Catholic Doctrine In Scripture
Volume II
Contents
Life After Death|Intercessory Prayer|Indulgences|Purgatory|Forgiveness/Everlasting Life|Infant Baptism|Sacrament of Reconciliation| Eucharist|The Mass
LIFE AFTER DEATH
Heb. 12: 1 -- "...since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..." Refers to the souls of the Old Testament exemplars of faith.
Phil. 1: 23 -- "I long to depart this life and be with Christ."
Lk. 20: 38 -- "'...he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.'"
Is. 14: 9-10 -- "The nether world below is all astir preparing for your coming; it awakens the shades to greet you, all the leaders of the earth; it has the kings of all nations rise from their thrones. All of them speak out and say to you, 'You too
have become weak like us, you are the same as we. '"
Wis. 1: 16 - 2: 3 -- The wicked deny eternal life for evildoers, but affirm it for the just. Scripture says they re wrong: "...they who said among themselves, thinking not aright... our body will be ashes and our spirit will be poured abroad like unresisting air..."
Eph. 3: 15 -- "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named..."
Ezek. 32: 20 -- "Then from the midst of the nether world, the mighty warriors shall speak to Egypt: 'Whom do you excel in beauty? Come down, you and your allies, lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.'"
Rev. 14: 11-12 -- Hell is eternal: "The smoke of the fire that torments them will rise forever and ever, and there will be no relief day or night for those who worship the beast or its image or accept the mark of its name."
Mt. 25: 46 -- Hell is eternal: "And these will go off to eternal punishment..."
Mt. 22: 32 -- " 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead but of the living." Refers to:
Ex. 3: 6 -- "'I am... the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.'"
Lk. 16: 19-31 -- The story of Lazarus the beggar.
Lk. 9: 30-31 -- The appearance of Moses and Elijah during the Transfiguration.
They were not asleep or dead.
Mk. 9: 4 -- The appearance of Moses and Elijah.
Mt. 25: 41 -- "'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...'"
Mk. 9: 48 -- "...where their worm does not die..." Damnation is eternal; refers to:
Is. 66: 24 -- "They shall go out and see the corpses of the men who rebelled against me; their worm shall not die..."
Rev. 5: 8 -- "Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones." Those who have died in faith present the petitions of the living before the throne of God.
Dt. 18: 11 -- "Let there not be found among you anyone who... consults ghosts and spirits or seeks oracles from the dead."
Eccles. 12: 7 -- "...and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it."
1 Sam. 28: 12-19 -- The departed spirit of Samuel appears to Saul and speaks.
Heb. 12: 23 -- "You have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just
made perfect, and Jesus the mediator of a new covenant..."
2 Mac. 12: 42-46 -- "...he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin."
2 Mac. 15: 12-15 -- Vision of the dead: Onias and Jeremiah.
Heb. 9: 27 -- "Human beings die once, and after this the judgment."
Sir. 14: 16 -- "Give, take and treat yourself well, for in the nether world there are no joys to seek."
Rev. 21: 7-8 -- "But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved... their lot is in the burning pool of fire..."
1 John 3: 2 -- "we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed." End times are obscure.
Jer. 15: 1 -- "...even if Moses and Samuel stood before me..."
INTERCESSORY PRAYER
Intercessory prayer is an ancient tradition among the faithful. The examples of it in scripture are numerous.
1 Tim. 2: 1-3 -- "I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be offered for everyone..." We are urged by St. Paul to pray for one another.
2 Tim. 1: 16-18 -- "May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord..." Here Paul is himself offering an intercessory prayer for Onesiphorus, who had died.
James 5: 15-16 -- "...pray for one another, that you may be healed." James is directing us to offer intercessory prayer for one another.
1 John 5: 16 -- "If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life." Again, the apostle is urging us to pray for our brethren.
Heb. 5: 1 -- The earliest Christian community included priests set aside to offer prayers and sacrifices on behalf of the community: "Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins."
Expiation is explicitly referenced.
James 5: 13-16 -- We are instructed to summon a priest to pray for us; we are told his prayer will be more powerful than ours: "Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up... The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful." James is referring to the Sacrament of Healing.
Rev. 5: 8 -- "Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones." Those who have gone before us in faith are clearly shown to intercede on our behalf, as they present our prayers before the throne of the living God.
Rev. 8: 3-4 -- "...incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones..."
2 Cor. 1: 11 -- "...so that thanks may be given by many on our behalf for the gift granted us through the prayers of many." The power of prayer is somehow tied to the community.
Mt. 21: 22 -- "Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith you will receive."
Acts 12: 5 -- "...prayer by the church was fervently being made..." for Peter when he was in prison. This is another clear example of intercessory prayer, one in which the entire community of the faithful prays for Peter's safety.
2 Mac. 3: 31 -- "Soon some of the companions of Heliodorus begged Onias to invoke the Most High, praying that the life of the man who was about to expire might be spared."
2 Mac. 12: 42-46 -- "Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin." Clearly, intercessory prayers for the dead pre-dated Jesus' own time.
Num. 12 -- Miriam rebels: "Is it through Moses alone that the Lord speaks? Does he not speak through us also?" Moses prays her punishment of leprosy be removed, and God answers Moses' prayer.
Gen. 48: 16 -- Jacob prays for his grandsons: "May God in whose ways my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked... bless these boys..."
Tobit 12: 12 -- The Angel Raphael presented Tobit and Sarah's prayer to God. He was acting as an intercessor for them.
Lev. 5: 5-6 -- "...whoever is guilty in any of these cases shall confess the sin he has incurred, and as his sin offering for the sin he has committed he shall bring to the Lord a female animal from the flock, a ewe lamb or a she-goat. The priest shall then make atonement for the sin." Intercessory prayer for atonement has been part of our spiritual tradition since the beginning.
Rom. 15: 30 -- "...join me in the struggle by your prayers..." St. Paul is actually asking his readers to join their prayers to his struggle. This is a beautiful way to look at intercessory prayer.
Zech. 1: 12-13 -- An angel prays for Jerusalem: "Then the angel of the Lord spoke out and said, 'O Lord of hosts, how long will you be without mercy for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that have felt your anger these seventy years?'" The angel is thus seeking to intercede on Jerusalem's behalf.
Mt. 5: 44 -- "'...pray for those who persecute you.'"
Rom. 10: 1 -- "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God on their behalf is for salvation."
