THE PERMANENCE OF ALTARS AND EVANESCENCE OF TENTS (17 OF 48)
Scripture: Genesis 12:4-20, Genesis 13:1
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The Permanence of Altars and Evanescence of Tents (17 of 48)
Series: Kingdom Foundations - Genesis
Patrick Edwards
Genesis 12:4-13:1
Introduction
When Martin Luther began his work of calling the church to reform in the 16th century, one of the major criticisms he, and other reformers, levied at the Roman Church was what is called the veneration of saints. You see the medieval Catholic Church maintained and promoted a long-standing tradition of recognizing certain people in church history who had seemingly lived near-perfect lives, through whom God had performed great miracles in both their life and death. The Roman Church taught that such persons had surpassed Purgatory in death and ascended immediately into heaven, where they now could intercede before God on behalf of those who are still living. In other words, the average Catholic layperson of the 16th century was taught that they ought to almost worship such persons, who had been deemed by the Pope to be saints; they were to pray to such persons and try to emulate them in their own lives.
Luther rightly saw this practice as unbiblical, as Paul refers to all believers as saints of God. Moreover, the reformers recognized the idolatrous nature of the Roman system of saints and thus amply and unequivocally denounced it. Only Christ can intercede for us; only Christ is worth our worship; and only Christ must be sought and followed. Now for the most part, this veneration of saints has waned since the Middle Ages, though the Roman Church does continue to announce new saints and encourage laypersons to ''pay honor to the saints who, by their intercession and example and in their possession of God, minister to human sanctification, helping the faithful grow in Christian virtue.'' In other words, while the modern Catholic Church does not worship the saints, per se, they still believe the saints possess special abilities worth seeking and emulating.
Now we as Protestants find this unbiblical, and yet, if ...
Series: Kingdom Foundations - Genesis
Patrick Edwards
Genesis 12:4-13:1
Introduction
When Martin Luther began his work of calling the church to reform in the 16th century, one of the major criticisms he, and other reformers, levied at the Roman Church was what is called the veneration of saints. You see the medieval Catholic Church maintained and promoted a long-standing tradition of recognizing certain people in church history who had seemingly lived near-perfect lives, through whom God had performed great miracles in both their life and death. The Roman Church taught that such persons had surpassed Purgatory in death and ascended immediately into heaven, where they now could intercede before God on behalf of those who are still living. In other words, the average Catholic layperson of the 16th century was taught that they ought to almost worship such persons, who had been deemed by the Pope to be saints; they were to pray to such persons and try to emulate them in their own lives.
Luther rightly saw this practice as unbiblical, as Paul refers to all believers as saints of God. Moreover, the reformers recognized the idolatrous nature of the Roman system of saints and thus amply and unequivocally denounced it. Only Christ can intercede for us; only Christ is worth our worship; and only Christ must be sought and followed. Now for the most part, this veneration of saints has waned since the Middle Ages, though the Roman Church does continue to announce new saints and encourage laypersons to ''pay honor to the saints who, by their intercession and example and in their possession of God, minister to human sanctification, helping the faithful grow in Christian virtue.'' In other words, while the modern Catholic Church does not worship the saints, per se, they still believe the saints possess special abilities worth seeking and emulating.
Now we as Protestants find this unbiblical, and yet, if ...
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