Vain Repetitions

by David J. Stewart | June 2005
[Please click HERE to HEAR Catholics use vain repetitions - MP3 Clip]

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for
they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”
—Matthew 6:7

the penguinIsn't it interesting that the only two mentions of the word “vain” in Matthew perfectly describe the Roman Catholic religion. The Catholics love their vain repetitive prayers and chants, and they teach the commandments of men, vainly worshipping God. “Vain” here simply means that the Catholics are wasting their time because God is NOT accepting their false worship. By the way, kindly, doesn't the picture of the nun to the left look like A PENGUIN? Oh yes she does! I love this Sesame Street episode (Telly hits a penguin, and all the jury members are penguins...lol). Gotta love penguins!

Jesus plainly taught in John 4:24 that God can only be worshipped in spirit and in truth, not in recited chants, idol worship and confessing one's sins to a priest who is saturated with sins himself. God does not accept empty worship. If you've ever been to a Catholic Church, then you know that they don't pray. All of their so-called “prayers” are robotically recited from memory, which they learned from some Catholic prayer book. It's all lip service.

Just as Cain, Catholics commit the same fatal sin of not obeying the Commandments of God. Instead of offering a blood sacrifice (symbolic of the Lamb of God, Jesus) as did Abel, Cain brought grains from his hard toil and labor. Cain attempted to impress God with his own self-righteousness; whereas Abel expressed his faith in the coming Messiah with a blood sacrifice. Catholics are all self-righteous. They think that by keeping the Sacraments that God will be pleased with them. No, no, no!!! It is religion at it's best, and a paved road to Hell. From the cradle-to-the-casket, Catholicism is of the Devil. Religion is NOT the way to Heaven. Jesus Christ is the way to Heaven (John 14:6).

“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” —Matthew 15:9

The Catholic Church is NO church at all because they teach manmade doctrines. A perfect example is the Assumption of Mary doctrine officially establish by the Vatican in 1950, by Pope Pius XII. There is no such Biblical teaching, nor is it even found in the Catholic's magisterium (church traditions). You can't just make up your own rules. The Bible teaches in John 10:1-9 that you MUST enter through the gate to get into Heaven. That gate (or door) is Jesus! Anyone who tries to get into Heaven some other way is a thief and a robber. You can't break into Heaven with a jack hammer, nor use a grappling hook to scale it's walls, nor dig under the wall; you MUST enter freely through the gate in Jesus' precious name. Amen!

I recently watched a Catholic program on EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network). The entire show was all about praising Mary... Mary, Mary, Mary, that's all Catholics talk about. A standard Rosary recital requires 53 “Hail Marys.” That's vain repetitions which the Bible condemns.

As I watched the EWTN, a few words were spoken and then they all started chanting like zombies. The priest would make a statement praising Mary and then dozens of Catholics in robes would follow with “we pray to thee.” It was a cult ceremony, surely not resemblant of anything which Jesus taught in the Scriptures.

Here's what I heard on the Catholic EWTN . . .

Mary, Queen of Heaven...

we pray to thee

Mary, Queen of all saints...

we pray to thee

Mary, Queen of angels...

we pray to thee

Mary, Queen of the Rosary...

we pray to thee

Mary, Queen of the Church...

we pray to thee

and so on...it lasted for about 5 minutes

How arrogant and blasphemous against God Almighty! Everything about Roman Catholicism is contrary to the plain teachings of the Word of God. No where in Scriptures are we directed in any way to praise, hail or show ANY devotion whatsoever to Mary (or any other dirty, rotten sinner like Mary). Yes, Mary was a sinner. She was not without “original sin” as Catholicism claims (what they call “Immaculate Conception). 

The Catholic religion is so rebellious against the Bible that they even teach that Mary was a “perpetual virgin.” Mark 6:3 tells us that Jesus had brothers and sisters, so Mary was NO virgin after she married Joseph. Joseph was Mary's husband. In Matthew 1:20, the Angel of the Lord comforted Joseph concerning his “wife” to be, “...fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Mary did NOT remain a virgin! So stop calling her a “virgin.”

