By Mario A Olcese
The Truth that the Bible Teaches
The way of selecting the saints of Catholicism is not found in any part of the Bible. In fact, we will never find in the Bible the apostle Peter canonizing any saint or deceased martyr. Contrary to the Catholic belief of a holy minority, the Bible teaches that the saints of the First Century were constituted by most of the believers, for not saying all. The use of the words saint, sanctify, sanctity, and sanctification, is also very common in the New Testament and are applied to the living believers. The saints, for example, refer directly to the believers in general: those baptized and consecrated to Christ's cause without regard to their gender, age, profession, or social class. All those that lived in purity of character, and in moral and spiritual righteousness, according to Christian doctrine, were called saints. They were not required or asked to perform miracles or any supernatural acts such as levitations, or to have the gift of bi-location or to present stigmata in the body. Neither were they demanded to live in monasteries or cloisters in a strict state of poverty and obligatory celibacy. These Catholic demands cannot be found in any part of the Bible, and especially, in the New Testament.
Married Saints
In the Bible we find that some of the apostles were married and had a family, or home. Peter, for example, the supposed first Pope of Rome, was married. The Bible tells us the following of Peter: “Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever” (Matthew 8:14 NKJV). And in 1 Corinthians 9:5 Paul asks as apostles and servants of God: “Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?”. This Cephas was without a doubt the apostle Peter (John 1:42) of whom is said that he had a own mother-in-law. Obviously Cephas or Peter was married or perhaps a widower.
References to Other Saints in the New Testament
We have seen that the holy apostles were married, and perhaps more than one widower. Now we will also see that many of the other believers — the apostles' disciples — were also living saints. We will analyze a series of interesting passages that will illuminate us on the matter of the Christian sanctity or Christians being saints:
In 2 Corinthians 1:1 we read: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia (¡not in heaven!)”. Notice that Paul greets the church of God in Corinth, and all the saints that are in the city of Achaia (not in heaven!). Here Paul equates the Church of God of Corinth with the saints of Achaia. For him, the expressions: 'Church of God' and 'Saints' meant the same thing. Also, it is clear that those saints were not few and they were all alive. Also II Corinthians 2, verses 5-11, we see Paul and the church forgiving a saint who had been an offender. These would indicate that those saints were imperfect, and some were subject to correction, as it had been the case with Peter himself. In Ephesians 1:1, Paul addresses the Ephesians with the following greeting: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus (¡not in heaven!), and faithful in Christ Jesus”. Here we see again that living believers in the church at Ephesus were saints and faithful. These were not deceased saints that had been canonized by St. Peter, the supposed first Roman Pope. Neither were they monks or nuns of some religious order. These people were simply converted sinners to the Christian faith, and they were surely from both classes, married and single. Specially, take note of Ephesians 5 verses 21-33. Here we see married saints that should maintain their marriage's sanctity, that is to say, love and fidelity among the couple, as well as Christ loved his church (His bride) and was devoted to her.
In Philippians 1:1, Paul greets the believers of the city of Philippi, in this way: “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints (Christians) in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi (¡not in heaven!), with the bishops and deacons (The leaders)”. Here we see that the Christians were saints, the so called “secular” or “lay” members of the Catholicism. But take note that also here all are saints in life or living saints that have not been canonized by Peter, the supposed first Roman Pope.
In Colossians 1:1 ,2, Paul addresses the brethren of Colosse in this way: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse (¡Not in heaven!): Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. In the same way, take note that Paul addresses the saints and faithful brethren that are in Colosse, a Greek city. These saints were the same flock of God (the congregation), composed of all the believers of that city. Among these saints there were some that were servants and slaves of free Christian believers. To these saints Paul tells them, among other things: “Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flash…”. Notice again that these saints didn't belong to any religious order, nor did they live in any cloister. These saints equally worked as servants for believing and unbelieving masters. These saints were actually servants, or slaves. Paul refers to bondservants. Today, we have workers for whom the same principles apply. This letter is also directed to the believing couples, to whom the apostle writes: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord” (3:18-20). As you can see, the concept of sanctity, or sainthood in the New Testament is far from the concept of the saints of Roman Catholicism.