Jude 23 -- "...save others by snatching them out of the fire..."
James 4: 3 -- Our sins reduce the effectiveness of our prayers: "You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."
1 Peter 3: 7 -- When we commit sin, God is less likely to answer our prayers:
"Likewise, you husbands should live with your wives in understanding, showing honor to the weaker female sex, since we are joint heirs of the gift of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."
Gen. 4: 4-5 -- God does not view all prayers equally: "The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not."
Mt. 5: 23-24 -- Sin affects the acceptability of our sacrifice -- our prayer -- before the Lord: "'Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar; go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.'"
Ps. 45: 13 -- In this psalm, which is a prophetic passage referring to Mary as a princess who stands at the right hand of the Messiah, we find these words:
"Then the richest of the people will seek your favor with gifts." This is a clear reference to the faithful who seek Mary's intercession.
The earliest believers likewise prayed for the dead. In 213 A.D., Tertullian writes:
"A woman, after the death of her husband, is bound not less firmly but even more so, not to marry another husband... Indeed she prays for his soul and asks that he may, while waiting, find rest; and that he may share in the first resurrection. And each year, on the anniversary of his death, she offers the sacrifice" ('The Faith of the Early Church Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 158).
INDULGENCES
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we find: "From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above
all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.[Cf. Council of Lyons II (1274): DS 856.]" The Catechism also contains this
passage: "The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them. [St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in 1 Cor. 41, 5: PG 61,
361; cf. Job 1:5]."
2 Sam. 12-14 -- Even after David's sin is forgiven, he must undergo punishment; his child still dies.
Num. 12 -- When Miriam rebels -- "Is it through Moses alone that the Lord speaks? Does he not speak through us also?" -- Moses prays her punishment of leprosy be removed, and God answers Moses' prayer. Her punishment is remitted in answer to
his prayer.
Jude 23 -- "...save others by snatching them out of the fire..." How are we to do this other than by prayer for the dead? This is the very definition of indulgences.
Mt. 16: 19 -- "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
1 Cor. 5: 5; 2 Cor. 2: 6-8 -- Paul remits punishment of the incestuous man. Dan. 4: 24 -- Atonement is necessary:
"...atone for your sins by good deeds, and for your misdeeds with kindness to the poor..." Almsgiving has always been associated with the forgiveness of sins.
Sir. 16: 11 -- "For mercy and anger alike are with him who remits and forgives..."
2 Mac. 12: 42-46 -- "The noble Judas... took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing so he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view...Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin." Praying for the remission of the
sins of the dead is hardly a medieval innovation. It is a very ancient practice, one that predates Christ himself by hundreds of years.
PURGATORY
People think of purgatory as a place. But that is not necessarily the case. It is a state of being perfected -- a great gift for the great majority of us who will not
reach perfection in our earthly existences. For, unless we are made perfect, scripture tells us we cannot enter heaven:
Rev. 21: 27 -- "...nothing unclean will enter (heaven)..."
1 Cor. 3: 15 -- "...the person will be saved, but only as through fire."
2 Sam. 12-14 -- Even after David's sin is forgiven, he needs to undergo punishment; his child still dies.
Dan. 4: 24 -- Atonement is necessary: "...atone for your sins by good deeds, and for your misdeeds with kindness to the poor..." Almsgiving has always been associated with the forgiveness of sins.
Heb. 12: 22-23 -- "No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect..." It's hard to imagine a better three-word summary of the concept of purgatory than that: "spirits made perfect."
Col. 1: 24 -- "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ..." Paul's suffering also expiates.
Mt. 5: 18-30 -- Mortal, venial, purgatory, hell: "Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
Rev. 7: 13-14 -- "'These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they stand before God's throne and worship him day and night in his
temple.'" The souls who have survived the time of great distress -- the trial on earth -- wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and -- as a result -- are able to enter heaven.
The cause-and-effect is quite clear. 'They have ashed..." and "for this reason, they stand before God's throne." The doctrine of purgatory is quite evident here.
1 John 5: 16-17 -- "If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly." Where do those who die go whose sin is not deadly? Not to
heaven, since nothing unclean can enter there (Rev. 21: 27). And certainly not to hell, since John tells us the sin is not deadly.
Mk. 9: 49 -- Jesus describes purgatory: "'Everyone will be salted with fire.'"
1 Pet. 3: 19 -- "...he also went to preach to the spirits in prison..."
Eph. 4: 8-10 -- "...he also descended into the lower regions..."
Mt. 12: 32 -- "...'whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come.'" Clearly implies that expiation can occur after death.
2 Mac. 12: 42-46 -- "The noble Judas... took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing so he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view...Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin." Judas could not have been praying for the dead if they were in hell, since prayer would not have benefited them in the least. And if they were in heaven, prayer would have hardly been necessary.
The belief in purgatory is not, as some claim, a medieval "innovation." Quite the contrary. This doctrine actually dates back farther in Church history than both the
doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the canon of the New Testament.
In approx. 210 A.D., we find Tertullian stating: "...if we understand that prison of which the Gospel
speaks to be Hades, and if we interpret the last farthing (Mt. 5:25-26) to be the light offense which is to be expiated there before the resurrection, no one will doubt that the soul undergoes some punishments in Hades, without prejudice to the
fullness of the resurrection, after which recompense will be made through the flesh also" ('The Faith of the Early Fathers', Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 145).
FORGIVENESS/EVERLASTING LIFE
Is. 43: 25 -- "It is I, I who wipe out... your offenses; your sins I remember no more."
John 1: 29 -- "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world..."
John 3: 5 -- "...no one can enter the kingdom... without being born of water and the Spirit..." Faith not enough; Baptism required.
Titus 3:5 -- ". . . saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit . . . "
Eph. 4: 23 - - ". . . put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth . . ."
I Cor. 6: 11 -- ". . . now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ . . ."
INFANT BAPTISM
As we see in Col. 2: 11-12, below, circumcision was a "type" -- an Old Testament precursor -- of Baptism. In Jewish law, infants were circumcised at eight days. It is
impossible to conceive that the New Testament fulfillment would ever be less effective, or more restrictive in its application, than the Old Testament type.
Gen. 17: 12 -- "Throughout the ages, every male among you, when he is eight days old, shall be circumcised..." Consent does not alter the fact that all belong to God. The child is a privileged member of God's holy nation. The idea that an
individual might opt out of such a remarkable blessing could not have even occurred to the Israelites.
