Yesterday, I wrote the Truth about Mary, the Mother of Jesus — outlining Mary’s history from the prediction of the virgin birth of Jesus to the annunciation; later, the last mentions of Mary and Jesus’ brothers and sisters in the Gospels, Acts and Paul’s letters. The question now lies on how did we get from the Mother of Jesus to the Mother of God and her being lifted higher than the saints and worshiped alongside, if not above Jesus. Find out who started the pagan ritual of worshiping Mary.
Lies, false doctrines, is what all this is. (At the bottom there’s a video of Mike Winger as he explains the falsehoods of Catholic doctrine.)
The Very Early Church
We first have early church leaders like Clement, Jerome and Tertullian saying that Mary was a perpetual virgin. That is wrong because we know that Jesus had brothers and sisters — not cousins — not step-siblings! Marital relations between a husband and wife — Mary and Joseph — is not a sin!
We know that Jesus was just not man, but also God — a part of the Holy Trinity — God, the Father; God, the Son and God, the Holy Spirit. Thus, one can easily go from “Mary, Mother of Jesus” to “Mary, Mother of God”. The problem with that is she’s not the mother of God. No one is the mother of God. God created everything, including humans. Mary was human, thus a creation. How can a creation create her creator? Mary was just a vessel to carry the infant Jesus. Once Jesus was grown and started His ministry, Mary was just another follower.
In the beginning the Word already existed.
John 1:1-4 NLT
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
Lifting Mary above all Saints
By the middle of the 5th century (400s), she was placed at the head of all saints. Festivals associated with her also sprang up in that time…
- Feast of the Annunciation on March 25th
- Candlemas on February 2
- The celebration of her “purification” after the birth of Christ (this is a false teaching)
- The Assumption on August 15 (I’ll get to that one in another post)
Emperor Justinian asked her intercession on behalf of his empire. By 590, she was being worshiped in the Roman church.1
Veneration of Saints
I wrote about how the honoring of the Christian martyrs of the first 3 centuries after Christ turned into worship. It became part of pagan traditions that slowly crept into the church. Part of pagan worship was the veneration of heroes, dead ancestors as well a god for every natural occurrence. Every god had a feast day. Now, every saint has a feast day.
Who are Catholic Saints?
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church Chapter 2, Article 1, 61, “The patriarchs, prophets, and certain other Old Testament figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all the church’s liturgical traditions.”…
…The Catholic Church teaches that it does not “make” or “create” saints, but rather recognizes them. Proofs of heroic virtue required in the process of beatification will serve to illustrate in detail the general principles exposed above upon proof of their “holiness” or likeness to God.
On 3 January 993, Pope John XV became the first pope to proclaim a person a “saint” from outside the diocese of Rome: on the petition of the German ruler, he had canonized Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg. Before that time, the popular “cults”, or venerations, of saints had been local and spontaneous and were confirmed by the local bishop.
Wikipedia
Not to be confused with the “saints of the Gospel” which are the true believers…
We have ONE INTERCESSOR/MEDIATOR — JESUS CHRIST!
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For,
There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.
This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. 7 And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-7 NLT
Paul is telling Timothy that we, as believers, can intercede for another person in prayer to God. We have a direct line to God, the Father, through God, the Son. For instance, I pray every day for total healing from cancer for a friend of mine. That’s called intercessory prayer — and it works.
Why Can’t Mary or the Saints be Intercessors?
Because they were human and they died like all humans have and will. The Catholic Church teaches that it’s OK to pray to dead people because it does not teach that you can have a personal relationship with Jesus. Yes, that’s why He came into this world!
Jesus didn’t die so we could have religion!
He died so we could have a relationship with Him and God, the Father through the Holy Spirit. Here is Hebrews chapter 7, which tells the story of Melchizedek, “a priest of God Most High.”
This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. 2 Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.” 3 There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.
4 Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle. 5 Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who are also descendants of Abraham. 6 But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God. 7 And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.
8 The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on. 9 In addition, we might even say that these Levites—the ones who collect the tithe—paid a tithe to Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him. 10 For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.
11 So if the priesthood of Levi, on which the law was based, could have achieved the perfection God intended, why did God need to establish a different priesthood, with a priest in the order of Melchizedek instead of the order of Levi and Aaron?
12 And if the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit it. 13 For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests. 14 What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.
Jesus Is like Melchizedek
15 This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. 16 Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 17 And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied,
“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” [Psalm 110:4 – A Psalm of David]
18 Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. 19 For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
20 This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath, 21 but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him,
“The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow:
‘You are a priest forever.’” [Psalm 110:4]22 Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.
23 There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
26 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. 27 Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. 28 The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.
Hebrews 7 NLT
Only Jesus is holy and blameless and unstained by sin! HE has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven!
Idolatry is a Sin!
Venerating, worshiping, praying to any other person or entity besides Jesus Christ is a SIN!
Jesus wrote to the Church in Pergamum to Stop their Idolatry!
I pray that any Catholic worshiper of Mary and the Saints who reads this, that they will humble themselves before Jesus — their only Lord and King! And ask HIM to forgive you for your past sins of idolatry. He will forgive you! Then, stop sinning! Repenting means to stop sinning!
A sinner cannot get into heaven and there’s no such place as purgatory! There’s either heaven or hell.
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
Pray this prayer humbly and wholeheartedly…
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Please forgive me. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and my life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. I surrender my whole life to you and I will follow you for the rest of my life. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Next Steps in Your New Walk with Jesus…
- Start reading the Bible daily to get to know God. If you don’t have one, I recommend the YouVersion, Bible.app and Through the Word app — both are free and have a lot of great Bible studies.
- Pray every day. Talk to God. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you daily.
- Find and join a Bible-believing church — preferably a non-denominational one and be baptized!
Jesus Christ is coming back soon! Are you ready?
Soli Deo Gloria — To God Alone Be the Glory!
Source:
- Christianity Through the Centuries, Earle E. Cairns, 1996, Zondervan.
