“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”

~ Jude 1:3

Did you know that in November of 2025 under Pope Leo XIV the long-standing title of Mary as “co-redemtrix” with Christ was rejected. I have been surprised with many things the current pope is doing, but I’m glad he is taking these actions. Why? Because this title was a lie and a blasphemy. Jesus alone is our One Redeemer and Mediator before God the Father (1 Timothy 2:5). Mary was the human vessel chosen by God to give birth to the Son of God—and she deserves honor—but she did not and could not save anyone. Which is why I commend this and every action that Pope Leo has done to bring the Roman Catholic church into conformity with the Word of God.

But this should make all Catholics consider. Leo came into the papacy with the spirit of a reformer and with the desire to lead faithfully before God. In all honesty, this is a miracle, and an answer to prayer for many who prayed for a pope that would be faithful to God. Nevertheless, if this teaching on Mary is wrong, then should that not compel those who are Catholic to examine Scripture yourself? The Word says to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith (1 Corinthians 13:5) Yet I find that very few Roman Catholics actually do this. Instead the Roman church has cultivated a complacency among its members so that they rely solely on the “clergy” to tell them what to believe. This same complacency is found in Protestant churches, to be sure, yet for both I raise an alarm and a command from the Lord to WAKE UP.

“Study to show yourself approved by God” (2 Timothy 2:15 MEV).

Of course there has been a deep divide between Protestants and Catholics for hundreds of years. This is not so strange a matter. As human beings, we have a penchant for making other people enemies when they do not believe the way we do. So whether you are indifferent or have a personal investment in one side or the other, the history as to why this divide came about is not what I’m interested in here. It is vitally important and if it interests you, please do your research. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, what matters most is truth.

It is written that, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NKJV). JESUS is the only one who truly loved a world that hated Him. He never made people His enemies, but rather drew clear distinctions between what was true and false, and if you held on to lies and forced those lies on others while pretending you were doing good, then He would have some severe words for you. But Jesus was also the same one who cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38 NKJV).

Circling back to Mary, if Jesus wanted us to venerate or pray to Mary or come to Him through Mary He could have said so. But He didn’t, not even once. In fact, He made it very clear, probably because He knew that down through the centuries this would become an issue, that Mary was not the mother of the believers nor was she to be venerated by them. In The Gospel of Luke 8:19-21 NKJV, it reads:

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”

But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

But if this wasn’t clear enough for you, I will quote another passage, and I will quote it from the NRSV Catholic Edition. Luke 11:27-28 reads:

A woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!”

But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”

Finally, I will give two quotes from Mary herself, her only instructions to you from Scripture. Luke 1:46 and John 2:5:

And Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”

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His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

What will you choose? Scripture or tradition? But be sure of this, you will give an account to the Lord for what you choose.

Nevertheless, divisions between people are not new, they have been with us since the beginning. In the times of Jesus on earth the Romans and Jews hated each other, yet even within Judaism there were sects that hated one another, too. Even in the earliest days of the Church, there were divisions between the Jewish and Greek believers in Christ.

The Apostle Paul later had to correct the Corinthian church because division had formed. Some said they followed Paul, others said they followed Apollos, still others said they followed Peter, and finally some said they followed Christ. Paul’s response? “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:13 NKJV) Paul is often exalted among the Protestants, while Peter is exalted among Catholics. Yet many have an “Apollos” who means a lot to them, who has spoken a lot into their life and whom they admire. And finally there are sometimes those who hold fast to Jesus Christ but they forget that the Lord has placed other people in their life to help them. The Church is the Body of Christ! The Head of the Church is Christ, not any one church that traces themselves back to one person.

That is a sharp rebuke to Catholics and Protestants.

How, you say?

Roman Catholics say they are the “true Church” — they follow Christ by submitting to the Papacy of Peter. Protestants protest Catholic doctrine and say they follow Christ by following the Bible, and yet they make the same mistake by creating division through many denominations.

But the only true division is Light vs. Darkness; Truth vs. Lies.

There may be many religions, but there is only one faith that is true. And while the Roman Catholic church makes itself out to be the one true faith, this is a manipulative lie. The Roman church was only one church among many in the early days of the faith. There was the church in Jerusalem, the church in Antioch, the church in Alexandria, etc. The real reason Rome declared itself as the one true “Church” was not just because they desired the noble virtues of unity and order; underneath they were motivated by a desperate desire for control, and when they attained power over all peoples and provinces, they rejected accountability by the rest of the churches throughout the world.

Control breeds corruption if there are no checks and balances. The church is not exempt from this principle. This is why many saints in Christ have protested Catholic doctrines. And it is why, if you are a Catholic, you should hold fast to the Jesus who reveals Himself throughout the whole Bible, and why you must ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth. Do not depend on any church or any man or woman to cultivate the relationship and communion that you alone can have with God through Christ JESUS.

Heavenly Father, for any who will read this and it unnerves them or disturbs them, please let them not just turn away out of uncomfortably. Let them sit with it and let You, O God, speak to them. Speak to their hearts, Holy Spirit, and let it not be my words or any others words, but Your words alone that come to them. For the many who will never read this, I pray that You would guide them out of mere traditions and into the totality of truth. Grant them the desire to follow You and not systems. Give them the courage to examine themselves not just by what they have been taught or what they are comfortable with but by Your Word, especially the words of Your Son, Father, our Lord Jesus Christ. It is in Your Name I pray, Jesus, Amen.