Indulgences

[LilyM]

If it was a perfect death and fully sufficient then how is it lacking in any way? Its like that ole thing “you cant be a little bit pregnant” Gods not obligated to save anyone what-so-ever, not one. Because He LOVES us, His desire is that ALL be saved.

Yes, his desire is that all be saved, just like my mother desired that all her five children go to university. She helped us as much as she could, but since we had free will it still required US to do plenty - in terms of studying for one thing - to make university happen for us. And some of us ended up not going because they weren’t willing to put in the necessary effort.

So God can only save those who are willing to be saved, just as a husband can only make his wife pregnant if she is willing to become pregnant. If she isn’t, she’ll use birth control, which he can’t force her not to, and pregnancy just won’t happen no matter how much he wants it or tries to make it happen!

 

[Kitty_Chan]

Yes, his desire is that all be saved, just like my mother desired that all her five children go to university. She helped us as much as she could, but since we had free will it still required US to do plenty - in terms of studying for one thing - to make university happen for us. And some of us ended up not going because they weren’t willing to put in the necessary effort.

So God can only save those who are willing to be saved, just as a husband can only make his wife pregnant if she is willing to become pregnant. If she isn’t, she’ll use birth control, which he can’t force her not to, and pregnancy just won’t happen no matter how much he wants it or tries to make it happen!

lily theres 2 things here

us willing through free will to accept Gods gift, I agree and am not speaking to that entirely.

What Im speaking to is:

His sacrifice on the cross didn’t take away all sin for people still sinned after and now. If it did, then God would have been obligated to save everyone (what’s known as universalism) and God owes no one anything. Jesus death on the cross redeemed us, it allowed Gods grace to flow down on those who believe.

thats why I said “If it was a perfect death and fully sufficient then how is it lacking in any way?” Because we might have sins then theres something that wasnt covered? What, God didnt see something coming? It cant be both ways, perfect sacrifice and lacking. It is or is not.

 

[RNRobert]

A couple years ago I started a thread on induglences, trying to answer Protestant objections. Hope it helps.

Indulgences Explained

 

[I_Leatherman]

lily theres 2 things here

us willing through free will to accept Gods gift, I agree and am not speaking to that entirely.

What Im speaking to is:

His sacrifice on the cross didn’t take away all sin for people still sinned after and now. If it did, then God would have been obligated to save everyone (what’s known as universalism) and God owes no one anything. Jesus death on the cross redeemed us, it allowed Gods grace to flow down on those who believe.

thats why I said “If it was a perfect death and fully sufficient then how is it lacking in any way?” Because we might have sins then theres something that wasnt covered? What, God didnt see something coming? It cant be both ways, perfect sacrifice and lacking. It is or is not.

I think there are two choices, I think this is what he was saying:

1. God could, concievably, have ‘saved everyone’ by zapping humanity, past present and future all at once, and making us instantanously altogether perfect, like Adam and Eve when He first created them. In that case nobody would ever sin again, there would no longer be any sin in the world.
   …or,
2. God, instead established His Church, His Mystical Body, He breathed His Holy Spirit into it as He had breathed Life into Adams newly created body. This Church He gave His power, He said, to forgive sins in His name - in His stead. Those whose sins you forgive…and… what you bind on earth…etc.
   So that it is through His Church that we access Gods life - His gift to us.
   Its through His Church that your sins are forgiven now, today.

Christs death was not perfect and lacking as you say.

 

[Cat]

Kitty Chan and others, we’re talking about two different things here: eternal punishment (hell) and temporal punishment (consequences, reparation).

Christ’s blood provides for forgiveness of our sins and cancellation of eternal punishment. Those who trust in Christ will not go to hell, they will go to heaven.

But Christ’s blood does NOT provide for cancellation of temporal punishment. Temporal punishment is the “consequences” for our sin, what WE must do to make up for the sin, make things right again. It is our “reparation.” A sin hurts someone, and we have to repair that hurt

I say this with humility, because as a Protestant, I was guilty of it, too. I think a lot of Protestants truly think that since Jesus forgave all their sins, that they don’t have to accept any punishment whatsoever for their sins. They are “free” to go about their business and forget all about any sins they commit. The result of this lack of acceptance of temporal punishmen is a community of Christians who sin and never bother to try to make it right.

