Some think Matthew 4:4 is teaching sola Scriptura

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cathoholic
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Either way, this doctrine of indulgences goes against the Word of God. You are basically saying that Jesus dying on the cross for your sins is not enough, and you have to work the gain forgiveness through self effort instead of just accepting the free gift of forgiveness the Christ offered us through His blood through grace.
I think you have misunderstood the doctrine, medwigel. It only applies to those who have already had their sin forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Do you think that the thief who was promised paradise was forgiven of his sins on the cross?
You need to read the book of Galatians.
Galatians, like all the books of the NT, was written by a Catholic about the Catholic faith. There is nothing in it that is not Catholic.
 
The terrm “Catholic” was in regular use by 107 AD
Exactly, it came into use later. All the authors of the NT lived way before that and in all their writings they refer to the Church and called the members of the Church BELIEVERS not Catholics. If the “Catholic” existed back then then they would have used that word to define the faithful but they didn’t, nor did they ever refer to themselves as Catholics.
 
It only applies to those who have already had their sin forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
Exactly, we are talking about applying a doctrine to people who have already been forgiven. So if Christ already forgave me why do I have to do an act to lessen the punishment? If Christ forgave me of my sins then there is no cause for punishment and if there is no punishment there is no need for an “indulgence” to lessen a punishment the Christ is not even dolling out.
So when Christ says all your sins are forgiven do you not believe Him? Are you calling Christ a liar when He says that there is no more condemnation? No condemnation means no punishment so why do you need indulgences?
 
medwigel . . .
Exactly, we are talking about applying a doctrine to people who have already been forgiven. So if Christ already forgave me why do I have to do an act to lessen the punishment?
Because we have a “participation” or “koinonia” in Jesus that we received in Baptism. We suffer with Jesus so we can be glorified with Jesus. This is part of “the Gospel of participation”.

.
ROMANS 6:3-5 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
.

Jesus is our substitute but not merely our substitute.

Jesus suffered and died for our sins. So we too suffer and die for our sins.

Jesus paid a full account.

We could never pay a FULL account (because we sin against God and God is eternal so that sin just keeps on “giving”) but we DO pay SOME account!

That’s WHY Matthew 12:36 tells us we pay “an account” for EVERY wrong word we utter. Both the justified and the unjust.

That’s WHY Moses still had an account after he was forgiven of striking the rock twice.

That’s WHY King David had an account to pay (even affecting his and Bathsheba’s illicit child) even after he was forgiven too.

And although you and I are forgiven (should we accept it) . . . . The WAGES of sin is still death (notice you still have a wage to pay that even you would agree with . . . even after YOU are forgiven). Romans 6:23

Some of these wages (not all, not “death” for instance) we can “pay” in this world UNITED WITH Christ.

“Apart from Christ we can do nothing”. John 15:5

These are simple aspects of the Gospel.

In the Catholic Church, you would be getting this FULL GOSPEL (if not from your preaching heard on the Lord’s Day, Sunday, from the Catechism and other official teachings).

As it is, you’ve subjected yourself to a sola Scriptura tradition and likely would miss such basic teachings routinely.
 
Last edited:
Exactly, it came into use later. All the authors of the NT lived way before that and in all their writings they refer to the Church and called the members of the Church BELIEVERS not Catholics.
Actually they were referred to as Christians and by Paul, Saints. Everyone who was in Christ was a member of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. This is still the case today.
If the “Catholic” existed back then then they would have used that word to define the faithful but they didn’t, nor did they ever refer to themselves as Catholics.
It seems you will have a lot of interesting things to encounter when you delve into your early family history, medwigel. Christians did not stop writing at the close of the Apostolic age, and the Church of Jesus built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets continued to grow from the small seed in the NT to the largest tree. This Church was nothing but Catholic until 1054.

The word “Catholic” has been used from that time forward. I can’t understand why it would bother you if the Church founded by Christ was Catholic, or not?
So if Christ already forgave me why do I have to do an act to lessen the punishment?
It is not about punishment, but healing and restitution. If your son is playing ball in the yard and breaks the neighbors window, you can go with your son and apologize. The neighbor forgives the offense, but there is still a broken window to repair.

