What is a Saint?

As one of his final acts before leaving the UK pope Benedict has beatified Cardinal Newman the 19th Century Anglican who infamously converted to Catholicism. In case you don’t know what it means to be beatified it is simply the pope making someone a Saint.

In order to be made a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church one must first be declared after their death to have been a ‘Servant of God’, then someone latter the person will be given the description of ‘venerable’, if then a miracle can be attributed to you, you are the well on your way to Sainthood. However, one miracle is not enough, there must be a second miracle that is clearly attributed to you and then you can be declared a Saint by the pope.

The second miracle attributed to Cardinal Newman was that of a man called Jack Sullivan who suffered from severe back pain due to a vertebrae on his lower back turning inwards and squeezing on his spine. He claims that he was healed after praying to Cardinal Newman for healing. I do not know enough about Mr Sullivan’s medical case to comment on the veracity of his claims for healing but I do not this, if he was healed it was nothing to do with Cardinal Newman it was all down to God graciously touching his infirmity. Even the miracles of the Bible carried out by Elijah or Peter were really attributable to God alone. So for the pope to announce a man to be a Saint on the grounds of something attributable to God we must question Rome’s beatification process.

What does the Bible say?

That should always be our question in all matters of faith, ‘what saith the scriptures’? Who does the Bible recognise as saints? Is there some class of extremely venerable super Christians classified as Saints in Scripture or is it a general term of reference to all believers?

In his first letter to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul uses a phrase that clearly indicates that all of the people making up the Church are saints. ‘For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.’ 1 Cor 14 v33 In fact Paul uses this term Saints literally scores of times when addressing the believers in the various churches to which he is writing, here are just two examples where in his opening Salutations to the Churches to which he writes he is clearly identifying the body of Christ in it’s entirety in that location as Saints.

‘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:’ Ephesians 1 v1

‘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.’ Colossians 1 v2

The term is so tied up with believers in a local church that it must refer to all believers and not some super class of Christian as Rome would teach. Jude too in his little Epistle refers to the original body of believers that received the gospel all as saints. ‘Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.’ Later (v14) in the same letter Jude refers to Christ coming in judgement with ten thousands of his saints. Now I’m not sure how many Saints Rome claims to have but I don’t believe in runs into the tens of thousands.

Finally by way of evidence can I appeal to the description that John gives in the book of the Revelation, in Chapter 14 v12 the saints are seen as a group of people who have faith in Jesus. ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’

It is clear beyond argument that when the Scripture speaks of a Saint it speaks of a believer in Christ, a Child of God, a Christian. I am a Saint and I don’t need the pope to tell me that. God tells me in His word.

Once again the pope of Rome is trying to play God. This should not surprise us from an institution that claims to have the power to forgive sins, an act that God alone can do, even the Scribes of Jesus day knew enough to know that. Yet the priest of Rome claim this power in the confessional every day.

But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.’ Mark Chapter 2 v7-12

I don't know about you but I'm sure glad Benny the Blasphemer has gone home to Rome. I trust it will a long time before his like returns to our shores again.