Ex. 13: 13-14 -- "Every first-born son you must redeem. If your son should ask you later on, 'What does this mean?' you should tell him..." The fact that the child is not cognizant does not eliminate the dedication of the first-born. God's
claim on the first-born is absolute -- regardless of whether they realize it or not.
Is God's claim on the rest of us, after Jesus' redemptive sacrifice, less strong or less valid today? On the contrary, it is stronger.
Acts 2: 38-39 -- "Peter [said] to them, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the
gift of the holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord God will call.'" The promise of baptism does not exclude children; indeed, here Peter expressly extends it to them.
Col. 2: 11-12 -- "In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping of the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ."
Acts 16: 15 -- "After she and her household had been baptized..." There is no mention of any exceptions.
Acts 16: 33 -- "He and all his family were baptized..." Again, no exceptions stated here.
Lk. 18: 15-17 -- "People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked him. Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
Jesus is telling us that infants are the precise type of people who can receive the kingdom of God. When we bar infants from Baptism, we are denying Jesus' own words.
2 Thes. 3: 10 -- "...when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." If we strictly apply Peter's order to repent before Baptism (in Acts 2: 38) to infants, we ought to interpret this command of
Paul's likewise. Of course doing so would mean babies would starve to death, since they are incapable of work.
Lk. 1: 15 -- "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." If we cannot receive the Holy Spirit without repentance -- as
Fundamentalists claim -- then infants must be able to repent even in utero. Which means infant baptism ought to be permitted.
Mt. 21: 15-16 -- "When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wondrous things he was doing, and the children crying out in the temple area, 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' they were indignant and said to him, 'Do you hear what they are saying?'
Jesus said to them, 'Yes; and have you never read the text, 'Out of the mouths of infants and nurslings you have brought forth praise'?'"
The Church has baptized infants from its earliest days. We have the testimony of a number of the early Christian leaders on this point, including Origen, who wrote in the year 244 A.D.: "The Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving
Baptism even to infants." ('The Faith of the Early Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 209.)
If, as some Protestants claim, baptizing infants is "unbiblical," then so is NOT baptizing infants. For nowhere in scriptures will you find a passage forbidding the
Baptism of infants.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
Mt. 18: 18 -- "'Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'"
Mt. 16: 19 -- "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
John 20: 23 -- "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
2 Cor. 5: 18 -- Sacrament of reconciliation dates to Jesus' time: "And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation."
2 Cor. 2: 10 "Whomever you forgive anything, so do I. For indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for you in the presence of Christ..."
Acts 19: 18 -- "Many of those who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former practices."
James 5: 15-16 -- "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed."
1 John 1: 9 -- "If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful... and will forgive our sins..."
Mk. 2: 7 -- Scribes object to Jesus forgiving sins: "'Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?'"
Mt. 9: 2-8 -- "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.' At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, 'This man is blaspheming.'"
Lev. 5: 5-6 -- "...whoever is guilty in any of these cases shall confess the sin he has incurred, and as his sin offering for the sin he has committed he shall bring to the Lord a female animal from the flock, a ewe lamb or a she-goat.
The priest shall then make atonement for the sin."
Confession, sacrifice and atonement have been part of our tradition since the beginning.>br>
The Sacrament of Reconciliation was practiced by the ancient Christians. We find a marvelous explanation, both sacramental and psychological, in one of Origen's homilies, dating back to about 245 A.D., 150 years before the canon of the New
Testament was established: "There is something wonderful hidden in this, whereby confession of sins is commanded. For they are to be confessed, whatever kind they be; and all that we do must be brought forward in public. Whatever we have done in secret, whatever sin we have committed by word alone or even in our
secret thoughts -- all must be made public, all must be brought forward. It will indeed be brought forward by him who is both the accuser of sin and the instigator thereof. For that one who now incites us to sin is the very one who will accuse us
when we have sinned. If, therefore, we anticipate him in life, and become the accusers of ourselves, we escape the malice of the devil, our enemy and accuser...
You see, then, that confession of sin merits the remission of sin" ('The Faith of the Early Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 207-208).
MORTAL/VENIAL SIN
1 John 5: 17 -- "...there is sin that is not deadly."
THE MASS
Acts 2: 42 -- "They devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers."
Mk. 14: 22 -- "...he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it..." The first Mass.
Mt. 26: 26 -- "Take and eat; this is my body." Eucharist instituted in the first Mass.
Lk. 22: 14-20 -- "...do this in memory of me." Eucharist instituted in the first Mass.
1 Cor. 5: 7-8 -- "For our paschal lamb, Christ has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast..." Paul is referring to the Mass, the new Passover, where the people of God, united with the perfect sacrifice of Jesus through his Body and Blood in the Eucharist, pass over from sin and death into the new life of salvation.
Mal. 1: 11 -- "...my name is great among the nations; and everywhere they bring sacrifice to my name, and a pure offering..." This passage is a prophecy of the Mass being said among Gentiles.
Zech. 14: 21 -- "And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts; and all who come to sacrifice shall take them and cook in them."
This
extended eschatological passage in Zechariah, beginning with 14: 1, describes "the day of the Lord." It may be interpreted variously as either the end times, or the time after the arrival of the Messiah. Either way, the ongoing sacrifice by the faithful ones is clear in the verse quoted above. Thus, the once-for-all sacrifice did not cease on the
first Good Friday, but continues. Also note the interesting association between the
Mal. 1: 11 -- "For from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, my name is great among the nations; And everywhere they bring sacrifice to my name, and a pure offering." Again, the sacrifice by the faithful, through the eternal priesthood of Jesus, is ongoing.
Heb. 13: 8 -- "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." So his sacrifice can be presented for all ages in the Mass.
In his 'Catechetical Lectures,' which date from around 350 A.D., St. Cyril of Jerusalem gives a marvelous description of the Mass as it existed at that time, as well as an
account of the sacraments that are received by those newly accepted into the Church.
Many of the prayers and responses are very similar to those which exist today, and of course the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is described in great detail:
"Let us,
then, with full confidence, partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. For in the figure of bread His Body is given to you, and in the figure of wine His Blood is given to you,
so that by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, you might become united in body
and blood with Him. For thus do we become Christ-bearers, His Body and Blood being distributed through our members. And thus it is that we become, according to the blessed Peter, sharers of the divine nature." ('The Faith of the Early Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, pp. 360-361.)