But this isn’t Biblical.

We can’t just ignore our sin and claim that it is all “taken away” by Jesus. No, no it isn’t! When a Christian sins against YOU, it hurts, doesn’t it? When a Christian steals your stuff, the stuff is gone and someone needs to replace it, right? Even if the person who sinned against you is a Christian, that doesn’t make it up to you, does it? Fellowship between you and that sinning Christian has been broken, and it needs to be repaired.

When the person apologizes to you and attempts to make up for the sin, that repairs things(unless you refuse to forgive). THAT is reparation, or temporal punishment. The sinner has “made up for” their sin and repaired the damage done by their sin.

THAT’S what temporal punishment is–whatever it takes to make up for the sin. Christ’s blood DOESN’T free us from this punishment.

This is all very Biblical. Jesus said that if we are giving our offering and we remember that someone has something against us (Matt. 5 23-24) or we have something against someone else (Matt. 18: 15), that we are to leave our offering and GO MAKE IT RIGHT!

We aren’t allowed to just “forget about it.” Jesus’s blood hasn’t released us from the responsibility to make things right when we have sinned.

For example, if a Christian breaks the law, they have to accept the consequences (fine, jail time, community service, etc.) Even though the sin of breaking the law is forgiven through the blood of Christ and they won’t go to hell for it, the consequences (temporal punishment) for that sin are not “forgiven.” They still have to do the time, pay the fine.

Again, this is BIBLICAL! We can’t just sin and forget about it. God expects us to make up for our sins, to make things right.

But what about the sins that we can’t “make right,” e.g, pride, indecent thoughts, jealousy, coveting, hate, etc. We can’t necessarily go to anyone and say, “Hey, I was having lustful thoughts during work yesterday. What can I do to make this better?”

It would seem there are no consequences for these “secret sins,” wouldn’t it?

That’s where “penances” have value. Even if no one else sees these secret sins, GOD does. And whether it is obvious or not, the Church, our brothers and sisters, are hurt by our secret sins. They undermine the strength of the Church and give Satan an opportunity. (E.g., if you are having trouble with lustful thoughts, you probably aren’t going to say “yes” if you are asked to volunteer to be a youth sponsor).

Yes, yes, of course God forgives us for our secret sins and He removes the eternal punishment of hell. But He doesn’t remove the temporal punishment. We still have a temporal punishment for our secret sins, and that’s our PENANCE. The Church uses its authority to pronounce a penance for us that will fulfil the temporal punishment.

For those things that we do no penance for, the Church provides “indulgences.” These are acts that help us make up for our sins. None of these acts are weird or freaky. Reading the Bible, praying, giving to the poor–these are good acts that help us put our sin away and become more like Christ.

Again, this is very Biblical. The Bible tells us to pursue those things that help us to sin less and become more like Christ. There is nothing “of man” in this doctrine. It’s very Biblical.

 

[jam070406]

Kitty Chan and others, we’re talking about two different things here: eternal punishment (hell) and temporal punishment (consequences, reparation).

Christ’s blood provides for forgiveness of our sins and cancellation of eternal punishment. Those who trust in Christ will not go to hell, they will go to heaven.

But Christ’s blood does NOT provide for cancellation of temporal punishment. Temporal punishment is the “consequences” for our sin, what WE must do to make up for the sin, make things right again. It is our “reparation.” A sin hurts someone, and we have to repair that hurt

I say this with humility, because as a Protestant, I was guilty of it, too. I think a lot of Protestants truly think that since Jesus forgave all their sins, that they don’t have to accept any punishment whatsoever for their sins. They are “free” to go about their business and forget all about any sins they commit. The result of this lack of acceptance of temporal punishmen is a community of Christians who sin and never bother to try to make it right.

But this isn’t Biblical.

We can’t just ignore our sin and claim that it is all “taken away” by Jesus. No, no it isn’t! When a Christian sins against YOU, it hurts, doesn’t it? When a Christian steals your stuff, the stuff is gone and someone needs to replace it, right? Even if the person who sinned against you is a Christian, that doesn’t make it up to you, does it? Fellowship between you and that sinning Christian has been broken, and it needs to be repaired.

