You Don't Need The Pope

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.
-2 Timothy 2:3-6

In the times before Jesus, the Israelites had a mediator between them and God, they were known as the priests. The priests were the ones who were allowed to enter into certain holy places, and offer the sacrifices of the people to God. The vast majority of people did not have direct access to God, they had to go through the priests. Clearly, there are many wonderful and amazing things that happened and were changed because of Jesus coming to earth, the abolition of the role of the priests is one of them.

We see in scripture that because of Jesus, we all have direct access to God. We don't need to (or have to) go to priests for confession and hope that are sins aren't bad enough not to be pardoned (or forgiven). Today you have Pastors, or Preachers, or Ministers; men who teach the Word of God and oversee the direction of the Church, but they are not any more holy than any other person. Contrary to the role of the pope: Pope Innocent III said, "The successor of Peter is the Vicar of Christ (the pope); he has been established as a mediator between God and man, below God but beyond man; less than god but more than man; who shall judge all and be judged by no one."

The are many theological and biblical problems that having a pope presents. And while I won't go into all of them here, one of the most alarming doctrines of the Catholic Church is Papal infallibility; which is the belief in Roman Catholic theology that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error. We see Biblically however that all have sinned (Romans 3:23), and we will continue to sin for as long as we live on this earth. It is very dangerous to think that someone can live "without error," especially when they make decisions that affect millions of people.

I am not here to offend anyone who holds the pope in high regard, and want to clearly state that your view of the pope does not affect your salvation. But rather to show Biblically that the only mediator between God and man is Jesus, therefore we do not need priests or the pope to speak to or hear from God. The Bible does not once speak of any man having the ability or authority to condemn someone to hell, forgive someone's sins, or to grant someone salvation other than Jesus, who is also God. And that is why you do not need a pope, you need Jesus.