SUNDAY WORSHIP
God ordained a seven-day cycle for our lives -- six days of work, followed by a day of rest. But nowhere in scripture is that cycle tied to any calendar system.
Is. 1: 13 -- The letter of the old law gives way to the law of Jesus, which is written on our hearts: "New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies, octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear."
Rev. 1: 10 -- John refers to Sunday as the Lord's day: "I was caught up in spirit on the Lord's day..."
Acts 20: 7 -- Sunday Eucharist: "On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread..."
1 Cor. 16: 1-2 -- "On the first day of the week each of you should set aside and save whatever he can afford..." Paul was collecting money for construction of a church in Jerusalem.
Naturally, he requested that collections be taken up during
the Eucharistic celebration which took place on 'the first day of the week.'
Gal. 4: 9 -- Paul exhorts the faithful to leave the Jewish observances behind: "You are observing days, months, seasons and years. I am afraid on your account that perhaps I have labored for you in vain."
Mt. 12: 1-12 -- Pharisees object to the disciples breaking the sabbath. Jesus corrects them: "I say to you, something greater than the temple is here... the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." The Lord is linking the Jewish sabbath observance with the Jewish temple.
Lev. 23: 7; 23: 16 -- The actually Israelites celebrated the sabbath on 'Sunday,' or "the eighth day", twice during the year.
Lk. 6: 1-11 -- Pharisees protest that Jesus' followers desecrate the sabbath; Jesus corrects them: "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath."
Lk. 13: 10-17 -- "Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox..."
Heb. 5: 1 -- "Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins."
John 5: 9-18 -- "...the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath. But Jesus answered them, 'My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.' For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him..."
Jesus earned the enmity of Jewish authorities by redefining traditional sabbath laws.
Ezek. 20: 10-12 -- The Lord gave the sabbath to the people in the desert after their exodus from Egypt, not immediately after creation week: "Therefore I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the desert... I also gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, to show that it was I, the Lord, who made them holy."
Ex. 16: 1-30 -- The sabbath was instituted, not in reference to any specific day of the calendar, but in reference to a seemingly random day upon which the Israelites were grumbling against Moses and Aaron. "The Lord has given you the sabbath.
That is why on the sixth day he gives you food for two days. On the seventh day everyone is to stay home and no one is to go out." This is the inception of the sabbath; no mention is made of the calendar, only of the cycle of six days followed by a sabbath day of rest. The Jewish people linked the sabbath to the calendar, presumably out of convenience. There is no biblical injunction that commands us to do so.
Ex. 35: 1-3 -- When Moses gives the people the sabbath commandment, there is again no mention of any calendar system -- only a cycle of six days' work, followed by one day rest: "Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, 'This is what the Lord has commanded to be done. On six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be sacred to you as the sabbath of complete rest to the Lord.'"
Ex. 12: 1-2 -- The denominations that require Saturday sabbathing -- despite the fact that there is no explicit command in scripture to do so -- at the same time fail
to follow the following commandment which is explicitly tied to the calendar:
"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year.'"
This passage is referring to the month in which Passover falls, which of course is in the spring. Nonetheless, those denominations begin their annual count of months with January -- not March or April -- and so defy the Lord's specific command about the calendar.
Mt. 20: 19 -- "...and he will be raised on the third day." If we are to interpret the Old Testament's command regarding sabbathing on "the seventh day" as being definitively tied to the calendar week, then must we not conclude that Jesus was
here prophesying that his Resurrection would take place on "the third day" -- or Tuesday? One interpretation is no more farfetched than the other.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, around the year 110 A.D., testifies to the fact that the early Christians no longer gathered with the Jewish community on Saturday, but instead celebrated the Resurrection by worshiping on Sunday: "If, then, those who walked in ancient customs came to a new hope, no longer sabbathing but living by the Lord's Day, on which we came to life through Him and through His death..." ('The
Faith of the Early Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 19.)
If Sunday worship is the sign of apostasy, as some denominations claim, then how is it that the entire community
fell into sin almost instantly, contrary to Jesus' promise that the gates of the netherworld would not prevail against his Church (Mt. 16: 18), and how is it that the Holy Spirit worked through apostates to reveal to them precisely which books
ought to be included in the canon of scripture and which should not?
EUCHARIST
Jesus is clearer and more explicit concerning his real and living Presence in the Eucharist than he is on any other teaching:
John 6: 22-69 -- "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." When those listening questioned this 'hard teaching' and turned away, he did not call them back or correct any misunderstanding they might have had. For there was none. Instead, he insisted
that he meant what he said, even if it might mean losing even his beloved apostles:
"Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, 'Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?... The words I have spoken are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe...' Jesus then said to the Twelve, 'Do you also want to leave?' Simon Peter answered him, 'Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.'" Like Peter, we too are called to believe, even when we do not understand.
The question of symbolism vs. Real Presence is dealt with summarily in Jesus' words, "...my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." True, not just symbolic.
1 Cor. 11: 26-30 -- "...whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord." Here Paul reinforces the teaching of the Real Presence; for if the bread and wine were only symbolic, how
could defiling it make one answerable for the body and blood of the Lord?
Gen. 14: 18 -- "Melchizedek.. brought out bread and wine..."
Belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist dates back to apostolic times. It is evidenced in the writings of the earliest Church fathers -- among them, St. Ignatius
of Antioch, who, writing in 110 A.D., states: "Take care, then, to use one Eucharist, so that whatever you do, you do according to God: for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus, and one cup in the union of His Blood... ('The Faith of the Early Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 22.)
THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM
According to Protestant theology, faith is all that is required for salvation. Thus, although many denominations baptize -- most using the Trinitarian formula prescribed in Mt. 28: 19 (see below) -- they do not acknowledge the clear biblical teaching that Baptism is required for salvation. If they did they would be violating their most basic doctrine, sola fide, or 'faith alone'.
Mt. 28: 19 -- "'Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit...'" Jesus' directive is clear. What evidence is there he is dealing in non-essentials?
John 3: 5 -- "'Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can entger the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.'"
Denying the Lord's reference to water refers to Baptism is to violate the text. Baptism is the only possible reference.
1 Peter 3: 18-21 -- "...Christ also suffered for since once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now." Baptism's salvific action is revealed in the last five words.
Acts 2: 38 -- "Peter [said] to them, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.'" Again, is Peter dealing in non-essentials here? If so, we must conclude forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit are likewise optional.
