All Saints Day

A religious tradition held by Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, some Protestants, and several other denominations is the observance of All Saints Day. On this day, parishioners remember the saints of the church who have passed on in death to heaven. In some of these expressions of Christianity, saints are considered people who have received canonization. All Saints Day comes from a conviction of a spiritual connection between canonized saints in heaven and those on earth. That conviction promotes prayer to saints. However, praying to saints is not taught in the Bible—there is no sustainable Biblical evidence to substantiate that belief.

The Bible teaches that all who profess Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are saints. To fully comprehend this teaching, we must understand the word saint. Saint originates from the Greek meaning "holy" or "set apart." When people follow Christ, they choose to be set apart from their past sinful ways and the jaded paths of the world.

The term saints in the church was a name that the Apostle Paul frequently used in his writings. For example, First Corinthians 1:2 says, "To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours"

Instructing church leaders in Ephesus, Paul said in Ephesians 4:12, "equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." As in Corinth, the saints were the church members who believed in Jesus Christ.

Back to the first church in Jerusalem, believers were called saints. While sharing his testimony to Agrippa, Paul called the very people in the church of Jerusalem that he persecuted before his conversion saints. Acts 26:10 states, "And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them."

The proof of saints being a specific term for all believers is clear. As a result, we can be thankful for those in the faith that came before us. They enjoy the rewards for their sacrifices and service at this very hour. However, we need not feel compelled to go to the dead with our confession or ask them for covering because that is God's job.

Most importantly, Scripture reveals that we have one mediator with God, Jesus. First Timothy 2:5 says, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus."