repeat it for the sins of
people. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is really taught
that priests have the authority to fetch Christ down from
the Heaven and perform the same offering for the sins of
people as Jesus made 2,000 years ago. In other words, they
are taught that the sacrifice made by Jesus on the cross was
not perfect and sufficient, but that it must be continuously
repeated at Mass for the sins of people. The only difference
from what Jesus did on the cross 2,000 years ago is
considered only that the current sacrifice is bloodless,
while the previous one was not.
This is revealed in the Catholic Catechism (Finnish
Catechism 1953), which refers to this subject several times.
There it is explained:
"When Christ died, did all the offering have to stop? No;
that offering that Christ once carried out on the cross, had
to repeat everywhere and all the time." (p. 126)
"What is the offering in the Holy Mass? The Holy Mass
offering is a continuous offering of the New Covenant, in
which our Lord Jesus Christ, in the form of bread and wine,
by the hands of a priest, in a bloodless way, sacrifices
himself to His heavenly Father." (p.
126)
"The offering at the Holy Mass is the same offering that
happened on the cross. Because in both, our Lord Christ
sacrifices and is sacrificed." (p. 127)
Why
is the offering of the Holy Mass the highest? The Holy Mass
offering is the highest offering, because it is
1)
The most valuable offering.
2)
To God, the most pleasing thank-offering.
3)
The most effective prayer offering.
4)
The most powerful atonement offering. (p. 129).
But
does the Bible teach that in the Holy Communion or at Mass,
Christ again sacrifices Himself because of the words of a
priest? Does the Bible teach that his offering was not at
all sufficient, but it must continually be repeated at Mass
for the sins of people?
The answer to this is that we cannot find such teachings
from the Bible. The Bible indicates very clearly that
Christ’s atonement was a once-in-a-lifetime event and took
place only once in history. The Bible also indicates that
His atonement was perfect, so that other offerings are not
needed; they are no longer needed, neither can they help
people seeking salvation.
There are several references to this important matter and to
the sufficiency of Jesus’ atonement, and we are going to
study some. These verses indicate very well how His work was
a one-time thing and perfect, so that there is no need to
repeat it any more:
-
(John 19:30) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar,
he said, It is finished:
and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
-
(Hebr 7:27) Who needs not
daily, as those high priests, to offer up
sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the
people’s: for this he did once, when he
offered up himself.
- (Hebr 9:12) Neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained
eternal redemption for us.
- (Hebr 9:25-28) Nor
yet that he should offer himself often, as the high
priest enters into the holy place every year with blood of
others;
26 For
then must he often have suffered since the foundation of
the world: but now once in the end of the world has he
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27
And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this
the judgment:
28 So
Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;
and to them that look for him shall he appear the second
time without sin to salvation.
- (Hebr 10:12,14) But
this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins
for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
14
For by one offering he has perfected for ever them
that are sanctified.
- (Hebr 10:17,18) And
their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18
Now where remission of these is, there is no more
offering for sin.
In remembrance.
Another thing that testifies against the Mass repeating
Christ's sacrifice over and over again is the simple fact
that the Bible shows communion to be a memorial meal and to
proclaim the lord's death, an already fulfilled work. That
is, if it is a matter of remembrance, it can never encompass
the very essence of the event. The essence of the matter
itself, Christ's atoning work took place as early as 2000
years ago:’
-
(1 Cor 11:23-25) For I have received of the Lord that which
also I delivered to you, That the Lord Jesus the same night
in which he was betrayed took bread:
24
And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take,
eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in
remembrance of me.
25
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had
supped, saying, This cup is the
new testament in my blood: this do you, as oft as you drink
it, in remembrance of me.
-
(1 Cor 11:26) For as often as you eat this bread, and drink
this cup, you do show the Lord’s death till he come.
The worship of Holy Communion’s elements has
also been a part of the Roman Catholic tradition. This
tradition got its beginning when it was believed that the
materials of the Holy Communion change into Christ and God,
so the natural consequence was that these elements were
worshipped. The Holy Communion’s bread may really have been
regarded literally as God in the Roman Catholic Church,
because "Christ is in it physically present", and to show
respect and praise for it. For example, in the Synod of
Trento this was regulated (6th canon):
"If
someone says that Christ, the only Son of God, should not be
worshipped in the sacrament of the Holy Communion (...) and
be respected by special ceremonies and the Holy Communion
bread be carried in a ceremonious procession, according to
the global and praised customs and ceremonies of our Holy
Church, and that He should not be set for public worshipping
in front of people, and that His worshippers are idolaters,
he will be accursed!"
The same thing also appears in the next newspaper article
describing the life of a convent. This article (newspaper Etelä-Suomen Sanomat,
1 November 2003, p. 22) indicates very well that similar
worship appears also nowadays, and it was not left in the
dark of the Middle Ages:
"At
11:30 a.m. there is the prayer of the middle of the day, but
before that there is a half an hour of adoration in front of
the Holy Communion bread. The Holy Communion bread is
preserved in a tabernacle, a decorative cupboard. The Holy
Communion bread is an object of the worship, because Jesus
is believed to be present in this bread."
But
what does the Bible say about considering communion bread as
God and worshipping it? The answer to this, too, is that we
cannot find any direct reference to it. Jesus did not exhort
it and there is no reference to it in the New Testament
epistles. On the other hand, to begin to regard a piece of
bread as divine is certainly idolatry, even though the
Council of Trento decreed otherwise. When you do that, you
bow before the work of people, in other words bow in front
of a piece of bread someone has made, as, for example, the
Book of Isaiah says:
-
(Isa 2:8) Their land also is full of idols; they worship the
work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have
made:
If
we use the same argument, we could worship any believer or
thing, because Christ can be present in some substance, or
can live in a believer because he is the temple of the
Spirit of God. However, we understand that this does not
make any sense. The fact that Christ lives in someone
through His Spirit does not make anybody divine. He
continues to be the same person:
-
(Col 1:27) To whom God would make known what is the riches
of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ
in you, the hope of glory:
-
(1 Cor 3:16) Know you not that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
The Holy Communion and salvation. Attempts
have also been made to use Holy Communion to gain God’s
salvation. Instead, its purpose is mainly to affirm faith in
the forgiveness of sins, and recall the redemptive work of
Christ (1 Cor 11:23-25), and to proclaim His completed work
of redemption (1 Cor 11:26). Salvation can always be
received through faith and through the Word, as we have
noted in the previous chapters. During the early church,
when people enjoyed the Holy Communion, they always first
received the Word and were saved. The Holy Communion was a
consequence of this:
-
(Acts 2:41,42) Then they that gladly received his word were
baptized: and the same day there were added to them about
three thousand souls.
42
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
3. Papacy and priesthood
A
part of the special heritage of the Roman Catholic Church is
the papacy and priesthood that gained an important role in
this church. The Pope has even been called the substitute of
Christ on the Earth, which proves his great status among
Catholics. It is thought that the papacy began in the first
century after Peter’s death, and that since then there has
been an unbroken chain of popes until today.
But what should we think of the pope and his position in the
Catholic Church, in general? Does the Bible teach anything
about this? Can it be justified by text found in the Bible?
We will consider these questions and also take a look at the
priesthood in the Catholic Church in light of the following
considerations:
1.
Did Peter enjoy a special status among the other disciples?
2.
Beginning and passing on of papacy
3.
Was Peter Christ’s substitute?
4.
Did Peter and Paul establish the Church of Rome?
5.
The celibacy of priests
1. DID PETER ENJOY A SPECIAL STATUS AMONG THE OTHER
DISCIPLES? As
regards the foundation of papacy, the Roman Catholic Church
has historically taught that Peter's special status among
other disciples was the beginning of the papacy. Peter, as
leader of the early church, was its "first Pope," and
Jesus founded His church on Peter. E.g. in the Catholic
Catechism (Finnish Roman Catholic Catechism, 1953) it is
written about this issue, as well as about the Pope as the
successor of Peter:
Who
did Christ set as the highest head of the church?
