First off lets talk about the confusion that occurs between well meaning members of both sides of this debate! Many Protestants think that they are saved by their "Faith" and many Catholics think that they are saved by their "Works". I feel that informed members of both sides know that neither of these statements are true! For once, in our debate we actually have something that we can agree upon. We are Saved by the "Grace" of God! The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it this way, "Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of Grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification (CCC 2010). A Catholic will divide "Grace" into two separate types: "Sanctifying" or (supernatural life) which is necessary at death to go to heaven and "Actual" (supernatural aid) which occurs throughout a persons life! If we agree that we are saved through "Grace" through what are we saved then, there is something else and it is called "Justification"! This is where Catholics and Protestants depart from each other in their views on this process! Protestants view "Justification" as an act of God where the person is declared righteous! This happens at one specific moment in time and is made possible by the person's belief in "Faith Alone". Usually they are lead through a prayer such as the "sinners prayer" which by the way is not found in the Bible! They then believe from that moment forward they are saved! Catholics believe that "Justification" starts at a moment in time but continues throughout a persons life. "Justification is made operative in a persons life through both "Faith" and "Works"! To look at this another way we agree that "Justification" is by "Faith" but not that it is by "Faith Alone". "Works" continue the "Justification" after "Faith has begun it! We agree that it has a starting point at a moment in time but we Catholics feel that it continues throughout a persons life! There are many verses that can be plucked out of the Bible to seemingly prove either sides view point. I will definitely address these verses as we move towards the end of this post. When we get to that point you will see that Salvation is spoken of in three different ways: Past, Present, and future! For now lets answer these two questions? 1. Does Scripture indicate anywhere that works are essential for "Justification"? If it clearly does, even just one time, then the Protestant position comes crumbling down and it would suggest that "Justification" is more than a mere momentary event! "Works" do after all take time so my reasoning is that it can not be a momentary event in a person's life. If I could show even just one verse of the Bible that backs this up, then the Catholic position on "Justification" will stand as Rock solid! Here it is: (James 3: 14-26) "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works is dead. indeed someone might say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called "The friend of God." See how a person is Justified by works and faith alone. And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also Justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." Wow this passage is unmistakable! James said that a man is Justified by what he does! This passage has to do away with the contention that we are Justified by "Faith Alone"! no wonder Martin Luther called the epistle of James "a book of straw" and wanted it removed just like he had the 7 books of the old testament that we call Deuterocanonical removed! Those books give the best evidence for Purgatory by the way, but that is another story that we will address later! Another important point to make here is that it is a historical fact that Martin Luther Changed (Romans 3:28), he did this because he as the father of all Protestants was creating a new version of Christianity where Salvation is by Faith alone. In this new doctrine that he created there could only be two places "Heaven" or "Hell", there was no longer room for a third place "Purgatory" in his new system. It is funny because Scripture is littered with passages that "Allude" to this 3rd place. We will defiantly address this later. For now just know that (Romans 3:28) actually reads: "For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law." Luther added the word "Alone" to this passage! I will post some articles proving this later! I want to let you know that all cults begin with "Tampering" with the words of scripture to say what they want! "Food for thought"! Another important point to make here is that the passage reads "For we consider that a person is Justified by Faith apart from Works of the Law". Just in case you are going to try and say this is implying "Works" as I have already defined above, I want to point out there is a difference! Paul is talking about Gentiles not needing to honor Circumcision as laid out in the Law in the Old Testament! Salvation was no longer dependent on fulfilling obligatory Jewish "Works of Law". That is quite different from "Works" performed as a result of a persons "Faith". Anyhow, back to the lesson at hand! Neither James or the Catholic Church claims Justification comes through works alone. Justification is accomplished by Faith coupled with Works! It is quite clear that Jesus's teaching that Justification and thus Salvation is accompanied by both "Faith" and "Works"! Here is some evidence of this: (Matthew 7:21) "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." This is straight from God Himself! "Doing the will" is performing works! I have many more examples if you wish to see more Bumperjack! There are numerous Parables that lead to the same conclusions. Bottom line is that their is a unity of "Faith and "Works that causes one to be "Justified" and thus "Saved"! The 2nd question is does Scripture anywhere state by "Faith Alone" we are Justified! The answer is no! Refer back to what I just said above! The verse that I quoted in Romans 3:28 says "Apart" not "Alone"! Case closed on the matter of Justification! When one starts with the Gospel's of Jesus, I believe it is inevitable that a Catholic view of Salvation will be developed. To sum it up, we are Saved by Grace, Justified by Faith and Works. If you separate the Faith from the Works it dies! We can take no credit for our Salvation, because both the Faith and the Works are a result of God's Grace being operative in our lives. God has ordained that this is the method by which we merit Salvation. He might have ordained a different way instead, but Scripture teaches us that he did it this way!
