Sin’s Forgiveness Now Available for Those Who Quit Smoking
| By: Mike Gendron; ©1999 |
| Pope John Paul II has declared forgiveness for those who quit smoking or give up drinking for a time. But what authority does the Pope have to take away punishment for sins? Mike Gendron explains the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on indulgences. |
Contents
Sin’s Forgiveness Now Available for Those Who Quit Smoking
Pope John Paul II has declared that punishment for sins can be taken away if anyone gives up smoking or drinking alcoholic beverages. This controversial indulgence was proclaimed in his Bull of Indiction of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. The pope proclaimed: “The plenary indulgence of the Jubilee can be gained through actions which express in a practical and generous way the penitential spirit, to include abstaining for at least one whole day from unnecessary consumption (e.g., from smoking or alcohol) and donating a proportionate sum of money to the poor.”
This pronouncement raises some very serious questions. By what authority does the pope have to take away punishment for sins? How can abstaining from smoking and alcohol do what only the shed blood of Jesus can accomplish? To answer these questions, an investigation of the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on indulgences is necessary.
What is an “Indulgence”?
The Vatican defines an indulgence as “the taking of the temporal punishment due to sin.”[1] It teaches that those who die imperfectly purified must suffer temporal punishment in the fires of purgatory. However, Catholics who perform certain rituals or works, according to specific Vatican rules, may obtain an indulgence which lessens their time in purgatory. The Catholic Church’s primary stated purpose for granting indulgences is to “help the faithful expiate their sins.”[2] The Roman Catholic Church acknowledges that indulgences are not found in the Scriptures but they are part of its Tradition.
The Pope is said to have the authority and power to dispense these indulgences to Catholics from a treasury of merit.[3] This invisible treasury is said to contain the infinite merits of Christ, as well as the merits of Mary and the saints. “They are truly immense, unfathomable and even pristine in their value before God. In this way they attained their own salvation and at the same time cooperated in saving their brothers.”[4]
The History of Indulgences
In the middle ages, Pope Urban II promised a plenary indulgence to anyone who would participate in the Crusades. At first, only the sins of the living could be taken away, but in 1477 Pope Sixtus IV declared indulgences could also be applied to any of the souls in purgatory. This practice of buying God’s mercy was well received by Catholics to the extent that revenues generated from selling indulgences financed the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This public selling of indulgences outraged Martin Luther and sparked the Reformation in 1517.
As controversial and heretical as indulgences are, the Roman Catholic Church takes them very seriously. It “condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them.”[5] This strong condemnation has not precluded the Vatican from admitting to many past abuses, including the “collection of unlawful profits which blasphemously took away the good name of indulgences.”[6] As a result, The Second Vatican Council had to set up twenty new rules for granting indulgences. An example is rule #17: “The faithful who use with devotion an object of piety (crucifix, cross, rosary, scapular, or medal) after it has been duly blessed by any priest, can gain a partial indulgence. But, if this object of piety is blessed by the Pope or any bishop, the faithful who use it with devotion can also gain a plenary indulgence on the feast of the Apostle Peter and Paul, provided they make a confession of faith using any approved formula.”[7] The Council also reduced the number of plenary indulgences one could earn in order to esteem them more, realizing, “What is offered too abundantly is not sufficiently appreciated.”[8] Vatican II also abolished the laws which defined the exact number of days and years a person could escape the fires of Purgatory with each indulgence. Today Catholics have no idea how long they must suffer for each sin, nor the amount of punishment each partial indulgence will take away.
There are other Catholic Traditions that nullify the Word of God and deny the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement, but none so flagrant as the practice of indulgences. How could Jesus Christ pay the eternal punishment for sin but still leave a temporal punishment unpaid? This would be like a bank demanding that monthly payments continue to be paid after the debt of a home mortgage has been paid in full.
A Biblical Response to Indulgences
Salvation from the punishment of sin is a free gift from God that is received by grace and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Yet indulgences are works of man which nullify God’s grace (Romans 11:6). Since grace is God’s unmerited favor, no one can ever earn or become worthy of salvation. It is given only to those who trust in the perfect and finished sacrifice of Jesus. “He bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24). “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the chastening for our well being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Anyone who believes giving up drinking or smoking, saying the rosary or kissing a scapular can take the place of Jesus dying on the cross is woefully blind to the truth of the Gospel. Furthermore, this practice devalues the precious blood of our Savior and blasphemes his perfect sacrifice for sin. When Jesus Christ is exalted as the all-sufficient Savior, all the ungodly teachings and traditions of men are exposed.
Indulgences numb the consciences of Catholics to the truth and seriousness of sin and its dreadful consequences. All sin, no matter how small, earns eternal punishment and separation from God (Romans 1:18; 6:23, Isaiah 59:2, James 2:10). Those who die in sin, having never trusted Christ, will be thrown into the eternal lake of fire, not purgatory, which is never even mentioned in Scripture (Revelation 20:14). Sin can never be atoned for by indulgences or the purging fires of purgatory but only by the precious blood of Jesus (Titus 2:14, Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 1:3; 1 Peter 1:18,19; Romans 5:9).
Nowhere in Scripture do we find a treasury of human merit where the good deeds of others can be transferred to the account of another. The granting of indulgences is a vain delusion. It is utterly impossible for any sinner to atone for his own sins. “No man can, by any means, redeem his brother or give God a ransom for him, for the redemption of his soul is costly and he should cease trying forever” (Psalm 49:7-8). Anyone who grants indulgences usurps the place of God, Who alone can take away the punishment for sin (Isaiah 12:2). Only the sacrifice of the infinite Christ can pay the eternal punishment God’s justice demands for sin (Hebrews 10:10; 1 John 1:9). The death of Jesus is God’s one and only provision for sin.
Roman Catholics who are trying to obtain the mercy of God with money or indulgences should follow the advice Peter gave Simon the sorcerer who tried to do the same. Peter told him, “Your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart” (Acts 8:21-22). Peter also warns that false teachers will introduce destructive heresies and will bring the word of truth into disrepute. “In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up” (2 Peter 2:1-3). Catholic clergy should take heed: “The gaining of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death” (Proverbs 21:6).
Throughout church history indulgences have brought shame, ridicule and contempt to the name of Christ. Indulgences have unmercifully robbed the poor and deceived them with a false hope, leaving them to die in their sins. May the truth be made known: only when Catholics repent of these indulgences and believe the glorious Gospel of grace can they behold the thorn-crowned Savior and be purified by His shed blood.
