Is worshiping Mary a sin?

The question of who or what we can worship is pretty clear, so it's simpler to answer this question.

The 10 commandments

The question mentions the 10 commandments, so I'm going to start there.

Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

So the bible is very clear, we shouldn't worship anything, or anyone in any place.

We shouldn't bow down to them or serve them.

And there is a judgement associated with it.

This isn't just Mary, but it's anyone or anything that we worship or bow down to.

Even if worshiping Mary isn't something that you do, it's worth reflecting on whether there is anything that you worship instead of God.

Something you love and live for rather than God.

We have exactly the same principle repeated in the new testament by Christ Himself.

Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

We're only to worship and serve God.

What about praying to Mary then?

So praying to someone isn't worshiping, but does Gods word tell us to pray to Mary?

1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Some say that if we pray to Mary, then she has some kind of influence to make our prayers more likely to be heard.

But this verse tells us that theres only one mediator between us and God, thats the Lord Jesus Christ.

He's able to be a go between between us, because He is fully God and took on full human flesh.

He was fully God and fully man.

There is no mention of another mediator, no other person that we need to enable us to be heard by Christ.

A mediator between us an our mediator isn't necessary or right.

We come to Christ as we are, and thats enough.

Was mary sinless?

A lot of people say that Mary was special in some way, and that in order to carry Christ she had to be sinless.

I don't know where they get the idea or requirement that she had to be sinless.

Jesus Christ spent his time living in a sinful world, and wasn't corrupted by it.

Theres no reason why he would have been corrupted by sin while he was carried in Marys belly.

But what we do read in the bible is that Mary herself needed a Saviour.

She knew that she needed someone to take the punishment she deserved for her sins.

Luke 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

God was her Saviour.

She wasn't like those in her day, who thought that Christ was just coming as an earthly Saviour.

To save them from the Romans, and give them earthly strength again.

She was one who had a real spiritual relationship with God, and knew she needed Him to save here from her sins.

She needed a spiritual Saviour.

Each and every one of us does.

Mary was especially favoured by God, she spent so much time with the Lord Jesus Christ, who was fully God.

But we need a saviour just like she did.

Her sin and ours needs forgiving.

We need to bring it to God just like she would have and pray that our sin is put on Christ and not us.

We need to turn from that sin too, and be made clean.

Mary prayed herself

Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Mary was among those who after the death of Christ prayed to God.

Notice that the disciple of Christ and others weren't coming to her and asking her to pray on their behalf.

They were all praying to God themselves, and their only mediator was Christ.

Should we then worship Mary?

Short answer, no.

We should only worship God.

If you haven't worshiped God as you should have up till now, then come to Him through Jesus Christ for forgiveness.

Repent of your sin, and trust in Christs work, no one else's.

We have a mediator if we do, and the Father has already accepted the Sons work.

So we have a sure mediator who is able to save us.

Don't come to or trust in anything else but Him and His work.