Challenging Traditions: Discussing La Madonna and Scripture with Neighbors
Recently I had the privilege to sit and chat for a couple of hours with some neighbors on a Lord's Day afternoon. What a great time it is in Italy for hanging out and talking about life's big questions. All the madness going on now in the world presents followers of Christ with a wonderful opportunity to evangelize. So many people are confused and distraught. They long for justice, but without a Christian and Biblical worldview for all of life, they are inconsistent in their laments.
The Word of God alone gives us a foundation for understanding all that is going on in the world. We have a framework; the unbeliever does not. They are inconsistent each and every time they lament the harsh realities of life out of their control. By believing the lies of secularism that teach us that we are orderly products of a chaotic big bang explosion, stardust that has evolved over billions of years, monkeys now a bit less hairy, and so on... the unbeliever really has no foundation to stand upon and declare that anything at all is unjust. In their worldview, there is no absolute right and wrong. People don't have dignity if they are just cosmic accidents. Logic has no basis without Creator God, and there is no reason to believe the uniformity of nature and that tomorrow things will operate as they did yesterday. The truth is that none of us can know anything at all without knowing the One who knows all things.
In any case, while talking with our neighbors, I was very much pleased to see that they fear God and seem to have been studying the Bible since our last interactions. They are not suppressing the truth of God, but acknowledging now that indeed they are created beings made in the image of God. We spoke about many different happenings in the world today, from politics, elections, pandemics, abortion, the olympics, and numerous things in between. By God's grace, we also landed on various and deep theological discussions that connect with all things related to life in this fallen world.
We shared numerous agreements in the faith, but one area of respectful disagreement was the common belief and tradition of Mary, la Madonna as she is called in the predominantly Roman Catholic land of Italy. My friend affirmed that she is sinless and the mediator between man and God. I lovingly and gently pushed back on his arguments and challenged him to think further on this matter. I testified that the ultimate reason why evangelical Christians see Mary in a totally different light is because Scripture does. If we are to believe Scripture, we cannot affirm the Roman Catholic dogma regarding Mary. To do so would require us to toss aside all of Scripture; God's primary means of communicating with mankind.
I pointed out a few things as they came to mind during our discussion and encouraged my friend to give it some more thought. I pray that he will and that God the Holy Spirit will bring conviction. Here is a bit of what I spoke of while lovingly challenging his belief.
I. Mary Referred to God as Her Savior
Luke 1: 46-48 -- And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.48 For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant; For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
It's important to note that if one is truly sinless, as Roman Catholics assert Mary is, they do not need a savior. Mary acknowledged her need for a savior. One could argue, however, that perhaps Mary was referring to a different kind of salvation, not eternal salvation. This is possible, unless we consider some other important Scripture passages. This brings us to our second point.
II. Jesus Alone is Sinless
If God wanted us to understand that Mary was indeed sinless, like Christ Jesus, it would be crucial that He revealed this to us in His Word. He didn't. Paul, writing to the Romans and explaining God's plan of salvation, had a perfect opportunity to teach this, if it was indeed true, yet he didn't. It's erroneous to claim that Mary is sinless. The idea goes contrary to the whole teaching of Scripture.
as it is written: “There is no righteous person, not even one; 11 There is no one who understands, There is no one who seeks out God; 12 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, There is not even one.” -- Romans 3: 10-12
The apostle Paul and Peter emphasized clearly the Biblical truth that all, except for Jesus, have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. He alone is the sinless one who was able to save sinners. We are born sinners. All humans are either in Adam or in Christ.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. -- 2 Cor. 5: 21
He who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; -- 1 Peter 2:21
Roman Catholics call upon Mary with various prayers. This is typically based on the belief that she too was sinless; a necessary feature in their estimation for her to birth a sinless savior, Jesus Christ. To explore this further, consider this nice article from Answers in Genesis: "Is Original Sin (Sin Nature) Passed through the Father’s Genetic Line?" by Bodie Hodge.
III. One Mediator Between God and Man
Scripture states clearly that Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. Furthermore, He ever lives to make intercession for His own. In light of the following verses that teach about how we have access to God the Father, there is no further place nor need for another mediator. If there was a need for another mediator, la Madonna (Mary), it would be absolutely critical for us to have received this teaching in the written and inspired revelation from God. The apostles and New Testament writers taught nothing of the sort. To pray to Mary, therefore, is to live contrary to the revealed will of God and to disobey the clear Biblical teachings that we are to pray to God the Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, by the work of the Holy Spirit within us who has caused us to be born again, reconciled to God, and granted a new nature.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. -- 1 Tim. 2: 5-6
Therefore He is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. -- Hebrews 7: 25
who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. -- Romans 8:34
To pray (or venerate Mary) is actually sinful and says ultimately that King Jesus is not available, able, or sufficient as the One mediator between man and God. In a similar way, the Roman Catholic Church teaches on the necessity of purgatory for preparing people for heaven. This extra-Biblical idea also stands in contradiction to the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel teaches we are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2: 8). Jesus lived perfectly in our place and died the death we deserve by taking both our sins and the wrath of God the Father upon Himself. When we repent of our sins and believe/trust in Christ alone for our salvation, we are clothed with the righteous robes of Jesus. He took our sins and gave us His righteousness. This is known as the Great Exchange. It is the heart of the Gospel. It is something not well understood by most in the Roman Catholic religion.
Discussing Mary with Italians (in Italy) can often be a delicate endeavor. In my experience, most Italians have numerous doubts about God, the church, and the Bible but for some reason they often have very strong convictions regarding la Madonna... It is, as I see it, a very real form of bondage and deception. Many Italian neighborhoods even have statues of Mary on every corner. People light candles to her and pray for her protection.
In our long and wonderful conversation this day at a neighbor's house, we didn't talk about the reality of Mary and Joseph having children after Jesus' birth. Nor did we talk about the reality of what it means when people pray to Mary, who is not omnipotent, omnipresent, nor omniscient and therefore unable to hear and respond to our prayers. Perhaps we will in the near future. There is much more to this topic and the history of this practice among Roman Catholics.
If you are interested in studying this in more depth, let me recommend two trustworthy books from modern-day pastors and theologians who have invested years of their lives into defending the Christian faith against Roman Catholicism:
Mary - Another Redeemer? by Dr. James White
A Christian's Pocket Guide to Mary: Mother of God? by Leonardo De Chirico
There is nothing wrong with traditions in the Christian faith. We all have them, whether we realize it or not. What is crucial is that we consider them in the light of all of Scripture. If our traditions contradict the written word of God, we must forsake them. May the Lord help us to keep on reforming as He continues the work He began in us.
All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; -- 2 Tim. 3:16
Written by Jesse Schreck | founder, director, and missionary church planter in Italy with Practical Missions Cohort
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