Martin Luther vs the Catholic Church doctrine

It has been said that the Protestant Reformation was the greatest movement of God in church history since her birth on Pentecost. The Reformation was the time when God, in effect, said, “Enough,” and rescued the word of God and the church of God out from the darkness.

With the commemoration date of the Reformation on October 31, 1517, the 501st anniversary is upon us. It was the day when that little-known monk, Martin Luther, nailed a document written in Latin to the doors of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. In doing so, Luther was not intending to start the Reformation, but, to simply dispute the nature of Rome’s teaching on indulgences.

So, what are indulgences? Where did they come from? Why was Luther fired up about them? And what is the implication of this teaching on salvation?

Indulgences are like a withdrawal from a heavenly bank account through certain works in order to, in effect, pay down debt so as to move one closer to right standing with God.

What was the situation surrounding indulgences in Luther’s day? In brief, Pope Leo X granted a plenary indulgence in 1515 intended to finance the construction for the building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Indulgences were subsequently extracted to fund the project. Rome preached indulgences near and far.

Thus, Luther responded with his 95 Theses. He rightly wrote, for example: “Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers” (Thesis #32).

Where did the doctrine of indulgences come from? In part, it came from the doctrine of purgatory. The word “purgatory” comes from the Latin word, “purgare,” which has the idea of, “make clean”, “purify,” or “purge”. The doctrine refers to the purging of remaining guilt and unrighteousness.

Purgatory is not hell, but the place of conditioning and preparation for heaven. There is speculation as to nature and time required in purgatory. It could be thousands upon thousands of years or more.

In 1589, Saint Magdalen de Pazzi was reportedly taken on a trip through purgatory. She claimed to have seen people being tortured for disobedience, lying, avarice, impurity, pride, and ingratitude to God. Saint Frances of Rome is said to have seen three separate areas of purgatory where souls had been placed in proportion to the time required to atone for their sins. Lower purgatory was supposedly filled with fire. 

Middle purgatory is said to have three chambers containing either ice, boiling oil, or molten metal. Upper purgatory reportedly contained souls that are closest to deliverance and suffer only the pain of loss. She said that souls suffered greatly but were assisted by angels to withstand their torments.

Rome’s doctrine of purgatory begins to appear somewhere around the late 13th century at the First and Second Councils of Lyon. The doctrine is mentioned at the Council of Florence (1438–1445) and is reconfirmed at the Council of Trent (1545–63). For example, the 6th Session of Trent, Canon 30 reads:

If any one saith, that, after the grace of Justification has been received, to every penitent sinner the guilt is remitted, and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out in such wise, that there remains not any debt of temporal punishment to be discharged either in this world, or in the next in Purgatory, before the entrance to the kingdom of heaven can be opened (to him); let him be anathema.

In other words, if you believe that there exists no more divine penalty for sin after justification, you are damned.

Vatican II taught similarly: “The doctrine of purgatory clearly demonstrates that even when the guilt of sin has been taken away, punishment for it or the consequences of it may remain to be expiated or cleansed.”
Further, Rome teaches that “Through indulgences, the faithful can obtain the remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin for themselves and also for the souls in Purgatory” (CCC #1498).

Since Rome governs herself through a magisterium, these doctrines hold true today. Nothing has changed.

There is a sense in which the doctrine of purgatory holds the Roman Catholic system together. Because it is a system of works-based salvation, one must have a means of earning righteousness and inching along in the long, impossible road to heaven. Consequently, purgatory and indulgences serve as Rome’s salvific linchpins.

So, how do the dead get additional righteousness while in purgatory? Rome has what is called a “treasury of merit.” It is basically a massive spiritual bank account. From this account, one may withdraw merit in order to accumulate righteousness so as to get closer, perhaps, to the amount needed for right standing with God.

That bank account is said to be supplied by Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the dead saints. Rome teaches, for example, that Mary had far more righteousness than she needed to get to heaven. Therefore, along with the aforementioned, her surplus goes into the treasury. The faithful can then make withdrawals through their good works and other means. In doing so, they are thought to move closer to heaven.

How are the personal withdrawals determined? Rome’s leaders control this treasury of merit from which indulgences can be accessed. Insightful individuals have asked over the years, “If you are Rome’s leaders, why not just open up the treasury for anyone to have as much as possible so as to completely bypass purgatory?” It’s a question that cannot be satisfactorily answered.

So, how does one continue to merit righteousness while in purgatory?

Because of the communion of saints, the faithful who are still pilgrims on earth are able to help the souls in purgatory by offering prayers in suffrage for them, especially the Eucharistic sacrifice. They also help them by almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance (Catholic Compendium, #211).

In other words, those in purgatory can get help from those on earth. Regarding the Mass, the Council of Trent teaches, “That the Sacrifice of the Mass is propitiatory both for the living and the dead,” and goes on to say:

Wherefore, not only for the sins, punishments, satisfaction, and other necessities of the faithful who are living, but also for those who are departed in Christ, and who are not as yet fully purified.

However, Rome’s doctrine of indulgences contradicts Scripture. For example:
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

Justification renders the sinner in a state of peace with God, which means that there remains no divine punishment for our sin, and thus no need for indulgences or purgatory. By faith in Christ, the sinner rests in permanent divine peace with God.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).

As this verse teaches, those in Christ have no remaining punishment in this world or Purgatory because they stand in a permanent state of “no condemnation.” Thus, Rome’s teaching on indulgences cannot be supported biblically.

More could be said about indulgences and Luther’s protest.

Luther was right. This is a teaching that must be adamantly protested. Rome’s teaching on purgatory and indulgences render it a system whose gospel cannot save (Gal. 1:6-7). Not one soul will end up in right standing with holy God should they travel Rome’s road of indulgences and purgatory. Sadly, there can be no assurance of salvation in this system. 

Ambiguity surrounding sufficient accumulated righteousness, or purged unrighteousness, renders Rome a system which can supply no real assurance of right standing with a holy God. However, by faith alone in the Jesus of the Bible alone, there is extraordinary news: the most wretched violator of God’s holy law can be instantly and permanently declared righteous before God. Justification is by faith alone in Christ alone (Rom. 3:28). 

On the cross, Jesus served the full penalty for our sin (1 Pet. 2:24). He was condemned to death for our sin so that our sin could no longer condemn us (Col. 2:13-14). When Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30), he meant it. There is no more condemnation for those who put faith in him. It’s the greatest message you will ever hear. Jesus received the full penalty for our sins, and by faith, we receive his righteous (2 Cor. 5:21). It’s a really, really good deal. This Reformation Day, may all rest in the Person and finished work of Christ alone for justification before God. Author: Cripplegate