- Discussion:
-The purpose of this article to rebut claims made by Sonja Corbitt in defense of Roman Catholic Mariology and an ordained ministerial priesthood in light of 1 Timothy 2:5. She largely just uses semantics here rather than actually addressing relevant issues. This critique begins with a citation from the author in bold letters and is followed with critical comments:
"Indeed. Did Jesus carry you in his womb? And after your conception, gestation, and birth, what then? Have you not been fed, clothed, educated, loved, provided for, and protected by someone who is not Jesus unto this day?"
"Indeed. Did Jesus carry you in his womb? And after your conception, gestation, and birth, what then? Have you not been fed, clothed, educated, loved, provided for, and protected by someone who is not Jesus unto this day?"
This rhetoric is only designed to sidestep the real issue at hand. How could the Apostle Paul consistently affirm Jesus Christ to be our "one mediator" when there is supposedly a bunch of other lesser mediators? The author does not provide a clear-cut explanation as to how or why this can be. In that same text, Paul says that there is "one God." Based on the reasoning of the author, should we deduce the existence of mini-gods?
"Does everything you know about Christ come from Christ himself? Did Jesus baptize you? Did Jesus teach you to read or read the Scriptures to you? Did Jesus hand-write your Bible, gather its writings, or physically protect the Deposit of Faith for 2000 plus years until you could receive it from his literal mouth?"
The author merely filibusters the issue of what it means for Jesus Christ to be the one mediator between God and man. Christ came to reconcile sinners to a holy God. Only He, being sinless and divine, could make our redemption happen through His atonement sacrifice. We are to place our trust in Christ alone. He handles our prayers before God. Christ alone is our intercessor before God.
"You are prayed for by other people. You are taught the Word of God by a person. And people even forgive one another! All the time if they’re obedient to Jesus, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."
When we pray on behalf of other Christians, we are not praying to them or through them. Prayer is done to God through Christ alone. The New Testament establishes Him as being the mediator between God and man without any reference to saints and angels (Hebrews 9:13-15; Hebrews 12:24).
There is a distinction between the forgiveness of sin committed between offended parties and the forgiveness before God made available through the cross. It is also fallacious to conflate teaching Scripture with being a mediator of His grace. Petitioning God in prayer nowhere amounts to functioning as a channel of God's mercy or applying the benefits of Christ's atonement to other people.
"Catholic confession and forgiveness through a priest follows the same pattern. The Pharisees also made the “God is the only mediator” claim against Jesus in this very matter: “No man can forgive sins, but God only” (Luke 5:21).
"Does everything you know about Christ come from Christ himself? Did Jesus baptize you? Did Jesus teach you to read or read the Scriptures to you? Did Jesus hand-write your Bible, gather its writings, or physically protect the Deposit of Faith for 2000 plus years until you could receive it from his literal mouth?"
The author merely filibusters the issue of what it means for Jesus Christ to be the one mediator between God and man. Christ came to reconcile sinners to a holy God. Only He, being sinless and divine, could make our redemption happen through His atonement sacrifice. We are to place our trust in Christ alone. He handles our prayers before God. Christ alone is our intercessor before God.
"You are prayed for by other people. You are taught the Word of God by a person. And people even forgive one another! All the time if they’re obedient to Jesus, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."
When we pray on behalf of other Christians, we are not praying to them or through them. Prayer is done to God through Christ alone. The New Testament establishes Him as being the mediator between God and man without any reference to saints and angels (Hebrews 9:13-15; Hebrews 12:24).
There is a distinction between the forgiveness of sin committed between offended parties and the forgiveness before God made available through the cross. It is also fallacious to conflate teaching Scripture with being a mediator of His grace. Petitioning God in prayer nowhere amounts to functioning as a channel of God's mercy or applying the benefits of Christ's atonement to other people.
"Catholic confession and forgiveness through a priest follows the same pattern. The Pharisees also made the “God is the only mediator” claim against Jesus in this very matter: “No man can forgive sins, but God only” (Luke 5:21).
The point that Jesus Christ makes in Luke 5 is that He is God in the flesh. As such, He would indeed have the authority to pardon our iniquity. Also, there is an element of irony that is worthy of consideration here. Even the Scribes and Pharisees of the Law were not arrogant enough to think that they had the ability to forgive the sins of God's people. Yet, the Roman Catholic priesthood has without guilt or embarrassment took upon itself precisely that role!
Some may argue that God alone forgives sin through a priest, but that premise is self-defeating. In that scenario, there would still be an additional party involved in Jesus Christ's mediatorship. Believers are to approach God for the forgiveness of sin directly through Christ. We do not need to consult sinful men in order to access the grace provided through the cross (Hebrews 4:14-16). We are to approach Jesus Christ directly for the forgiveness of any and all sins.
