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Call No Man Father

I remember growing up in the catholic church and how the priest was always referred to as Father. When he would walk into or out of our classroom, we would always say good morning Father, or thank you Father. At confession, we would start with a prayer that began with "Bless me Father, for I have sinned". Little did we know that as we prayed that, it was correct, for when we call the priest father, we were sinning. Isn't it amazing that the church taught us how to sin.

In Matthew23 we see the following.

vs. 2 saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat:

vs. 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

vs. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

vs. 5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men; they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

vs. 6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

vs. 7 And greetings in the markets and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

vs. 8 But be not ye called rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren.

vs. 9 "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your father, which is in heaven".

Jesus told us not to call any man father, but yet the catholic church instructs us to do just that. If you look in the verses in Matthew, you will see that the people who like to be called father do several other things. The bid us to observe, but yet do not. That's call hypocrisy.

Matthew 23 continues

vs. 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

vs. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

vs. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

In verse 5 we see that they do their works to be seen of men. have you ever seen a catholic priest in his robes. In verse 5 it says that they make broad their phylacteries. Those are the borders and cuffs of their robes. The catholic priest take great pride in their various robes. That is an external righteousness.

The word extortion means "ravening or spoiling". That is exactly what they have done to us, and continue to this day. They are robbing both God and God's people. The word excess means "want of self control". They are said to be full of dead men's bones which are the bones of the people they have deceived.

In verse 33 Jesus speaks " Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

The word Pope comes from a Latin word papa which literally means papa or father. The catholic church leaders, from the Pope to the priest are hypocrites, extortionists, serpents and vipers and those are the words of Jesus.