When the person apologizes to you and attempts to make up for the sin, that repairs things(unless you refuse to forgive). THAT is reparation, or temporal punishment. The sinner has “made up for” their sin and repaired the damage done by their sin.

THAT’S what temporal punishment is–whatever it takes to make up for the sin. Christ’s blood DOESN’T free us from this punishment.

This is all very Biblical. Jesus said that if we are giving our offering and we remember that someone has something against us (Matt. 5 23-24) or we have something against someone else (Matt. 18: 15), that we are to leave our offering and GO MAKE IT RIGHT!

We aren’t allowed to just “forget about it.” Jesus’s blood hasn’t released us from the responsibility to make things right when we have sinned.

For example, if a Christian breaks the law, they have to accept the consequences (fine, jail time, community service, etc.) Even though the sin of breaking the law is forgiven through the blood of Christ and they won’t go to hell for it, the consequences (temporal punishment) for that sin are not “forgiven.” They still have to do the time, pay the fine.

Again, this is BIBLICAL! We can’t just sin and forget about it. God expects us to make up for our sins, to make things right.

But what about the sins that we can’t “make right,” e.g, pride, indecent thoughts, jealousy, coveting, hate, etc. We can’t necessarily go to anyone and say, “Hey, I was having lustful thoughts during work yesterday. What can I do to make this better?”

It would seem there are no consequences for these “secret sins,” wouldn’t it?

That’s where “penances” have value. Even if no one else sees these secret sins, GOD does. Yes, yes, YES, He forgives us and removes the eternal punishment of hell. But He doesn’t remove the temporal punishment–just as He doesn’t remove it when we steal something from something. We still have a temporal punishment, and that’s our PENANCE. The Church uses its authority to pronounce a penance for us that will fulfil the temporal punishment.

For those things that we do no penance for, the Church provides “indulgences.” These are acts that help us make up for our sins. None of these acts are weird or freaky. Reading the Bible, praying, giving to the poor–these are good acts that help us put our sin away and become more like Christ.

Again, this is very Biblical. The Bible tells us to pursue those things that help us to sin less and become more like Christ. There is nothing “of man” in this doctrine. It’s very Biblical.

great explanation Cat!

 

[myfavoritmartin]

View attachment 787
Here is what they look like!
From the 1500’s

 

[guanophore]

probably a difference again, but the Blood of Jesus is what saved us. Like the song Washed in the Blood of Jesus

If we are washed in His Blood, He paid the penalty for sin. Why would we do penance? He did already, I thought that was the point of Him dieing on the Cross??

This is a very good question. Jesus sacrifice on the cross was complete to fulfill the debt incurred to God by our sins. Once washed in HIs blood we are “clean every whit”. One way that we can join ourselves to Him in sacrifice is by joining with Him our own sufferings (this is where the common Catholic prhase originates “offer it up”). We also demonstrate that we have received forgiveness by bearing fruit that befits repentance, as John the Baptist spoke about;

Matt 3:7-10

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sad’ducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit that befits repentance, 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "

Think of it this way. A teenager breaks God’s commandment and becomes pregnant before she is married. She regrets her sinful behavior, goed to confession, and is absolved of her sin. However, the consequences of her sinful behavior remain. In order to avoid commiting further sin, she must embrace the child in her womb, bring that child to birth, and either raise it, or place the child for adoption. No matter how she completes her “penance” it will be difficult for her “until she has paid the last penny”.

 

[mikeledes]

lily theres 2 things here

us willing through free will to accept Gods gift, I agree and am not speaking to that entirely.

What Im speaking to is:

His sacrifice on the cross didn’t take away all sin for people still sinned after and now. If it did, then God would have been obligated to save everyone (what’s known as universalism) and God owes no one anything. Jesus death on the cross redeemed us, it allowed Gods grace to flow down on those who believe.

thats why I said “If it was a perfect death and fully sufficient then how is it lacking in any way?” Because we might have sins then theres something that wasnt covered? What, God didnt see something coming? It cant be both ways, perfect sacrifice and lacking. It is or is not.

