by Jonathan Gillies
25th August 2021
I believe that it is clear from the Bible that God does not want us venerating or praying to departed saints (including Mary the mother of Jesus) for the following reasons:
– Firstly, God has strictly forbidden bowing down (in a religious sense) to anything except him. The second commandment, found in Exodus 20:4-6, says, “Thou shalt not make unto thee 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 water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” The Apostle Peter did not think it was right for people to bow down to him, even although he was one of Christ’s chosen apostles, because in Acts 10:25-26, “Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.” Similarly, the angels do not wish us to give them any kind of worship either. When the Apostle John fell down at the feet of an angel, the angel said to him, “See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.” (Revelation 22:9) The Roman Catholic Church sadly does all three of these things. It makes multitudes of graven images, and commands its adherents to bow down themselves to them. It has also invented a spurious three-tier system of worship, with ‘Dulia’ worship for saints and angels, and ‘Hyperdulia’ worship for the mother of Jesus, added to the only properly warranted ‘Latria’, which is the worship of God almighty. It also gives Mary the titles of ‘Queen of Heaven’ and ‘Our Salvation’ (among many others), which titles should certainly not be ascribed to her, because God and God alone is the sovereign ruler of the universe and the only saviour of mankind, and so he has said, “I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another” (Isaiah 42:8), and “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:22)
– Secondly, God has strictly forbidden all attempts to communicate with the dead. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD:” No godly person in the Bible ever tried to communicate with the dead. There is, of course, the account of wicked King Saul trying to communicate with the dead Samuel instead of God, but by doing this he greatly angered God.
– Thirdly, God wants us to have a relationship directly with him, through the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ alone, without us trying to gain access to him by using other mediators like Mary or the saints. When Christ taught his disciples to pray, he told them to pray to ‘Our Father which art in Heaven’. We should obey him, rather than thinking up of new things out of our own imaginations. Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father except through me.” The Apostle Paul says in Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Christ “ever liveth to make intercession for us.” Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
– Lastly, those who have died in Christ are described in 1 Thessalonians 4:14 as “asleep in Jesus”, which phrase implies undisturbed rest. Indeed, Hebrews 4:10 tells us that “he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works,” and Revelation 14:13 similarly tells us that those who die in the Lord “rest from their labours”. I think these passages should show us that departed saints are not having to assist Christ in his intercessionary work.
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