Paying for sins?

Question

I really can't understand the Catholic belief that we have to pay for our sins. Or that we have to go to purgatory to finish paying for our sins. Didn't Jesus pay for our sins? Did He somehow not pay enough according to Catholics? Can someone explain this to me? When I repent daily my sins are forgiven and totally wiped away. How can I pay for something that does not exist? How could I possibly add to the price Jesus paid?

st.aliaoftheknife - I never said we should not do good works. I said we cannot pay for our sins. Jesus did that.

tur b - Sorry but I feel it necessary to point out what I see to be false doctrines.

tebone - the Bible quite clearly says the rich man was being tormented in Hell.

Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

tur b - I keep bringing it up because I keep hoping a Catholic will say aha I see the truth now. I also keep bringing it up because I find the thought of us paying for our sins and purgatory extremely offensive. It really seems to me to say that the blood of Jesus is not enough. That His blood did not pay the full price for us. I have seen no definition of purgatory that changes my opinion about how you see this.

tur b - It is not that I want Catholics to agree with me. I want them to agree with the Bible.

Answer 1

This is kind of sick concept. This was one of the big reasons why Luther left Catholic Church.

Our sins are covered by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. We cannot pay for our sins. Sometimes we have to pay for the consequences of our sins, but ask forgiveness in prayer and you are forgiven.

Paying for money or deeds for the sins is indeed believing that what Jesus did for us is not enough.

Answer 2

As I understand it, which is rather poorly, Purgatory is not about punishment for sins but for getting the forgiven sinner ready to enter heaven.

Christ died so that we would be allowed to enter Heaven... that is not the same thing as us being ready to enter into Heaven.

Salvation is less like checking into a hotel and more like joining the Marine Corps.

Think of it this way. Sin is when we use our free will to choose to do something we know God does not want us to do. We put our lust, or our anger, or our greed ahead of God's will for us. We are saying "Hey God, I know that you don't like this... but doing this thing is more important to me right now than You are." That's what sin is.

The whole process of spiritual growth is us learning not to do that... to trust God, and to Love God more than the things here in this world that are bad for us.

Sin is a pretty big insult to God, what with Him being the eternal Creator of time, space, the universe, and everything. (You don't put the guy who invented the black hole "hey, yeah... let me get back to you on that...") Someone had to pay for that. Also many many sins involve us hurting other people... people who God loves...someone had to pay for all the bad things we humans did to each other too. God is infinitely loving , but He is also infinitely just. Justice had to be done, someone had to pay, and Jesus paid.

So Jesus's death pays for our sins and that lets us be forgiven...but we still have all the flaws and attachments and lusts that got us into trouble in the first place. Think of it as being a recruit getting off the bus at basic training... you may have been allowed into the Marine Corps, but you are still a LONG way from being a Marine.

Purgatory is, as I understand it, a place where you get your head screwed on straight and get your priorities in order. It is a place of intence, even painfully intense, spiritual growth. You come to understand how Great God really is... and once you see things clearly suddenly the things you lusted after on Earth aren't so important anymore.

If you can get your head screwed on (more or less) straight here on Earth Purgatory isn't as big a problem. Some people probably take a little more work than others.

Answer 3

I know what you are saying.

Unfortunately, even though organized religion is the bases of most of the good humanity does, there is some corruption in the old church (not religion, just church) The paying for your sins (financially) came about around 1500 years ago during a time when the church was more powerful than politics.

There is a lot of history here, anyway it was a corrupt time in human history and it put the wealthist minds at ease when they could pay for their sins and still go to heaven.

Yes, in many religions, Jesus did pay for your sins, and according to the new testment you can go to heaven as long as you are truely sorry for what you did and ask personally for forgiveness.

I believe that we should always try to take care of people, and just sitting back and hoping that I am even because I'm sorry doesn't help me feel better. I try to volunteer, people really need the help right now it's a bad time for everyone.

Schools have great programs for volunteering and just helping someone in need or listening to people is really important.

Answer 4

You can't tack on to the price that Jesus paid, and pennance is not practiced much anymore. Where it is required in the form of money, you should find another church.

I do however believe in the universal truth of reaping what you sow...and how there are consequences to everything. There are natural consequences...if you drive too fast you lose control of your car and get killed in a wreck. And there are contrived consequences placed upon us by people who do not intend to let us suffer the wrath of natural consequences if they are really serious...if you drive too fast, you get a ticket to help you understand that speeding is not what you want to do.

I have never participated in the sacrament of reconciliation (confession) but I know in my own life, I have learned well by getting assignments from my parents, etc that are supposed to teach me a new attitude, to turn from my sin...and I think these assignments are similar in confession. If you steal money, you are asked to give it back, facing the person you stole from and apologizing, facing what they have to say about your behavior, accepting their forgiveness and making it right between offender and offendee. If you have a bratty attitude you might be asked to spend some time with someone who has less than you, to see how blessed you are. These forms of payment for our sins are pretty reasonable in my opinion...but ultimately, the only thing you can do to mend your mistakes is apologize for them, do your best to make it right....and learn from them so it doesn't happen again (which is the nature of repentence and why it is necessary)

I am a Protestant but I have made a point to study some of these questions, just out of curiosity and to better understand this aspect of Christianity.