Christ set Peter as the highest head of the church. (p. 42)
Is
Christ himself not the head of the church?
Christ is and continues to be the invisible head of the
church, Peter was his visible substitute. (p. 43)
Who
is the visible head of the church after the death of Holy
Peter?
The
visible head of the church is the Holy Father, the Pope,
because he is Peter's real successor on the bishopric of
Rome. (p. 44)
But
is this notion correct? When we examine this matter in the
light of Biblical reference, no support is found for Peter's
having a higher place among disciples:
Is Peter the foundation of the Church, and is he the only
one holding the keys to the kingdom of Heaven?
So,
the beginning of the papacy has been considered Peter. It is
thought that Jesus himself ordained him to this position and
that the church was built on his foundation, Peter, who also
received the keys of the kingdom of heaven and the power to
bind and release. This is alluded to in the following verses
in the Gospel of Matthew:
-
(Matt 16:16,18,19) And Simon Peter answered and said, You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God.
18
And I say also to you, That you
are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19
And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven:
and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven.
However, regarding the above interpretation that the church
is built on the foundation of Peter, we should consider the
fact that in the words of Jesus above, the Greek word
"petros" (Peter) means the same as ”a small stone” or ”a
block.” The word ‘rock’ in Greek is ‘petra’. Jesus
never said that He would build His church on the foundation
of “a little stone,” on the foundation of a man, which would
have been too weak a foundation. He said that He would build
the church on ”this rock" - Jesus Himself is this rock
(e.g., 1 Cor 3:11: For other foundation can no man lay than
that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.), as well as the
confession that Peter gave of Him. This verse, as well as
the corresponding John 1:42, could be translated from the
original language as follows:
-
(Matt 16:16,18) And Simon Peter answered and said, You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God.
18
And I say also to you, That you
are a stone (Petros), and on this rock (Petra)
I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it.
-
(John 1:42) And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus
beheld him, he said, You are
Simon the son of Jona: you shall
be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone (Petros).
Regarding who is holding the keys to the kingdom of Heaven,
it is pretty hard to restrict ownership to one person, as
the Roman Catholic Church teaches. It is wrong to say that
only Peter is qualified. The Bible clearly indicates that
the other Apostles also received keys to the kingdom. They
did not receive those keys because they were special in some
way, but simply because they preached the Gospel of the
kingdom and led people to salvation. They opened the "door
to Heaven" with their preaching. Likewise, the power to bind
or release was given to each disciple:
-
(Matt 10:7,8) And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom
of heaven is at hand.
8
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out
devils: freely you have received, freely give.
-
(Luke 9:1,2) Then he called his twelve disciples together,
and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to
cure diseases.
2
And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to
heal the sick.
-
(Matt 18:18) Truly I say to you, Whatever you
shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven.
No mentions. If
Peter possessed a special position or authority over the
other disciples, it surely would have been mentioned in the
Bible. However, nothing indicating this can be found in the
Bible. We see only that Peter was one disciple among others.
He practiced his leadership together with the other
Apostles, but not above them; he did not have any leading
position among them. So he did
not have the position of Pope, and the whole concept of
papacy is not found in the Bible.
The only thing that made Peter different from the other
disciples was that he was by nature more impulsive and
talkative than the others. He also made mistakes: he denied
his Lord, for example. How does this go with the doctrine of
the infallibility of the Pope, which was declared in 1870?
Peter was not infallible: Jesus, and later Paul, reprimanded
Peter’s improper behavior. Jesus reprimanded him right after
He spoke about the keys to the kingdom of Heaven:
-
(Matt 16:21-23) From that time forth began Jesus to show to
his disciples, how that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer
many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and
be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22
Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it
far from you, Lord: this shall not be to you.
23
But he turned, and said to Peter, Get you
behind me, Satan: you are an offense to me: for you mind not
the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
-
(Gal 2:11-14) But when Peter was come to Antioch, I
withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
12
For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the
Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated
himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
13 And
the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; so that
Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
14
But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according
to the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them
all, If you, being a Jew, live
after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why
compel you the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
Opinion of outsiders. The
way outsiders reacted towards the church in the first
century proves that Peter did not have a special status
among Apostles. Chapter 24 of the book of Acts shows that
outsiders did not regard Peter as the most significant
person in the church; rather, it was the Apostle Paul who
was commonly regarded the ringleader of the Nazarene sect.
What makes the following statement important is that it was
delivered in Israel, the same place of Peter’s influence:
-
(Acts 24:4,5) Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious
to you, I pray you that you would hear us of your clemency a
few words.
5
For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover
of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a
ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
James and John. Peter’s
having a special position above the others’ is not supported
in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, either. Paul indicates in
this letter that in addition to Peter, James and John were
also commonly regarded as leading figures in the early
church. It is significant that of these three, James is
mentioned first. This shows that Peter was only one Apostle
among others:
-
(Gal 2:9) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed
to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to
me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of
fellowship; that we should go to the heathen, and they to
the circumcision.
The only right church?
As
regards Peter and his presumed papal successors, there is
one characteristic attributed to them: infallibility,
especially in matters of faith, morality and doctrine. This
declaration of the infallibility of the Pope was delivered
in 1870 by Pope Pius IX.
A
similar attitude of "infallibility" has been associated with
the Roman Catholic Church itself, since it is the only
"right" church, and in the invitation of the "lost brothers"
to return to it. The following widely-distributed
declaration was made in the autumn in 2000:
The Vatican:
Catholic Church Is the Only Right Church
Vatican declared
on Tuesday that it is in a supreme position over all other
Christian churches. The Vatican rejected the idea according
to which all churches are equal. It is feared that this
declaration of the Vatican will upset the cooperation
endeavors of the Christian churches.
In the opinion of the Vatican, the Catholic Church is the
only real church of Christ. Other Christian denominations,
such as the Protestants, are not real churches from
Vatican's point of view.
The Vatican's view was made known in a document called
“Dominus Jesus”, which was signed by Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger, the leader of the successor institution of the
Inquisition. Pope John II was said to have accepted this
document.
According to the document, those who have been baptized
somewhere else than in the Catholic Church are "somehow
connected to the church, but in an imperfect way".
"There is only one church of Christ, the Catholic Church,
which is led by the successor of Peter and the bishops
together with him," the declaration states.
The Anglican Church of England immediately rejected the
declaration of the Vatican on Tuesday. Archbishop George
Carey of the Anglican Church said that this declaration of
the Vatican does not do justice to the ecumenical work,
which has continued for over 30 years, and which aims to
integrate those gaps that have been born over the centuries
between the Protestants and the Catholics. (Newspaper Etelä-Suomen Sanomat, 6
September 2000)
The
fact that some church is regarded as the only true church is
actually a form of heresy. Salvation is by no means
connected to any church, but it is available in the person
of Jesus Christ, which we should understand. Therefore, the
criminal on the cross, for example, was not saved and did
not go to paradise because of a church or by joining a
church: he was saved by turning to Jesus. The Roman Catholic
Church was not even known at the time; it did not yet exist.
Putting some church denomination in the place of Jesus
Christ actually displaces Jesus. This does not apply only to
the Roman Catholic Church, but also to other institutions.
Jehovah's Witnesses think along the same lines, for example.
However, if we place some church denomination as, or choose
a person (Mary, for example) to be, our mediator then we are
no longer Christians but pagans. People are pagans because
they deny Christ in practice though their words may respect
Him. Such people have no "Father" even though they may claim
otherwise. (How does this suit the so-called building of
Christian fellowship that is sometimes practiced between the
churches and referred to in the newspaper article above?
Would it not be better if God first gets to save these
people, so they are not pagans trying to build Christian
fellowship without Christ?)
-
(1 John 2:23) Whoever denies the Son, the same has not the
Father: he that acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
2. THE BEGINNING AND PASSING ON OF PAPACY. As
for the beginning of the papacy, many devoted Roman
Catholics believe that it began in the first century with
the Apostle Peter. They believe that from then until now,
the papal chain has been unbroken.