Kitty Chan, do you believe that David was righteous before God? That His sins were covered by the Blood of Christ? Than why, after being forgiven by God, was he still punished by God for his sins (murder and adultery)?

God Bless,
Michael

 

[martino]

Jesus warned us it wouldnt be easy, because the world hates Him so it will hate you, it goes with the territory, theres no contest however to pick up extra suffering He didnt get the first time. If it was a perfect sacrifice accepting to God by this standard it seems it wasnt.

If so ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and immoveable from the hope of the gospel which you have heard, which is preached in all the creation that is under heaven: whereof I Paul am made a minister. 24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church: Col 1:23-24

The truth is that WE have a part to play in our own salvation and we can also play a part in the salvation of others.

 

[martino]

Indulgences, Confession and Purgatory all go hand in hand, none of them can be fully understood without the other two.

Most Protestants have no concept of “temporal punishment”. To them you are either Saved or not Saved.

Indulgences do not take away the “guilt” of sin, only a good Confession can do that. Unless we die in a “perfect” state of grace then we will suffer some temporal punishment in Purgatory; unless we have gained an indulgence for ourself.

Here is how I like to state it: Confession saves us from hell; indulgences save us from Purgatory.

 

[Cat]

martino, you are absolutely correct when you state that Protestants don’t understand the concept of “temporal punishment.”

I sure didn’t. God had forgiven all my sins. As far as I understood, that meant that I was free from everything, including the “consequences.”

In fact, I attended a Women’s Bible study where the teacher taught that we should not think about our sins ever. To do so was a sin, since it took our eyes off Jesus and onto us. Any guilt that we experienced was false guilt, since Christ had already forgiven us. We were to renounce the guilt and continue to live “in freedom.”

For years, that was my way. I wasn’t even aware when I was committing any sin. I still have a difficult time knowing that I have committed sin. I just have to trust the Holy Spirit to bring sins to my attention so I can confess them.

Protestants certainly believe in consequences for sins, but they don’t seem to have any idea that there are consequences for “secret sins.” I think this is one reason why so many Protestant leaders are being caught in sexual sins. They have hidden these sins for years, convincing themselves that since they are just in the mind, there is no need to try to “make reparation” for these sins. They despise the concept of “penance,” not realizing that confession and penance allow the grace of God to help us conquer “secret sins.”

Yes, I know, Catholics also do these sins, so it’s not just a Protestant failing.

In the Protestant world, there is a lot of talk about the two passages in Matthew, both Chapter 5 and Chapter 18. These passages talk about the need to be reconciled with our brother before we give our offering to God.

That’s GOOD.

But much of the time, these verse are fraught with controversy as Protestants try to argue about what they REALLY mean. (Some Protestants teach that they only apply to married couples.)

And many churches seem to ignore these passages of Scripture totally. When my husband and I were kicked out of our E Free church, we had no inkling that anyone had anything against us until the “ousting.” No one ever came to us privately and discussed our supposed “sins.” And no one came to us with witnesses. We were just kicked out.

So I think that concept of eternal vs. temporal punishment is one that Protestants would do well to study.

 

[Bishopite]

If it was a perfect death and fully sufficient then how is it lacking in any way? Its like that ole thing “you cant be a little bit pregnant”

You didn’t read what I said obviously because I said Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was perfect and sufficient but what is lacking was and is US not Him, NOT His sacrifice
And if His death on the cross was to wipe away ALL sin then why did those around Him, and all people after Him still sin??

Gods not obligated to save anyone what-so-ever, not one. Because He LOVES us, His desire is that ALL be saved. Wouldnt Jesus go for the lost sheep, didnt He heal on a Sabbath? Then say man was made for the Sabbath not the Sabbath for man. Thats Grace.

 

[Syele]

Its not that we don’t understand temporal punishment, it’s that we disagree that there is temporal punishment after our physical death.

Of course there will be teachers that will go to extremes (like the bible study teacher mentioned that said to never think about your sins!). This is why there is scriptures to guide us in p(name removed by moderator)ointing false teachers. (but this is off topic so I’ll move on.)

Even if we don’t use such terms like “temporal Punishment” we still believe in it. Try asking a protestant if a Rapist who repented and is forgiven by God should go to jail or be set free. Most will say he should still serve his punishment.

