This is the second version of this post due partially to my lack of research:
To start of with the Catechism of the Catholic Church(CCC) defines an indulgence as
" An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, when 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 saints." CCC1471
Indulgences are the extra-sacramental remission of the temporal punishment left by sins that have already been forgiven. They are by no means a free ticket into heaven nor are they free tickets to sin either. They come in many varieties; universal or local, perpetual or temporary, real or personal, plenary or partial. Often there is a number of days, months or years of time that a partial indulgence is said to cancel but "Here, evidently, the reckoning makes no claim to absolute exactness; it has only a relative value."
Essentially, Indulgences represent a expiation the temporal punishment for a sin, but by no means do we have any clue how much is expiated. Ultimately, only God knows how much time we will have to spend in purgatory, or for that matter whether time truly applies in the afterlife.
"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." 1 John 2:2
"この方こそ、私達の罪、いや、私達の罪ばかりでなく全世界の罪を償ういけにえです。”ヨハネの手紙一 ２：２
I admit that I could not read this entire verse in Japanese the first time I looked at it. "Tsugunau" is a word that means most nearly "atone" but could also be said to mean "to offer compensation for". Additionally, looking up propitiation and expiate I found fall into the category of synonyms for atone.
Language bits aside, John is basically saying that Jesus not only forgave our sins but is the sacrifice that can offer expiation for our sins as well. We as Catholics believe that the church is the mystical body of Christ and that flowing from that it only makes sense that the Church could offer not only forgives of sins but expiation as well. As a simple extension of Christ. The forgiveness of sins which is given in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the expiation following afterwards through indulgences(though not often indulged in. . .) or purgatory all revolve around John's words.
Go and set the world on fire!
2 comments:
That is an awesome verse. I especially like John 2:2 because it gives me hope for salvation; and optimism that many can be converted.
I also like John 1:7. Look it up on blueletterbible.com. Walking in the light is the opposite of walking in darkness; anything that is dark or evil, or dishonest needs to be removed from our lives. When we walk in the light, everyone can see who we are and what we are all about. No dark secrets. I also like how its the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from our sin. This almost seems to be the exclusive remedy. Just like the blood that was poured out on the altar was a temporary remedy for the sins of the Jewish nation, Jesus Christ's blood that was poured out on Galilee is the permanent remedy for the sins of the whole world. (Heb. 10:11-12).
I John 1:8 says that no one can truthfully say they don't have sin. Perhaps this is what confession is for? But if we have sin, then we also have guilt, and we deserve to die for it. Fortunately, we have the expiating death of Jesus Christ. That's why Hebrews 10:14 says that those who are sanctified by this one offering are perfected forever. There isn't anything further that needs to be done, and there isn't any need to attain to perfection. In the words of Jesus Christ, "It is finished."
Therefore, instead of trying to perfect ourselves or make up for our sin in some kind of temporary way, we must confess it. (I John 1:8). No more hiding in darkness. No more struggling against ourselves. This is the key to peace, the key to being cleansed from all unrighteousness.
Also look at Romans 3:23. We all know this verse, it says that everyone has sinned. Everyone is precluded under damnation, initially. But how many people know about verses 21 and 22? That the righteousness of God is by faith.
Now notice that this verse doesn't say, "salvation." It says, "righteousness." It doesn't say that righteousness is by the mystical body of Jesus. Or by a journey that perfects us. It says that righteousness can be ours, right this instant. And it is by faith.
Look at verse 24. We are justified freely. There is no cost to us. You can even check the Greek, if you want; there is a button on the left side of the verse (click on the blue "C").
And verse 25 says that it is Jesus Christ himself (not His church) is the expiation, through faith in His blood. All of our sins are remitted when we put our faith in the blood that He shed as the ONLY just payment for our sin. And the conclusion? Read down through verse 28. It is faith, without any works of the law, that a man is righteous?
But what about the 10 commandments? What about confession? What about communion? These things can never purify us. (Heb. 10:14, 10:11).
Instead, Jesus said that He will no longer remember our sins. (verse 17) . And the key is verse 18: "There is no more offering for sins." The idea that we can make some sort of offering for our sins is inconsistent with scripture. That's why we draw near, not with confession, not with our money, but with a full assurance of faith. What is sprinkled? The sprinkling of our hearts and the washing of our bodies here is metaphysical; it is something that Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross, and can only be experienced through faith.
And look what this passage says about priests. The high priest is Jesus Christ. Human priests have to stand daily and minister the same offerings over and over (verse 11). But this is unnecessary. Look at the role Jesus plays in our lives: verse 19, we enter into the holiest of holies by the blood of Jesus Christ, with full assurance. This is our key into a relationship with God: faith, and faith alone in Jesus Christ, who is identified in verse 20 as our High Priest.
The way into salvation and justification and purity and righteousness is a living way, Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me. (John 14:6)" Perhaps this is why Jesus said not to call anyone on earth "father," (Matt. 23:9).
I John 4:10 also says that it is Jesus Christ, Himself, that is the propitiation for our sins. There is nothing we can do, say, think or feel to be saved. Instead, it is all Christ. Christ alone is the savior, and anything else that we can depend on for salvation or justification will fail us.
Look at I John 2:22-23. What is it to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ? It is to acknowledge Him as the sole benefactor, the only source of salvation. Anyone who denies the power and deity of Christ, and His power to completely and totally remit all sins by His death on the cross does not have the Father. Anyone who is not saved by faith and faith alone, anyone who thinks that anything other than Christ Himself is necessary for remission of sins, is not a child of God.
This might seem offensive, but the idea that, to be saved, you need to be in the Catholic church, is contrary to what it says here in I John 2. I John 5:12 makes is perfectly clear. You either have the Son, or you don't. You either have life, or you don't. There's nothing else to it. I may not be in the Catholic church, but I do have the Son. I have put my faith in His sacrifice. That's why I believe that I do, indeed, have life.
And look at the next verse, I John 5:13-- "... that ye may know that ye have eternal life..." Your church doesn't want you to know whether or not you have eternal life until you die. Jesus Christ says that you can know right now. This verse is addressed to everyone who believes on the Son of God, and John wants them to know that they have eternal life.
Jesus Himself said in John 5: 24, that if you accept His Word and believe on His Father, you will have eternal life. He didn't set out any other condition for righteousness. And we know that Jesus isn't a liar. If he says someone has eternal life, they have it. You can be certain. He also gets kind of rough with the Pharisees in verse 38. He says that they aren't children of God, because, if they were, they would believe in Jesus Christ instead of their dead legalistic traditions. He says, in verse 39, that we as men think the Scriptures are going to lead us to eternal life, but that it is these very Scriptures that testify of Jesus Himself. He was saying, in essence, "Here I am! The answer to all of your shortcomings, your sin, your failure. I'm standing right in front of you. But, `Ye will not come unto me, that ye may have life.'"
Don't discredit Jesus Christ. Put your faith in Him now. Believe His promise that you can be saved from your sin and empowered to live a godly life. And don't just take my word for it. Read John 5, John 8, and Romans 3. Learn from Romans 8:12-17 how the Holy Spirit can give us a full assurance of life that starts now and never ends. It is not too good to be true. It's not arrogant to think that we can be perfected and know for sure what is going to happen to us when we die. It's what the Bible says, and I believe it.
And I believe that's what makes me a Christian.
By the way, expelled looks like it's gonna' be a great movie.
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