Nullify the Word of God

The word tradition has many definitions. The accepted definition is "the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice." Christian theology defines tradition as "a body of teachings, or any one of them held to have been delivered by Christ and His apostles but not originally committed to writing." It is this end of the theological definition that strikes me the most. It says, "but not originally committed to writing." Christians have a habit of creating traditions that have little to no basis in the Bible. When a person challenges these traditions, they can be met with a dismissive attitude rather than one of love, which results in reasoning from the scriptures like Bereans. A couple of these subjects are the sovereignty of God and Mary, the "mother of God."

God's Sovereignty

Everyone agrees that God has ultimate power and authority over His creation. However, to what degree does God extend His authority and power? A widely held belief is that "everything that happens is, at the very least, the result of God's permissive will." Once people accept this definition of God's sovereignty, the problems begin. If everything that happens is the result of God's will, then we end up making God responsible for all that occurs in the world. Can we blame God for every natural disaster, all acts of violence, each problem, and crisis suffered by all 7.8 Billion people on earth? Where do God's "permissive will" end and our individual responsibility begin? God not only loses His claim to be a righteous, kind, and loving God, but He now becomes responsible for evil and the author of confusion. When everything is God's fault, nothing is humanities doing. In my opinion, God can know and control everything but chooses not to exercise that ability all the time for reasons that are His own. One of those reasons, I believe, is so He can enjoy having a relationship with His people, which I think are seen in scriptures like Genesis 2:19 and Genesis 18:20-21, to name a couple. 

Pastor Aaron Budjen was asked about his perspective on the topic of the sovereignty of God. "There isn't really that much to say," Budjen began. "And I know that is going to sound really disappointing. Especially because the subject of the sovereignty of God, for a lot of people, is a huge subject ... The belief that people have concerning the sovereignty of God, and I have a belief that God is sovereign, [centers around] what does that mean? ... We need to have a total definition of that. Most people are saying that according to the sovereignty of God, God is in control of absolutely everything to the extent that there is no maverick molecule in the universe. I say that the sovereignty of God is such that God has control over what He wants to have control over. And there is a lot that I can tell that He is not asserting control over." We do not know how God decides what He controls and what He does not. We do not know the criteria He uses to determine when to intervene in our lives. God has not revealed enough about His sovereignty for us to come to the conclusions about it that we would like to have. If His "permissive will" is to control everything, then we have problems explaining His love, free will, personal responsibility, and so much more. 

The Mother of God

In a Christian forum, a series of questions were asked. Those questions were, "Is there salvation without Mary?" "Is she the mother of our salvation?" Is she "our hope?" The answers are yes, no, and no, respectively. However, to give a more thoughtful response, I replied with, "And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior (Luke 1:46)." If Mary is the "mother of our salvation," she would not have admitted her need for a Savior." Without delay, this triggered the response of someone who believes that the answer to all those questions is no, yes, and yes. When they responded to me, they added one more statement, which was that Mary is the "mother of God." The reasoning is that since Jesus Christ is God and Mary is His mother, she is the Mother of God. The Bible does not support this logic. But, it is supported by religious dogma. Religious dogma often overrides biblical truth. There is no problem with having a disagreement about scripture, but how much of the Bible is undermined in defending dogmatic beliefs. 

Regarding Mary being the mother of God, here is part of my answer. "She is not the mother of God. Jesus was God before Mary gave birth (i.e., John 8:58). If she is the mother of God, then she is greater than God. If she is the mother of God, who was it that impregnated her? Did she make herself pregnant? Why did God have to send an angel to tell her she was pregnant? She should have already known. If she is the mother of God, why did Jesus say, "The Father and I are One (John 10:30)?" Why didn't Jesus include Mary? Why isn't Mary mentioned when the scriptures talk about God as Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit? How come Jesus said, "I only speak what the Father tells me to speak (John 12:50)?" He didn't mention Mary. I could go on. Jesus also said, "Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters (Mark 7:13)." Obviously, traditions are more important than the word of God."