But as we noted above, there is no reason to believe that
Peter was the first Pope. We find no clear evidence
concerning this matter; papacy is not even mentioned in the
New Testament. Peter was only one of several Apostles, and
he did not have a special status over the others.
Most historians disagree about the date of the beginning of
the papacy. It is known that no Pope or Roman Bishop in the
Synod of Nicea (325 A.D.) demanded to be the first above
others. Most church historians credit Leo the Great as being
the first Pope. His reign was c. 440-461 AD, and he, too, at
the Council of Chalkhedon (451 AD), had to be content with
the bishop of Constantinople being in the same position as
him. No one was yet the leader, because leadership was just
being formed – it was formed, more or less, at the same time
as the state church.
As for the the passing on of papal authority, we find no
reference to it in the Bible. When the Bible says nothing
about Peter's papacy, there is of course no mention of him
having a successor in this office. We can understand that
there could not yet be a uniform chain of followers in the
first couple of centuries, because the papacy did not begin
until a few centuries later.
3. WAS PETER CHRIST'S SUBSTITUTE? Another
statement made regarding Peter and his alleged successors --
popes -- is that they are the substitutes of Christ on the
Earth. This statement was made during the Synod of Florence
in the 1400s and became part of church doctrine. It was
described as follows:
"The Pope of Rome is the real substitute of Christ, the head
of the whole church and father and teacher of all
Christians, and our Lord Jesus Christ has given to him in
blessed Peter complete power to shepherd, rule and lead the
whole church." (Florence synod, 6th session
[1439] [DS 1307])
However, as regards the presence of Peter or one of his
supposed followers as the sole substitute for Christ on
earth, it must again be said that there is no such teaching
anywhere in the Bible. It is not found there that Christ
has, as it were, been removed from office and then Peter or
any other person will perform His office. Or perhaps it can
be found in the sense that it was the devil who was guilty
of exalting himself as equal to God [See Isaiah 14:12-14]
So, when many popes have exalted themselves to be equal with
God, they have followed in the devil’s footsteps. In fact,
they are from their "father the devil," as Jesus said to the
religious people of His time (John 8:44).
To the contrary, the Bible states that Christ is still the
head of the Church and that all power rests with Him, as the
following verses show. So, how does the doctrine of the Pope
being Christ's substitute fit in anywhere?
-
(Eph 1:22) And has put all
things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all
things to the church,
-
(Matt 28:18) And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All power
is given to me in heaven and in earth.
On
the other hand, if the Pope really was the substitute of
Christ then his life should also be similar to that of
Christ. Peter certainly was such a follower of Christ. But
is it not a fact that many popes have totally abandoned
Christ even though they pose as His representatives and
substitutes? At least, in the history of the church we can
find countless popes who acted immorally and even killed
millions of people. Maybe this prediction of Paul’s, in
which he refers to grievous wolves, is better applied to
these popes:
-
(Acts 20:29-32) For I know this, that after my
departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not
sparing the flock.
30 Also
of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things,
to draw away disciples after them.
31
Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three
years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with
tears.
32
And now, brothers, I commend you to God, and to the word of
his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an
inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
The
following account of a former Roman Catholic priest (Emmett McLough, Crime
and Immorality in the Catholic Church) describes how
many popes and their successors actually completely gave up
Christ even though they appeared as His representatives or
as His substitutes. We can see that these kinds of persons
do not have anything to do with Christ and God, even though
they claimed otherwise (or as Paul said in
Titus 1:16, They profess that they know God; but in works
they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and to
every good work reprobate.):
Thirteen years ago, when I had intensely studied the history
of the Roman Catholic Church for twenty-one years and after
I had been one of its "learned" priests for fifteen years, I
began to see some of its history little by little. I
gathered thousands of dollars worth of
history books, many of which had not been printed for years.
I scavenged through the country's libraries for rare texts
that had been saved from the censorship of Rome.
I felt a little like a member of a proud, princely, famous,
and respected family, who suddenly find their actual family
tree in the attic. Sitting on almost every branch there were
murderers, liars, cheaters, robbers, blackmailers, bastards,
white-slavers, prostitutes, and all kinds of wrongdoers.
I felt like I had stepped into a Museum of Crime History,
and I wandered from room to room, from century to century in
this ecclesiastical wax museum, and everywhere I saw new
varieties of crimes, vices, and moral decline, so that the
pagan Rome and Greece seemed almost angelic.
I outline this past in short just to prove that the present
criminal record of the Roman Catholic Church is genuine
heritage. We can find such from every century in history.
(…)
4. DID PETER AND PAUL ESTABLISH THE CHURCH OF ROME? If
we continue to study Peter, who is so dear to the Roman
Catholics, we find that many people believe that he was also
the leader of the church in Rome. People think that Peter
was a priest there for up to 20 years, and that Peter and
Paul were the founders of that church.
This belief is mentioned in, among other texts, a book by
Jan Aarts, Paavi (The
Pope, p. 6). In this book, Aarts described
the belief that Peter and Paul were the founders of the
Church of Rome:
As
such, he was also remembered in the post-Apostle period and
this value passed to the Roman congregation and the
episcopal see, because Peter had lived there and there
suffered his martyrdom. The Church of Rome was highly valued
in the first centuries because it was founded by Peter and
Paul, confirmed by their teachings, and sanctified by their
blood...
But
is this true? Were Peter and Paul really the founders of the
Church of Rome? It becomes difficult to prove, at least if
we examine the Bible in the light of the following points:
The church was in Rome before Paul visited there. The
belief that Peter and Paul founded the Church of Rome
together does not fit in with Paul’s letter to the Romans.
When Paul wrote this letter in the year 57 or 58, there must
have already been a church there for a long time; otherwise
he would not have written in the following way and mentioned
his desire to see these people:
-
(Rom 1:8-10) First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for
you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the
whole world.
9
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the
gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of
you always in my prayers;
10
Making request, if by any means now at length I might
have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come to you.
-
(Rom 1:13-15) Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that
oftentimes I purposed to come to you, (but was let till
now,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as
among other Gentiles.
14
I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both
to the wise, and to the unwise.
15
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the
gospel to you that are at Rome also.
-
(Rom 15:23) But now having no more place in these parts, and
having a great desire these many years to come to you
No regards to Peter. Another
observation that can be made from Paul’s letter to the
Romans is that when Paul sent his regards to the members of
the Church of Rome (Romans 16:1-15), he did not say anything
about Peter. Certainly, he would have also sent regards to
Peter if he had been in Rome (It has been said that Peter
was the founder of the Church of Rome and that he lived
there for 20 years). So, the fact that Paul did not
mention Peter in his letter is a clear indication that Peter
was not in Rome at that time.
The letters Paul sent from Rome. After
Paul went to Rome as a captive – not to establish a new
church – he sent three letters from Rome. It should be noted
that in these letters he does not even mention Peter. Certainly he would
have done this if Peter was in Rome at that time, especially
if Peter and he had established the Church of Rome together.
The fact that Paul does not mention him also suggests that
Peter was not currently in Rome.
No reference in the Acts. In
the Acts of the Apostles that describes activities up until
the year 62 A.D. there is no mention of Peter staying in
Rome. It is only mentioned that Paul lived in Rome for two
years.
This is significant because Peter was one of the central
figures in the Book of Acts, and the church in Rome existed
before the end of the book (i.e., the year 62 A.D.) Peter
could not have founded this church. If he had briefly – or
for 20 years – resided in Rome, then certainly the Bible
would have mentioned it because it relates many "lesser"
events concerning Peter. Why is nothing said about this? Is
that not clear evidence that Peter had nothing to do with
the founding of the Church of Rome?
Peter worked among his own nation. The
different tasks undertaken by Paul and Peter do not support
the claim that Peter founded the Church of Rome. Paul was
called to be an Apostle of the Gentiles, but Peter worked
mostly among his own people. Paul wrote about their
different tasks in the following way:
-
(Gal 2:6-9) But of these who seemed to be somewhat,
(whatever they were, it makes no matter to me: God accepts
no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in
conference added nothing to me:
7
But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the
uncircumcision was committed to me, as the gospel of the
circumcision was to Peter;
8 For
he that worked effectually in Peter to the apostleship of
the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the
Gentiles:
9
And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave to me
and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we
should go to the heathen, and they to the circumcision.