What I have studied of the Bible, and it is miserably little compared to what is to be discovered...you die and you are judged. You must give an account of your sins and you do have to face them again. Even if your sins are forgiven, you can't undo them.

What I think happens is that we die, we are asked by God (who forgot your sins when he forgave you...) what you make of your own life and in the presence of God all our sins will be very very apparent...in our own perfected understanding. This is what I think purgatory is...is that suffering we feel for purging our souls of what we have done, how we hurt others, how we disobeyed God, how we didn't measure up to our potential. It's going to sting quite a bit to face God and look at these sins with him.

When it comes down to where we spend eternity however, the Bible says we have an advocate in Christ even though we do deserve to spend eternity in hell. After tallying up all the sins, and there will be truckloads when it comes my time...I can say...Jesus died FOR me, Father, I know it and I believe it, and I am standing on the promise of being gifted with grace and mercy and forgiveness.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, I just know this is how it makes sense to me.

Answer 5

i think that we should definatly be repentant and sorry for what we do.

the big mistake that people tend to believe and follow is.... simply this...
god isn't stupid.

example...
you hit someone in the back of the head.. you say your sorry
you hit someone in the back of the head again... you say your sorry
you hit someone in the back of the head again you say your sorry
you hit someone in the back fo the head again and you say your sorry...

are you really sorry? if you keep doing it again?

you need to change what your doing and complete make a turn around..


ACTS 3:19
19 “Repent, therefore, and turn around so as to get YOUR sins blotted out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the person of Jehovah

the idea that we should pray for our sins is a great idea... of course we should say were sorry to god.. but we have to mean it. if we are truely sorry for what we did we will stop doing it and try our best to move on. god will do the same.

jesus made it possible for god to forgive us through his death... you are correct on that one.
before jesus death we had to sacrafice animals to god just for forgiveness of our sins... because of jesus death we have this open communication with god. i think you have the right idea about everything.

Answer 6

Hi Edge,

What about Peter? He denied once Jesus and then he was convicted of sin and in the Scriptures we don´t have any other register about Peter denying Jesus, it´s cuz of the power of the gospel in him...

That what he did as Paul who stoned christians wouldn´t do it anymore, for as Romans 6:14 says sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the law but under grace, ..For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2

So one is able to pray using vain repetitions... but one shouldn´t think that one shall be heard for one´s much speaking. Matthew 6:7

Greetings
Grace be with you

Answer 7

didnt God require the life of the son of David after he had commited those sins?
dont the bible say that nothing defiled shall enter heaven?
why say that if after we confess we are forgiven?
why did adams sin bring sin to all men?
why does the bible say be not without fear over sins that are forgiven and add not sin upon sin? if our sins are forgiven, whats to fear? yet thats what the bible says. there are other verces , such as you wont be released until you pay the last penny, and you will be saved but only as thru fire.why did st paul say he rejoiced in his sufferings for you? did he not know that Jesus died on the cross for sin?

Answer 8

Purgatory is not a Biblical concept. That is something Catholics created.

I think it is a good pray for forgiveness of our sins because it is also in the Lord's Prayer

Answer 9

If you still have to go to purgatory, why did Jesus die in the first place? Read the BIBLE instead of the catechism. There is no purgatory in the Bible.

Hebrews 10:11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:12. But this man, after he had offered ONE sacrifice for sins FOREVER, sat down on the right hand of God;.......

Christ died ONCE for sins and this sacrifice lasts FOREVER. He died for my sins even before I was born, so that would make His sacrifice applicable to future sins. If you think you need to go to a place called purgatory to be cleansed of sins, then you are saying the sacrifice, pain, torture, suffering, and humiliation endured by Christ was not good enough to forgive sins.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.

These are QUOTATIONS, not interpretations.

Oh, and by the way, catholics try to use the book of Maccabees to justify purgatory, which book was never in the Christian Bible, only the catholic bible. The Christians in Antioch, where Christians were first called Christians, (Acts 11: 26) rejected this book because it negated the sacrifice of Jesus.

To those who disagree:

Galatians 4:16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

Psalms 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy WORD above all thy name.

When there is a conflict between the Bible and a catechism, a church, cult, religion, whatever, it is God's WORD that applies. That's why He magnified His WORD above his very Name.

Answer 10

I think maybe we are misunderstanding the Catholic church. You see, they actually want you to PAY, with money.......

Example....if we PAY $1500 they would annul my husbands 6 month long marriage at 18 and God would then somehow be ok with our marriage.

hahahahah

Yes, true story. Funny, I KNOW He forgave us from our repenting, and doing it without a priest no less.

God bless