In Jude 1 we read: “Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ”. This letter from Jude is to encourage the saints to "contend earnestly for the faith" and (v.3) to "keep yourselves in the love of God” (v.21). He is writing to saints so that they don’t allow themselves to be influenced by the false teachers who had infiltrated inside the flock of God. Without a doubt Jude was aware of the danger that the saints of God could encounter with false doctrines that were introduced into the church of God. Now let us notice that Jude addresses "those who are called", that are sanctified in God the Father. Well, these saints were "called" by God, but how? Did these perhaps hear a celestial voice as Paul heard once, personal and privately, in route to Damascus? Not necessarily this way. The apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians the following: “to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Tess. 2:14). Notice that potential saints are called when they hear the gospel or message of Jesus Christ and they believe in it with all their heart. If you hear Christ's gospel, then you are being called by God to be a saint, and in this way to reach Jesus Christ glory. The gospel is God’s power to transform men and women and to make them real saints. Paul says it clearly with these solemn words: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). And Jesus tells his followers: “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you”. We see that because Christ's word —His gospel— has the power to cleanse the sinner and to make him a saint. Tragically millions of Catholics don't understand this Biblical truth as it is presented.
Only the Saints will Be able to see God
The Bible teaches very clearly that only saints will be able to see God. In Hebrew 12:14 we read: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord”. Notice that without the sanctity, holiness, or being a saint, no one will see the Lord. That is; without sanctification, or holiness; that is, being a saint, nobody will be saved. Regrettably the Catholic theology on the topic of sainthood maintains that the saints are few (a handful people) in relation to the total of their parishioners. This simply means that the great majority of Catholics, are not saints, and, therefore, won't be able to see God or to be saved. Millions of deceased Catholics have not been made saints by the Papacy. These will be deprived for all eternity of seeing God. This also means that our devoted good Catholic friends— already deceased — that didn't "reach" sainthood, are resting in the grave or in hell and not in heaven in the presence of God. That tragic is the matter! Millions of deceased Catholics that have not been sanctified by the Papacy, will be deprived by the eternity of seeing to God. This means that our devote good Catholic friends --- already deceased --- that didn't "reach" the sanctity, are resting in hell but not in heaven where God and His Son lives and reigns.
Now the truth of the matter is that saints will only be saved and they will be able to live with the Lord God forever. Paul is emphatic in this respect when, associating saints that is those who are sanctified, salvation, and glory as he says: “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Those that are called Christian, but don't feel like saints, are lost, because if they are not saints, what are they? The answer is only one: Dirty! See you what Paul says in this respect: “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness” (1 Thess. 4:7). Notice that Paul is emphatic. If someone is not a saint then that person is unclean. And what does the Bible say of the unclean ones? Paul says: “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Ephesians 5:5). The problem arises in that Catholicism has idealized the sanctity or sainthood, and has transformed it practically into an unreachable level for most human beings. In other words, it is believed in Catholicism that a saint is a pure, perfect, impeccable, devote, good, chaste, celibate, healer, maker of miracles and extraordinary phenomena and with stigmata in the body, praying, poor, hermit, and things like these. But, from where did the great majority of Catholics get this idea Have we forgotten St. Peter, the supposed “first Roman Pope” who was a saint since His conversion? Did he show his colleagues signs of stigmata, levitation, and “bi-location”? We don’t have a single case. Let us return to Peter again: don't we remember how Peter hesitated and denied his Master three times? (John 13:38) Don't we remember how Christ responded Peter: "Get behind me, Satan!"? (Mark 8:33). Don't we remember how Paul had to reprehend his colleague Peter for seeking to observe some Judaic practices and to demand his fellow Christians to observe these? (Gal. 2:11-14). But in spite of all these facts, Peter continued being a saint of God. He was not exempt from errors. One could think that in a moment Peter would give up his faith and that he would not return to the road that had continued with Jesus. But in the Acts of the Apostles we find a valiant, transformed, and convinced Peter who strongly believed that Christ was the Son of God, the King of Israel. He is found celebrating the first council in Jerusalem, and making a strong defense of His Master in front of many unbelieving Jews.
And as for the apostle Paul, didn't he say that "the good thing that he should do he didn't do it, and the bad thing that he should not do he did? (Rom. 7:15-25). Do we understand Paul's struggles, and his human flaws as an imperfect man? Did he stop being a saint of God because he was not completely perfect? Nevertheless, and in spite of his mistakes, he himself demands us to imitate him so that we can also be saints in our present life and win salvation (1 Corinthians 11:1). For Paul, it cannot be salvation without sanctity, as I have already demonstrated above.