We see this principle in scripture in the case of the thieves on the cross next to Jesus.
if there is no punishment there is no need for an “indulgence” to lessen a punishment the Christ is not even dolling out.
There are consequences of our sins. We have an obligation to address the consequences to ourselves and others. It is called making reparation.
o when Christ says all your sins are forgiven do you not believe Him?
He says this through the priest every week in confession! Of course I do.
No condemnation means no punishment so why do you need indulgences?
No condemnation means that the eternal consequences of our sin are paid through His death on the cross. What remains is to repair the damage to ourselves and others. It would be an error to think that this is done in any other way than by grace, through faith. We cannot earn our way to heaven, medwigel.
 
No condemnation means that the eternal consequences of our sin are paid through His death on the cross. What remains is to repair the damage to ourselves and others. It would be an error to think that this is done in any other way than by grace, through faith. We cannot earn our way to heaven, medwigel.
No, Paul was not talking about eternal consequences, he was talking about man’s condition right here on earth and he is comparing condemnation that is brought on when we sin against the law vs the righteousness we have in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

See how Paul points out sin, with deals with the hear and now and death which deals with the eternal.
 
if there is no punishment there is no need for an “indulgence” to lessen a punishment the Christ is not even dolling out.
God does not charge us for our sins because they have already been forgiven, even before we committed them. So if God has already forgiven our sins through Christ Jesus then there is nothing to make amends for with God.
We may have to deal with earthly consequences of our sin, but that has nothing to do with God, that’s just by virtue of the law of the land that you broke.
So if you are going to made reparations you make it to the person you offended not to the church.
 
So if Christ already forgave me why do I have to do an act to lessen the punishment?
Again, your example is presupposing that there was first an offense that was committed, but Christ said there is no offense to begin with, i.e. no condemnation, so if there is no offense then there is no need for restitution.
 
What, you can’t find the word “Catholic” 🤔 interesting…
I can’t find the word Trinity, either, but that does mean the Apostles did not believe in it. I don’t find hypostatic union, or the word monotheletism, but those words not being contained in the NT do not exclude them from being doctrines of the faith.

I do find the word Catholic, it is in Acts 9:41

Acts 9:31
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samar′ia had peace and was built up…

in the Greek it is…

31 [Ἡ μὲν οὖν ἐκκλησία καθ’ ὅλης τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ Γαλιλαίας

ecclesia kath holos = catholic church = the church throughout all

This description by Luke used in Acts became a proper noun for the Church founded by Christ.
No, Paul was not talking about eternal consequences, he was talking about man’s condition right here on earth and he is comparing condemnation that is brought on when we sin against the law vs the righteousness we have in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

It is always prudent, especially when reading Scripture, to be mindful of “therefore”. It is important to look and see what it is there for. Rom. 8:1 is a statement based upon the foundation of the second half of Rom. 7, which is a detailed description of the struggle Christians have daily with the Spirit and the flesh.

When we walk by the Spirit, we do not sin. And if we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father.

Reparation is not about “condemnation”. Jesus has freed us from sin, and therefore, we can participate in healing our own wounds as well as those that have been caused by our sins.

Indulgences are about the temporal consequences for sin, or as you put it “man’s condition right here on earth”. This is demonstrated in the suffering of the thief on the cross at the crucifixion.
 
God does not charge us for our sins because they have already been forgiven, even before we committed them.
Right. But there are still consequences of the sins. The eternal debt has been paid, but often there remains a temporal debt. For example, if a teen gets pregnant outside of marriage, God will forgive her for the sin of fornication (if she asks), but she may still have the pregnancy. She may have to become a young mother, marry someone she does not want to marry, or be a single mother, or give up the baby. All of these outcomes may be painful and difficult for her.
So if you are going to made reparations you make it to the person you offended not to the church.
Both things are true. The Church is also wounded when her members commit sins. And sometimes, the person who was harmed is not available for reparation.
We may have to deal with earthly consequences of our sin, but that has nothing to do with God, that’s just by virtue of the law of the land that you broke.
It is surprising that you would say this. God created the earth, and everything in it. He created humans, and He revealed His will for us. He is the one who designed the consequences that we suffer as a result of our choices, from the Garden of Eden until the present day. The “law of the land” is His law, natural law.
Again, your example is presupposing that there was first an offense that was committed, but Christ said there is no offense to begin with, i.e. no condemnation, so if there is no offense then there is no need for restitution.
I doubt if someone breaks a window in your house, even if it is an accident, you would not be offended. Someone recently broke into my car by breaking a window, and I can assure you I was quite offended by the offense.