Acts 22: 16 -- "'Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name." The prominent Christian Ananias is telling the Pharisee Paul how to respond to God's call. Obviously he is not merely listing options, but giving a clear directive.
Return to main index>
LIFE AFTER DEATH
Heb. 12: 1 -- "...since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..." Refers to the souls of the Old Testament exemplars of faith.
Phil. 1: 23 -- "I long to depart this life and be with Christ."
Lk. 20: 38 -- "'...he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.'"
Is. 14: 9-10 -- "The nether world below is all astir preparing for your coming; it awakens the shades to greet you, all the leaders of the earth; it has the kings of all nations rise from their thrones. All of them speak out and say to you, 'You too
have become weak like us, you are the same as we. '"
Wis. 1: 16 - 2: 3 -- The wicked deny eternal life for evildoers, but affirm it for the just. Scripture says they re wrong: "...they who said among themselves, thinking not aright... our body will be ashes and our spirit will be poured abroad like unresisting air..."
Eph. 3: 15 -- "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named..."
Ezek. 32: 20 -- "Then from the midst of the nether world, the mighty warriors shall speak to Egypt: 'Whom do you excel in beauty? Come down, you and your allies, lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.'"
Rev. 14: 11-12 -- Hell is eternal: "The smoke of the fire that torments them will rise forever and ever, and there will be no relief day or night for those who worship the beast or its image or accept the mark of its name."
Mt. 25: 46 -- Hell is eternal: "And these will go off to eternal punishment..."
Mt. 22: 32 -- " 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead but of the living." Refers to:
Ex. 3: 6 -- "'I am... the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.'"
Lk. 16: 19-31 -- The story of Lazarus the beggar.
Lk. 9: 30-31 -- The appearance of Moses and Elijah during the Transfiguration.
They were not asleep or dead.
Mk. 9: 4 -- The appearance of Moses and Elijah.
Mt. 25: 41 -- "'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...'"
Mk. 9: 48 -- "...where their worm does not die..." Damnation is eternal; refers to:
Is. 66: 24 -- "They shall go out and see the corpses of the men who rebelled against me; their worm shall not die..."
Rev. 5: 8 -- "Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones." Those who have died in faith present the petitions of the living before the throne of God.
Dt. 18: 11 -- "Let there not be found among you anyone who... consults ghosts and spirits or seeks oracles from the dead."
Eccles. 12: 7 -- "...and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it."
1 Sam. 28: 12-19 -- The departed spirit of Samuel appears to Saul and speaks.
Heb. 12: 23 -- "You have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just
made perfect, and Jesus the mediator of a new covenant..."
2 Mac. 12: 42-46 -- "...he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin."
2 Mac. 15: 12-15 -- Vision of the dead: Onias and Jeremiah.
Heb. 9: 27 -- "Human beings die once, and after this the judgment."
Sir. 14: 16 -- "Give, take and treat yourself well, for in the nether world there are no joys to seek."
Rev. 21: 7-8 -- "But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved... their lot is in the burning pool of fire..."
1 John 3: 2 -- "we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed." End times are obscure.
Jer. 15: 1 -- "...even if Moses and Samuel stood before me..."
INTERCESSORY PRAYER
Intercessory prayer is an ancient tradition among the faithful. The examples of it in scripture are numerous.
1 Tim. 2: 1-3 -- "I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions and thanksgivings be offered for everyone..." We are urged by St. Paul to pray for one another.
2 Tim. 1: 16-18 -- "May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord..." Here Paul is himself offering an intercessory prayer for Onesiphorus, who had died.
James 5: 15-16 -- "...pray for one another, that you may be healed." James is directing us to offer intercessory prayer for one another.
1 John 5: 16 -- "If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life." Again, the apostle is urging us to pray for our brethren.
Heb. 5: 1 -- The earliest Christian community included priests set aside to offer prayers and sacrifices on behalf of the community: "Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins."
Expiation is explicitly referenced.
James 5: 13-16 -- We are instructed to summon a priest to pray for us; we are told his prayer will be more powerful than ours: "Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up... The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful." James is referring to the Sacrament of Healing.
Rev. 5: 8 -- "Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones." Those who have gone before us in faith are clearly shown to intercede on our behalf, as they present our prayers before the throne of the living God.
Rev. 8: 3-4 -- "...incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones..."
2 Cor. 1: 11 -- "...so that thanks may be given by many on our behalf for the gift granted us through the prayers of many." The power of prayer is somehow tied to the community.
Mt. 21: 22 -- "Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith you will receive."
Acts 12: 5 -- "...prayer by the church was fervently being made..." for Peter when he was in prison. This is another clear example of intercessory prayer, one in which the entire community of the faithful prays for Peter's safety.
2 Mac. 3: 31 -- "Soon some of the companions of Heliodorus begged Onias to invoke the Most High, praying that the life of the man who was about to expire might be spared."
2 Mac. 12: 42-46 -- "Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin." Clearly, intercessory prayers for the dead pre-dated Jesus' own time.
Num. 12 -- Miriam rebels: "Is it through Moses alone that the Lord speaks? Does he not speak through us also?" Moses prays her punishment of leprosy be removed, and God answers Moses' prayer.
Gen. 48: 16 -- Jacob prays for his grandsons: "May God in whose ways my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked... bless these boys..."
Tobit 12: 12 -- The Angel Raphael presented Tobit and Sarah's prayer to God. He was acting as an intercessor for them.
Lev. 5: 5-6 -- "...whoever is guilty in any of these cases shall confess the sin he has incurred, and as his sin offering for the sin he has committed he shall bring to the Lord a female animal from the flock, a ewe lamb or a she-goat. The priest shall then make atonement for the sin." Intercessory prayer for atonement has been part of our spiritual tradition since the beginning.
Rom. 15: 30 -- "...join me in the struggle by your prayers..." St. Paul is actually asking his readers to join their prayers to his struggle. This is a beautiful way to look at intercessory prayer.
Zech. 1: 12-13 -- An angel prays for Jerusalem: "Then the angel of the Lord spoke out and said, 'O Lord of hosts, how long will you be without mercy for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that have felt your anger these seventy years?'" The angel is thus seeking to intercede on Jerusalem's behalf.
Mt. 5: 44 -- "'...pray for those who persecute you.'"
Rom. 10: 1 -- "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God on their behalf is for salvation."
Jude 23 -- "...save others by snatching them out of the fire..."