Did the church in Rome have a special status?
When the idea was expressed above that Peter and Paul were
the founders of the then church in Rome, it has also been
suggested that this church would have had a special status
already in the time of the apostles. However, it can be said
that it had no more special status than other churches. It
was just one congregation among others and the only one of
its greater significance was based on its location in one of
the great cities of that time. Jan Aarts has explained this
matter well (Paavi, The Pope, p. 46). He notes that in the
300s, political factors began to largely influence the life
of the congregation:
Rome was the capital of the empire and, therefore, its
political and administrative center. It was also an
international center of culture and a meeting place. These
issues naturally had an impact on the significance of the
Church of Rome, but nothing in the first centuries indicates
that they would have given the Church of Rome a special
status over other local churches. Only when Christianity
became popular (in 313 A.D.) and the official religion of
the state (in 380 A.D.) did political matters start to
greatly affect the life of the church. However, they did not
really affect the position of Rome, but the position
of Constantinople, which became the new capital in the year
330.
5. CELIBACY OF PRIESTS.
One peculiarity of the Roman Catholic Church is the celibacy
of the Pope and priests and nuns, which was prescribed by
Pope Bonifatius VII in 1079. (Perhaps this too is based on
the virginity of Mary as created by the church?) In the
Catholic Church, unmarriedness is mandatory for all three
previous groups, and each of them must make a vow of
celibacy, without which no sacraments can take effect. Or if
they were married, it would not then be appropriate to
perform sacred ordinances.
However, does the Bible teach the mandatory unmarriedness
of priests or others? We explore this issue through various
passages:
Avoiding the sin of fornication. If
we look at the general teachings of the Bible concerning the
sexuality of man and woman, we clearly see that men and
women should have a spouse. This is not meant to be
compulsory but marriage is expressly meant to avoid the sin
of fornication and also to satisfy our sexual needs. Paul
brings up this teaching very clearly in his letter to the
Corinthians, for example:
-
(1 Cor 7:1,2) Now concerning the things whereof you wrote to
me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2
Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his
own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
-
(1 Cor 7:8,9) I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is
good for them if they abide even as I.
9
But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better
to marry than to burn.
What is the consequence of the Catholic Church’s not obeying
this above-mentioned advice of the Bible? The following
quote from a newspaper article illustrates this well (Helsingin Sanomat 10
April 1995, Jyrki Palo, Seksiskandaalit koettelevat katolista kirkkoa, “Sex
Scandals Testing Catholic Church”). The article shows how
the celibacy of the priests has led to sexual abuse and
extramarital affairs. Therefore, it has created a path to
immorality and by no means led priests into a purer life:
(...) The Catholic Church requires of its priests absolute
celibacy, i.e., it forbids all sexual relationships. Some
married priests estimate that over half of their former
colleagues actually live with a woman as if they were
married.
(...) Jeremiah Eisenbauer, a
priest in the Austrian monastery of Melk, is one of those
who deem celibacy inhuman. "It's high time to fight against
such a system that almost unavoidably leads to (sexual)
abuse,” he says in a letter to magazine Profil.
Mr. Eisenbauer also heavily
criticizes the hierarchy of central church authority "where
ambitious persons can rise to leading positions to control
others".
Doctrines of devils.
When Paul in the previous verses referred to how it is good
to marry to avoid the sins of fornication, he speaks
elsewhere about how denying marriage is one of the doctrines
of devils. Compulsory celibacy is not a decree of God, as
may have been taught in the Catholic Church, but the very
opposite of it, the doctrine of demons, as Paul once said.
So, when the Catholic Church forbids marriage, is this not
the fulfillment of what Paul said? Or has any other
organization forbidden marriage of its own employees as
widely as the Catholic Church? We can honestly say that
Paul's words are best suited for just that:
-
(1 Tim 4:1-3) Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in
the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving
heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared
with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding
to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,
which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of
them which believe and know the truth.
Peter was married. An
amazing fact is that Peter, whom many Catholics regard as
the rock and the first Pope of the church, was himself
married. He really was married, since some Bible passages
speak about his mother-in-law and elsewhere Paul says right
out that Peter, i.e. Cephas, had a wife. So a
good question is why popes, who regard themselves followers
of Peter, do not take heed of this advice? Should they not,
as Peter's followers, also have a wife?
-
(Matt 8:14,15) And when Jesus was come into Peter’s
house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a
fever.
15
And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she
arose, and ministered to them.
-
(Mark 1:30) But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick
of a fever, and immediately they tell him of her.
-
(1 Cor 9:5) Have we not power to lead about a sister, a
wife, as well as other apostles, and as the
brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
The husband of one wife. One
verse where the Bible refers to the characteristics of a
shepherd of a congregation also implies that they should
have a wife. Paul speaks very clearly about this in 1
Timothy, and he indicates that the shepherd of a church
should usually be the husband of one wife and able to manage
his household. A good question is why has this advice not
been obeyed and why has marriage been forbidden even though
this Bible passage, for example, proves it to be favorable
in the cases of the shepherds of the church?
-
(1 Tim 3:2-5) A bishop then must be blameless, the
husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior,
given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3
Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;
but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
4
One that rules well his own house, having his children in
subjection with all gravity;
5 For
if a man know not how to rule his
own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?
The
problem of the Catholic Church
Previously, we discussed the celibacy of priests, Peter as
the substitute of Christ, the position of the Pope and Mary
as mediators, and we noted that none of these are mentioned
in the Bible. The Bible does not refer to these in any way;
they are later inventions of the Catholic Church.
This constitutes the greatest problem with the Catholic
Church. When the doctrines are not searched for support from
the Bible, it is possible for new, foreign doctrines to flow
into the church. Over the centuries, there have been more
and more of them, so that today the Church has gone pretty
far astray. These new doctrines that have been gathered over
the years have become regular "traditions", which have in
fact replaced the Word of God.
It is peculiar that the Catholic Church has officially
confirmed the importance of traditions. This appears from
the publications of the Catholic Church, such as the Finnish
Catholic Catechism (1953) and a book describing the
foundation of the Catholic faith, Katolisen uskon perusteet
(Katolinen tiedotuskeskus, Helsinki, 1992). These
publications give traditions a strong foothold:
Is
it enough that we believe what is in the Holy Bible?
No;
we should also believe in tradition because tradition is an
unwritten Bible. (Finnish Catechism, p. 9)
So what
must Christians generally believe in?
Christians must believe everything that God has informed and
what the Catholic Church urges us to believe, whether it was
written in the Holy Bible or not. (Finnish Catechism, p. 10)
(...) The Catholic Church emphasizes the connection between
the Bible and tradition (...) (Katolisen uskon perusteet, p.
157)
(...) The Catholic Church demands a right to accept some
interpretation of the Bible as correct or to reject an
interpretation, which distorts inherited belief. (Katolisen uskon perusteet, p.
83)
The
fact that the Catholic Church sets tradition alongside the
Word of God, or in practice to replace it, is a great
tragedy. This is tragic because these new traditions
displace the position of Jesus, the Son of God, as the only
Savior, as He Himself said (in, e.g., John 14:6 and John
10:9) and replace Him with things that lead men astray and
into damnation. So it is actually remarkable that even
though the Catholics can respect Jesus as the Son of God and
the Apostles as saints, they do not respect the written word
that has come through them. They replace them with their
later traditions.
The appreciation of the Catholic Church for these traditions
is in fact the same as was the appreciation of the Pharisees
in Jesus' time for the same thing. These people who lived at
the same time as Jesus, and who actually were the greatest
opponents of the Gospel and Jesus, were guilty of setting
their traditions and their human ordinances in the place of
the Word of God. However, Jesus reprimanded these hypocrites
for their offences:
-
(Matt 15:1-3 6-9) Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees,
which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2
Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the
elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3
But he answered and said to them, Why do
you also transgress the commandment of God by your
tradition?