If sin were not an offense, and condemnation were not the result (the wages of sin are death) then Jesus would not have had to pay the price for those sins. Those who are in Christ are no longer condemned - we have been freed from the penalty of eternal death. But temporal consequences remain.

King David paid these temporal consequences by the death of his firstborn with Bathsheba. God forgave his sin of murder and adultery, but the temporal consequence was very severe.
 
It is surprising that you would say this. God created the earth, and everything in it. He created humans, and He revealed His will for us. He is the one who designed the consequences that we suffer as a result of our choices, from the Garden of Eden until the present day. The “law of the land” is His law, natural law.
God did not create the Constitution of the United States, He did not create Apartheid, God did not create the law that allowed humans to be stolen, bought and sold as chattel, yet these were all laws of the land at the time.

Matthew 22:21 And He said to them, “Render[a] therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.
 
But temporal consequences remain.
What consequences? There are no consequences with God, you must go to whoever you offended to make amends.
Please, please, please, show me in the Bible where it says in the NT that there are these “temporal consequences” with God for our sins (which were already forgiven before we even committed them)
 
Last edited:
King David paid these temporal consequences by the death of his firstborn with Bathsheba. God forgave his sin of murder and adultery, but the temporal consequence was very severe.
King David was living under the law, not under grace, so under the law if you broke it you would face a consequence sanctioned by God. But we live under grace and not the law so therefore God no longer holds our sins against us and therefore no consequences from God
For example, if a teen gets pregnant outside of marriage, God will forgive her for the sin of fornication (if she asks), but she may still have the pregnancy. She may have to become a young mother, marry someone she does not want to marry, or be a single mother, or give up the baby. All of these outcomes may be painful and difficult for her.
Those are all natural consequences of her actions, they don’t come from God.
 
Last edited:
I doubt if someone breaks a window in your house, even if it is an accident, you would not be offended. Someone recently broke into my car by breaking a window, and I can assure you I was quite offended by the offense.
I am not God, so yes I part of me would be offended (my challenge would be how I then responded to the person), but God would no be offended because He decided to forgive us even before the offense was committed.
 
No, Paul was not talking about eternal consequences, he was talking about man’s condition right here on earth and he is comparing condemnation that is brought on when we sin against the law vs the righteousness we have in Christ Jesus.
By what authority do you claim the meaning of scripture?
Does this not contradict your claim to sola scriptura?

Seems to me you want to claim no authority but the written word, but only when you are comfortable with what it says.
Every other time you want to claim other authority.
 
I am not God, so yes I part of me would be offended (my challenge would be how I then responded to the person), but God would no be offended because He decided to forgive us even before the offense was committed.
This coming from someone that a few hours earlier was trotting out sins of the popes.

I am left wondering what exactly is a sin now.
 
This coming from someone that a few hours earlier was trotting out sins of the popes.

I am left wondering what exactly is a sin now.
Don’t get snippy at me because the people you revere as the head of the church were found to the corrupt and were horrible leaders.

And if you choose to look at some of my earlier post I have always maintained that ALL men/women sin. I have never claimed to be sinless, Jesus just doesn’t hold my sins against me. My forgiveness is complete through Christ and Jesus doesn’t need a man to “facilitate” my forgiveness.

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 5:18-21 18 Therefore, as through [h]one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
Last edited:
By what authority do you claim the meaning of scripture?
Does this not contradict your claim to sola scriptura?

Seems to me you want to claim no authority but the written word, but only when you are comfortable with what it says.
Every other time you want to claim other authority.
Sooo, what other authority do you see me claiming?
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top