The Catholic Church teaches that the remission of sins is obtained by faith and works and that no one can be sure that they have it. The Council of Trent, on January 13, 1547, decreed the following: 'Although it is necessary to believe that sins are not forgiven, nor have they ever been forgiven, except freely by divine mercy on account of Christ: it must be said, however, that a no one who flaunts confidence and certainty of the remission of their sins and who abandons himself in it alone, sins are forgiven or have been forgiven ... ' (Council of Trent, Sess. VI, chap. IX); and also:'Whoever affirms that in order to obtain the remission of sins it is necessary for every man to believe with certainty and without any hesitation of his own infirmity and indisposition, that sins are forgiven him: let him be anathema' (Council of Trent, Sess. VI, can. 13 ).
In other words, for the Catholic Church, the remission of sins is not something that can only be obtained through faith and that one can be sure of possessing. Here too, good works are added to faith, which would have the power to forgive sins. And to confirm this power to atone for the sins that good works would have, Catholic theologians quote two passages from the apocryphal books ; the first is that of Tobit who says: 'Almsgiving frees from death and purifies from all sin' (Tobias 12: 9), the second is that of the Ecclesiastical who says: 'Water extinguishes the fire that blazes, so alms atonement for sins' (Sirach 3:29); in addition to these, they quote a passage from the Gospel of Luke:"Her many sins are forgiven, because she loved much ..." (Luke 7:47). According to them, Jesus forgave that woman her sins because she had streaked his feet with tears, kissed them and anointed them with perfume; therefore for his works.
However, things are different. The Word of the Lord says unequivocally:
" In him we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace " (Eph. 1: 7);
and also:
"Little children, I am writing to you because your sins are forgiven you for his name " (1 John 2:12); "his divine power has given us all things that belong to life and piety through the knowledge of him who called us through his glory and virtue ..." (2 Pet. 1: 3).
We therefore, through faith in Christ Jesus, have the forgiveness of our sins, and we can be sure of it; we are therefore certain that when we die we will go to live with the Lord Jesus in heaven because our clothes have been washed with his precious blood, and not for our own merits.
It is not presumptuous to make this statement because the Lord Jesus himself has attested that the remission of sins is obtained by believing in him, when he said to Saul: "To whom (to the Gentiles) I send you to open their eyes, so that they may be converted from darkness. in the light and from the power of Satan to God, and receive, by faith in me, the remission of sins and their share of the inheritance among the sanctified "(Acts 26:18). And in addition to Jesus, the apostle Peter also attested unequivocally when he said to Cornelius: "Of him all the prophets testify that whoever believes in him receives the remission of sins by his name" (Acts 10:43) .
Can man receive the forgiveness of sins through baptism, or by going to confession, or by doing meritorious works as the Catholic Church says? No. Baptism does not forgive sins (it is by faith that must precede it that the remission of sins is obtained), no church minister can forgive sins, and in good works there is no power to purify the conscience of 'man. Man can receive the remission of all his sins only by believing in the name of the Son of God, as announced to us by the Gospel.
Let us now see what Catholic theologians, leaning on the aforementioned passages taken from the apocryphal books and Luke, say in support of the expiatory power of works. In response to the apocryphal passages we say that the Word of God teaches that it is by no means by works of penance that the conscience of the believer is purified from sins but by grace, by faith in the blood of Christ: "The blood of Jesus, his Son , purifies us from all sin " (1 John 1: 7, Heb. 9: 13,14).
The apostle Peter confirmed this when he spoke to the assembly in Jerusalem (Acts 15: 9). And remember that here he referred to the purification of sins obtained by faith also by Cornelius who gave many alms to the people; therefore it was not Cornelius's alms that purified Cornelius of his sins but God's grace through his faith in Jesus' sacrifice (this is further confirmation that the apocryphal books from which those passages are cited are not inspired by God because they go against the doctrine of the Lord).
In response to the interpretation given to the words that Jesus, in Simon's house, addressed to that woman who had streaked her feet with her tears we say this: we do not deny that the things that that woman did towards Jesus were a manifestation of love for Jesus, but it is good to keep in mind that the tears of that woman were tears of repentance, therefore she had repented of her sins, and had turned in faith to Jesus; and in fact Jesus finally said to her, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace" (Luke 7:50). Therefore also in this case the forgiveness of sins was obtained for having repented and having believed in Jesus; that is, by faith alone without good works.
Therefore, if you rely on works to obtain forgiveness of your sins, know that this is not a teaching from the Word of the Lord. Accept instead the true one announced by the apostle Peter: "Of him (Jesus) all the prophets testify that whoever believes in him receives the remission of sins by his name" (Acts 10:43).
(adapted from a writing by G. Butindaro)
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