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I. That from the divine covenant we merit grace by good works wrought without grace.
III. That for the blotting out of sin the mere detestation of the crime is sufficient. IV. That on account of contrition, and not by faith in Christ, we obtain remission of sins. V. That the power of the keys avails for the remission of sins, not before God, but before the Church. VI. That by the power of the keys sins are not remitted before God, but that the power of the keys has been instituted to commute eternal to temporal punishments, to impose upon consciences certain satisfactions, to institute new acts of worship, and to obligate consciences to such satisfactions and acts of worship. VII. That according to divine right the enumeration of offenses in confession, concerning which the adversaries teach, is necessary. VIII. That canonical satisfactions are necessary for redeeming the punishment of purgatory, or they profit as a compensation for the blotting out of guilt. For thus uninformed persons understand it. [For, although in the schools satisfactions are made to apply only to the punishment, everybody thinks that remission of guilt is thereby merited.] IX. That the reception of the sacrament of repentance ex opere operato, without a good disposition on the part of the one using it, i.e., without faith in Christ, obtains grace. X. That by the power of the keys our souls are freed from purgatory through indulgences XI. That in the reservation of cases not only canonical punishment, but the guilt also, ought to be reserved in reference to one who is truly converted. In order, therefore, to deliver pious consciences from these labyrinths of the sophists, we have ascribed to repentance [or conversion] these two parts, namely, contrition and faith. If any one desires to add a third namely, fruits worthy of repentance, i.e., a change of the entire life and character for the better [good works which shall and must follow conversion], we will not make any opposition. From contrition we separate those idle and infinite discussions, as to when we grieve from love of God, and when from fear of punishment. [For these are nothing but mere words and a useless babbling of persons who have never experienced the state of mind of a terrified conscience.] But we say that contrition is the true terror of conscience, which feels that God is angry with sin, and which grieves that it has sinned. And this contrition takes place in this manner when sins are censured by the Word of God, because the sum of the preaching of the Gospel is this, namely, to convict of sin, and to offer for Christ's sake the remission of sins and righteousness, and the Holy Ghost, and eternal life, and that as regenerate men we should do good works. Thus Christ comprises the sum of the Gospel when He says in the last chapter of Luke, v. 74: That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in My name among all nations. And of these terrors Scripture speaks, as Psalm 38, 4. 8: For mine iniquities are gone over mine head, as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. . .I am feeble and sore broken; I have roared by reason of the disquietness of My heart. And Psalm 6, 2. 3: Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak; O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed; but Thou, O Lord how long! And Isaiah 38, 10.13: I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. . . .I reckoned till morning that, as a lion, so will He break all my bones. [Again, v. 14: Mine eyes fail with looking upward; 0 Lord, I am oppressed.] In these terrors, conscience feels the wrath of God against sin, which is unknown to secure men walking according to the flesh [as the sophists and their like]. It sees the turpitude of sin, and seriously grieves that it has sinned; meanwhile it also flees from the dreadful wrath of God, because human nature, unless sustained by the Word of God, cannot endure it. Thus Paul says, Galatians 2, 19: I through the Law am dead to the Law, For the Law only accuses and terrifies consciences. In these terrors our adversaries say nothing of faith, they present only the Word, which convicts of sin. When this is taught alone, it is the doctrine of the Law, not of the Gospel. By these griefs and terrors, they say, men merit grace, provided they love God. But how will men love God in true terrors when they feel the terrible and inexpressible wrath of God What else than despair do those teach who in these terrors, display only the Law? Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 |
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