When it comes to traditions, whether it be the traditional belief about the sovereignty of God or the religious tradition that Mary is the mother of God, the word of God is nullified by the handing down of these traditions. We have to address these conflicts as more than just differences of opinion or the variance in the interpretation of the Bible. When traditional beliefs undermine the clear teaching of scripture, they become enemies of the Gospel and biblical truth. We must nullify the traditions if they hinder us from handing down the Word of God. 

Blessed Art Thou Amongst Women

A novena is an act of religious pious devotion originating in ancient Christianity, often consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days in belief of obtaining special intercessory graces. I was recently made aware of a religious tradition called, "The Novena of the Virgin Mary of Fatima." Apparently, one is to pray a "Hail Mary" and upon completion of this make a request. Now, I am well aware of making our requests to God, but have never heard of making requests to Mary. But, when one understands the words of the "Hail Mary," you can see why this is done. Within the words of the "Hail Mary" you will find these words; "Holy Mary, Mother of God." Yes, Mary is considered to be the Mother of God! Therefore, why wouldn't somebody who believes this make requests to her? However, anybody who understands the Bible knows that this idea that Mary is the mother of God is pure blasphemy. Of course, the argument would go, "Well, Jesus is God and Mary is His mother, hence she is the Mother of God." However, there are more than a few things wrong with this. First of all Mary was a regular human being just like the rest of us. In fact, it was Mary, herself, that recognized her need for a savior. "And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant (Luke 1:46-48)."" Mary says her spirit rejoiced in God her Savior! If she is the mother of God, then why does she need a savior? Next, she refers to herself as God's servant. If she is the "mother of God" wouldn't the roles be reversed; wouldn't God be her servant? In fact, she would be a god if she could give birth to one! However, scripture is clear; God has no beginning and no end. "Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God (Psalm 90:2)." Also, "God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see (1 Timothy 6:15-16)." Everlasting means that which endures forever; either that which has no beginning and will have no end. Furthermore, to say something is immortal means that something is literally incorruptible. Therefore, something that has no beginning, no end, endures forever and is incorruptible can only be attributed to God and definitely does not need saving. Mary is neither God nor His mother.

The second Person of the Trinity, Jesus, did have a beginning to His earthly ministry when he was conceived in Mary’s womb and was born, but from eternity past He had always been the Son of God. So what happened when Jesus decided to leave heaven and become a man? "Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being (Philippians 2:6-7)." Some translations say that Jesus "became nothing" when he became a human being. This gives us more insight as to why Mary was humbled by the task God had blessed her with. We are nothing compared to God, yet He chose to become like one of us and used Mary as His earthly vessel. Mary was the mother of Jesus, not the mother of God. As one author puts it, "A mother by definition precedes her child and at some point is more powerful than her child. So to call Mary the “mother of God” gives the misleading implication that Mary preceded and at one time was more powerful than the Lord God Almighty." It is well within reason to believe that an almighty God could become a human and go through the process necessary to be born from a woman, enter this world as a baby and grow up in this world. His ability to do that does not make the woman He chooses to be His vessel for that process His mother much less someone to pray to in order to get our requests granted. It is interesting that God seems to have already answered the question about who we make our requests to; we make our requests known to Him and Him alone, not Mary or any other created being. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6)." It is not biblical to say that Mary was the Mother of God or to make requests to her. The sad and scary part about all of this is the thought of what else does someone believe about God, Jesus, the Bible, salvation and the Christian life who thinks Mary is God's mother and someone to pray to? Are they even Christian? After all, this novena is a tradition and it was Jesus who said to the Pharisees, "Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that (Mark 7:13)." I believe it is safe to say that many of the Pharisees missed out on an eternity with God because they chose their traditions over their Messiah. Do not be guilty of the same eternal mistake just to hold on to your traditions.