Here is proof that Martin Luther changed Romans 3:28 Martin Luther Added to the Book of Romans
The Bible, in Romans 3:28, states,
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Martin Luther, in his German translation of the Bible, specifically added the word "allein" (English 'alone') to Romans 3:28-a word that is not in the original Greek. Notice what Protestant scholars have admitted:
...Martin Luther would once again emphasize...that we are "justified by faith alone", apart from the works of the Law" (Rom. 3:28), adding the German word allein ("alone") in his translation of the Greek text. There is certainly a trace of Marcion in Luther's move (Brown HOJ. Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church. Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody (MA), 1988, pp. 64-65).
Furthermore, Martin Luther himself reportedly said,
You tell me what a great fuss the Papists are making because the word alone in not in the text of Paul…say right out to him: 'Dr. Martin Luther will have it so,'…I will have it so, and I order it to be so, and my will is reason enough. I know very well that the word 'alone' is not in the Latin or the Greek text (Stoddard J. Rebuilding a Lost Faith. 1922, pp. 101-102; see also Luther M. Amic. Discussion, 1, 127).
This passage strongly suggests that Martin Luther viewed his opinions, and not the actual Bible as the primary authority--a concept which this author will name prima Luther. By "papists" he is condemning Roman Catholics, but is needs to be understood that Protestant scholars (like HOJ Brown) also realize that Martin Luther changed that scripture.
A second rallying cry for followers of Martin Luther was the expression sola fide (faith alone). But it appears that Martin Luther may have intentionally mistranslated Romans 3:28 for the pretense of supposedly having supposed scriptural justification for his sola fide doctrine.
I would like to ask you a question here Bumperjack! (James 2:24) reads: "See how we are Justified by works and not by Faith alone". What does this verse do Luthers claim that we are Justified by Faith alone? Also, since I have proven to you that he added the word alone to (Romans 3:28) by reading the above article! What does this do to his claims? I know that you like to distance yourself from Martin Luther but the fact is that he is the Father of all Protestant denominations. Any Christian Church that is not Catholic is in one way or another Protestant! The only exception I would possibly make to that list are the Eastern Orthodox branches who are broken away as well but are basically essentially Catholic! I only say this because they preceded the reformation and have there own unique history as far as schisms go! I say this not to be disrespectful but merely to teach you that if you believe in Faith alone, you are following someone who changed the wording of Bible! I am trying to be ""My Brothers keeper" here. You need to know the truth when it comes to this! I don't want you to follow a false teaching is why I am saying all of this!
At this time I would like to address a verse that Protestants love to throw at Catholics! This verse is (Ephesians 2:8-10) "For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from your works, so no one may boast . For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them." Protestants love to throw this verse at us and say look we are not saved by works! As a Catholic all I can do is agree! This is why I went through the trouble of writing out that long explanation defining how one gets to "Justification". We are saved by "Grace." never focuses on the inner workings of "Justification", if you want that re-read what I wrote above! What he is doing is pitting "Works" against "Grace"! What this verse is saying is: " We are saved by grace, that even the faith we have is a gracious gift and the works we do are nothing to boast about because they to are a gracious gift! which is God's workmanship in us! It is Grace through and through from beginning to end! If one properly reads and understands this passages message it causes no problem at all. Once again Catholics believe in the whole Bible not just parts of it! Another verse that gets thrown out a lot is (Titus 3:5) "Not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." Paul here is noting the motivation behind God's decision to provide for our Salvation. We all agree that there is nothing in us that would cause God to save us! It was pure mercy that caused him to pour out his grace on us. This verse does not deal with the how of "Justification" either!