Christ's Church is Holy by nature
There are those who ignore that the church is composed of all baptized believers, as is clear from Acts 2:38-42. It is, then, completely false that the church is only composed of the so called "clergy" ("the religious") of Roman Catholicism. Most Catholics don't seem to understand that they, the so called "lay," are also part of the church, because for that purpose they were baptized, participating of the sacraments of their church. All those who are baptized are members of Christ's body, that is to say, members of His church. Now the church is ordered to maintain its sanctity with these words: “…just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25-27). Well, if the church is composed of all those baptized, and she should be holy, then we conclude that all those baptized practitioners are saints. It’s that simple!
To the Corinthians believers Paul says: “…for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple” (1 Cor. 3:17). And to the Colossian believers Paul tells them: “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22But 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” (Col. 1:21,22). Notice the contrast: the saints do good works, versus the infidels that do bad works. If a believer in Christ has renovated his mind to be held to the will of God, he is transformed automatically into a saint. This believer has been sanctified because he has put his faith in Christ, and he has made his expiatory sacrifice in the cross, and he has been baptized for the pardon of his sins. To the saints, Peter tells them: “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:14,15). Notice that Peter is not saying: "Aspire to be saints, so that I can beatify you and call you saints when you die." No! What Peter exhorts is that all the believers should be saints, opting to live a pious life so that they can become true obedient children of God.
Each one of us becomes a saint when we don't conform to the desires that we had in our ignorance and instead we live for the cause and laws of Christ. That is the truth of the matter. Also, Peter doesn't say that we should perform miracles, or that we should be celibate, monks, hermits, poor, or have stigmata in the body, or levitate to deserve sainthood. Neither does Peter says to the believers that they will first die and then be canonized by him or by any of his supposed successors. What he says is that the believers should live now in sanctity and holiness as true children of God. This is not a Christian option, but rather, an obligation or demand for salvation. Peter wants the people of God be saints or separated from the world in order to fulfill their saving and evangelizing mission. The gospel is preached by example, without a doubt.
The Saints should Be Perfected
Many believe that first the believer should be perfected to be named "saint" of the church. This is simply not true! The apostle Paul writes something very interesting to the believers of Ephesus. These are his words: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13). If one examines well these three verses, it will be seen that the saints could be perfected with the help of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, bishops and teachers; that is to say, not by the well called "clergy." These Christians, or those called "laity" by Catholicism, are the saints mentioned by Paul in this epistle to the Ephesians. Also in 2 Corinthians 7:1 Paul says: “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God”. It is clear that the saints were far from being perfect, but they could be perfected in the measure that they moved away from the carnal and spiritual contamination. Notice that Paul doesn't say that to the measure that the saints made miracles, levitation, or stigmatized his body, they would be perfected. On the other hand, in the Bible that strange division of "Clergy" and “Lay” of Catholicism doesn't exist. On the contrary all believers are in fact part of the (Gr. ‘Kleron’) or Clergy.
Conclusion
The Christian, biblical Church, composed of all baptized believers, is holy in its essence. That is to say, baptized believers are holy because they have been sanctified by Jesus Christ, the Holy Head. They are holy because they have given up the vain way of living that they inherited of their parents to continue for a new one on the way to rightness and truth. They are not extraordinary men that have given up marriage, businesses, children, etc, to live as gody hermits. They are rather common and average men, with their defects and qualities that have decided to follow Christ's principles and to apply them. Other requirements or demands don't exist, as for example: to make miracles or supernatural wonders, that is: to levitate or to present stigmata in the body. These are rather married or single individuals: Farmers, peasants, Managers, merchants, workers, servants, housewives, students of schools and universities, etc, that live in harmony with Christ and for Christ.
To seek to make saints a sort of supernatural individuals, besides puritan and godly, it is to twist the true concept of the biblical sanctity. What is clear, according to the New Testament, is that without holiness no one will see God; that is to say, no one will survive (see Hebrews 12:14). The requirement to live with God is the sanctity of life today. But as Catholicism has limited sainthood to only an insignificant minority of their congregation, it would mean that hopelessly the great majority of Catholic that have not "reached" sainthood and the beatification, will be condemned to never see God for all of eternity. And if they won't see to God—whom will they see.
(Revised and corrected article)
