The Bible and Roman Catholicism

 The Scrutiny of Catholic Dogma from a Biblical Perspective

"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal." Matthew 6:20



























The Bible and the Treasury of Merit

Introduction

Roman Catholicism teaches the reality of a Treasury of Merit which is available to the faithful Roman Catholic to lessen his time in purgatory. Accessing the merit stored in this presumed treasury is transacted through an indulgence.

Explanation

What is an indulgence? According to Paragraph 1471 of the Catholic Catechism,
"An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints." (Emphasis mine.)

What does Catholicism mean by "temporal punishment"? According to Paragraph 1472 of the Catholic Catechism,

To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain. (Emphasis in the original.)

Purgatory is defined as "A place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions."

Catholics further explain the difference between eternal punishment for sin and temporal punishment of sin as follows (Catechism Paragraph 1473):
The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man."

Catholics fully admit that Christ paid the legal satisfaction for the sins of all the faithful. (I am using Catholic terminology here.) Yet they believe there is an additional penalty to pay for the consequences of sins. So they fear a temporal punishment (i.e., a punishment in time as opposed to punishment in eternity). This temporal penalty or punishment must be paid in time in purgatory before they are eligible to go to what they call "their heavenly home" or "heavenly homeland."

Another factor to be considered in the whole equation of temporal payment for sin and accessing indulgences is the contribution of the Church-at-large. This cooperation the Church refers to as the "Communion of the Saints." This cooperation is summarized under four paragraphs in the Catechism:

Paragraph 1474.

The Christian who seeks to purify himself of his sin and to become holy with the help of God's grace is not alone. "The life of each of God's children is joined in Christ and through Christ in a wonderful way to the life of all the other Christian brethren in the supernatural unity of the Mystical Body of Christ, as in a single mystical person."

Paragraph 1475.

In the communion of saints, "a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things." In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.

Paragraph 1476.

We also call these spiritual goods of the communion of saints the Church's treasury, which is "not the sum total of the material goods which have accumulated during the course of the centuries. On the contrary the 'treasury of the Church' is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ's merits have before God. They were offered so that the whole of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. In Christ, the Redeemer himself, the satisfactions and merits of his Redemption exist and find their efficacy."

Paragraph 1477.

"This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission in the unity of the Mystical Body."

So how, again, do Catholics tap into this limitless Treasury of Merit? They do so by Obtaining Indulgence from God through the Church.


An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity.


Since the faithful departed now being purified are also members of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted.

Evaluation

So how do we evaluate the Roman Catholic Church's Treasury of Merit, Communion of the Saints, Temporal Punishment, and the accessing of Indulgence? Several thoughts are in order.
  1. In the first place, Catholic Tradition, in and of itself, is not adequate grounds for accepting something as true. Devout Catholics, will, of course, disagree with me. But the only reliable source of truth for Christians is Scripture. It is Scripture that is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16-17); see also (2 Pet. 1:19-21). There is no statement in Scripture that Church Tradition is God-breathed. So in the end, Scripture trumps Church Tradition. Church Tradition does not trump Scripture.

  2. Catholics refer to 1 John 5:16-17 as proof that there is a difference between temporal consequences or "punishments" due to sin and eternal consequences. I believe they have misinterpreted 1 John 5:16-17. They assume that "sin to death" or "sin leading to death" is Eternal Death. That is not what John meant. "All unrighteousness is sin," John declared (1 John 5:17) but sin has varying consequences in this life. Some sin for a Christian does not result in premature physical death, but other sin does. John does not identify the sin leading to physical death (1 John 5:16). I believe Scripture teaches it could be different sins for different people. Ananias and Sapphira died physically prematurely. Their sin was lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11). For the divisive Corinthian Church, their sin was partaking of the the bread and cup unworthily. It was for that reason some of them were sick, and some had died prematurely (1 Cor. 5:23-34). There is no indication that Ananias and Sapphira, or the divisive Corinthians lost their salvation. They simply died prematurely as a result of their own sin that led to their physical deaths. There was no presumed "Treasury of Merit" that could have remedied their situation. For a more detail explanation, see the appropriate footnotes for 1 John 5:16-17 in the author's Annotated Outline of 1 John.

  3. Catholics make an unbiblical distinction between mortal and venial sins. There is no such distinction to be found in Scripture, except for the one sin of blasphemy against the Spirit, which I will discuss momentarily. Every sin is deadly and death-dealing. "The wages of sin is death," Paul intoned (Rom. 6:23). The very first sin was eating some forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-7). And from that one sin committed by Adam, sin and death reigned supreme over the entire human race (Mary not excluding, by the way) (Rom. 5:12); see also (1 Cor. 15:22). The one sin in the New Testament that is said to be unforgivable is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31-32). But a closer examination reveals that the sin of blasphemy against which Jesus spoke was that of attributing the exorcism miracles of Jesus to the power of the devil instead of the power of the Spirit. Those who committed this sin were irrevocably denying that Jesus was the Messiah. They were saying He was not anointed with the Holy Spirit, but with the spirit of the Devil. They would never change their minds, and they could never be forgiven. But a believing Christian would never make that charge.