Now I want to begin to address "Salvation" in Scripture! Scripture clearly states that one's final Salvation depends on the state of the soul at death! As Jesus himself says: (Matthew 24:13) "But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved". This means that a person who dies in a state of Grace will go to heaven! A verse that Bumperjack will probably throw out now is (1John 5:13) "I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God". I would reply that he needs to keep on reading, in (1 John 5:16-17) we see evidence of "Mortal sin" verses "Venial sin". "If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those who sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I say that you should not pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly". Why is scripture saying this? I thought once you were "Saved" you were always "Saved". Yet here scripture is clearly saying some sins are deadly and others are not! Now lets look at (Romans 11:22) "See then, the kindness and severity of God; severity toward those who fell, but kindness to you, provided you remain in his kindness; otherwise you to will be cut off". Once again, I thought once you were saved you always were saved? How could God cut you off if didn't remain in his kindness? Remember this one (Matthew7:21) "Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven". I say that you can have assurance of salvation provided that you examine your life and know that you are not actively committing "Mortal sin". here are some examples: (1 John 3:10) "By this it may be seen who are children of God and who are children of the devil: whoever does not do right is not of God, nor he who does love his brother". (1 John 4:20) "if anyone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen". (1 John 5:3) "for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. and his commandments are not burdensome". This is directly speaking of sin! I want you Mr Bumperjack to turn to (Matthew chapters 5-7) this is Jesus sermon on the mount! read this and tell me what you think about it? especially the part about "Anger" verse 5:21 , it says "you shall not kill; whoever kills will be liable to judgment". How can you say once saved always saved? How about verse 5:22 "whoever says you fool, will be liable to fiery Gehenna". These are just a few examples. read the whole sermon! How can you read this and assume that you are saved? It just does not make any sense! Once again as I have said from the beginning Protestants love to cherry pick verses out of the Bible and ignore all others that deal with the same subject! What is Paul talking about in (1 Corinthians 10:27) " No I drive my body and train it , for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified". How could he an Apostle ever become disqualified if he believed that he was saved? Lets look at (Luke 8:13) "Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial". They believed and yet they still fell! How could this be if they were saved? It just does not make any sense! Now lets turn to (Philippians 2:12) "So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling". Bumperjack, this is not the language of self confidence and assurance of Salvation! Our Salvation remains something to be worked out! How can this be? Here is the kicker! The mother of all verses! (Hebrews 10:26) "If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries". I don't want to hear any BS about once saved always saved! It is unbiblical!
My answer to Protestants when they say "are you saved", well there are three tenses that Scripture gives us!
1.Past event (I have been saved!) These verses are (Rom 8:24) "For in hope we were saved". (Ephesians 2:5-8) "by Grace you were saved through Faith". (2 Timothy 1:9) He saved us, called us according to his Grace". (Titus 3:5 "He saved us through bath of rebirth, renewal by the Holy Spirit".
2. Present process (I am being saved) (Philippians 2:12) :Work out your Salvation with fear and trembling". (1 Peter 1:9) "As you attain the goal of your Faith salvation".
3. Future event (I will be Saved) (Matthew 10:22) "He who endures to the end will be saved". (Matthew 24:13) "He who perseveres to the end will be saved". (Mark 8:35) "Whoever losses his life for my sake will save it". (Acts 15:11) "We shall be Saved through the Grace of Jesus". (Romans 5:9-10) "Since we are Justified, we shall be saved". (Romans 13:11) "Salvation is nearer now than first believed". (1Corinthians 3:15) "He will be saved, but only as through fire". This deals with "Purgatory" but that comes later! (1 Corinthians 5:5) Deliver man ton Satan so his spirit may be saved". (Hebrews 9:28) "Jesus will appear second time, to bring Salvation".
Wow! that sure breaks it down into category right! I urge you people not break down Scripture or to "Cherry Pick" verses out of context! Look at the whole Bible! (Mathew 19:16-17 "To have life keep the Commandments". (2 Corinthians 11:15) "Their end will correspond to their deeds". (Philippians 2:12-13 "Work out your Salvation in fear and trembling" (2 Timothy 2:11-13) "Must hold out to the end to reign with Christ". It is obvious to me, when you are Baptized you are saved at that moment! (1 Peter 3:21) "this prefigured Baptism, which saves you now". Another verse is (John 3:3) " Truely, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". We agree with Protestants "You must be born again" this refers to "Baptism". Peter mentioned this transformation from Sin to Grace when he exhorted his people to (Acts 2:38) "Be Baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your Sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". "side note" the full indwelling of the Holy Spirit comes at Confirmation! We will deal with that later though! The problem is you can loose it! (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) "Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor boy Prostitutes nor Sodomites nor Thieves nor the Greedy nor Drunkards nor Slanderers nor Robbers will inherit the Kingdom of God. That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were Sanctified, you were Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God". This is not the language of one who is saved forever! After Baptism a person can loose his Salvation! That is why we have the sacrament of penance! All pardon for Sins ultimately comes from Christ's finished work on Calvary! Did Christ leave us any means within the Church to take away Sin? The Bible says he gave us two means! Baptism was given to take away the Sin inherited from Adam (Original Sin) and any Sins we personally committed before Baptism. This I just discussed. Now I will go into what Scripture says about Sins committed after Baptism!