6
And honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have
you made the commandment of God of none effect by your
tradition.
7 You
hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8
This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me
with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.
4. Purgatory
The
fact that in the Catholic Church Jesus has remained
somewhere in the background and aside, is also evident from
its doctrine of Purgatory. Because the sufficiency of Jesus'
work of atonement has not been taught, the Catholic Church
has had to resort to other things in the forgiveness of
sins, which have tried to replace Jesus and then earn
salvation. These other things include e.g. mass,
self-selected works, penance exercises and post-death
atonement, i.e. the concept of Purgatory.
The Catholic Church teaches about Purgatory that even though
Jesus' death made it possible to be freed from guilt and to
be forgiven for our sins, it does not remove all the
punishment for sin. Because of this, the sinner does not go
to heaven immediately after death, but must first suffer a
certain amount of torment in purgatory before he is ready to
enter the final bliss. Although some rare souls, such as
"saints", may go directly to Heaven, most devout Catholics
are of the opinion that they will have to spend at least
some time in Purgatory in order to be cleansed of their sins
and eventually enter heaven.
The doctrine of Purgatory appears at least in the Catechism
of the Catholic Church (1953). It teaches about this, e.g.
in the following paragraphs. One of them mentions the
typical activity of the Catholic Church, prayers and masses
for those in Purgatory:
(Finnish catechism 1953)
Where does the soul go straight after the personal judgment
?
The
soul will go either to Heaven, Hell, or the Purgatory. (p.
57)
Which souls go to the Purgatory?
Those devout souls go to the Purgatory who have either
departed from life in forgivable sins or who have to suffer
temporal punishments for their sins. (p. 57, 58)
How
long will the souls remain in the Purgatory?
The
souls will remain in the Purgatory until they are perfectly
clean and worthy to behold God. (p. 58)
What is our connection to those in the Purgatory?
We
help them with prayers, alms and other good works,
especially with the offering of the Holy Mass (the day of
all souls). (p. 55)
Purgatory was also mentioned in the Synod of Trento. They
deemed impossible the comforting teaching of the Bible
concerning man’s everlasting punishment being wiped off
already here on Earth:
If
someone is to say that after receiving the gift of
justification, every penitent sinner is forgiven, and the
well-earned everlasting punishment is wiped away so that the
debt to temporal punishment is not to be paid in this world
or in Purgatory before entry to the kingdom of the heavens:
let him be banned." (Decision of the Council of Trento
Tridentinum 22, C, 2)
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Looking in the Bible, we can find no clear evidence
supporting Purgatory. This teaching cannot be found in the
Bible and the word is never mentioned there. Among others,
the following passages teach that there is no Purgatory.
The thief went directly to paradise. An
indication that the doctrine of Purgatory is not true is
found in the story about the thief who died at the same time
as Jesus. This thief who is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke
did not arrive in Purgatory; he arrived in paradise on the
very same day. That is, if purgatory were true, shouldn't at
least he have been there, because he had had a lot of sin in
his life? However, why is nothing like this mentioned?
-
(Luke 23:43) And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, To day
shall you be with me in paradise.
Directly home to the Lord. Paul
stated the same truth. He wrote that if we are children of
God we will go directly to the Lord after we die; we will
leave this body and enter into His presence. Paul did not
mention anything about Purgatory or some kind of an
interstitial existence:
-
(2 Cor 5:8) We are confident, I say, and willing
rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with
the Lord.
-
(Phil 1:23) For I am in a strait between two, having a
desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far
better:
1 Cor 3:8-15. Verses
that have been used to try to justify the doctrine of
Purgatory include 1 Corinthians: "If any man's work shall be
burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved;
yet so as by fire."
It is good to note, however, that these verses have no
reference to Purgatory, but speak of our labors, the wages
that a saved man may once gain or lose before the judgment
seat of God. So if we have built on the foundation of Christ
"from gold, silver and jewel", we will get our reward; if
our building is only "tree, grass or straw" we cannot
receive that reward, but we will be saved nevertheless. In
short, this is Paul's teaching on the matter and does not
speak of any Purgatory.
After death there will be the Judgment, not Purgatory.
The doctrine teaching the existence of Purgatory includes
the idea that one can atone for one's Sins even after death
and make an impact on one's own salvation, but this is
impossible. According to the Bible, only judgment can be
expected after death, not a new chance for salvation. If our
name is not in the book of life now, after the judgment we
will not go to Purgatory or any intermediate state, but to
eternal damnation:
- (Hebr 9:27) And
as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the
judgment:
-
(Rev 20:12-15) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand
before God; and the books were opened: and another book was
opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged
out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works.
13
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and
hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were
judged every man according to their works.
14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is
the second death.
15 And
whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire.
Another matter worthy of consideration is the fact that if
we have not made the decision to turn to Jesus and God in
our lifetime, then we cannot be helped by the prayers of
other people, such as our relatives, once we cross the
border. It is customary in the Catholic Church to conduct
masses and prayers – generally subject to a fee – on behalf
of the dead, but we must see that these masses and prayers
can no longer help us beyond the border. Only if we turn to
Jesus in our lifetime can we be spared judgment, because He
eliminates it:
-
(Rom 8:1) There is therefore now no condemnation to
them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit.
-
(John 3:17,18) For God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved.
18 He
that believes on him is not condemned: but he that
believes not is condemned already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
-
(John 5:24) Truly, truly, I say to you, He that hears my
word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation;
but is passed from death to life.
Everything is already fulfilled.
One
problem with the purgatory doctrine is that it renders
meaningless Jesus' atonement. It argues that His work on the
cross is not enough, but that there is also a need for
atonement after death, that is, Purgatory.
But if we look at the Bible, it shows very well that we have
already been reconciled to God through Jesus, and that
“he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to
God by him (Hebr 7:25)." In other words, if everything
is already ready on God's side, then why do we need any more
purgatory doctrines or other special doctrines? They are
nothing more than useless human doctrines that do not serve
any purpose, but only make people confused or get them into
the vain illusion that they can atone for their sins later
on. If everything is already ready and paid for on our
behalf, why would we try to add other things to it to mess
up?
-
(Rom 5:10,11) For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the
atonement.
-
(2 Cor 5:19,20) To wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their
trespasses to them; and has committed to us the word of
reconciliation.
20
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did
beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be you
reconciled to God.
-
(Col 1:19-21) For it pleased the Father that in him should
all fullness dwell;
20
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by
him to reconcile all things to himself; by him, I
say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
21
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now has he reconciled
-
(1 John 2:2) And he is the propitiation for our sins:
and not for our’s only, but also
for the sins of the whole world.
-
(John 19:30) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar,
he said, It is
finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the
ghost.
-
(Hebr 7:25) Why he is able
also to save them to the uttermost that come to God by him,
seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.
-
(Luke 14:17) And sent his servant at supper time to say to
them that were bidden, Come; for
all things are now ready.
All sins forgiven. The
Bible teaches that our redemption through Jesus is perfect
and that if we turn to Him we will be forgiven all of our
sins, not just some of them.
So if all our sins – the
whole lot – are forgiven and we are cleansed of them as the
Bible says, then we do not need any other cleansing
processes after death. They are futile and useless, and not
even mentioned in the Bible:
-
(Col 2:13) And you, being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, has he quickened together with
him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
- (Hebr 10:17,18) And their
sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now
where remission of these is, there is no more offering for
sin.
-
(1 John 1:7,9) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleans us from all sin.
9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
5. How can we be saved?
It
is important that we have the correct teachings and idea of
salvation. It is important because if we put our trust in
issues that cannot save us, one day we may find ourselves in
damnation. We may find ourselves in damnation because we
have relied on things that do not hold fast on the other
side of the border.
Below, we are going to study salvation so that it might be
clear to all. We will study it so that you who have not yet
received eternal life can get it.