Islamic Prayers at the Vatican

“I have revealed and saved and proclaimed-- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God (Isaiah 43:12).” I was disappointed, but not surprised, when I came across the article entitled, “For The First Time In History Islamic Prayers to be heard at the Vatican.” According to the article, “For the first time in history, Islamic prayers and readings from the Quran will be heard at the Vatican on Sunday, in a move by Pope Francis to usher in peace between Israelis and Palestinians.” I am a firm believer that compromising your beliefs is the first step to giving them up entirely.  As a born again Christian, I don’t believe that the Catholic Church represents my views about the Christian faith. However, for many people in the world and inside Christianity, Catholicism does represent the faith. Therefore, to allow Islamic prayer to be heard in the Vatican is a not a sign of standing for the truth or being a witness for Jesus Christ. Besides, when has Christian prayer been allowed inside a Muslim place of worship? I am not aware of any time in the Bible where the nation of Israel found peace by compromising with foreign gods. In nearly every situation it led to God’s wrath, slavery, the destruction of lives and various other forms of suffering. Ultimately, it led to the rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ! As Christians, we are told to, “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints (Jude 1:3).” You don’t contend for the faith by compromising it. You don’t find peace by compromising with your enemies. Yes, the Bible does say, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men (Romans 12:18).” But, it never says that achieving peace should come at the expense of the truth or compromising with error. If that were the case, Jesus would not have said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34).” Jesus said this because the world doesn’t like hearing things like, “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6)”” and “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)." These are statements that create enemies for Jesus Christ and for Christians. 

The only way to find true peace with your enemy is when one of the two parties surrenders to the other or war is waged. Because Christians proclaim the truth that Jesus Christ is God and the only means of salvation offered by the One, True God of the Universe, we are hated by the world. We are in a spiritual war; a war between the Truth of God’s Word and the lies of Satan and the world. When we compromise the truth, we are losing battles in that war. Christians are God’s witnesses to the world that He is God. The lost world and Christians who have lost their salt or who are not Christians at all love to hear these stories of “compromise.” Yet, true believers will shake their head and hopefully have a righteous anger stirring within them. My prayer is that the members of the Catholic faith who truly know the Lord will finally start to realize that faith has an object. The object of the Christian faith is Jesus Christ not a man-made organization claiming to be His representative on earth. It is time to stop allowing organizations like this speak for us when they compromise God’s truth. The true Church of God is made up of individual members of the body of Christ all over the world. Jesus said, “And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER '; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN (Matthew 21:13)." When Jesus found the Temple filled with people buying and selling He “cleansed” the Temple by driving them out and accused them of turning it into a “ROBBERS’ DEN.” He did not allow them to stay or invite them back. Robbers steal and that is one of the attributes of Satan, who is described as a thief who comes only to “steal and to kill and to destroy (John 10:10).” When we allow those who believe in “foreign gods” into the “Temple,” they are making it a “ROBBERS’ DEN.” It is time to “cleanse the Temple” and contend for the faith entrusted to the Saints. If the Catholic Church wants to facilitate peace between the Jews and Palestinians, it will only be found when all them come to faith in Jesus Christ, the “Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).” 

Canonization

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours (1 Corinthians 1:2).” 

How is a person recognized as a saint in God’s eyes? Well today marks the day where two former Pope’s, Popes John XXIII and John Paul II, will be canonized. Canonization is the process the Catholic Church uses to name a saint. The Catholic Church is quick to note that Canonization does not "make" a person a saint; it recognizes what God has already done. The process the Catholic Church uses starts after the death of a Catholic whom people regard as holy. From a biblical standpoint, if you are not a saint prior to dying it is too late to be recognized as one.  This is because the Bible clearly states, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (Hebrews 9:27).” When a person dies they go before the Lord to be judged, not before a panel of men to determine whether or not they are a saint who lived a holy life. In fact, it is said that a panel of theologians at the Vatican evaluates the candidate to determine whether or not an individual’s life, writings and orthodoxy were worthy of what they call veneration; respect or awe inspired by the dignity, wisdom, dedication, or talent of a person. This is interesting to me because the Bible says that our works are worthless when it comes to our right standing before God. 