For Sins committed after Baptism, a different Sacrament is needed! It has been called Penance, confession, and reconciliation each word emphasizing different aspects! During his life, Christ forgave Sins, as in the case of the woman caught in Adultery (John 8:1-11). he exercised this power in his human capacity as "The Messiah" or "Son of Man" by telling us (Matthew 9:8) "The Son of Man has Authority on earth to forgive sins". This is why the Gospel writer himself explains that "God who had given such Authority to human beings". Since Christ would not always be with his Church at least visibly, he gave this power to other men so that the Church, which is the continuation of his presence throughout time would be able to offer forgiveness to future generations! Read about the commissioning of the Disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) In these verses you see power being transferred to the Apostles. You also notice that Jesus says "And behold I am with you always, until the end of the Age". He gave his power to the Apostles, and it was a power that could be passed on to their successors, since the Apostles wouldn't always be on earth either, but people would still be sinning! This is why I took the time to cover Apostolic Succession in previous posts! If you have any questions re-read the early writings of the Church Fathers, a lot of them date well before 313 AD or the time of Constantine and they attest to the Apostles instructions that they be succeeded! In (John 20:21-23) we read "Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." On a side note, I want to point out that in all of Scripture God only breathes on man twice! Here and in (Genesis 2:7) when he made man a living soul! To me this emphasizes just how important the Sacrament of Penance is! Christ told the Apostles to follow his example: "As the Father sends me, even so I send you" (John 20:21). Just as the Apostles were to carry Christ's message to the whole world, so they were to carry his forgiveness: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven" (Matthew 18:18) This power was understood as coming from God: "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the Ministry of Reconciliation". (2 Corinthians 5:20) "We are ambassadors for Christ". What this means is that the Apostles are ambassadors of Christ's work of Reconciliation! They share in the ministry of Christ and forgive sins in his name. At this time I want to point out Another set of passages (James 5:14-16) This reads: "Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the Presbyters of the Church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with the oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of Faith will save person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed". There are a few things that stand out in this passage! 1. a person needs to summon the presbyters or "Priests". They obviously had a power that the ordinary Christian did not; the power to forgive sins! Otherwise, why didn't James simply ask ordinary fellow Christians to pray over the sick as is the case in numerous other passages? 2. "confess your sins to one another". Protestants always say they go directly to God. Why say this then and in the context of having a Priest present? I also ask, just exactly when and how do Protestants confess their sins to each other? If they don't believe in using a Priest or Pastor in their case, then how do they do it? The Bible clearly states right here to "Confess your sins to each other", obviously that means that you cant just go directly to God! Do Protestants shout out there sins at altar call? Do they tell each other their deepest and darkest secrets? I am not trying to be a smartass here, I am really asking a question! I gave you guys a brief history of my conversion story. I actually started off as a Protestant! I got to experience all kinds of different services during this time. I don't ever remember anyone shouting out sins or even discussing them in private with anyone! How can this passage simply be overlooked? Bumperjack or anyone else please explain this one to me! 3. This is a side note, but we Catholics look at this passage as validating the Sacrament of "Last Rites". I don't want to get into all that in this post but it is something that needed to be pointed out! In that Sacrament a Priest shows up and offers a person "Confession" he also, anoints them with Holy oil and prays with them or over them depending if they are conscious or not!
Protestants say that any power that was given to the Apostles died with them. I say not so! Some powers must have died, such as the ability to write Scripture. But the powers necessary to maintain the Church had to be passed down from generation to generation. If these powers ceased, then the Church would cease to exist! What you would get is a vast array of competing Churches all claiming to be right, "sound Familiar Protestants". There had to be some authority and mechanism to safeguard the Church from error! As I have already pointed out in past posts the Bible was not put together for roughly the first 400 years. There is no way that Christ would have set up Christianity to be regulated by it alone! Also, remember that the "Church is the pillar and foundation of truth", (1 Timothy 3:15). Christ ordered the Apostles to, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations". This would take a lot of time! To be honest, there are still areas of the world even today where the Gospel needs to be preached! He offered them assistance though. "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). I ask a question here! If the disciples believed that Christ instituted the power to Sacramentally forgive sins in his place and as a part of the authority granted to his Church; don't you think that we would expect to see the Catholic Church carrying this out as if this power was legitimately granted to them? history should be able to prove this? If not, then we should also expect to see the Bishops or the successors of the Apostles as they claim to be attempting to carry this this out but under protest from the early Church! To put this another way Bumperjack, if the Sacramental Forgiveness of sins is what Protestants claim it to an "invention" and if it was somehow foisted upon the young Church by Ecclesial or political leaders, we would expect to find records or letters of dissent amongst the Church Fathers! Bumperjack! As a Historian, I know that you can appreciate the written testimony of the first Christians. I know that it is not Scripture and I am not implying that it be treated as Gospel. What I am saying though is that is gives an accurate portrayal of their beliefs and should be considered as evidence to validate how they functioned as a Church. I have to say that through all my studies I have not found anything that was written by the Early Church members that would suggest that "Confession" was not an accepted practice! Quite the contrary, I find that confessing to a priest was accepted as part of the original deposit of Faith handed down from the Apostles!