CAN THE CHURCH SAVE? Many
Roman Catholics regard their church as a "mother" and that
people must be members of the church in order to be saved.
They may also regard it as "the only right church", and
believe that nobody can be saved outside of it. The Roman
Catholic Catechism illustrates this position:
What is the significance of the Roman Catholic Church being
the only church with the four distinctive marks of a Church
of Christ?
It
means that the Roman Catholic Church alone is the right
Church of Christ. (p. 50)
What do we call the Catholic Church because it alone has
received from Christ the power and means to lead people to
eternal salvation? (p. 53)
For
that reason, we call the Catholic Church the only church of
salvation. (p 53)
Since the Catholic Church is the only church that saves,
what is the responsibility of every man?
Everyone who knows that the Catholic Church is the right
Church of Christ is obliged to be its member, to believe its
doctrines, to enjoy its sacraments, and to be subject to its
authority or lose eternal life. (p. 53)
However, the Bible contains no references to the church’s
role in salvation. The Bible does not instruct people to
join some special church in order to gain salvation.
Instead, the Bible very clearly states that salvation is
found in Jesus alone. He is the way to God the Father and to
Heaven, not a church organization. Why would we not turn to
him, since eternal life is in Him alone?
-
(John 5:40) And you will not come to me, that you
might have life.
-
(John 6:68,69) Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to
whom shall we go? you have the words of eternal life.
69
And we believe and are sure that you are that Christ, the
Son of the living God.
-
(John 14:6) Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.
-
(John 8:24) I said therefore to you, that you shall die in
your sins: for if you believe not that I am he, you
shall die in your sins.
-
(Acts 4:11,12) This is the stone which was set at nothing of
you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.
The
discussion below shows what it is all about. We must not
allow our spiritual eyes to be blinded by the religious
system, so that we do not see the most essential issue.
These individuals in the story (the description is from
Vihasta vapauteen [From Fury to Freedom], Raul Ries, p.
127) were also Catholics who before could not distinguish
the essential from the irrelevant:
He
seemed a bit relieved.
-
Uh-huh, so it was. And yes, I needed that change. Sometimes
it is very difficult to admit that religion that has always
been in the family is by no means as good as we imagined. Or
at least it hasn't worked very well. It is difficult when
one has always been a Catholic...
Father's voice faded away when he became lost in his
thoughts. I could not help but feel compassion when I knew
his conflicting feelings. Of course, Jesus was a very
important part of the Catholic faith. He was the Savior, who
died on the cross for all our sins. He was raised from the
dead and now He is in Heaven. Those points were quite
valuable to Catholicism and as also to me. And yet...
-
Dad, the problem is that we cannot receive forgiveness
through a religious system. We have to get forgiveness from
Jesus. There are too many traditions and deeds of man in
Catholicism that many people miss the main point. Those
people will never know God. And even more common is that
they will never know that God really loves them!
-
Yep, he gave a laugh, - I was never sure about the existence
of God… Not to mention a God who loves me.
I laughed too.
THE SACRAMENTS OR FAITH? Another
consideration is the reliance of many people upon the Roman
Catholic sacraments. In the Roman Catholic Church there
are seven sacraments (baptism, communion, confirmation,
confession, extreme unction, ordination and marriage) and it
is commonly believed that God's saving grace is transmitted
through them. These sacraments – except for the last two –
are mandatory and if a man neglects to use the sacraments he
may lose God's grace. The Catholic catechism also very
clearly illustrates their importance. In that catechism are
found the following instructions about sacraments:
How
can the sanctifying grace be increased?
The
sanctifying grace can be increased
1) by enjoying the sacraments,
2)
by works performed in the condition of grace (p. 110)
What is a sacrament?
A
sacrament is an external sign set by Jesus Christ, where God
dispenses internal grace to us. (p. 112)
What grace do the sacraments give?
1)
The sacraments give the grace of sanctification or increase
what has already been received
2)
Each sacrament gives those gifts that correspond to its
special purpose. (p. 113)
Through what are the gifts of redemption distributed?
The
gifts of redemption are mainly distributed through the
offering of the Holy Mass and by giving the holy sacraments.
(p. 52)
We
must note that the sacraments alone cannot save anyone. No
ceremonies can themselves bring us God’s grace. It is
essential that we believe in Jesus as the only source of our
salvation; we receive this salvation simply by believing, by
placing our trust in Him. When we believe in Jesus as Saviour,
we no longer rely on other things, such as the sacraments or
something in ourselves; we place all our trust in Him. Only
in this way can we be saved:
-
(John 3:14,15) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That
whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal
life.
-
(John 3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
-
(John 6:40) And this is the will of him that sent me, that every
one which sees the Son, and believes on him, may have
everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the
last day.
-
(Acts 10:43) To him give all the prophets witness, that
through his name whoever believes in him shall receive
remission of sins.
-
(Acts 16:30,31) And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?
31
And they said, Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and
your house.
-
(Gal 3:22) But the scripture has concluded all under sin, that
the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them
that believe.
- (Eph 3:11,12) According
to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord:
12 In
whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the
faith of him.
-
(1 John 5:13) These things have I written to you that
believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know
that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on
the name of the Son of God.
CONFESSION – CAN A MAN FORGIVE SINS? The
third thing that Roman Catholics trust for salvation is
confession and the absolution of their sins, as delivered by
a priest. They think that when they confess their sins to a
priest, that priest really does possess the power to forgive
these sins.
Doctor Zachello, who was a
priest in the Catholic Church, described how he faced this
matter when he was in the confessional:
I
was troubled mostly by suspicions in the confessional.
People came to me, kneeled before me, and confessed their
sins to me. And I promised with the mark of the cross that I
had the power to forgive them their sins. I, a sinner, took
the place of God. The people had broken God’s laws, not
mine. Hence, they also should have confessed their sins to
God, and pray for forgiveness from God alone. (11)
But
it is good to note that no absolution given by man can
replace the forgiveness and salvation that can be received
from God alone. For, "Who can forgive sins but God
only?" (Mark 2:7); and "Salvation to our God
which sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." (Rev
7:10).
So we
can receive forgiveness for our sins from God alone. We
receive it by accepting Jesus into our lives and turning to
Him. The forgiveness promised by God is in Jesus alone, and
not in the formulas for
absolution given by the priests:
-
(Acts 10:43) To him give all the prophets witness, that
through his name whoever believes in him shall receive
remission of sins.
-
(Acts 13:38,39) Be it known to you therefore, men and
brothers, that through this man is preached to you the
forgiveness of sins:
39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things,
from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
- (Eph 1:7) In
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
-
(Col 1:14) In whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
-
(1 John 2:12) I write to you, little children, because
your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
DOING ONE’S BEST. Some
people may put their trust in doing their best. They think
that when they do their best to fulfill the will of God, God
finally gives His grace and acceptance to them. Luther
explained this in his work "Commentary on Galatians"
(Finnish text, p. 214):
The
correct way to receive righteousness isn’t that you do what
you can; this phrase is used by sophists and scholastics.
They say that if a man does what he can then God will
definitely give His grace to him. This saying is one of the
most important of the sophists and is quite like a creed.
We
must note, however, that doing your best is not enough in
the eyes of God. The Bible tells us that, "Yet none of you
keeps the law," and for that reason, we are under a curse.
We are under a curse, and we can never be shown acceptable
before God by our own works:
-
(John 7:19) …and yet none of you keeps the law…
-
(Gal 3:10) For as many as are of the works of the law
are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is
every one that continues not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them.
Our
only hope of becoming acceptable before God is through
Jesus. He fulfilled for us what we could not fulfill
ourselves. He fulfilled the law for us, that is, he bridged
the gap between God and man: He became a Mediator for us:
-
(Gal 4:4,5) But when the fullness of the time was come, God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the
law,
5 To
redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons.
-
(Rom 8:3) For what the law could not do, in
that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his
own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for
sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
-
(Matt 5:17) Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
come to destroy, but to fulfill.
-
(1 Tim 2:5,6) For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who
gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in
due time.
