Question: Should we pray to Mary and the "saints"?
Absolutely not!!!
To be blunt, when a person prays to Mary or any of the "saints" they are praying to the dead, which is necromancy. And according to the Doubleday dictionary, (Doubleday and Company, Inc. 1975) necromancy is defined as: "Divination by means of communication with the dead. Black magic; sorcery."
By definition, seeking communication with the dead is equated with sorcery and black magic, and is an abomination before God.
In the Old Testament, God had crowned Saul as the first Earthly king of Israel. However, God took the kingdom of Israel from Saul and gave it to David because of Saul's disobedience to God's commandments, and later destroyed Saul and his sons because he had sought to communicate with the spirit of the prophet Samuel who had died shortly before.
Saul had sought an answer from the Lord concerning a battle which he was about to fight with the Philistines, and when the Lord wouldn't answer him he said to his servants,
I SAMUEL 28:7
7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.” “There is one in En Dor,” they said.
Saul had previously driven the wizards and those that had familiar spirits out of the land in accordance with God's commandment;
LEVITICUS 20:27
27 A man or a woman that has a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
This was commanded by God in order to prevent demonic spirits from corrupting Israel as they had the Canaanite peoples before them.
As such, Saul had to disguise himself when he went to the woman so that Israel wouldn't know what he was doing, and so that the woman wouldn't hide for fear of him. She called up a demon disguised as Samuel (not Samuel himself) who foretold that Saul and his sons would be killed the following day by the Philistines, which indeed happened. The Bible records;
1 SAMUEL 31:1-6
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa.
2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua.
3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.” But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him.
6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.
There has been quite a bit of speculation as to whether the spirit that the witch called up was indeed Samuel or not, and the issue is put to rest in 1 Chronicles, which says,
1 CHRONICLES. 10:13-14
13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.
14 But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
Saul sought information from the dead prophet Samuel but had instead enquired of a
familiar spirit (a demon) NOT the spirit of Samuel. Saul was deceived in that both he and
the witch thought that the demon WAS Samuel. God would never allow the spirit of
Samuel to be called up by anyone living, especially a witch!
Manasseh, son of King Hezekiah, one of the worst rulers of Judah ever recorded in the Old Testament also dealt with wizards and a familiar spirit,
2 CHRONICLES 33:6
6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
God plainly states with these examples that if the living try to communicate with the dead, they communicate with familiar spirits, which is necromancy.
The dead cannot communicate with us, neither can we communicate with them. Period.
And any such attempts to communicate with the dead is direct disobedience to God's
commandment.
But isn't that an Old Testament law? Wasn't that taken away with the New Testament?
Actually, no. Jesus said,
MATTHEW 5:18
18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
(Jots and tittles were marks used in the Hebrew language used to change the meaning of a letter or word.) The parts of the Law concerning sacrifice and ritual cleansing have been fulfilled since Jesus' death, but many parts of the old Law still hold true, as they have not been fulfilled yet.
Jesus reinforced the point of communication with the dead in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Note: He never said it was a parable. I believe that it is a true story.
The story goes like this;
LUKE 16: 19-31
19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And being in torments in Hell, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,
28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’
29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’
30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
Here Jesus says plainly that the dead are not allowed to communicate with the living. In no place in Scripture does it ever say that the dead work on the behalf of the living for any reason. Nor does it state anywhere in Scripture that we should ever speak to the dead for help in anything.
We speak to Jesus because He was dead but was resurrected and is alive forevermore and is Himself God. The dead to us however, are still dead and will be until Jesus resurrects them.
As the story of the rich man and Lazarus shows, the dead have no knowledge of what is happening to the living, and therefore cannot intercede for us in anything. Therefore, as Abraham told the rich man, let the living hear the words of the Scriptures, rather than speak to the dead.
Even when Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration, they spoke to Jesus alone, not to Peter, James and John who were with Him. The Bible records,
LUKE 9:28-35
28 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.
30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah,
31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.
33 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.
34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.
35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
Here is an excellent case in point. Moses and Elijah considered to be two of the greatest men in the Old Testament appeared to Jesus, speaking to Him about His coming death on the cross. The purpose of their appearance was to show Jesus to be the fulfillment of both the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah).
But note also, they only spoke to Jesus, not to the three frightened men who were with Him. And when Peter, apparently recognizing the two figures, wanted to erect tents of worship for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, God the Father told them to listen to Jesus, directing their attention to Him, rather than the persons of Moses and Elijah, who, even while appearing in glory, are still dead to them.