I want to take a slight detour here. I am aware of Protestant anti-Catholic claims and Material. There is a Book out titled "Roman Catholicism" by "Loraine Boettner" this book is widely used by Protestants and is generally regarded as the source book for most Anti-Catholic material. This is the book that list the so called "45 inventions of Catholicism" that I believe you referred to earlier in other posts Bumperjack! Anyways, to make a long story short this book has been thoroughly debunked and it is a tragedy because many people still refer to it to get their information about Catholicism. as I have stated before, there is a major difference in Catholics say they believe and what Anti-Catholic sources say they believe! There is major falsification and re-writing of history going on here. It is sad to me because most people are set in their ways and are lazy readers and don't spend enough time investigating both sides of issues such as these and are easily mislead by people like Loraine Boettner who obviously don't care about the Truth or Scholarliness when they write books! In fact, all they care about is trying to debunk Catholicism! As I pointed out in my post about the Church, you said the Catholic Church was created by Constantine in 313 AD and that the Papacy was a 6th century invention. I think that I proved without a shadow of a doubt by providing the writings of the early Christians that those were false claims! You still claim that you have history on your side. I say the Early documents prove without a shadow of a doubt what the true history is! Once again here is another opportunity to do the same thing. Loraine Boettner claims that "Auricular Confession" or Confessing to a Priest instead of God was instituted in 1215 AD at the Fourth Lateran council! I bring all of this up because I am sure that you will try and throw it out there in an attempt to try and debunk history once again. Here is the Catholic and true version of that story! The fourth Lateran Council did discuss Confession. To combat the lax Morals of the time, the Council regulated the already existing duty to confess one's Sins by saying that Catholics should Confess any Mortal Sins at least once a year! I want to point out that issuing an official Decree about how frequently a Sacrament must be exercised is hardly the same thing as inventing that Sacrament. Few people are so unscholarly in their work as to place the "invention" of Confession so late, especially since there is so much early Christian writings proving that it was around much longer! In fact, a good portion of these writings came into being one thousand or more years before that Council! This all proves, validates and establishes that Confession in the ancient Church was long established. I would everyone to please read these letters and take note of the dates! Remember the Apostolic age did not come to an end until 100 AD with the death of "The Apostle John". After reading these letters ask yourself, "Can this really be an invention of the 12th century ? " or are people like Loraine Boettner simply misrepresenting the truth in an attempt to bring down Catholicism?
The Didache
“Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . On the Lord’s Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure” (Didache 4:14, 14:1 [A.D. 70]).
The Letter of Barnabas
“You shall judge righteously. You shall not make a schism, but you shall pacify those that contend by bringing them together. You shall confess your sins. You shall not go to prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of light” (Letter of Barnabas 19 [A.D. 74]).
Ignatius of Antioch
“For as many as are of God and of Jesus Christ are also with the bishop. And as many as shall, in the exercise of penance, return into the unity of the Church, these, too, shall belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus Christ” (Letter to the Philadelphians 3 [A.D. 110]).
“For where there is division and wrath, God does not dwell. To all them that repent, the Lord grants forgiveness, if they turn in penitence to the unity of God, and to communion with the bishop” (ibid.,
.Irenaeus
“[The Gnostic disciples of Marcus] have deluded many women. . . . Their consciences have been branded as with a hot iron. Some of these women make a public confession, but others are ashamed to do this, and in silence, as if withdrawing from themselves the hope of the life of God, they either apostatize entirely or hesitate between the two courses” (Against Heresies 1:22 [A.D. 189]).
Tertullian
“[Regarding confession, some] flee from this work as being an exposure of themselves, or they put it off from day to day. I presume they are more mindful of modesty than of salvation, like those who contract a disease in the more shameful parts of the body and shun making themselves known to the physicians; and thus they perish along with their own bashfulness” (Repentance 10:1 [A.D. 203]).
Hippolytus
“[The bishop conducting the ordination of the new bishop shall pray:] God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . Pour forth now that power which comes from you, from your royal Spirit, which you gave to your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and which he bestowed upon his holy apostles . . . and grant this your servant, whom you have chosen for the episcopate, [the power] to feed your holy flock and to serve without blame as your high priest, ministering night and day to propitiate unceasingly before your face and to offer to you the gifts of your holy Church, and by the Spirit of the high priesthood to have the authority to forgive sins, in accord with your command” (Apostolic Tradition 3 [A.D. 215]).
