Calvin’s Institutes: The way off teachings Pt 2. More types of sin than one?

The focus in today’s summary is on Calvin’s polemic against the Roman Catholic doctrine of sin, sin’s penalty, and guilt.

1. The Roman Catholics further confuse repentance and consequently true salvation by their compartmentalizing sins in either the venial category or mortal category. There are more types of sin than one.

2. Mortal sins are deadly sins from which there is no forgiveness. Venial sins “can be purged by easier remedies by the Lord’s Prayer, by the sprinkling of holy water, by the absolution afforded by the Mass” (Pg., 654).

3. Of course scripture is very plain in saying that all sins are deadly, yet for those who are imputed with Christ’s righteousness, sins kill them no longer. Calvin wrote “that the sins of believers are venial, not because they do not deserve death, but because by God’s mercy ‘there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’” (Rom. 8:1) (Pg., 654).

4. Roman Catholic theology also “fashions a distinction between penalty and guilt” (Pg., 655). Guilt, they say is remitted by God’s mercy. Penalty is that remaining thing which must be paid for according to the demands of God’s justice; even after God has remitted the guilt.

5. Calvin exposed the fallacy of this distinction when he said, “They admit that forgiveness of guilt is freely available, yet repeatedly teach men to deserve it through prayers and tears, and all sorts of other preparations. And yet all we are taught in Scripture concerning forgiveness of sins directly opposes this distinction” (Pg., 655).

6. Complete forgiveness both of the guilt and penalty of sin is given to the sinner redeemed by the gospel of Christ. (Jer. 31:31,34; Ezek. 18:24,21-22,27; Isa. 38:17; 44:22; Micah 7:19; Ps. 32:1-2; Isa. 1:18)

7. But doesn’t it seem that God punishes the saints and therefore these same saints must suffer the penalty for their sin and must pay for that sin by acts of penance?

8. Calvin helps us here. There are two types of judgements which God executes.

a. Judgements of vengeance. “God should be understood as taking vengeance upon his enemies; so that he exercises his wrath against them, he confounds them, he scatters them, he brings them to nought” (Pg., 659).

b. Judgements of chastisement. Here God “is not so harsh as to be angry nor does he take vengeance so as to blast with destruction. Consequently, it is not, properly speaking, punishment or vengeance, but correction and admonition. The one is the act of a judge; the other, of a father” (Pg., 659). (Job 5:17; Prov. 3:11-12; Heb. 12:5-6; Ps. 118:18; 119:71; Jer. 10:24-25; Ps. 6:1,2; 38:2; 37:2)

9. The wicked receive just punishment from God for their iniquity, but those who are his adopted children “are afflicted by the hand of the heavenly Father, this is not a penalty to confound us, but only a chastisement to instruct us” (Pg., 662). In chastising us God does not urge to make our satisfaction before Him!