Hiyaa! I'm gonna be posting some of the reflection papers and essays I made during my high school life. Enjoy! (:
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A written report about
The Real Meaning of All Saint’s Day
By Pastor Eduardo Lapiz
Carl Angelo Mateo Caluag
Introduction:
Our country, the Philippines, is full of traditions. Culture is manifested on every island. There is the Christmas or Pasko, the Holy Week or Mahal na Araw, and the one many people commemorate every first day of November, the All Saint’s Day. But if we profess that we are Christians, our beliefs must be based on the Foundation of our Faith, the Bible. We must be warned that not every tradition and lifestyle is in harmony with God’s Word. There are misconceptions many people don’t understand, and so, they are blinded by what their family and relatives believe and practice. Customs and social behavior are mixed with colorful superstitions, pleasing to the eye, but piercing to the Spirit. Deep inside, these traditions have their true meaning in the Bible, which when we discover, will cause such a great impact on why and how we believe these things.
The All Saint’s Day, popularly called Undas, Todos Los Santos, and even All Soul’s Day or Halloween, is very important to Filipinos, as it dates back to the Spanish Era, the time Roman Catholicism is inherited by thousands of our ancestors. It is one of the main Catholic traditions concerning the “veneration of the saints,” the “honoring of the dead.” As we all know, they have a lot of saints, perhaps thousands of them, all over the world. But what do we really know about them? Who are the so-called “saints”? How are they different to us? And how are they described according to God’s Word?
I. Who are the Saints?
A. “Saints” according to the Bible, God’s Holy Word
1. They are not made by man. They cannot be confirmed as one by a human being, because they too are fallible.
2. They are not made by ceremonies or processes.
3. A man is made saint only through Jesus Christ, which is above human. Only He can give Sainthood. Apart from Him, no one can be a “saint.”
4. Sainthood is given by God’s decision. It is a gift.
5. They must believe in the Lordship of Jesus. Before they can be called “saints,” they first must be saved. According to the Bible, a person can be saved only by grace through faith. By believing in His sanctifying grace, they can have the title, “Children of God.” They are born again not by flesh, but of Jesus Christ. Salvation is personal, not just by being a member of the church.
Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
Acts 16:31 – “They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.”
John 1:12-13 – “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
John 3:3 – “In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
6. They are made clean by Christ’s blood. They have received the Spirit of God, and so are walking in the ways of Jesus. They live according to the truth presented in the Word.
1 John 1:7 – “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”
7. People should pray FOR the saints, not TO the saints.
Ephesians 6:18 – “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
B. “Saints” According to Man, or “Man-made Saints”
1. People should not be against them, but against human error. It is not their fault that they are made and called “saints” by canonization (in the Roman Catholic Church, declaring a person, especially a dead one, to be a saint); hence, they should not be blamed accordingly.
2. They are qualified as a “saint,” because they have done a good work, a majestic act, or a miraculous thing, which is contrary to what the Bible teaches about righteousness by faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”
3. They do not possess God-like qualities, such as Omnipresence (presence everywhere at the same time), Omniscience (knowing all things), and Omnipotence (having unlimited or very great power), contrary to what men believe. Worship is intended only to God and God alone, and “saints” are not to be made idols, according to the first and second of Ten Commandments. They are not to be revered, given adoration and praise, and prayed to, because they too are lower beings, having finite mind, and not immortals.
First Commandment:
Exodus 20:3 – “You shall have no other gods before me.”
Second Commandment:
Exodus 20:4-5 – “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God...”
Þ The Roman Catholic Church teaches what they call the three kinds of worship, namely:
a. Latria – Supreme worship which can be lawfully given to God only
b. Dulia – Secondary kind of worship, used in veneration of the saints and angels
c. Hyperdulia – Worship given to the Virgin Mary as the most sacred of mortal creatures (superior to dulia)
This teaching contradicts the first and second commandment, which says that we should have no other gods (or even goddesses) and not to worship them.