Origen
“[A final method of forgiveness], albeit hard and laborious [is] the remission of sins through penance, when the sinner . . . does not shrink from declaring his sin to a priest of the Lord and from seeking medicine, after the manner of him who say, ‘I said, “To the Lord I will accuse myself of my iniquity”’” (Homilies on Leviticus 2:4 [A.D. 248]).
Cyprian of Carthage
“The apostle [Paul] likewise bears witness and says: ‘ . . . Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord’ [1 Cor. 11:27]. But [the impenitent] spurn and despise all these warnings; before their sins are expiated, before they have made a confession of their crime, before their conscience has been purged in the ceremony and at the hand of the priest . . . they do violence to [the Lord’s] body and blood, and with their hands and mouth they sin against the Lord more than when they denied him” (The Lapsed 15:1–3 (A.D. 251]).
“Of how much greater faith and salutary fear are they who . . . confess their sins to the priests of God in a straightforward manner and in sorrow, making an open declaration of conscience. . . . I beseech you, brethren, let everyone who has sinned confess his sin while he is still in this world, while his confession is still admissible, while the satisfaction and remission made through the priests are still pleasing before the Lord” (ibid., 28).
“[S]inners may do penance for a set time, and according to the rules of discipline come to public confession, and by imposition of the hand of the bishop and clergy receive the right of Communion. [But now some] with their time [of penance] still unfulfilled . . . they are admitted to Communion, and their name is presented; and while the penitence is not yet performed, confession is not yet made, the hands of the bishop and clergy are not yet laid upon them, the Eucharist is given to them; although it is written, ‘Whosoever shall eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord’ [1 Cor. 11:27]” (Letters 9:2 [A.D. 253]).
“And do not think, dearest brother, that either the courage of the brethren will be lessened, or that martyrdoms will fail for this cause, that penance is relaxed to the lapsed, and that the hope of peace [i.e., absolution] is offered to the penitent. . . . For to adulterers even a time of repentance is granted by us, and peace is given” (ibid., 51[55]:20).
“But I wonder that some are so obstinate as to think that repentance is not to be granted to the lapsed, or to suppose that pardon is to be denied to the penitent, when it is written, ‘Remember whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works’ [Rev. 2:5], which certainly is said to him who evidently has fallen, and whom the Lord exhorts to rise up again by his deeds [of penance], because it is written, ‘Alms deliver from death’ [Tob. 12:9]” (ibid., 51[55]:22).
Aphraahat the Persian Sage
“You [priests], then, who are disciples of our illustrious physician [Christ], you ought not deny a curative to those in need of healing. And if anyone uncovers his wound before you, give him the remedy of repentance. And he that is ashamed to make known his weakness, encourage him so that he will not hide it from you. And when he has revealed it to you, do not make it public, lest because of it the innocent might be reckoned as guilty by our enemies and by those who hate us” (Treatises 7:3 [A.D. 340]).
Basil the Great
“It is necessary to confess our sins to those to whom the dispensation of God’s mysteries is entrusted. Those doing penance of old are found to have done it before the saints. It is written in the Gospel that they confessed their sins to John the Baptist [Matt. 3:6], but in Acts [19:18] they confessed to the apostles” (Rules Briefly Treated 288 [A.D. 374]).
John Chrysostom
“Priests have received a power which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels. It was said to them: ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose, shall be loosed.’ Temporal rulers have indeed the power of binding; but they can only bind the body. Priests, in contrast, can bind with a bond which pertains to the soul itself and transcends the very heavens. Did [God] not give them all the powers of heaven? ‘Whose sins you shall forgive,’ he says, ‘they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.’ What greater power is there than this? The Father has given all judgment to the Son. And now I see the Son placing all this power in the hands of men [Matt. 10:40; John 20:21–23]. They are raised to this dignity as if they were already gathered up to heaven” (The Priesthood 3:5 [A.D. 387]).
Ambrose of Milan
“For those to whom [the right of binding and loosing] has been given, it is plain that either both are allowed, or it is clear that neither is allowed. Both are allowed to the Church, neither is allowed to heresy. For this right has been granted to priests only” (Penance 1:1 [A.D. 388]).
Jerome
“If the serpent, the devil, bites someone secretly, he infects that person with the venom of sin. And if the one who has been bitten keeps silence and does not do penance, and does not want to confess his wound . . . then his brother and his master, who have the word [of absolution] that will cure him, cannot very well assist him” (Commentary on Ecclesiastes 10:11 [A.D. 388]).
