Vatican Cuts Cost to Become a Saint
[Vatican Cuts
Cost to Become a Saint Proclaiming
the Gospel Ministries]
"The Vatican has said it is cutting
the costs of sainthood applications,
which can reportedly spiral up to a
million dollars. Applications for
sainthood can take years and costs
include legal fees and travel bills
for medical experts from around the
world who are often called on to
verify supposed medical miracles
attributed to would-be saints. The
Archdiocese of Indianapolis was
cited by the Huffington Post as
saying the price of canonization
campaigns range between $250,000 and
$1 million.
Read more."
Pro-Gospel.org
Response to comment [from a Christian]: "[A]nd a saint hood matters for what?"
Beats me.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus
through the will of God, and Timothy
our brother, to the assembly of God
which is at Corinth, with all the
saints who are in the whole of
Achaia..." 2 Co 1:1
[Pope Begins
Process of Sainthood for Eight
Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries]
"Pope Francis approved the "heroic
virtue" of eight dead Servants of
God, which now allows for their
public veneration. The title
"Servants of God," is the first
stage in the sainthood process.
Read more.
[Mike Gendron Comment] Once again we
see the unbiblical nature of the
Roman Catholic religion. God is the
only one who appoints saints.
Everyone born of the Spirit of God
is a saint, and their sainthood is
not based on anything they do, but
on everything Christ has done! This
is why many of the epistles are
written to the "saints" at various
churches. Paul wrote: "To all those
in Rome who are loved by God and
called to be saints" (Rom. 1:7). He
said he was going to Jerusalem to
bring aid to the saints (Rom.
15:25). To the church of Ephesus he
said, you are "saints and members of
the household of God" (Eph. 2:19).
Furthermore saints are not to be
venerated or worshipped. When
Cornelius met Saint Peter he fell
down at his feet and worshiped him.
But Peter lifted him up, saying,
"Stand up; I too am a man" (Acts
10:25-26). To God alone be all
worship and glory!" Pro-Gospel.org
"[P]lease tell me of the saints Paul knew of?"
Saints are those who have trusted in
Christ.
Unto the church of God which is
at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called
to be saints, with all that in every
place call upon the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord, both theirs and
ours [1 Cor. 1:2].
"Notice it is "unto the church of
God which is at Corinth." It is
called the church of God because He
is the One who is the Architect of
the church. The letter is directed
to the "sanctified in Christ Jesus."
The church is at Corinth, but it is
in Christ Jesus. The address of the
church is not important, but the
person of Christ is all-important.
What does it mean to be a Christian?
It means to be in Christ! Whether
you are at Corinth or at Los
Angeles, at Ephesus or at New York
City is incidental. The important
question is: Are you in Christ
Jesus?
Paul calls them "sanctified in
Christ Jesus." The term
sanctification is used in several
different ways, as we have already
seen in Romans. Here it is
positional sanctification, which is
the position we have in Christ. When
sanctification is joined to God the
Father or God the Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, then it is generally
positional. When sanctification is
connected with the Holy Spirit, then
that is practical sanctification. We
will learn in verse 30 that Christ
has been made unto us
sanctification—along with wisdom and
righteousness and redemption. He is
our sanctification.
You see, friend, you are not going
to heaven until you are perfect—I am
not either. And I am not perfect,
not even near it. The fact of the
matter is that if you knew me like I
know myself, you wouldn’t listen to
me. But wait a minute! Don’t tune me
out because, if I knew you like you
know yourself, I wouldn’t speak to
you. So let’s just stay connected
here, if you don’t mind.
Sanctification is a position we have
in Christ. If you have trusted Him,
He has been made over to you your
sanctification. You are as saved
right now as you will be a million
years from now, because you are
saved in Christ. You cannot add
anything to that.
There is also a practical
sanctification, which is something
that varies. These Corinthians don’t
sound like sanctified saints. The
work of the Holy Spirit was not very
much in evidence in their lives. But
they were positionally sanctified in
Christ Jesus.
They were "called to be
saints"—again, note that "to be" is
in italics, which means it is not in
the original. Just as Paul was a
called apostle, they were called
saints. We are also called saints.
We do not become saints by what we
do; we become saints because of our
position in Christ. The word saint
actually means "set aside to God."
Every Christian should be set aside
to God. For example, the pans and
vessels that were used in the
tabernacle and later in the temple
were called holy vessels. Holy? Yes,
because they were for the use of
God. On what basis is a child of God
a saint or holy? On the basis that
he is for the use of God. This is
the position that we have. I repeat
again, one is not a saint on the
basis of what one does. All of
mankind is divided between the
"saints" and the "ain’ts." If you "ain’t"
in Christ, then you are an "ain’t."
If you are in Christ, then you are a
"saint."
The Corinthians are called saints
together "with all that in every
place call upon the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord, both theirs and
ours." Possibly it would be more
correct to say, "with all that in
every place, both theirs and ours,
who call upon the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord." This also
indicates that the teaching of this
epistle is addressed to the church
at large, which is composed of all
who call upon the Lord Jesus,
whether it be in Corinth or
elsewhere..." McGee, J. V. (1997).
Thru the Bible commentary
(electronic ed., Vol. 5, pp. 4–5).
Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