Roman Catholicism leads people to pray lifeless and empty vain repetitions! 

The Bible speaks about making merry melody in our hearts to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19), not the dead and morbid chants of the Catholic religion. If the dead could sing, I think it would sound like the Rosary being chanted by a bunch of nuns. Why don't we ever see Catholic men chanting the Rosary?

God wants us to pray and sing from our hearts. Roman Catholics are duped by the extravagance, formalism and mystic of the Catholic religion. If the Pope is speaking in Latin, he must really know his stuff, right? Folks, it's all a big show to sucker you and your money into the Catholic cult. The Pope speaks in Latin to impress everybody, while no one has any idea what he's saying. The priests drink their wine from golden cups. Candles are placed into golden candlesticks. Gold, gold and more gold. The Vatican spares no expense. The Vatican is impeccably designed and decked out with wealth and beauty. Yet, they are as beautiful graves filled with dead men's bones just as Jesus said...

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness." —Matthew 23:27

God Must Be Worshipped in Spirit and in Truth

God hates vain repetitions! God hates prayers that are dictated from a paper or a book. Prayer should be spontaneous, from the heart, not a recital from a prayer book. Do you think God would rather have us fellowship with Him as a friend, or try to impress Him with fancy words and religious formalism? Do you really think that chants move God? Do you really think that a bunch of repetitious words please God? It doesn't, not one bit. God hates false prayers, false worship, and false religion. 

Two things are REQUIRED to pray to God: spirit and truth. You cannot worship God in heresy or false religion. This is why Catholics will NEVER be able to worship the true and living God, because they teach traditions instead of the Commandments of God. I've heard priests myself tell people not to read the Bible, saying that the priest knows things that the parishioners don't. In sharp contrast, Jesus commands each believer in John 5:39 to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!

One must be born-again to worship God, for God is a Spirit, and our carnal flesh cannot commune with God. No amount of religion or self-righteousness can remove your sins nor save you from Hell. Salvation cannot be obtained by education, legislation, reformation, nor rehabilitation; but only by regeneration by the Spirit of God, by the Word of God (1st Peter 1:23).

No man can forgive your sins. Only the God-man can forgive your sins, and that is Jesus Christ (1st Timothy 2:5). The Pope is just a dirty rotten sinner who had better believe on Jesus Christ for forgiveness, or he'll rot in the Lake of Fire forever. No Catholic priest can forgive your sins. The pope is presently headed for hellfire. The Pope is trusting the Catholic Church to save him and not Christ alone. 
 

We are Saved by Jesus' Righteousness!

Listen friend, you cannot get to Heaven by getting water baptized. If this were the case, then what about all the people in the Old Testament? What about the thief on the cross? The Apostle Paul clearly said that Christ did NOT send him to baptize, but to preach the gospel (1st Corinthians 1:17). Baptism is a step of obedience for the new convert, NOT a requirement for salvation. You MUST NOT add anything to simple faith in Christ alone. Good works is a sure road to Hell. Church membership is a sure road to Hell. Religion is a sure road to Hell. The Sacraments are a sure road to Hell. The rosary is a sure road to Hell. Our Lady of Fatima is a sure road to Hell. 

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." —John 14:6

ONLY through the precious blood of Jesus Christ can our sins be washed away. ONLY by believing upon Jesus Christ can we be saved. Ye must be born-again (John 3:3. We are SINNERS and Jesus is the SAVIOR! Salvation is receiving, not giving. Eternal life is the gift of God (Romans 5:15; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus is precious!

Let go of the Catholic religion friend and grab Jesus instead.

Salvation happens when a person acknowledges their guilt of sin for breaking God's commandments and believes on Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, for forgiveness of sins . . . 

Acts 10:43, “To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.”

John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.”

 John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”

Won't you receive Jesus now as your Savior? We are saved by Jesus' righteousness (Matthew 6:33; 2nd Corinthians 5:21; Romans 10:3-4), and not our own in any way (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:20; Titus 3:5). Our part is simply to believe, God does the rest. Amen and amen.


Hear Vain Repetitions

How to be Saved

Ye Must Be Born Again!