James 4: 3 -- Our sins reduce the effectiveness of our prayers: "You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions."
1 Peter 3: 7 -- When we commit sin, God is less likely to answer our prayers:
"Likewise, you husbands should live with your wives in understanding, showing honor to the weaker female sex, since we are joint heirs of the gift of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."
Gen. 4: 4-5 -- God does not view all prayers equally: "The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not."
Mt. 5: 23-24 -- Sin affects the acceptability of our sacrifice -- our prayer -- before the Lord: "'Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar; go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.'"
Ps. 45: 13 -- In this psalm, which is a prophetic passage referring to Mary as a princess who stands at the right hand of the Messiah, we find these words:
"Then the richest of the people will seek your favor with gifts." This is a clear reference to the faithful who seek Mary's intercession.
The earliest believers likewise prayed for the dead. In 213 A.D., Tertullian writes:
"A woman, after the death of her husband, is bound not less firmly but even more so, not to marry another husband... Indeed she prays for his soul and asks that he may, while waiting, find rest; and that he may share in the first resurrection. And each year, on the anniversary of his death, she offers the sacrifice" ('The Faith of the Early Church Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 158).
INDULGENCES
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we find: "From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above
all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.[Cf. Council of Lyons II (1274): DS 856.]" The Catechism also contains this
passage: "The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them. [St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in 1 Cor. 41, 5: PG 61,
361; cf. Job 1:5]."
2 Sam. 12-14 -- Even after David's sin is forgiven, he must undergo punishment; his child still dies.
Num. 12 -- When Miriam rebels -- "Is it through Moses alone that the Lord speaks? Does he not speak through us also?" -- Moses prays her punishment of leprosy be removed, and God answers Moses' prayer. Her punishment is remitted in answer to
his prayer.
Jude 23 -- "...save others by snatching them out of the fire..." How are we to do this other than by prayer for the dead? This is the very definition of indulgences.
Mt. 16: 19 -- "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
1 Cor. 5: 5; 2 Cor. 2: 6-8 -- Paul remits punishment of the incestuous man. Dan. 4: 24 -- Atonement is necessary:
"...atone for your sins by good deeds, and for your misdeeds with kindness to the poor..." Almsgiving has always been associated with the forgiveness of sins.
Sir. 16: 11 -- "For mercy and anger alike are with him who remits and forgives..."
2 Mac. 12: 42-46 -- "The noble Judas... took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing so he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view...Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin." Praying for the remission of the
sins of the dead is hardly a medieval innovation. It is a very ancient practice, one that predates Christ himself by hundreds of years.
PURGATORY
People think of purgatory as a place. But that is not necessarily the case. It is a state of being perfected -- a great gift for the great majority of us who will not
reach perfection in our earthly existences. For, unless we are made perfect, scripture tells us we cannot enter heaven:
Rev. 21: 27 -- "...nothing unclean will enter (heaven)..."
1 Cor. 3: 15 -- "...the person will be saved, but only as through fire."
2 Sam. 12-14 -- Even after David's sin is forgiven, he needs to undergo punishment; his child still dies.
Dan. 4: 24 -- Atonement is necessary: "...atone for your sins by good deeds, and for your misdeeds with kindness to the poor..." Almsgiving has always been associated with the forgiveness of sins.
Heb. 12: 22-23 -- "No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect..." It's hard to imagine a better three-word summary of the concept of purgatory than that: "spirits made perfect."
Col. 1: 24 -- "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ..." Paul's suffering also expiates.
Mt. 5: 18-30 -- Mortal, venial, purgatory, hell: "Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
Rev. 7: 13-14 -- "'These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they stand before God's throne and worship him day and night in his
temple.'" The souls who have survived the time of great distress -- the trial on earth -- wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and -- as a result -- are able to enter heaven.
The cause-and-effect is quite clear. 'They have ashed..." and "for this reason, they stand before God's throne." The doctrine of purgatory is quite evident here.
1 John 5: 16-17 -- "If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly." Where do those who die go whose sin is not deadly? Not to
heaven, since nothing unclean can enter there (Rev. 21: 27). And certainly not to hell, since John tells us the sin is not deadly.
Mk. 9: 49 -- Jesus describes purgatory: "'Everyone will be salted with fire.'"
1 Pet. 3: 19 -- "...he also went to preach to the spirits in prison..."
Eph. 4: 8-10 -- "...he also descended into the lower regions..."
Mt. 12: 32 -- "...'whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come.'" Clearly implies that expiation can occur after death.
2 Mac. 12: 42-46 -- "The noble Judas... took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing so he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view...Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin." Judas could not have been praying for the dead if they were in hell, since prayer would not have benefited them in the least. And if they were in heaven, prayer would have hardly been necessary.
The belief in purgatory is not, as some claim, a medieval "innovation." Quite the contrary. This doctrine actually dates back farther in Church history than both the
doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the canon of the New Testament.
In approx. 210 A.D., we find Tertullian stating: "...if we understand that prison of which the Gospel
speaks to be Hades, and if we interpret the last farthing (Mt. 5:25-26) to be the light offense which is to be expiated there before the resurrection, no one will doubt that the soul undergoes some punishments in Hades, without prejudice to the
fullness of the resurrection, after which recompense will be made through the flesh also" ('The Faith of the Early Fathers', Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 145).
FORGIVENESS/EVERLASTING LIFE
Is. 43: 25 -- "It is I, I who wipe out... your offenses; your sins I remember no more." As we see in Col. 2: 11-12, below, circumcision was a "type" -- an Old Testament precursor -- of Baptism. In Jewish law, infants were circumcised at eight days. It is
impossible to conceive that the New Testament fulfillment would ever be less effective, or more restrictive in its application, than the Old Testament type. Mt. 18: 18 -- "'Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'" 1 John 5: 17 -- "...there is sin that is not deadly." Acts 2: 42 -- "They devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers." God ordained a seven-day cycle for our lives -- six days of work, followed by a day of rest. But nowhere in scripture is that cycle tied to any calendar system. Jesus is clearer and more explicit concerning his real and living Presence in the Eucharist than he is on any other teaching: According to Protestant theology, faith is all that is required for salvation. Thus, although many denominations baptize -- most using the Trinitarian formula prescribed in Mt. 28: 19 (see below) -- they do not acknowledge the clear biblical teaching that Baptism is required for salvation. If they did they would be violating their most basic doctrine, sola fide, or 'faith alone'.