- (Hebr 9:15) And
for this cause he is the
mediator of the new testament, that by means of
death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might
receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
THE ACTS OF COMPENSATION AND PENANCE ordered
by the priests are also included in confession. Those can
include such tasks as reciting the Hail Mary, the Lord's
Prayer or other prayers ten times, fasting, giving money,
doing different kinds of good works, refraining from
amusements, and/or other activities as ordered by the
priest.
The Catholic Almanac describes the significance of penance
in the following way:
The
practice of penance is a necessary condition for
salvation... and Christ ordained it for the remission of
sins. (pp.269,559)
But
can acts of compensation or penance remove our sins or save
anyone? The answer is that they certainly can
not. The following three points prove this:
Salvation is a gift. The
first point that contradicts this notion that we can effect our
own salvation through acts of compensation or penance as
ordered by a priest is the fact that salvation is a gift. If
we had to pay even a little bit, or somehow earn it,
salvation would no longer be a gift but won on our own
merits. he gift must be received as it is or else it cannot
be received at all. There is no intermediate form between
these two matters:
- (Eph 2:8) For by
grace are you saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:
-
(Rom 3:24) Being justified freely by his grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
-
(Rom 6:23) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
-
(Rev 21:6) And he said to me, It is
done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I
will give to him that is thirsty of the fountain of the
water of life freely.
-
(Rev 22:17) And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let
him that hears say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come.
And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Not by works. Another
thing that testifies against the fact that a person could
influence salvation through his penance practices and acts
of reparation is the fact that we are not saved through
works. Significantly, this is what the Apostle Paul spoke,
among others, who could state that "I labored more
abundantly than they all." (1 Cor 15:10). So if Paul
considered his actions null and void for salvation, how
could we put our trust in them either? They can never take
anyone to heaven, and they do nothing to benefit anyone in
terms of salvation:
-
(Rom 3:20) Therefore by the deeds of the law there
shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the
law is the knowledge of sin.
-
(Rom 4:6) Even as David also describes the blessedness of
the man, to whom God imputes righteousness without
works,
-
(Gal 2:16) Knowing that a man is not justified by the
works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,
even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of
the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be
justified.
-
(Gal 3:10) For as many as are of the works of the law
are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is
every one that continues not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them.
- (Eph 2:8,9) For
by grace are you saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not
of works, lest any man should boast.
-
(2 Tim 1:9) Who has saved us, and called us
with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began,
-
(Titus 3:5) Not by works of righteousness which we
have done, but according to his mercy he saved us,
by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost;
Actions have a completely different meaning for us. Instead
of putting our trust in them in the matter of salvation,
they should follow salvation itself. They are not an
instrument of salvation, but can be one of its positive
consequences. The following discussion mentions the same
thing:
-
No, not so much in that but in what Jesus accomplished on
the cross.
-
Why do you think Christ suffered on the cross?
-
Oh, I know that now. He hung there for my sins. He fulfilled
what cannot be accomplished by any human power...
-
But what will happen now to your acts of compensation and
penance and your fasts and all your good works over these
many years?
-
Oh, don't speak about them. We can't add anything to that
lovely redemption and atonement that Christ carried out.
After all, you read me about His death on the cross because
of my sins. There is nothing left for me to do...
- How strange! If I understand you correctly, it seems to me
as if you Protestants believe that we must confess our sins,
and that we have an intercessor; you even seem to think that
we must practice good works but only when we have been
saved, not as tools to gain salvation, and you pray to God
in the name of Jesus Christ and not in the name of the
virgin Mary. (12)
Jesus' work for us. The
third thing that negates people's acts of reparation or
other acts as an instrument of salvation is, of course, that
Jesus died for us and became a substitute for us. That is,
if He has done everything for us, how can anyone try to
influence salvation through himself anymore? We are almost
2000 years late in relation to that:
-
(Rom 5:6) For when we were yet without strength, in due
time Christ died for the ungodly.
-
(Rom 5:8) But God commends his love toward us, in that, while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
-
(Rom 8:32) He that spared not his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things?
-
(Gal 2:20) I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me.
-
(Gal 3:13) Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the
law, being made a curse for us: for it is
written, Cursed is every one that
hangs on a tree
-
(1 Thess 5:10) Who died for
us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live
together with him.
-
(Tit 2:14) Who gave himself for us, that he
might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works.
-
(1 John 3:16) Hereby perceive we the love of God, because
he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay
down our lives for the brothers.
-
(1 Tim 2:6) Who gave himself a ransom for all,
to be testified in due time.
-
(1 Peter 3:18) For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the
just for the unjust, that he might bring us to
God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the
Spirit:
- (Hebr 6:20) Where
the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus,
made an high priest for ever
after the order of Melchisedec.
-
(Isa 53:5-6) But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was on him; and with his stripes
we are healed.
6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the
iniquity of us all.
-
(Rom 4:25) Who was delivered for our offenses,
and was raised again for our justification.
The Pope's understanding of salvation
Although several verses of the Bible show that the basis of
salvation is only the work of Jesus for us and that we are
not saved by our works, despite everything, several popes
have not understood this.
For example, late Pope John Paul II did not understand this
issue, but replaced them with his own doctrine of salvation,
which included e.g. giving up tobacco and alcohol. Through
these things - which in themselves can be good - he thought
people could be forgiven of their sins. This statement by
the Pope, which clearly contradicts the previous verses of
the New Testament, is evident from the following newspaper
article. It's from a few years ago. When the Pope teaches
forgiveness of sins, e.g. through giving up tobacco, he is
actually rejecting Jesus' work and considering it worthless.
Unfortunately, the Pope also leads others astray and
perdition as he teaches them to trust in things that can
never save them. This perception of his is certainly due to
the simple reason that the gospel has not yet become clear
to him:
Giving up Smoking Brings Heaven Closer
Now
the church has announced it – in the Vatican and from the
mouth of the Pope himself: he who stops smoking collects
valuable bonus points for redeeming his place in heaven.
In an official letter or a bulla, published for the 2000th anniversary
of Christianity, Pope John Paul lists the good works that
can enable people to get absolution for themselves and
relief for their loved ones in purgatory in the year 2000.
Even by stopping smoking for one day, one can be forgiven
many sins. The longer you are without smoking, the closer
your place in heaven will be.
The Pope's list of penances also includes giving up
alcohol. When you don’t drink alcohol, you are again closer
to paradise.
The money saved by giving up these vices must, of course, be
offered to charity.
(...) Buying a remembrance mass for a dear departed is
also regarded as a good deed. There is not an actual price
for this mass, but everybody can pay what he wants. Usually,
at least FIM 150 is donated to the church.
People already in the spiritual realm can be helped in this
way and their time in purgatory will be shortened.
(...) Next year, you can shorten the list of your sins by
making significant donations to the church or to social
activity, by confessing, and by taking part in the
communion.
Good Catholics often go to church and pray expressly for the
issues presented by the Pope that also include a long life
for the Pope himself. (...) (13)
BECOMING HOLY.
One peculiarity of the Catholic Church is
"canonization". The Catholic Church has a practice in which
dead people are canonized: it is believed that these people
were somehow special and chosen by God. For example, Pope
John Paul ll canonized almost
500 people. (Newspaper Helsingin Sanomat 6
October 2003), more than all those canonized by his
predecessors since the 1500s.
However, everyone can be holy and righteous – not by oneself
but through Jesus. The following points are associated with
this topic and we will study them in more detail:
1.
God justifies the wicked
2.
Not a goal achieved little by little
3.
The foundation is Christ's obedience
4.
No difference between people
1. God justifies the wicked.
Many Catholics and religious people in general think that a
person must first be good enough before God can justify him.
They may think that a person must first have enough merit
and good deeds, only then will he be worthy and righteous
before God. They consider a person's change and becoming
good as a condition for the fulfillment of God’s
justification.
