"Saint" Elsewhere

I saw in the news over the weekend where Pope Benedict created (or cannonized) five saints and they were Belgian priest Damien, Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski of Warsaw, Dominican friar Francisco Coll Guitart, Brother Rafael Arnaiz Baron, and France's newest saint, Jeanne Jugan, venerated as Marie de la Croix. Here is a little about each:

Damien - The U.S. president was born in Hawaii, where Damien worked in the leper colony of Molokai, caught leprosy and died in 1889. Obama said in a statement that Damien had "a special place in the hearts of Hawaiians."

Felinski - archbishop of Warsaw when Poland rebelled against annexation by imperial Russia in 1863. Exiled to Siberia for 20 years by the czar, he was "a shining example for all the church," the pope said.

Guitart - one of two Spaniards created a saint, preached in Catalonia in the 19th century and "reached the hearts of others because he transmitted what he himself lived with passion, which burned in his heart," said the pontiff.

Baron - became a Trappist monk and died at the age of 27 in 1938. He "did not know how to pray" when he began monastic life but became an example "especially for young persons who are not easily satisfied," the pope said.

Jugan - She worked with the poor and elderly, shedding all her own material possessions to become "a poor person among the poor" until her death in 1879.

What do these people all have in common? They have long since been dead.

Would you like to be a saint? Well I have good news for you. If you have already trusted Christ as your savior... you are a saint!! You don't have to wait until you're buried and gone for some goofy guy in a robe to bestow that title on you, and yes I said goofy and I meant goofy when refering to the pope. There is a reason pope rhymes with dope. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:11 " And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." And again in 2 Timothy 2:21 " Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. And finally in Hebrews 10:10 "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Notice in all of these verses the word "sanctify". I already mentioned in an earlier post that the definition of sanctify is to "make pure and holy" and that by application anything made pure and holy is set apart. So what do sanctify and saint have to do with each other? Sanctify is a verb. The noun form of Sanctify is saint. Therefore, if you have been sanctified, you are a saint. Moreover, if you have been saved through a trusting belief in Christ, you have been sanctified. The good news is we don't need some farce of a guy in a robe telling us we are a saint. God tells us we are saint in His word.

Look at how Paul addresses many of his letters to the churches:

Colossians 1:2 "To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Philippians 1:1 "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons."

Ephesians 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus."

I don't think there was a pope back then in Ephesus, Philippi, and Colosse to make all of these people saints. They were saints because of their belief in Christ.

It is my hope that all of my catholic friends would focus more on the Bible and not the Catholic Church Doctrine which is of men. They need to get the revelation that it is relationship, not religion, that sanctifys them. It may sound like I am "picking on" Catholics, but I am merely pointing out that they are in error because they are going against what the bible says about this. They may be sincere in their beliefs but they are sincerely wrong.

Another example of "catholics in error" is the idea of "Last rights". I had a neighbor pass away a few years ago and the Catholic priest was brought to his home to read the "Last Rights". The bible mentions NOTHING about last rights, but this is what the bible does say in Hebrews 10:11 "And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:"

I could do an entire post on the errors in the catholic doctrine but hopefully the point has been made already. If this "Catholic bashing" as some might call it offends you, I make no apology for it. I simply say what Paul said in Galatians 4:16 "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?"

The bottom line is, if you have trusted Christ as your savior, you are a saint and we should all thank God for his grace and mercy. He sent His son Jesus to die for us and take the penalty that we deserved as sinners. His rigtheousness has now been imputed to us. If you haven't thanked Him lately for that, today might be a good time to do so.