Who Are 'The Saints'?

"To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 1:7 What IS a "saint?" The Roman Catholic Church declares that they have the power to promote a deceased person to sainthood. This is so typical of the enemy of the faith, throwing confusion onto something and counterfeiting a doctrine out of it. No, a "saint" is NOT a holy person that the Catholic Church has "canonized" after death. In fact, that false teaching has led to all sorts of deception including the idea that we are to pray to "saints" in heaven, which is in direct contradiction to the Scriptures which tell us we are not to pray to ANYONE other than God. TO NO ONE, other than God. To pray to anyone other than God, including to Mary the mother of Jesus, is idolatry. It is heresy. She is not omni-present. She cannot hear "prayers" to her. God is the only one who is omni-present. It's a particular favorite of Satan, for his deepest desire is to steer hearts away from God and insult his holiness. Satan doesn't care who you pray to, as long as it's not to God. He doesn't care who you put your trust in, as long as it's not in God - and Satan will do all he can to help you with that! There is absolutely no passage in the Bible which speaks of prayer being made to a dead person, no matter how "holy" the person was. Can you imagine the apostle Paul praying to someone other than God? If you've read the Bible, your answer will be "of course not." Can you imagine him using statues or rosaries? No of course not. You won't find it in Scripture, friends, because it's just not there. All glory and honor belong to God alone. "I am the Lord, that is my name; AND MY GLORY I WILL NOT GIVE TO ANOTHER..." Isaiah 42:8 To elevate a human being to the position of an intermediary in heaven is idolatry. It is heresy. There is only ONE mediator: "For there is one God and ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the man Christ Jesus..." 1 Timothy 2:5 A saint, according to the Scriptures, is a person who has been born again through faith in Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with goodness. The lowliest believer even yet with faults, is called a saint in the Scriptures, not by his goodness or lack thereof but by being sanctified through faith in Jesus Christ. And just as you wouldn't pray to a born-again believer, so we are not to bring prayer to ANYONE - but to God himself. Friends, if you care to escape deception, read in the Word of God daily. Ask the Spirit of God to enlighten you as you read, and he will make that Book come alive to you. In it you will discover the contradictions between religious teachings you may have grown up with, versus the truth of the Word of God. It might stretch you a little to acknowledge the truth when it contradicts popular but false doctrines. The Word of God is your only hope against deception. In God's Word you will find all you need to know about God, about yourself, why you're here, where you're going, and how to get there. And in it you will discover the proper way to worship him, the way he and he alone has shown us. "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH; for the Father is seeking such to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24