John 1: 29 -- "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world..."
John 3: 5 -- "...no one can enter the kingdom... without being born of water and the Spirit..." Faith not enough; Baptism required.
Titus 3:5 -- ". . . saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit . . . "
Eph. 4: 23 - - ". . . put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth . . ."
I Cor. 6: 11 -- ". . . now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ . . ."
INFANT BAPTISM
Gen. 17: 12 -- "Throughout the ages, every male among you, when he is eight days old, shall be circumcised..." Consent does not alter the fact that all belong to God. The child is a privileged member of God's holy nation. The idea that an
individual might opt out of such a remarkable blessing could not have even occurred to the Israelites.
Ex. 13: 13-14 -- "Every first-born son you must redeem. If your son should ask you later on, 'What does this mean?' you should tell him..." The fact that the child is not cognizant does not eliminate the dedication of the first-born. God's
claim on the first-born is absolute -- regardless of whether they realize it or not.
Is God's claim on the rest of us, after Jesus' redemptive sacrifice, less strong or less valid today? On the contrary, it is stronger.
Acts 2: 38-39 -- "Peter [said] to them, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the
gift of the holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord God will call.'" The promise of baptism does not exclude children; indeed, here Peter expressly extends it to them.
Col. 2: 11-12 -- "In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping of the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ."
Acts 16: 15 -- "After she and her household had been baptized..." There is no mention of any exceptions.
Acts 16: 33 -- "He and all his family were baptized..." Again, no exceptions stated here.
Lk. 18: 15-17 -- "People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked him. Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
Jesus is telling us that infants are the precise type of people who can receive the kingdom of God. When we bar infants from Baptism, we are denying Jesus' own words.
2 Thes. 3: 10 -- "...when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." If we strictly apply Peter's order to repent before Baptism (in Acts 2: 38) to infants, we ought to interpret this command of
Paul's likewise. Of course doing so would mean babies would starve to death, since they are incapable of work.
Lk. 1: 15 -- "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." If we cannot receive the Holy Spirit without repentance -- as
Fundamentalists claim -- then infants must be able to repent even in utero. Which means infant baptism ought to be permitted.
Mt. 21: 15-16 -- "When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wondrous things he was doing, and the children crying out in the temple area, 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' they were indignant and said to him, 'Do you hear what they are saying?'
Jesus said to them, 'Yes; and have you never read the text, 'Out of the mouths of infants and nurslings you have brought forth praise'?'"
The Church has baptized infants from its earliest days. We have the testimony of a number of the early Christian leaders on this point, including Origen, who wrote in the year 244 A.D.: "The Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving
Baptism even to infants." ('The Faith of the Early Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 209.)
If, as some Protestants claim, baptizing infants is "unbiblical," then so is NOT baptizing infants. For nowhere in scriptures will you find a passage forbidding the
Baptism of infants.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
Mt. 16: 19 -- "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
John 20: 23 -- "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."
2 Cor. 5: 18 -- Sacrament of reconciliation dates to Jesus' time: "And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation."
2 Cor. 2: 10 "Whomever you forgive anything, so do I. For indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for you in the presence of Christ..."
Acts 19: 18 -- "Many of those who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former practices."
James 5: 15-16 -- "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed."
1 John 1: 9 -- "If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful... and will forgive our sins..."
Mk. 2: 7 -- Scribes object to Jesus forgiving sins: "'Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?'"
Mt. 9: 2-8 -- "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.' At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, 'This man is blaspheming.'"
Lev. 5: 5-6 -- "...whoever is guilty in any of these cases shall confess the sin he has incurred, and as his sin offering for the sin he has committed he shall bring to the Lord a female animal from the flock, a ewe lamb or a she-goat.
The priest shall then make atonement for the sin."
Confession, sacrifice and atonement have been part of our tradition since the beginning.>br>
The Sacrament of Reconciliation was practiced by the ancient Christians. We find a marvelous explanation, both sacramental and psychological, in one of Origen's homilies, dating back to about 245 A.D., 150 years before the canon of the New
Testament was established: "There is something wonderful hidden in this, whereby confession of sins is commanded. For they are to be confessed, whatever kind they be; and all that we do must be brought forward in public. Whatever we have done in secret, whatever sin we have committed by word alone or even in our
secret thoughts -- all must be made public, all must be brought forward. It will indeed be brought forward by him who is both the accuser of sin and the instigator thereof. For that one who now incites us to sin is the very one who will accuse us
when we have sinned. If, therefore, we anticipate him in life, and become the accusers of ourselves, we escape the malice of the devil, our enemy and accuser...
You see, then, that confession of sin merits the remission of sin" ('The Faith of the Early Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 207-208).
MORTAL/VENIAL SIN
THE MASS
Mk. 14: 22 -- "...he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it..." The first Mass.
Mt. 26: 26 -- "Take and eat; this is my body." Eucharist instituted in the first Mass.
Lk. 22: 14-20 -- "...do this in memory of me." Eucharist instituted in the first Mass.
1 Cor. 5: 7-8 -- "For our paschal lamb, Christ has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast..." Paul is referring to the Mass, the new Passover, where the people of God, united with the perfect sacrifice of Jesus through his Body and Blood in the Eucharist, pass over from sin and death into the new life of salvation.
Mal. 1: 11 -- "...my name is great among the nations; and everywhere they bring sacrifice to my name, and a pure offering..." This passage is a prophecy of the Mass being said among Gentiles.
Zech. 14: 21 -- "And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts; and all who come to sacrifice shall take them and cook in them."
This
extended eschatological passage in Zechariah, beginning with 14: 1, describes "the day of the Lord." It may be interpreted variously as either the end times, or the time after the arrival of the Messiah. Either way, the ongoing sacrifice by the faithful ones is clear in the verse quoted above. Thus, the once-for-all sacrifice did not cease on the
first Good Friday, but continues. Also note the interesting association between the
Heb. 13: 8 -- "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." So his sacrifice can be presented for all ages in the Mass.
In his 'Catechetical Lectures,' which date from around 350 A.D., St. Cyril of Jerusalem gives a marvelous description of the Mass as it existed at that time, as well as an
account of the sacraments that are received by those newly accepted into the Church.