 

[LilyM]

Its not that we don’t understand temporal punishment, it’s that we disagree that there is temporal punishment after our physical death.

Of course there will be teachers that will go to extremes (like the bible study teacher mentioned that said to never think about your sins!). This is why there is scriptures to guide us in p(name removed by moderator)ointing false teachers. (but this is off topic so I’ll move on.)

Even if we don’t use such terms like “temporal Punishment” we still believe in it. Try asking a protestant if a Rapist who repented and is forgiven by God should go to jail or be set free. Most will say he should still serve his punishment.

But what do you think happens to someone who doesn’t pay in full the temporal punishment due to their sins before they die, but who hasn’t sinned seriously enough to warrant damnation? What reason is there to believe that they would get a ‘get out of jail free’ card just because they’ve died?

 

[GregoryPalamas]

lily theres 2 things here

us willing through free will to accept Gods gift, I agree and am not speaking to that entirely.

What Im speaking to is:

His sacrifice on the cross didn’t take away all sin for people still sinned after and now. If it did, then God would have been obligated to save everyone (what’s known as universalism) and God owes no one anything. Jesus death on the cross redeemed us, it allowed Gods grace to flow down on those who believe.

thats why I said “If it was a perfect death and fully sufficient then how is it lacking in any way?” Because we might have sins then theres something that wasnt covered? What, God didnt see something coming? It cant be both ways, perfect sacrifice and lacking. It is or is not.

Perhaps the analogy the Church has always used in Scripture and since Scripture will help. St. Athanasius, “Divine Dilemma” points out that God made a perfect creation that would never die and would eventually be adopted into the Godhead. This perfect creation was so perfect that it was given free will. Free will demands an option. Hence, do not eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil for on that day you will surely die" We did and we began to die out as a race. Humanity began to lose free will to become like beasts. “God’s dilemma” was that on the one hand he could not make a perfect creation that died out so he must do something. And on the other He could not go back on His word that humanity would die if they turned their backs upon God.

We turned out backs on God, lost free will, and became inheriters of death instead of eternal life as God intended.

God’s solution was to take on flesh, die in our place, and restore humanity to the position we had prior to the fall and then to restore a perfected Eden. Hence, when we are born again not simply of the flesh but of the Spirit of God we become the Children of God. Christ has reclaimed out free will and we are now capable of choosing life. Of course, we are also capable of choosing death. But life has been restored to the baptized.

Does Christ’s merits extend further? I.e., are there other ramifications to this restoration? Yes, indeed. Prior to Christ even if humans were righteous by faith in the future Messianic age there only foreseeable future was death. They had to wait in hope for our day. (See Hebrews 11-12). But now we have an advocate and if we sin we take our sin to that Advocate and can be restored. Furthermore, there is a way for finding that restoration. That way is recorded several times in Scripture and has been lived out in the Church for two millenia. We take our sin to the Church and there that sin will be forgiven or it will not be forgiven.
**John 20:22-24 (Contemporary English Version)22Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone’s sins, they will be forgiven. But if you don’t forgive their sins, they will not be forgiven.” **

This power Jesus gave to the Church as one of the founding principles of His Church.

As if to confirm that power of indulgence St. James records this.

James 5 14 “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

These acts of forgiveness don’t take away from the perfect sacrifice of Christ. They utilize that sacrifice for all time. We don’t deny that sacrifice we revel in it.

CDL

 

[Syele]

But what do you think happens to someone who doesn’t pay in full the temporal punishment due to their sins before they die, but who hasn’t sinned seriously enough to warrant damnation? What reason is there to believe that they would get a ‘get out of jail free’ card just because they’ve died?

We don’t die “accidentally too early.” God has control of these things. But even so, By protestant belief Justification and Sanctification are different than the Catholics. The point of temporal punishment on earth is to sanctify us after salvation, not part of saving us. This is a process needed on earth because we are limited here. Upon meeting God we will not be in the exact state we are in now, death causes a change, we will have a more full knowledge of the things of God (causing a detachment to the sin) and we are covered by Jesus work on the cross.

 

[petra]

probably a difference again, but the Blood of Jesus is what saved us. Like the song Washed in the Blood of Jesus

If we are washed in His Blood, He paid the penalty for sin. Why would we do penance? He did already, I thought that was the point of Him dieing on the Cross??