Scripture is abundantly clear on this issue. The dead do not communicate with the living, nor are the living to try communicate with the dead. Period. Any such attempts by the living to do so is in direct disobedience to God.
Praying to or communicating with any departed human elevates them to deity (making them gods or goddesses) which is blasphemy.
And if you have prayed to Mary or the "saints", please repent before the Lord, confess
your sins of necromancy and ignorance to Him. He is faithful and will forgive you. Ask
Him to also cleanse and close any doorways into your spirit that Satan has gained access to
by this sin. Then bind any demons in your life who have entered because of sin, and cast
them out.
I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing Scripture! If you sin in ignorance, you are STILL accountable for that sin!
NUMBERS 15:27-29
27 ‘And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering.
28 So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the Lord, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.
29 You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born
among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them.
Granted, we no longer have to sacrifice for our sins nor confess our sins to a priest as people did
while under the Law, but we ARE still accountable for ignorant sins. For more on confession to a
priest, please see the study on the question "Can priests forgive sins?"
God gave us Scripture so we would know exactly what is right and wrong in His sight. And as we have the Scriptures readily available, we have no excuse before Him for not knowing what is right and wrong in His eyes.
Remember, we will not be judged before God by the traditions, rituals, and doctrines of the church, but from the Scriptures! And as I have said before, so I say again, if you cannot find Scriptural backing in context for a tradition or doctrine, you should be wary about teaching or following it!
There is no sin in asking your church leaders to provide Scriptural backing for doctrines of the church you are attending. But if they cannot support their doctrines from Scripture, in context or they start talking about tradition, writings of the 'fathers', Magisterium (authority) of the church, or some such thing, I would be suspicious.
Too many churches fall into this error, coming under the condemnation of;
MATTHEW 15:8-9
8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
Add to this the fact that Jesus never glorified Mary nor directed the disciples to her for any reason. He instead directed all worship and glory either to the Father or Himself, which is proper. Man (or woman) is never to be worshipped, as Man is not God, simple fact.
In fact, Jesus always used the term "woman" whenever He referred to Mary, so as to cause her to remember her place, and to show that she did not hold any special place higher than anyone else in His eyes. If we were to call our Earthly mothers "woman" they would be highly insulted, and with good reason.
When teaching the people, He was told that His mother and brothers wanted to see Him. His response?
MATTHEW 12:46-50
46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”
48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”
49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
This shows that Mary was no greater than any other believer in His sight. Mary, like the cross, was only an instrument chosen for a purpose, and her purpose was to bring Jesus into the world.
Mary fully understood that she was a chosen vessel serving a purpose, and she was indeed honored and blessed that out of all of the millions of women of Israel, God had chosen her to be the vessel that gave birth to the physical body of the Messiah. But she also knew she was a sinner, as her own words attest;
LUKE 1:46-48
46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
(Italics mine, to stress a point)
Mary understood that she needed a Savior, just as much as any human. And while the
Catholic Church teaches that Mary was born without sin (the Immaculate Conception) her
own words refute this false doctrine!
And for those who may not believe that the Catholic Church supports this awful doctrine, here is a portion of the text of the papal proclamation by Pope Pius IX regarding this teaching;
"The doctrine that sustains that the most blessed virgin Mary was preserved immune from any stain of original sin in the first moment of her conception, by the singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, in foresight of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, this doctrine revealed by God should be firmly, and constantly believed by all the faithful."
(Bull "Ineffabilis Deus" December 8, 1854)
Remember, this was an "infallible declaration" by an "infallible" Pope! Therefore all
believers in the Catholic Church, including all subsequent Popes are required to believe
this false doctrine.
Mary was born sinless? This doctrine was revealed by God? As we have already shown, Mary's own words refute this idea. Also when Jesus was born, Mary was ritually unclean because of the birth process. As Scripture records,
LEVITICUS 12:1-8
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean.
3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
4 She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled.
5 ‘But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification sixty-six days.
6 ‘When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
7 Then he shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female.
8 ‘And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’ ”
LUKE 2:22-24
22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),
24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of
turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Note what God Himself says here! Mary was unclean for 40 days after the birth of Jesus according to the Law of Moses. She was required to remain separate from everyone, was not allowed to touch any holy thing nor allowed to come into the sanctuary before the Lord until she had been cleansed of her sin of blood issue! And as Scripture records, Mary knew she was unclean according to God's word as written in the Law, and faithfully followed the requirements of Law concerning her cleansing and atonement for sin. Mary was a sinner, and knew it.