Many of the prayers and responses are very similar to those which exist today, and of course the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is described in great detail:
"Let us,
then, with full confidence, partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. For in the figure of bread His Body is given to you, and in the figure of wine His Blood is given to you,
so that by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, you might become united in body
and blood with Him. For thus do we become Christ-bearers, His Body and Blood being distributed through our members. And thus it is that we become, according to the blessed Peter, sharers of the divine nature." ('The Faith of the Early Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, pp. 360-361.)
SUNDAY WORSHIP
Is. 1: 13 -- The letter of the old law gives way to the law of Jesus, which is written on our hearts: "New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies, octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear."
Rev. 1: 10 -- John refers to Sunday as the Lord's day: "I was caught up in spirit on the Lord's day..."
Acts 20: 7 -- Sunday Eucharist: "On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread..."
1 Cor. 16: 1-2 -- "On the first day of the week each of you should set aside and save whatever he can afford..." Paul was collecting money for construction of a church in Jerusalem.
Naturally, he requested that collections be taken up during
the Eucharistic celebration which took place on 'the first day of the week.'
Gal. 4: 9 -- Paul exhorts the faithful to leave the Jewish observances behind: "You are observing days, months, seasons and years. I am afraid on your account that perhaps I have labored for you in vain."
Mt. 12: 1-12 -- Pharisees object to the disciples breaking the sabbath. Jesus corrects them: "I say to you, something greater than the temple is here... the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." The Lord is linking the Jewish sabbath observance with the Jewish temple.
Lev. 23: 7; 23: 16 -- The actually Israelites celebrated the sabbath on 'Sunday,' or "the eighth day", twice during the year.
Lk. 6: 1-11 -- Pharisees protest that Jesus' followers desecrate the sabbath; Jesus corrects them: "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath."
Lk. 13: 10-17 -- "Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox..."
Heb. 5: 1 -- "Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins."
John 5: 9-18 -- "...the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath. But Jesus answered them, 'My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.' For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him..."
Jesus earned the enmity of Jewish authorities by redefining traditional sabbath laws.
Ezek. 20: 10-12 -- The Lord gave the sabbath to the people in the desert after their exodus from Egypt, not immediately after creation week: "Therefore I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the desert... I also gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, to show that it was I, the Lord, who made them holy."
Ex. 16: 1-30 -- The sabbath was instituted, not in reference to any specific day of the calendar, but in reference to a seemingly random day upon which the Israelites were grumbling against Moses and Aaron. "The Lord has given you the sabbath.
That is why on the sixth day he gives you food for two days. On the seventh day everyone is to stay home and no one is to go out." This is the inception of the sabbath; no mention is made of the calendar, only of the cycle of six days followed by a sabbath day of rest. The Jewish people linked the sabbath to the calendar, presumably out of convenience. There is no biblical injunction that commands us to do so.
Ex. 35: 1-3 -- When Moses gives the people the sabbath commandment, there is again no mention of any calendar system -- only a cycle of six days' work, followed by one day rest: "Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, 'This is what the Lord has commanded to be done. On six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be sacred to you as the sabbath of complete rest to the Lord.'"
Ex. 12: 1-2 -- The denominations that require Saturday sabbathing -- despite the fact that there is no explicit command in scripture to do so -- at the same time fail
to follow the following commandment which is explicitly tied to the calendar:
"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 'This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year.'"
This passage is referring to the month in which Passover falls, which of course is in the spring. Nonetheless, those denominations begin their annual count of months with January -- not March or April -- and so defy the Lord's specific command about the calendar.
Mt. 20: 19 -- "...and he will be raised on the third day." If we are to interpret the Old Testament's command regarding sabbathing on "the seventh day" as being definitively tied to the calendar week, then must we not conclude that Jesus was
here prophesying that his Resurrection would take place on "the third day" -- or Tuesday? One interpretation is no more farfetched than the other.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, around the year 110 A.D., testifies to the fact that the early Christians no longer gathered with the Jewish community on Saturday, but instead celebrated the Resurrection by worshiping on Sunday: "If, then, those who walked in ancient customs came to a new hope, no longer sabbathing but living by the Lord's Day, on which we came to life through Him and through His death..." ('The
Faith of the Early Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 19.)
If Sunday worship is the sign of apostasy, as some denominations claim, then how is it that the entire community
fell into sin almost instantly, contrary to Jesus' promise that the gates of the netherworld would not prevail against his Church (Mt. 16: 18), and how is it that the Holy Spirit worked through apostates to reveal to them precisely which books
ought to be included in the canon of scripture and which should not?
EUCHARIST
John 6: 22-69 -- "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." When those listening questioned this 'hard teaching' and turned away, he did not call them back or correct any misunderstanding they might have had. For there was none. Instead, he insisted
that he meant what he said, even if it might mean losing even his beloved apostles:
"Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, 'Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?... The words I have spoken are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe...' Jesus then said to the Twelve, 'Do you also want to leave?' Simon Peter answered him, 'Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.'" Like Peter, we too are called to believe, even when we do not understand.
The question of symbolism vs. Real Presence is dealt with summarily in Jesus' words, "...my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." True, not just symbolic.
1 Cor. 11: 26-30 -- "...whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord." Here Paul reinforces the teaching of the Real Presence; for if the bread and wine were only symbolic, how
could defiling it make one answerable for the body and blood of the Lord?
Gen. 14: 18 -- "Melchizedek.. brought out bread and wine..."
Belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist dates back to apostolic times. It is evidenced in the writings of the earliest Church fathers -- among them, St. Ignatius
of Antioch, who, writing in 110 A.D., states: "Take care, then, to use one Eucharist, so that whatever you do, you do according to God: for there is one Flesh of our Lord Jesus, and one cup in the union of His Blood... ('The Faith of the Early Fathers,' Vol. 1, Jurgens, p. 22.)
THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM
Mt. 28: 19 -- "'Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit...'" Jesus' directive is clear. What evidence is there he is dealing in non-essentials?
John 3: 5 -- "'Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can entger the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.'"
Denying the Lord's reference to water refers to Baptism is to violate the text. Baptism is the only possible reference.
1 Peter 3: 18-21 -- "...Christ also suffered for since once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism, which saves you now." Baptism's salvific action is revealed in the last five words.
Acts 2: 38 -- "Peter [said] to them, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.'" Again, is Peter dealing in non-essentials here? If so, we must conclude forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit are likewise optional.
Acts 22: 16 -- "'Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name." The prominent Christian Ananias is telling the Pharisee Paul how to respond to God's call. Obviously he is not merely listing options, but giving a clear directive.
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