  4. There is no reference in Scripture to a presumed "Treasury of Merit." This is merely one of Roman Catholicism's many Accretions. In this context, an Accretion is a Roman Catholic "add-on" that fits Roman Catholic theology, but that cannot be found in Scripture, and thus is not valid. The Catholic Church has authorized incremental Accretions over nearly 2,000 years of Church History. The Apostles would be appalled at the teachings that were never taught by the Apostles, but that pass for eternal truth in the Roman Catholic Church. Just as there have been 250 years' worth of legal accretions that have been added to U. S. jurisprudence that have no justification from the U. S. Constitution, so there have been dogmatic church Accretions to the Bible which have no justification from Scripture. For example, in the U. S. legal system, lawyers somehow found that the U. S. Constitution authorizes women and doctors to kill unborn babies. The founders of our country would be scandalized at what passes for constitutional muster. Just so, the Apostles would be horrified at what passes for Catholic Church doctrine presumed to be as authoritative as is Scripture.

  5. Catholics cite Scriptures such as Matthew 6:19-21 and Matthew 19:16-21 to prove that believers can contribute to a "Treasury of Merit" that is available to all believers. But these Scriptures say nothing of the kind. Whatever reward is promised is promised to the individual, not to the community of believers. Jesus said, "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (emphasis mine), not "store up for other people treasures in heaven."

  6. There is no evidence in Scripture that we who trust in Jesus can do anything to pay for our own sins. Jesus paid the entire debt for our sins. There is nothing we can do to expiate our own sins. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). It is true that Christians who sin may indeed face consequences for their sins, as did Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) and the unworthy participants of Communion in Corinth (1 Cor. 11:23-34). But there is no evidence anywhere in Scripture that someone else can or should suffer my consequences for me.

  7. It seems to me that the leaders of Catholicism have concocted a debt for every Christian that can never be paid off. We all sin in this life, even after we have become believers. We are not supposed to, but we do (1 John 2:1). But according to Catholicism, even though our sins have legally been paid for by the blood of Christ, there is still a sword of Damocles that the Church dangles over our heads. The Church (not God) is telling us we have to pay consequences for our sins, and we never know what our total debt is, and we never know how much has been paid on our behalf. We are helpless. We are like hamsters in a cage, running for our complete "temporal" forgiveness. But no one ever tells the hamster how far he has to run to pay off his debts or what progress he has made. The hamster will die running to pay off his debts and never have any idea how much he has paid or how much is left to be paid. To me this is a combination of ecclesiastical extortion and bribery. We are told we need to say prayers on behalf of the departed, or they will stay forever in purgatory. No one ever tells me how many prayers I have to say or when the debt will be paid. It is a diabolically unbiblical system, unbefitting of "the one true church," as Catholics take delight in calling themselves. The Church cannot dictate to me what the consequences of my sins are. Only God can do that.

  8. Catholics say that Christ's death has infinite value. Yet Mary can add to the infinite value of Christ's death by her goodness, and individual believers can add to the infinite value of the "Treasury of Merits." I have a logical problem with that. If Christ's death has infinite value, how can Mary or anyone else add a single measure of value to it? If I can add something to infinity, it is no longer infinite. It has become finite. Infinity plus 1 = a finite value. If Jesus' death was of infinite value, no other value can be added to it.

  9. The truth of the matter is that all who believe in Jesus are forgiven all things (Acts 13:38-39). All who believe in Jesus Christ are possessors of eternal life in the here and now (John 3:16-18, 36; 20:30-31). He who possesses the Son of God also possesses eternal life, and he who does not possess the Son of God does not possess eternal life (1 John 5:11-12). The Apostle John wrote what he did to those who believe in Jesus so that they might know that they have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

  10. There is no anteroom waiting for us between earth and heaven. For the believer, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). We make it our ambition, whether we are in our present body or with the Lord, to be pleasing to Him (2 Cor. 5:9). "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10). The Bible does not call this Purgatory. That is a man-made word. Let us call it what the Bible calls it -- "The Judgment Seat of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:10), also called by Paul "The Judgment Seat of God" (Rom. 14:10). This is a judgment of our works (1 Cor. 3:10-15), not a judgment to determine whether we will go to heaven or hell. Only believers will appear at this judgment. And if a believer has lived his life so selfishly that his works amount to wood, hay, and stubble, they will all be burned up. He will have nothing to show for his years of living this life here on earth. What a tragedy, and what a waste of potential! Yet even so, the person himself, since he is a believer in Christ, will be saved from going to hell, "yet so as through fire" (1 Cor. 3:15).

  11. Finally, there is no evidence that, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, any other believer can contribute to the works that I have done. I am judged solely for what I myself have done for Jesus. I can't be rewarded more greatly by siphoning off efforts and prayers from others. There is no hint of a "Treasury of Merit" here. That is Roman Catholic folklore, which we had best ignore. Let the Scriptures trump Church Tradition. Church Tradition can never trump the Scriptures.
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(Scripture quotation taken from the NASB.)


February 14, 2019

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