Hi Kitty,

I think some of the immediate responses to your question are a little unclear, so I want to elaborate. (I have not read through all of the responses, so I apologize if I’m redundant here.)

You are correct that Christ’s sacrifice was wholly sufficient and superabundant. We can add nothing to what He did. When we are born again and receive sanctifying grace, His sacrifice is applied as payment for our eternal debt. He satisfied the eternal consquences of our sins, and we are forgiven. As long as we remain in Him, this spiritual satisfaction is applied to us.

As explained above, Christ satisfied the eternal consequences of sin. However, there are also temporal consequences of sin. If you steal something and ask for forgiveness, Christ’s sacrifice covers the eternal consequences of that sin, but not the temporal consequences. There may be a chain of events that temporally follow as a result of this sin. You may have to go to jail. Is Christ’s sacrifice insufficient? No, of course not. As the scriptures say, “God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, so also shall he reap.”

The temporal outcomes of sin must be dealt with. Those outcomes exist to help form our conscience and lead us to repentance. If we try to run from those outcomes and never deal with them in this life, we must deal with them before entering God’s holy presence in heaven. Purgatory is not a place of condemnation, but a place of discipline and cleansing. I see it as the foyer to heaven. God’s holiness is a consuming fire, and nothing unclean will survive. All Christians will pass through this cleansing fire. Some will have more burnt away than others, depending upon the extent to which they had attachments to sin or temporal baggage.

However, we can voluntarily submit ourselves to pennance and restitution in this life. This causes genuine sorrow for our actions and results in real remedies to those we have harmed. Indulgences are a means of doing this.

Hope this helps,

petra

 

[petra]

The point of temporal punishment on earth is to sanctify us after salvation, not part of saving us. This is a process needed on earth because we are limited here.

You are correct that temporal punishments sanctify us. They help form our conscience and lead us to holiness. This is consistent with Catholic faith.

Upon meeting God we will not be in the exact state we are in now, death causes a change, we will have a more full knowledge of the things of God (causing a detachment to the sin) and we are covered by Jesus work on the cross.

Yes, but part of this change is a result of the cleansing that occurs when we encounter the fire of God’s holiness. If we die with some attachments and temporal baggage from sin, that needs to be accounted for. This doesn’t painlessly drop off when our spirit leaves our body. 1 Cor. 3 is clear that there is a cleansing process. This is not condemnation, but an act of love. It is discipline, rather than punishment. Hebrews describes discipline as being sorrowful, so we can infer that the cleansing is unpleasant–more so for those with a lot of temporal baggage.

petra

 

[Cat]

Syele, you’ve grasped it.

One reason I had no trouble accepting the doctrine of “purgatory” is that it is in the Bible. I Corinthians 3: 15.

When we die, our sins and faults, attachments to this earth, addictions, and everything else that makes us unfit for heaven are burned away. All our works done for any other reason than the glory of God–all is burned away. Yes, we are saved, but our “chaff” is burned away.

I’ve always been taught that and I’ve always believed that. It’s not a “Catholic” invention, it’s a Biblical teaching.

We go to heaven pure, sinless, clean because of this process that occurs after death, the “purging” process.

There is no dogma in the Catholic Church stating how long, in human time, the “burning process” or “purgatory”, lasts. It could be thousands of years in human time, or it could occur instantaneously.

Yes, many Catholics believe that it is a long process, but others believe it is instantaneous. It’s OK either way. The Catholic Church has not specified.

So just as Protestants believe in I Corinthians 3;15, so do Catholics, but they call it “purgatory.”

If it makes you feel any better, C.S. Lewis believed in purgatory.

And I find great comfort in purgatory. In my last Protestant church, we were treated very cruelly by the pastors and deacons who lied about us, ousted us from the church, and shunned us.

These people have never been held accountable for this sin. But they WILL be held accountable by the Lord, and this unpunished sin will be burned away from them in purgatory. I find this immensely comforting, to know that GOD will serve justice and I don’t need to worry about seeking it here on this earth. (Although I do want others to be warned so that they don’t have to suffer through what we went through.)