Augustine
“When you shall have been baptized, keep to a good life in the commandments of God so that you may preserve your baptism to the very end. I do not tell you that you will live here without sin, but they are venial sins which this life is never without. Baptism was instituted for all sins. For light sins, without which we cannot live, prayer was instituted. . . . But do not commit those sins on account of which you would have to be separated from the body of Christ. Perish the thought! For those whom you see doing penance have committed crimes, either adultery or some other enormities. That is why they are doing penance. If their sins were light, daily prayer would suffice to blot them out. . . . In the Church, therefore, there are three ways in which sins are forgiven: in baptisms, in prayer, and in the greater humility of penance” (Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed 7:15, 8:16 [A.D. 395]).
I think that I have proven here that "Confession" is absolutely an ancient practice! The early Christians obviously did not believe in simply "Going to God" on there own! Notice those letters talked about "Binding and Loosing" that is belief in a power that can only be transferred by the "Apostles" themselves! Over time, the forms in which the Sacrament has been implemented has definitely varied! As I pointed out above a yearly Confession was not required until the 12th century. In the early Church, publicly known sins "such as Apostasy" were often Confessed in Church, though private Confession to a Priest was an option for privately committed sins. The main point here is that Confession was not something done in silence, to God alone, but something that was done in the Church as the "Didache" which was written in AD 70 indicates! The "Didache" was the very first Catechism by the way! I suggest that anyone who is serious about Christian history get a copy and read it! It dates to "Apostolic times" as well!
I would like to point out that the power that Christ gave the Apostles was twofold: To forgive sins or to hold them bound, which means to retain them un-forgiven! Several things follow from this. First, the Apostles could not know what sins to forgive and what not to forgive unless they were told the sins by the sinner! This implies "Confession". Second, their authority was not merely to proclaim that God had already forgiven sins or that he would forgive sins if there was proper repentance. This very Protestant interpretation does not account for the Distinction between Forgiving and Retaining! It also does not account for the importance of (John 20:23) "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained". Pay close attention here Bumperjack! If God has already forgiven all of man's sins, or will forgive them all (past and future) upon a single act of repentance , then it makes no sense to tell the Apostles they have been given the power to "retain" sins, since forgiveness would be "all or nothing" and nothing could be "retained". Remember they were tasked with "the great commission", if all that meant was preaching the Gospel then why would they be given "The power to retain" ? Are you catching my drift on this? It makes no sense to tell someone to simply accept Jesus into their hearts and all sin is atoned for eternally! The truth is that Christ's sacrifice is good enough but that Sacrifice is conditional on you doing your part! If you choose to fall back into Mortal sin, you loose your Salvation! Refer back to the beginning of this post to read the verses that prove this, especially (Hebrews 10:26-27) "If you sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins but a fearful prospect of Judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries". Furthermore, if at conversion we were forgiven all sins past, present and future, it would make no sense for Christ to require us to pray "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" "If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will Forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your Transgressions" (Matthew 6:12-15). Please re-read that passage if you need to. This is the "Lords prayer" and God is saying that if you don't Forgive others for their sins committed against you he will not forgive your Sins either! How can this be if once Saved always saved? Think about that long and hard people! During his lifetime Christ sent out his followers to do his work. Just before he left this world, he gave the Apostles special Authority, commissioning them to make God's forgiveness present to all people and the whole Christian world accepted this, until just a few centuries ago. If there is an "invention" here, it is not the "Sacrament of Penance" but the idea that the "Sacramental Forgiveness" of sins is not to be found in the Bible or in early Christian history! That is why I insisted on laying the groundwork for Tradition in my other posts! It is Protestants who get things crossed up by insisting on deleting everything from the Faith not absolutely spelled out in the Bible! I need to remind everyone that the Catholic position on Tradition is absolutely Biblical! While we must guard against "Human Traditions" the Bible contains multiple references to the respect that we must give to Apostolic Tradition! Paul tells the Corinthians, "I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the Traditions even as I have delivered them to you".(1 Corinthians 11:2) and he commands the Thessalonians, "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the Traditions that you were taught us, either by word of mouth or by letter" ( 2 Thessalonians 2:15) He even goes so far as to order "Now we command you Brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any Brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the Tradition that you received from us" (2 Thessalonians 3:6). To ensure that the Apostolic Tradition would be passed down after the deaths of the Apostles, Paul exhorted Timothy, "What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2). In this passage he refers to the several generations of Apostolic succession, his own generation, Timothy's generation, the generation Timothy will teach, and the generation they in turn will teach! "The Sacrament of Reconciliation" is a part of this Tradition! When a Catholic Confesses his sins, he first asks God for Forgiveness through prayer. After that he goes to a Priest and confesses them directly to God. This is carried out through his Ministers the "Priests". We do this because it is what Scripture, Tradition, and the Church clearly teach and command! Bumperjack! You can pray directly to God and ask for Forgiveness. I choose to go directly to him through his Ministers because they have been given "The power to bind and to loose". When I leave Confession I know that my sins are forgiven. I take comfort in the fact that I have made them known to God himself. I love the fact that I am doing it the way he wanted through his ministers, who he granted the power to"Loose them" from me by exercising the powers that he granted them. There is no question in my mind that I am Forgiven! I know it!
