Indulgences became a prominent Catholic practice in as early as the 1200s. Any devoted Catholic parishioner could pay money to the church in exchange for the forgiveness of sins. ~~~~~ Around 1505, Pope Julius II began the laborious project of creating St. Peters Basilica and commissioning Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Both of these designs were tremendously expensive and construction was still under way when Leo X became pope in 1513. The pope was now in great need of funds for the completion of the basilica; therefore, he decided to promote the indulgences in order to help pay it. ~~~~~ This practice was not accepted by all, especially the professor, Martin Luther. He argued that only God could forgive the sins of those who put all of their faith into Jesus, and not into indulgences. However, Luther discovered that many of his parishioners felt no need to come to church after they had purchased indulgences. To Martin and his followers, the sale of indulgences was a corrupt practice that was irrelevant to divine forgiveness, and aimed more at financially benefiting the pope and the papal headquarters. His disagreement with this practice led to Luthers well known document, The 95 Theses. ***** The doctrine of the “Treasury of the Church” was first officially expressed in 1343 by Pope Clement VI. He describes this treasury as not only consisting of the merits of Christ’s atonement but also “the merits (atonements) of Mary, the Mother of God, and of all the chosen, from the greatest to the least of the just, contribute to the increase of the treasure from which the Church draws in order to secure remission of temporal punishment.” ~~~~~ The Bible never once refers to anything like the “Treasury of Merit,” and never is there the thought that atonement can be made by one believer for the sake of another’s sin. ~~~~~ Paul expresses that, if it were possible, he would sincerely be willing to be accursed, if that would mean the redemption of his fellow Israelites in Romans 9 and 10. ~~~~~~ But that is not possible because Paul and the other writers of Scripture state that, for a believer, the just Judge was satisfied when Jesus Christ became the atonement (propitiation) for our sins and that apart from Him there is no atonement (Isaiah 53:6;Romans 5:10-11;2 Corinthians 5:21;1 John 2:2;Hebrews 10:1-18). ~~~~~ Never is there any hint of the idea of vicarious atonement by believers, either alive or dead, for the sake of their fellow believers. The Roman Catholic Church may make a distinction between atoning for people’s eternal punishment and their temporal punishment, but the idea of anyone other than Christ atoning for anyone’s sin and its corresponding punishment is never found in Scripture. ~~~~~ .In Scripture, there is only the unfathomable and infinite value of Christ’s atonement…period. There is not a single scriptural example of, or teaching about, an apostle or church leader doling out an “indulgence” to a fellow believer. Not one! From its foundation to its summit, the whole structure of the doctrine of indulgences is unfounded biblically.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 19:20:24 +0000
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