Bringing the Word of Life Q & A

There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself a ransom for all - 1 Timothy 2:5.

ONE MEDIATOR

Since God is holy and we are sinners, it is impossible to approach Him on our own. We need a mediator to cleanse us from sin and present us to God. The mediator is Jesus Christ: 'For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all' (1 Timothy 2:5). He only is the mediator because He alone shed his blood to secure the freedom of his people from the slavery of sin.

Sadly, tradition has obscured the clear teaching of the Bible. Unwilling to trust the Word of God, people have invented other 'mediators'.

Mary, the mother of the Lord

Mary is highly favoured among women because she was chosen to be the mother of our Lord according to the flesh, and Christians rightly call her 'blessed' because of this unique privilege. However, Mary is not the Savior, nor the Mediator.

The Catholic church teaches that Mary was conceived without sin, that by her suffering she contributed to our salvation, that she taken up into Heaven and was appointed our mediatrix. She is also called our life and the gate of Heaven. None of this is taught in the Bible. On the contrary the Word of God teaches that Jesus was conceived without sin, that he died for our sins, ascended into heaven and that he is the only mediator. He alone is our life and he is the gate to Heaven. We should therefore look to Jesus Christ.

Mary said: 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my saviour' (Luke 1:46). Mary desires to magnify the Lord and not to take his glory for herself. Moreover she plainly teaches us to look upon God for salvation and not to herself or anyone else. God is 'my saviour,' she confesses. We should call upon the name of Jesus, and not upon the name of Mary, because the apostle Peter says about the Lord Jesus, 'Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12).

The Catholic priest

There were leaders in the New Testament church, called pastors, elders and overseers. But they are never called priests, and for good reason. The Old Testament priests were replaced by Jesus Christ, who is called the 'High Priest of our confession' (Hebrews 3:1).

The Old Testament priests were sinners, offered only the blood of animals, and entered only in a man-made Temple. Jesus is much better because he is sinless, offered his own blood and entered into Heaven itself. 'Such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when he offered up Himself' (Hebrews 7:26,27).

What need is there for a Roman Catholic priest to offers sacrifices for sin if you have Jesus Christ? 'He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them' (Hebrews 7:25).

Do you want to know the way to Heaven? The Lord Jesus gives us a plain answer: 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me' (John 14:6). Come to the Father, through Jesus Christ, the only Mediator.