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy (Titus 3:4-5).” Beatification is the next step in the process. Beatification is the recognition of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name. The Bible talks about this as well. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).” Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and men. There are no dead saints that we pray to in order to “intercede” on our behalf with God. To say that there is only diminishes the finished work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Part of this beatification process is proof that a miracle has taken place after the candidate’s death.  This miracle had to have taken place as a result of a specific petition to the candidate. And apparently there has to have been more than one miracle to have occurred. Personally, this has to be one of the most subjective of the requirements because anybody can say they prayed to someone and received a miracle.  Quite honestly, every time a person accepts Jesus Christ as their savior a miracle occurs. There is nothing more miraculous that can happen to a person then new birth. Jesus Christ specifically said, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again (John 3:3).” To have the Holy Spirit of God come to indwell a person, raise their spirit from the dead and make them alive to God is the most incredible miracle anybody will ever experience. And that leads to the conclusion about all of this. Every born again Christian in the world, now and throughout history, is a saint. It is not because a group of people said we lived a holy life after we died. It is not because people felt inspired by our perceived dignity, wisdom, dedication or talent. It is not because someone said they prayed to us and received a miracle. It is only because of our faith in Jesus Christ that we were set apart by God, sanctified, and called to be saints along with every other Christian who names the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. God determines who is a saint, not a religious organization. 

Steps to a Good Confession

“Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary (Hebrews 10:17-18).” You want to know what happens when people do not understand forgiveness. There is an article in the Denver Catholic Register entitled, “Steps to a Good Confession.” The steps are designed to help penitents’ experience “buoyancy” and “peace” in their first confession. There are five steps in this process. Step 1 says to, “Examine our conscience.” This means to determine what sins you have committed. Depending on the person this could take an extremely long time and, in my opinion, is impossible to do when you consider all the opportunities we have to sin in thought, speech or deed. Yet the Bible says for a Christian to “draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:22).” The truth is that your conscience should already be clean because God no longer remembers your sins. 

Step 2 says, “Be sorry for our sins.” Whether a person is sorry for their sins or not, they must know that the penalty for sins is not to be sorrowful. The penalty for sin is death and even if they gave their own life God would not forgive them. All sin deserves the death of God as payment. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6).” Being sorry for sin is natural, but recognize that being sorry has no power to get you forgiven. Only the recognition that God, in Christ, had to die for your sins is what is most important. 

Step 3 is to “Make a firm purpose of Amendment.” This means a person must resolve not to sin again and to avoid occasions of sin. Good luck with this. While I am all for avoiding sin, the purpose of the Christian life is not to try and stop sinning. The purpose of the Christian life is to learn to trust and depend on God. Now, a byproduct of doing that will be a diminishing of the sin in your life, but only as a side effect of knowing your God, not as an achievement for living a life you cannot live. Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).” How about lining up your “firm purpose of amendment” with Jesus Christ’s expectations; your best effort versus the perfect holiness of God. Can you do it? Of course you can’t. While you may score points among fellow Christians for your commitment, you are not fooling God. You will never stop sinning. God knew that and in His love took your sins away through the death of Jesus Christ. 

Step 4 is to “Confess our sins to a Priest.” Two quick thoughts pop up on this one. The Bible says that “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins (Hebrews 10:11).” If a priest cannot take away sins, what good is it to confess your sins to one? Secondly, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).” The reason a priest cannot take away sins is because Jesus Christ is our Priest and the only one who mediates between mankind and God. 