4. They are not mediators. We do not need them to come to God, for we can directly approach God by prayer in Jesus’ name, and not by any other name. We only have one mediator, and that is Jesus Christ, not the Blessed Mary, nor St. Paul, nor St. John, nor anyone else. Communicating with them or through them is necromancy, which is not accepted by the Word’s teachings. Sometimes, curses are afflicted upon those who practice it, e.g. people who are possessed by evil spirits.
1 Timothy 2:5 – “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Isaiah 8:19 – “When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead in behalf of the living?”
2 Corinthians 11:14 – “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers...will inherit the kingdom of God.”
II. What is the Real All Saint’s Day?
The Real All Saint’s Day is the day where the saints will be glorified by God’s will. The Real All Saint’s Day is the day where the saints will be caught up together with Jesus in the air. The Real All Saint’s Day is the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 – “According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.”
We are called by the Lord to walk in the light, as He is in the light. Darkness is all around us, here in this world full of sin. The devil is at work, at work against us. Through our customs and traditions, He had managed to spread the destructive lie to many people around the world.
Mark 7:8 – “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”
Because of this, we are called to share the truth to the people as early as now.
Being a matter of life and death, we should invite not just a few, but everybody, to come to Christ for the Real All Saint’s Day. Knowing these things, we are somehow obliged for the lives of these men, for if we are aware of their false activities, and don’t do anything about it, we are consciously sinning. We are like watchmen of Ancient Israel, who warn the people when the enemies are approaching by sounding the trumpet. They are holding accountability for the lives of the Israelites. The safety of the city is dependent upon them.
Ezekiel 33:6-7 – “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back for His beloved children. That would be the greatest day on the life of the true saints. They shall be filled with everlasting joy, as they are being changed in the twinkling of an eye, from a wretched, desperate sinner to a glorified child of God. They shall behold Him with praise and adoration, with a resounding “At last!” cry. These saints, not necessarily those who are called as one, or those with a title “Saint” prior to their names, but these saints who endured the trials, who kept their faith in Jesus, who are saved by His grace through faith, will receive the culmination of God’s blessing on that great and marvelous day: the Real All Saint’s Day.
**Scripture quotations credited to NIV from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.
Overall Insights:
I am so impressed at what the Bible has to say about All Saint’s Day. First of all, the thought that everyone can be a saint without so much long processes, that all it takes for us to be a saint is to be saved by having faith in the Lord’s saving grace and to be purified by Christ’s blood, is so wonderful and awe-inspiring. I thank God so much for showing me the truth directly from His Word. I thank God because He is giving me a gift I would be a fool to resist. Such precious gift of salvation, so freely and generously offered to each and every one of us. It is not my good works, not even my obedience, which saved me. It is His effort, His gift, His power, His grace. As it is in the song: “Not because of who I am, but because of what You’ve done; Not because of what I’ve done, but because of who You are.”
Second, I realized the significance of God’s Holy Law, the Ten Commandments. I should strive to obey God, not because there is a curse on those who disobey it. For if my obedience is powered by fear, what is the meaning of my submission? I should strive to obey God, because I love Him, because He is the greatest of all the great, and who am I to go on my own way? The Creator is superior to the creature. The Law is a reflection of the Creator’s character: pure, just, and holy. I praise God for this truth!
And lastly, being a Seventh-Day Adventist, I am once again inspired to focus my life on the Second Coming of Jesus. The message preached brightened the light of a blessed future. It also gave me more eagerness to share Jesus’ love to everyone. Although at times there may be barriers, at times the enemy is seeking to prevent our Mission, at times the people may have hardened and unrepentant hearts, the message gives me the urge to continue, and to double my effort. After all, it’s not for me. It is for God, and His people. The truth given to me must be shared. The people living in the midst of falsehood must be warned.
My deepest resolution after I heard the message is to “walk in the light, as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7). I believe that Jesus should be the ultimate paragon of every saints. I will give devotion to God. I will pray to Him continually, for I believe that prayer is the breath of the soul, and a prayerless saint is hardly a saint at all. In the end, I know that there is a Heaven waiting for me. I am filled with so much anticipation, when I think of Jesus coming back, to take me to where He is, at that glorious day. ~
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