However, this notion is completely wrong. God does not
justify man's life and deeds, but man's self and without
merits. The Bible even says that God justifies the wicked
and ungodly, that is, a person who cannot have any previous
merits (We are not disparaging good deeds here. They may
and they should be a consequence of salvation, but by
themselves, good deeds save nobody.) This is all happens
the moment we turn to God through Jesus:
-
(Rom 5:6) For when we were yet without strength, in due
time Christ died for the ungodly.
-
(Rom 4:5) But to him that works not, but believes on him that
justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for
righteousness.
-
(Rom 4:6) Even as David also describes the blessedness of
the man, to whom God imputes righteousness without
works,
-
(Rom 3:28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by
faith without the deeds of the law.
-
(Rom 3:24) Being justified freely by his grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
2. Not a goal achieved little by little. Righteousness
and becoming holy is not a process either. It does not mean
that a person first, under the influence of "sanctifying
grace" (In general, religious people explain that even
the best life is due to God's grace.) does enough good
deeds and bears the fruit of the spirit, then God will
finally justify him.
Instead, a person always becomes holy and righteous before
God in one moment, when he turns to Jesus Christ. The
following verses are talking about how people already have
righteousness, not how they gradually get it. And even
though, for example, the parishioners of Corinth were very
flawed, they were still righteous and holy before God:
-
(Rom 5:1) Therefore being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
-
(Rom 5:9) Much more then, being now justified by his
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
-
(1 Cor 6:11) And such were some of you: but you are washed,
but you are sanctified, but you are justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
-
(1 Cor 1:2) To the
church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints,
with all that in every place call on the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord, both their’s and our’s:
-
(1 Cor 3:16,17) Know you not that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17
If any man defile the temple of God,
him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy,
which temple you are.
3. The foundation is Christ's obedience.
Many religious people may stress their religious
achievements and compare themselves to others, considering
themselves superior to others.
However, when it comes to getting righteousness, it doesn't
matter at all if we are better than others. The only chance
for any man to become righteous is only that Christ himself
was obedient before the law. Only when we understand this
thing, that is, that the foundation of our salvation and
righteousness is outside us in Christ, who himself was
obedient before the law, can we really gain salvation:
-
(Rom 5:19) For as by one man’s disobedience many were made
sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous.
-
(Rom 4:25) Who was delivered for our offenses, and was
raised again for our justification.
4. No differences between people. As
we receive Jesus Christ into our lives, one consequence is
that we receive His righteousness. We will then actually
become as acceptable before God as He Himself is and can
therefore pray with confidence. Nor does this righteousness
vary from day to day like the tide, but will remain all the
time unless we ourselves renounce God. After all, it is not
a question of our own righteousness, but the righteousness
we get through Christ. The following verses are a few of the
many references to this topic in the Bible:
-
(1 Cor 1:30) But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who
of God is made to us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption:
-
(Rom 3:22,24,26) Even the righteousness of God which is
by faith of Jesus Christ to all and on all them that
believe: for there is no difference:
24 Being
justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus:
26
To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he
might be just, and the justifier of him which believes in
Jesus.
-
(Acts 13:38,39) Be it known to you therefore, men and
brothers, that through this man is preached to you the
forgiveness of sins:
39 And
by him all that believe are justified from all things,
from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Furthermore, when a person receives the righteousness of
Christ, then there is no difference between people. There is
no difference between e.g. Paul and today's believers.
Likewise, Elijah, the great hero of faith, was no more
righteous than any of us. These people were and are, through
Christ, exactly the same and just as righteous as we are:
-
(James 5:16,17) Confess your faults one to another, and pray
one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
17 Elias
was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he
prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not
on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
HE THAT HAS THE SON HAS LIFE.
Above we have talked about how people can have wrong
foundations in the matter of salvation. These can be e.g.
trusting in one's actions, the sacraments or trusting in
Mary and the help of the saints.
However, there is only one thing that a person needs in
order to receive eternal life and to become a part of
salvation, and that is that he has received the Son of God,
or Jesus, into his life. No one is saved through the
previous things, but only by having the Son of God. If we do
not have Him, that is, Jesus has not yet been allowed to
enter our life, then we do not yet have eternal life. It's
that simple:
-
(1 John 5:12) He that has the Son has life; and he
that has not the Son of God has not life.
However, if you want to have eternal life, you can get it in
an instant. Take these steps:
1. Turn to God and give your life to him.
The first step is to receive God and Jesus Christ. Confess
that you are a sinner who needs salvation and say that you
want God's plan to come true in your life. You do not need
to try to become better first, just turn with all your
defects toward God.
2. Receive Jesus.
When eternal life is only in Jesus Christ, it is natural
that you need to ask Him into your life. You can simply say,
"Lord, Jesus, come into my life! According to the Bible,
Jesus is already standing at the door of our heart and is
waiting for a chance to step into our lives:
-
(Rev 3:20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if
any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with
him, and he with me.
If
you do this, then – according to the Scripture – you are a
child of God and you have eternal life. You have this
eternal life, no matter how you feel at the moment. Do not
base your assurance of salvation on your ever-changing
emotions, but rest in the word of the Bible and on Jesus
Christ, just like the anchor of a ship is never thrown
inside the ship but always outside.
-
(John 1:12) But as many as received him, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name:
-
(1 John 5:11-13) And this is the record, that God has given
to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He
that has the Son has life; and he that has not the
Son of God has not life.
13
These things have I written to you that believe on the name
of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal
life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of
God.
THE PRAYER OF SALVATION.
Lord Jesus, I turn to You. I confess that I have sinned
against You and I have not lived according to Your will.
However, I want to turn from my sins and follow You with all
my heart. I believe that my sins have been forgiven by Your
atonement work and I have received eternal life through You.
I thank You for the salvation You have given me. Amen.
References:
1. Quote from Marian kolmet kasvot by
Paavo Hiltunen, p. 110, 111.
2. Pius lX, Ubi Primum, sit. Mark
Miravalle, Introduction to Mary. The Heart of Marian
Doctrine and Devotion. Queenship Publishing Co.,
Santa Barbara 1993
3. Leo Xlll, Octori mense, Quote Mark
Miravalle, Introduction to Mary. The Heart of Marian
Doctrine and Devotion. Queenship Publishing Co.,
Santa Barbara 1993
4.Quote from Vatikaani profetiassa by
Leo Meller, p. 53,54.
5. Ries Raul, Vihasta vapauteen (From
Fury to Freedom), p. 125, 126
6. Cruz Nicky, Juokse henkesi edestä (Devil on the
Run), p. 19
7. Hiltunen Paavo, Marian kolmet kasvot, p. 82
8. Setälä Päivi, Keskiajan nainen, p. 42
9. Holmqvist Hjalmar, Kyrkohistoria 1,
p. 152
10. Ries Raul, Vihasta vapauteen (From
Fury to Freedom), p. 108
11.
Berry Harold J. and
Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism, p. 203
12. Bird Cyril Mrs, Missä vietät iäisyytesi?, p.
43,44.
13. Article in newspaper Etelä-Suomen
Sanomat, approximately in the year 2000 by Leena Sirkiä
Sources:
Paavo Hiltunen:
Marian kolmet kasvot
Leo Meller: Vatikaani profetiassa
Jan Aarts: Paavi
Oswald J. Smith:
Kutsu elämään [The Challenge of Life]
Raul Ries:
Vihasta vapauteen [From Fury to Freedom]
Alberto R. Rivera:
Alberto
More on this topic:
Theoretical belief. Many have faith in God, having outward forms of Christianity, and some are even
church workers, but they still do not know the matter of salvation
Religiousness or faith? What
is the difference between religiosity and saving faith in
Jesus and God? They are not the same thing
Are you a foolish virgin? It is possible to be a member of the
church and attend church, but still be a foolish virgin, or
unsaved person. What are the characteristics of such
religiosity?
About salvation. How do Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses understand salvation,
and how their teaching differs from traditional Christian and
biblical teaching?
Church leaders and God; that is, how many priests and bishops have drifted beyond the Christian
faith
Misled priests; that is, how modern priests have created their own religion based on the
basic assumptions of atheism
