It is not enough to say that the purpose of temporal
punishment is “to repair damage.” That is too vague. All too often,
clever Catholic apologists extrapolate Catholic doctrines by presenting
self-evident truths that have little or nothing to do with the core
issue.
Catholic theology teaches that there are two punishments for sin; one
is called eternal and is inflicted in hell, and the other is called
temporal and is inflicted in this world or in purgatory. The sacrament
of penance remits the eternal punishment and only part of the temporal.
Doing penance (prayer, fasting, almsgiving, works of mercy and patient
suffering) remits temporal punishment. The purpose for temporal
punishment is a satisfaction for sin, and to teach the penitent the
great evil of sin and to prevent from falling again. (See Baltimore
Catechism, questions 629, 804, 805):
It must be emphasized that the primary reason for temporal punishment
is to make satisfaction for sin. The Council of Trent emphasizes that
the penitents should keep in mind that “the satisfaction imposed by
them is meant not merely as a safeguard for the new life and as a remedy
to weakness, but also as vindicatory (i.e. avenging) punishment for
former sins.” (Council of Trent, Session 14, Chapter 8). The penitent
must “fully satisfy the justice of God.” Satisfaction (or penance)
is an act of the penitent “by which he makes certain reparation to the
justice of God for his sins” (See The Catechism off St. Pius X,
questions 105,118)
We readily affirm that sin has temporal and eternal consequences, and
that sin affects the sinner himself, and his relationship with God and
his fellow people. We also affirm that though God forgives a person, the
consequences of sin may still remain. A murderer may be forgiven and yet
his victim remains dead. A repentant drunkard is forgiven but the damage
to his liver and brain may well be permanent. The biblical examples you
mention are excellent illustrations of this principle.
However this does not in any way prove the Roman position. The Roman
Catholic must show from the Scriptures that God’s purpose for allowing
forgiven people to suffer the consequences of sin in this life is a vindicatory
punishment, a restitution, the payment of debt to divine justice and
not just for teaching and preventive purposes. Moreover he has to
demonstrate that as long as this satisfaction is discharged the forgiven
person is not yet in a right relationship with God, or, as the Council
of Trent puts it, the temporal punishment remains to be paid “before
access can be opened to the Kingdom of heaven.” This they cannot do!
Take David’s case as an example. David had to suffer the loss of
his son even though he was forgiven. But we should ask whether the Bible
indicates that the purpose of his son’s was for the expiation of David’s
sin or whether it was for some other reason. The prophet Nathan spells
out the reason why the infant had to die: “The LORD also has put away
your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have
given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child
also who is born to you shall surely die” (2 Samuel 12:13, 14). King
David had caused a public scandal, and the Lord chose to vindicate His
honour by showing his displeasure against David for his sin and He chose
to do it by the death of the child.
The Bible clearly spells out the reasons why God the Father sometimes
deals severely with his children. He disciplines us for own benefit,
that we may repent from our evil ways (Psalm 32), to grow in
righteousness and holiness (Hebrews 12:5-11), and to teach us that we
should not repeat the same failures (1 Corinthians 10:6). He also allows
us to suffer to keep us humble (2 Corinthians 12:17) and to strengthen
our faith (2 Corinthians 1:9). That is not vindicatory punishment!
Recently a Catholic friend wrote to me, “I believe performing
penance on earth is the means by which we show God that we love him and
are truly sorry for what we've done. It's the same thing when you did
something wrong when you were a child. You said that you were sorry, but
your father still gave you a punishment. It's the same thing with our
heavenly father.”
My earthly parents loved me and disciplined me in order to correct
and train me. Their punishment was disciplinary, not vindicatory or to
pay a legal debt. That is so different from what the Catholic Church
teaches: they insist that God’s punishment is also vindicatory, and
until you have expiated all your sins, you would not be allowed in the
Father's house. You will be left out - or worse - in the torments of
purgatory. That, my earthly father, never ever did.
Moreover, where does the Scripture describe prayers, good works,
fasting and almsgiving as ‘vindicatory punishment’? Prayer is a joy
to the Christian, not punishment! Similarly, Christians perform good
works and help the needy out of love, not to make up for their sins.
Catholic doctrine changes the joyful privileges of God’s people into a
punishment and the motive of love for doing good works into a payment
for sin.
The woman in the Gospel (Luke 7:36-50) was forgiven by faith. Jesus
said to her, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” The woman
loved the Lord Jesus; she wept, kissed his feet, and anointed them with
ointment. Did she do so to pay the debt of temporal punishment? Or
because she was grateful to the mercy and goodness of the Lord who had
forgiven her sins? Clearly, nothing could keep her from expressing her
jubilant love to Christ who had forgiven and received her. The Christian
life – including prayers, good works and patient suffering - is the
grateful response to the goodness of God who forgives us all our debt.
Catholics live under the cloud of punishment yet to be experienced
which keeps them separated from God. Even after death, this separation
remains until expiation is made through fire, torments and purifying
punishments. What a contrast to the comfort of the Gospel! Christians
know from experience that in Jesus Christ our Lord “we have boldness
and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:12). We
are assured of God’s welcome because Christ takes away the partition
wall, sin, which separates the sinner from God. “In this is love, not
that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Christ is the propitiation;
that is, by His sacrifice on the cross He has expiated and made
satisfaction for our sins.
Jesus’ blood is our only satisfaction for sin. We have absolute
confidence in God’s mercy and Jesus perfect sacrifice. Therefore we do
not attempt to satisfy God’s justice by anything we do but wholly
trust in Christ. God’s fatherly discipline is the proof of His love
and not the sign of the need to satisfy divine justice.
References
The Catechism of St Pius X
105 Q: What is satisfaction? A: Satisfaction, which is
also called sacramental penance, is one of the acts of the penitent by
which he makes a certain reparation to the justice of God for his sins,
by performing the works the confessor imposes on him.
109 Q: Why is a penance imposed in confession? A: A penance is imposed
because, after sacramental absolution which remits sin and its eternal
punishment, there generally remains a temporal punishment to be
undergone, either in this world or in Purgatory.
118 Q: Do those who die after having received absolution but before they
have fully satisfied the justice of God, go straight to Heaven? A: No,
they go to Purgatory there to satisfy the justice of God and be
perfectly purified.
The Baltimore Catechism Part 4 Lesson 19
In the Sacrament of Penance God forgives the insult
offered by sinning, but requires us to make restitution for that of
which the sin has deprived Him...We pay the temporal debt due to our
sins, that is, make the restitution, by our penances upon earth, or by
our suffering in Purgatory, or by both combined.
The Baltimore Catechism Part 3
Q. 629. What punishments are due to actual sins? A.
Two punishments are due to actual sins: one, called the eternal, is
inflicted in hell; and the other, called the temporal, is inflicted in
this world or in purgatory. The Sacrament of Penance remits or frees us
from the eternal punishment and generally only from part of the
temporal. Prayer, good works and indulgences in this world and the
sufferings of purgatory in the next remit the remainder of the temporal
punishment.
Q. 804. Why does God require a temporal punishment as a satisfaction for
sin? A. God requires a temporal punishment as a satisfaction for sin to
teach us the great evil of sin and to prevent us from falling again.
Q. 805. Which are the chief means by which we satisfy God for the
temporal punishment due to sin? A. The chief means by which we satisfy
God for the temporal punishment due to sin are: Prayer, Fasting,
Almsgiving; all spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and the patient
suffering of the ills of life.