Also the fact is recorded in Scripture that she had at least four sons, and an unknown number of daughters, so she was unclean in sin after the birth of each one!
Mary also was born under the Law, which made her a sinner from birth, for the Scriptures state that all of the works of the Law were under the curse.
GALATIANS 3:10-12
10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”
11 But that no one is justified by the Law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”
12 Yet the Law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”
And;
GALATIANS 3:22
22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
The apostle John, who was commissioned by Jesus to care for Mary after His death, wrote the following Scripture, and it is reasonable to assume that Mary was still alive when he said;
1 JOHN 1:8-10
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
If Mary had been preserved from sin, John certainly would have excluded her from this
Scripture!
And if Mary had been designated as worthy of worship, the apostle Paul would certainly have known about it. Yet he says;
1 TIMOTHY 2:5-7
5 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,
7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ
and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
There is only ONE mediator between God and Man, and that is Jesus Christ. To say that
anyone else is a mediator, including Mary, is to call Paul a liar, would make God's Scriptures
false, and would void Jesus' atoning death on the cross.
Peter, after healing a man lame from birth, when addressing a gathering crowd of Jews, was filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly proclaimed;
ACTS 4:8-12
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:
9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,
10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved.”
Note Peter's own words in verse 12! There is no other name given among men whereby we might
be saved. Jesus, and only Jesus has the power of salvation. There is no other.
Jesus Himself said;
MATTHEW 11:28-30
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
JOHN 6:37-40
37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39 "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in
Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
Jesus says come to Me! He NEVER said to go to anyone else! Jesus is God's Man and
Man's God. There is no other mediator ordained between God and Man as per Scripture!
And the doctrine of Mary being a mediator between God and Man contradicts Scripture,
and is therefore patently false, and was NOT revealed from God!
ROMANS 10:8-13
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The requirements of salvation are simple! Believe in Jesus, believe that God raised Him
from the dead, confess Him before men, and you shall be saved. No mediators, no penance,
no sacraments, no priests or popes required.
Answer me this. The Romans considered deceased Caesars as gods and prayed to them, and we condemn this as a pagan practice. And yet people pray to deceased "saints" and Mary, asking them to intercede with God for their requests.
And as most dictionaries will tell you, prayers are offerings or requests made to a deity
(god) or deities. Thus praying to Mary or the saints makes them gods. Is that any different
from the paganism of the Romans or many eastern religions which teach people to pray to
their ancestors?
This also brings up an interesting point. If God says "No," to a request, do you think that anyone is going to change His mind? And if He says "No", shouldn't that be good enough for us? Are we wiser than He?
Jesus never said we should take our prayers and requests to an intercessor. Jesus Himself
said,
JOHN 14:13-14
13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
Nowhere did He say, "If you ask anything in Mary's name, or in the name of a saint or an apostle, I will do it." And sometimes God says no, and for good reason. He sees the end of a thing before it happens, and to protect us from harm will sometimes refuse our requests. We must be satisfied with that, believing that He is omniscient (all-knowing) and knows what He is doing.
But asking "saints" or Mary to intercede for us before the Throne is an insult to the Holy
Spirit who DOES intercede for us, and infers that Mary and the "saints" have inside
influence with God. The Scriptures plainly state that God is no respecter of persons; in
other words all men and women are considered equally before Him, as the following
Scriptures show;
2 CHRONICLES 19: 5-7
5 Then he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,
6 and said to the judges, “Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment.
7 Now therefore, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no
iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes.”
ROMANS 2:11
11 For there is no partiality with God.
EPHESIANS 6:9
9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your
own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
1 PETER 1:17a
17a And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s
work,
If God is no respecter of persons, then Mary and the "saints" are no better in His eyes than
anyone else. Jesus called Mary "woman", treating her with the same title as He did with
the woman of Samaria who had had five husbands and was living with a man who was not
her husband, or the woman caught in the very act of adultery. In both cases He addressed
the women as "woman". Mary was equal with any other sinful woman in Jesus' eyes.
Anyone who believes that Mary has inside influence with Jesus, should read the following Scripture;
MATTHEW 12:46-50
46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”
48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”
49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
By that very statement, Jesus demonstrated the place of Mary in relation to all believers. She was no different than any disciple, neither is she greater than any disciple in His eyes. Elevating Mary as co-redeemer and mediatrix makes her equal with God Himself, which is blasphemy. And to say that God singled her out to be free of original sin goes against His Scriptures, which say that ALL of Mankind is sinful.
