The summaries for Book 3, chapter 4 now begin. Calvin is in refutation mode here. He aims his language at the Roman Catholic Church, or to put it another way, the medieval scholastic doctrines of repentance, confession, and satisfaction.
Calvin’s polemics are still applicable today. Though the Roman Catholic Church made sweeping changes at Vatican II she still did not embrace the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone. For this reason she still believes and practices the medieval doctrines of repentance, confession, and satisfaction or purgatory. Therefore, Calvin’s refutions are still needed and helpful.
1. Calvin explains that the Roman Catholic Church divides repentance into three parts.
a. Contrition.
b. Confession.
c. Satisfaction.
These parts, the Roman Catholic Church asserts, are necessary to attain salvation. Calvin’s overall message is that this error should be repented of.
2. Let’s focus on contrition first. They demand contrition to be just and full. Who can do this? It will either be pretended contrition, or the person will become desperate and hate the name and truth of God, because they cannot give what they are asked to give – perfect contrition.
This is not the gospel. The gospel teaches “that the sinner does not dwell upon his own compunction or tears, but fixes both eyes upon the Lord’s mercy alone” (Pg., 626). Perfect contrition is not redemption, Jesus Christ is. And all who call upon his name in with the grace repentance and faith will be saved.
3. Let’s focus on confession next. The Roman Catholic Church demands it to occur in the confessional to be heard and absolved by a human priest! They base this practice on pure allegorical interpretation, not on the specific command of Christ.
4. God’s people have an High Priest who is eternal and perfect. They do not have a mere man for a priest. Hence, confession of sin is truly done when that confession is made to Jesus Christ. Calvin writes, “it is the Lord who forgives, forgets, and wipes out, sins, let us confess our sins to him in order to obtain pardon” (Pg., 634).
5. The Roman Catholics claim integrity for their confessional system, from the Word of Christ in reference to the power of the keys in binding and loosening. Does this refer to priests having the power and knowledge to forgive or to retain forgiveness? No.
6. The third focus is satisfaction. What does the Roman Catholic Church believe about this? With satisfaction they mean that though a person is contrite, and has made confession to the priest certain specified works must be performed in order to satisfy God for particular sins.
7. Calvin describes their position this way: “We indeed obtain pardon for our transgressions from God’s kindness, but only through the intervening merit of works, by which the offence of our sins may be paid for, in order that due satisfaction may be made to God’s justice” (Pg., 651)
8. In Jesus Christ sinners are freely given the remission of sins. (Isa. 52:3; Rom. 3:24-25; 5:8; Col. 2:13-14; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5; Acts 10:43) Christ is the sinner’s satisfaction. By the merit and work of Christ alone is God satisfied, not by our merit or work. God has made Christ a “perpetual advocate in order that by his intercession he may always restore us to the Father’s favour; an everlasting propitiation by which sins may be expiated” (Pg., 652). (1 John 2:1-2,12; 1:29)
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