This brings up a final question! If the Redemptive work of Christ is all sufficient, why do Catholics insist on various good works and penances? Protestants see good works, penances, purgatory, prayer to the Saints, and the Sacraments as unnecessary additions to the completed work of Christ. They have this notion because they confuse Salvation with Redemption! Catholics firmly agree with Protestants that the redemptive work of Christ is complete and all sufficient. Through his suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus redeemed everyone. He paid for all sins and made it possible for anyone to be saved. However, we know that not everyone is automatically saved. All Christians admit that people can fail to be saved by refusing to repent, or by refusing to cooperate with God's grace in other areas. Although the Redemptive work of Christ is complete, the merits of his Redemption must still be applied to each person in order for him or her to be Saved! A person must Repent (Matthew 4:17) "Repent , for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand". Believe in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31) "Sirs what must I do to be saved?" and they said "believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved". Keep the Commandments (Matthew 19:16-19) "Now someone approached him and said "Teacher what must I do to gain eternal life?" He answered him, "why do you ask me about the good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the Commandments." He asked him, which ones?" And Jesus replied, "You shall not kill, you shall not commit Adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your Father and Mother and you shall love your neighbor as yourself". And live a life of Charity (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) "If I speak in human and Angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of Prophesy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all Faith so as to move mountains but do not have Love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love I gain nothing". As Scripture plainly teaches, A Catholic who performs good works in Christ isn't denying the completed work of Christ's Redemption, he is depending on it! Which leads me to another question. How can Protestants say that we are Saved but you Catholics are not Saved? We are Baptized and confess our belief in Jesus with our mouths! By a protestants definition that would mean we are Saved right! We also go further as well. We follow (Matthew 24:13) which says that we must "endures to the end" to be Saved. St Paul says the same thing in (2 Timothy 2:12), That we must hold out to the end if we want to reign with Christ. In (Romans 11:22), Christians are warned that they will be cut off if they don't persevere in the kindness of God. (Hebrews 6:4-6) describes people who are sharers in the Holy Spirit (Born Again Christians) but then fall away from God. Remember St Pauls advice: "Work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12) Who should have more assurance of Salvation than St Paul? Yet he says: "I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9:27) Scripture is very clear Christians can loose their Salvation. That is why if you ask Mother Teresa or any Pope who has ever lived if they say they are Saved or not they will answer: As the Bible says, I am already Saved (Romans 8:24), (Ephesians 2:5-8) but, I am also being Saved (1 Corinthians 1:8), (2 Corinthians 2:15), (Philippians 2:12), and I have the hope that I will be Saved (Romans 5:9-10), (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Like the Apostle Paul, I am working out my Salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), with the hopeful confidence in the promises of Christ (Romans 5:2), (2 Timothy 2:11-13). That is a truly Biblical response to being Saved! We do not Cherry pick out verses of the Bible and leave others out. The truth is you are Saved when you are Baptized and confess belief in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior! The problem that Protestants run into is the Sin of "Presumption" or a false belief in being saved. Yes, you are Saved initially but it will be lost if you sin Mortally! The only way to erase that sin is to return to God's good Graces by going to Confession. This is not some man made teaching this is Straight from Christ himself! We Catholics strive to do it the way that he wanted! Through the authority of the one true Church that he established. After all they are the only ones with the "Power to Bind and to loose" and they must hear your Confession in order to determine if your sins are "Forgiven or retained". All Confessions are to God but through his holy Ministers which is how he set it up! I fear for the man's soul who thinks that he is "Once saved always Saved", in my eyes that is a denial of Biblical truth and leads to a License to sin throughout a persons life without any regard for the consequences of those sins! That is truly something to meditate upon people! I tried to continue on and include Purgatory and Indulgences in this post but I exceeded the 60,000 character limit! It is to bad because I feel that those two subjects should be in this post as well. I guess they will have to get own post though! Anyhow, Happy reading to everyone on StreetGangs! I am sure that you will disagree with some of my opinions on here Bumperjack! I am cool with all of that as long as we continue our dialogue with Love and respect for one another and agree to disagree! As I have stated before it is not about winning an argument it is about presenting my beliefs in a truthful matter and defending my Faith to the best of my ability! Peaceout and God Bless, Silent!