The apostle Paul bluntly stated;
ROMANS 3:9-20
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.”
13 “Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “the poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is
the knowledge of sin.
Paul wrote the above passage in Romans more than 20 years after Jesus' death and resurrection, and knew of no promise to Mary that she would be free of sin. Mary was born under the Law and followed the dictates of the Law, including those of sacrifice, which meant that according to the Law and in the eyes of God, she was a sinner.
And since we have seen that God is no respecter of persons, He could not have preserved
Mary from sin from birth, for if He had He would have violated His own Scriptures, and
made Himself a liar.
As far as intercession, Mary and the "saints" cannot intercede with God for us anyway, for as the author of Hebrews states,
HEBREWS 4:10
10 For he who has entered into His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
In other words, those who enter Heaven rest from working. Their time of labor is finished.
They no longer care or worry about what happens here on Earth, but await the
resurrection at the return of Jesus, the King of Kings.
God is also very explicit concerning others using their righteousness to intercede with Him when He spoke to the prophet Ezekiel;
EZEKIEL 14:12-20
12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying:
13 “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it.
14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.
15 “If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts,
16 even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate.
17 “Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it,
18 even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.
19 “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast,
20 even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would
deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”
Again, God is no respecter of persons. Period. And no one's righteousness can save anyone
else. Ever!
Bottom line;
In summary, praying to Mary or the "saints" is accounted as necromancy, which is accounted as witchcraft and sorcery, and such practice is an abomination before God. And praying to the dead for intercession with God insults Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and is in direct disobedience to His commandments.
Mary and the "saints" are not to be exalted as they were sinners as much as we are, and
not worthy of worship. Jesus nor the apostles ever held Mary in any kind of reverence, nor
do the Scriptures ever refer to her as anything but a woman chosen by God to bear the
physical body of the Messiah. Her own words attest that she needed a Savior just as much
as we.
Mary was a child of the Law of Moses and as such was under the curse of the Law, which
meant that she was as sinful as anyone else under the Law. And according to the Law, she
was ritually unclean for 40 days after the birth of Jesus, and offered two turtledoves for the
cleansing of her sin of blood issue.
Jesus never held her in any higher respect than any of the other disciples, and even used
the term "woman" whenever He addressed her, to show that she was not to be esteemed
more than any other woman in history.
We will be judged by the commandments of Scripture, not by the commandments and
doctrines of men, or the "Magisterium" (authority) of the church. And sinning in
ignorance is no excuse before God. After all, He gave us the Scriptures to show us what is
right and wrong in His sight.
And if we lack wisdom in understanding the Scriptures the apostle James says,
JAMES 1:5-8
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
In other words, God will freely grant you wisdom if you ask Him in faith, and He will not
rebuke you. But note that James says "ask of God", not of Mary or the "saints".
You who read this are now responsible for the truth of this matter. I have provided
numerous Scriptures that forbid praying to the dead and reasons why this is forbidden. I
have also proven from Scripture that Mary was just as much a sinner as we are in God's
eyes, and that no one can use their righteousness on behalf of another before God, as God is
no respecter of persons.
The Catholic Church is rife with doctrines that are opposed to Scripture, which is why I
challenge people to check doctrines of the church against Scripture. If there is no
Scriptural backing, in context, then I would be very wary of it. Too many man-made
doctrines are given the authority of Scriptural commandments, and following man-made
doctrines will not grant you access to Heaven no matter how pious or holy the teacher of
them may seem.
If you choose to reject what I have written here, I am free of your blood before God as I have written what He has instructed me to write. I take God's warning to Ezekiel very seriously, in which He said;
EZEKIEL 33: 8-19
8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
10 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then
live?” ’
11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
12 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.’
13 When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die.
14 Again, when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right,
15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
16 None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17 “Yet the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ But it is their way which is not fair!
18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die because of it.
19 But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he
shall live because of it.
We have a responsibility to teach the truth to all who will listen. Jesus taught those who
would listen, and those who rejected His teachings will bear their judgment.
I sincerely pray in Jesus' name that the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit whom He has sent will open the eyes of all who read these words, and bring the light of truth into their hearts, and that He will confirm that what I have written here is the truth. Do not pray to the dead for intercession with God, when you can go directly to Jesus Christ His Son who is Himself God.
Remember His words!
JOHN 14:13-14
13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
Go to Jesus, the living God, not to the dead!
Questions? Comments? E-mail: watchmen_777@yahoo.com