Step 5 says to “Perform our Penance.” Penance is an act of kindness or prayers to pray, or both. This is nothing more than a work of the flesh that does nothing to give a person the motivation to change their behavior. This is the true license to sin that those of us who truly know God’s forgiveness are accused of teaching. The Bible says, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God (Hebrews 6:1).”Performing penance is a dead work done by people believing that if they get their flesh under control they will be deemed holy, righteous and forgiven by God, or at the very least, the religious leaders they submit to. But, because they will never stop sinning, they, by default, will never be holy, righteous and forgiven. Yet, for a born again Christian we are holy, righteous and forgiven because of our faith in Christ. 

These five “Steps to a Good Confession,” are nothing more than a convoluted way of performing a sacrifice to God He doesn’t require or accept in order to take away sins He no longer remembers. You can’t have peace with God or experience buoyancy in your walk with Him if you still believe He holds your sins against you. 

Penitential Rites and the Sacrament of Reconciliation

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Colossians 1:21-22).” Under the heading, “Dressing for the Occasion,” I read the following: “Think some more about that chance to meet with Pope Francis. Would you come dressed in your casual clothes, or would you try to look your best? You would want to make a good impression, wouldn’t you? It is the same with God. Before we begin praying, it’s a good idea to get ourselves, “cleaned up” by repenting of our sins. Remember what Jesus told Peter at the Last Supper: “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me (John 13:8).” Think about how we ask God’s forgiveness at Mass during the Penitential Rite. Think about the grace that is available in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Repentance prepares us to be with the Lord. It cleans us up and helps us find God’s presence.” First of all, let me be clear that I am not picking on the Catholic Church, but using this particular quotation to address probably the biggest problem in Christianity; the total misunderstanding of forgiveness. We don’t need to make a “good impression” with God, especially if making that impression is tied to getting “cleaned up” by repenting of our sins. If this is the case, when on earth would we ever be “clean” enough? If we could clean ourselves up there would have been no need for Jesus Christ to have lived a “clean” life and to die a death for us He didn’t deserve to die. The Bible says that we are “without blemish” in the eyes of God because we have been “reconciled” to God through the death of Jesus Christ. What is another way of saying “without blemish”? It is “clean!” What is another way of saying “reconciled”? It is “forgiven!” When God sees a Christian, He sees us clothed in the clean white robes of Jesus Christ. That is a heck of an “impression” if there ever was one. 

Another thing to focus on is that because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, He brings you to God to “present you holy in his sight.” Again, you are already holy and in God’s presence.  Holy means that you are sanctified and set apart from the world for God’s special purpose. Continuing on, ask yourself a question, “Why would the word of God tell us to “pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17),” if we had to clean up before we could even pray?” Praying without ceasing is another way of saying to “always pray.” Therefore, if you are expected to always pray, that by default means there is no thought given to first cleaning yourself up by repenting of sins. This is because the sin issue is over between us and God. Finally, I don’t even think the author of the commentary realizes that the verse from John 13 is contradictory to the point they are trying to make. The verse clearly shows Jesus saying to Peter, “Unless I wash you…” Jesus did not say, “Unless you clean yourself up …” This was said by Jesus prior to Him going to the cross where He “washed” our sins away. In Christ you are clean! Also, the Bible is clear that, “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant,  that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant (Hebrews 9:15).” If we have to clean ourselves up then we would have no inheritance with Jesus, but because we are clean in Him, we have an eternal inheritance that can never be lost. Part of that inheritance is the fact that we are forgiven of our sins, we don’t ask God to forgive us. We are clean before God because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we don’t try and repent of sins He no longer remembers. We have made a good impression before God because of our faith in Jesus Christ not our works. Remember Saints, we can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16)” because our sins no longer separate us from God! There is no Rite or Sacrament to engage in that can prepare you to enter into the presence of God. The only preparation necessary is resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on your behalf. You are dressed for the occasion because “all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27).” Leave the bondage of religion where it belongs; at the foot of the cross.