Catholic Saints

The Church of Christ believes in the “saints” mentioned in the bible and not the “saints” defined by the catholics.

The term “saint” is defined by Catholics as:

“A title of Christ recognized by the church, either traditionally or by formal canonization, as being in heaven and thus worthy of honor.” New Catholic encyclopedia

As such “saints” are believed by the catholics to be in heaven, acting as “intercessors with god for the living and for souls in purgatory.”

The bible teaches however, that with the exception of our Lord jesus Christ who was resurrected by God and ascended to heaven, the holy who have passed away are not yet in heaven. The scriptures teaches that the dead lie in the grave (Ps. 88:5) and that the “soul clings to the dust” (Ps. 119:25).

The holy do not ascend to heaven after their death. For instance, david, whom the scriptures teaches as holy (Ps. 86:2), did not ascend to heaven after his death:

“Brothers and sisters, I can tell you truly that David, our ancestor, died and was buried. His grave is still here with us today. David was not the one who was lifted up to heaven, but he said: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit by me at my right side,” Acts 2:29, 34

The dead will remain lying in their graves and will rise only when the heavens are no more (Job 14:10-12), that is, on judgment day (II Pt. 3:10, 7). Only then will the holy or those who are worthy of salvation enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 25:31-34). The belief that the so-called “saints” are already in heaven is therefore unscriptural.

The Catholic definition of and doctrine about saints as “intercessors with god for the living and for souls in purgatory” also contradicts the biblical teaching that there is but one intercessor or mediator between God and men, The lord jesus Christ (I Tim. 2:5).

Moreover, bible mentions nothing about purgatory, nor are there souls in such realm (Ps. 119:25; Mt. 25:31-34). The dead who will be condemned and even those who will be rewarded will both come from the grave, not from purgatory:

“Don't be surprised at this: A time is coming when all who are dead and in their graves will hear his voice. Then they will come out of their graves. Those who did good will rise and have life forever, but those who did evil will rise to be judged guilty.” Jn. 5:28-29

The bible truly mentions of men who are saints. Apostle Paul said:

“unto the church of God which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours: ” I Cor. 1:2

The saints whom the bible refers to in the preceding verse are those who have been sanctified through the sacrifice of Christ (Heb. 10:10) or by his blood (Heb. 9:14). The holy scriptures attests that the church of Christ was the one purchased by Christ’s blood:

“Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his own blood” Acts 20:28, Lamsa translation

Clearly then, those who have been sanctified or made holy by the blood of Christ, called by the bible as saints, are the members of the church of Christ. The term “saint” therefore denotes the characteristic of those who were redeemed by Christ’s blood. It is in this context that we recognized the apostles, being preachers in the church of Christ, as saints.

Nevertheless, we do not attach the term “saint” as an honorific to each of their names when we address each of them so as not to be misinterpreted that we consider them “saints” in the Catholics’ sense. For the same reason, members of the church of Christ do not use the term “saint” as a title attached to their names.