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The Doctrine of Justification in the
Reformation of the 16th Century
Class
Three: Roman Catholicism: The Sacraments- Confusion of Justification &
Sanctification
The Roman Catholic Sacraments
Baptism,
Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Order, and
Matrimony. The following definitions
taken from: Fundamentals of Catholic
Dogma by Ludwig Ott, approved with the Papal Impramatur.
Baptism: The
means of the remission of the guilt of original sin. In the case of adults, baptism also is
the means of the eradication of all personal, mortal, or venial sins. Even when unworthily received, baptism
imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the Baptismal Character,
and cannot be repeated. The Council
of Trent, condemned the denier of this doctrine.
Confirmation: In
this sacrament by the imposition of hands, unction, and prayer, a baptized
person is filled with the Holy Spirit for the inner strengthening of the
supernatural life and for courageous outward testimony. By this sacrament baptismal grace is
perfected.
The Eucharist: (the
Greek word means “thanksgiving”) is an early name for the
Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion.
The Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, first propounded by Paschasius Radbertus
(ca.785-860), was defined as dogma by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). The eucharistic sacrifice was first
defined as dogma by the Council of Trent in 1562. The Council stated that the “Same
Christ” is sacrificed in an “unbloody
manner, who once offered himself in a bloody manner on the altar of the
cross.” The effects of the
Eucharist are unification with Christ and the preservation and increase of
supernatural life, and it is a pledge of heavenly bliss and future resurrection As a
sacrament Christ is partaken as nourishment for the soul. As a sacrifice He is offered as a
sacrificial gift to God. Ludwig Ott writes, “The purpose of the sacrifice is the
same in the sacrifice of the Mass as in the Sacrifice of the Cross;
primarily the glorification of God, secondarily atonment,
thanksgiving, and appeal.” The
Eucharist is atoning...a sacrifice of propitiation and can be offered
“not only for the living, but also for the poor souls in
Purgatory.”
Extreme Unction: Ott writes: “It is a Sacrament of the
Living. It presupposes in general
the remission of grievous sins. But if
a person in mortal sin is seriously ill and can no longer receive the
Sacrament of Penance, or if he erroneously believes that he is free from
grievous sin, Extreme Unction eradicates the grievous sins per accidens, but still by reason of Christ’s
institution.” Only Bishops and
Priests can adminster the sacrament.
Penance: The
act of confession on the part of the penitent, together with the
priest’s pronouncement of absolution and his assigning of certain
works to be done by the penitent.
The Roman Catholic Baltimore Catechism defines: “Penance is
the sacrament by which sins committed after baptism are
forgiven through the absolution of the priest.” In a Roman Catholic training book called Instructions for Non-Catholics we
read: “In the Sacrament of Penance, God gives the priest the power to
bring sinners back into the state of grace and to prevent them from falling
into the abyss of hell. Moreover,
after confession some temporal punishment due to sin generally remains, and
some of this punishment is taken away in the penance (prayers) the priest
gives you to say. You should perform
other acts of penance also so that you can make up for the temporal
punishment due to sin and to avoid a long stay in purgatory. The Church suggests to us these forms of
penance: prayer, fasting, giving alms in the name of Christ, the spiritual
and corporal works of mercy, the patient sufferings of the ills of life,
and the gaining of indulgences.” (Pg.95)
The
Church of Rome demands acts of Penance before she grants forgiveness,
inferring that the sacrifice of Christ was not sufficient to atone fully
for sin and that it must be supplemented to some extent by these good works
(faith + works brings Justification). God demands repentance, which means
turning from sin, vices, injustice and all wickedness in whatever
form:
Isaiah
55:7- “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
From
the Greek New Testament edited by Erasumus,
Luther discovered that Jesus did not say “Do Penance,” as
interpreted by Rome
because of the Vulgate translation, but “Repent.” Rome
teaches that salvation depends ultimately upon ourselves, upon what we do,
that one can “earn” salvation by obedience to the laws of the
church, indeed that the saints can even store up excess merits in heaven
beyond the requirements of duty, through such things as regular attendance
at church, masses, rosary prayers, fastings,
wearing of crucifixes etc. These
excess merits are called “works of supererogation.” Mary and the saints are said to have
stored up vast treasures of merit, from which the pope can draw and
dispense to the faithful as they perform the works assigned by the priests.
“The
fatal error of Romanism is the denial of the sufficiency of Christ as Saviour. It
denies the efficacy of His sacrifice on the cross. Romanism has a Christ, but He is not
sufficient as a Saviour. What He did on Calvary must
be repeated (in the Mass) and supplemented (through works of penance), and
this makes priestcraft and sacramentarianism
necessary. Romanism is a complicated
system of salvation by works.”- Dr. C.D. Cole
Next class: Roman Catholicism: The
Treasury of Merit and Penance
Read: The Book of Galatians,
Chapters 4-6
For Further reading: ; Roman Catholicism- ed.
John Armstrong / Justification by Faith Alone- John Gerstner, R.C.
Sproul, Joel Beeke, John Armstrong / Faith
Alone- R.C. Sproul
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