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This is a transcript of the initial presentation of the video, Are Indulgences Biblical? Matthew Everhard says no, the Bible says YES!<\/a> (Catholic Bible Highlights<\/em> with Kenny Burchard, 4-17-26).<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Matthew Everhard is a Presbyterian pastor. His YouTube channel, that goes by his name, has 80,000 subscribers. Today we\u2019ll be taking a look at his video, \u201cHey Catholics: . . . You\u2019re Still Doing Indulgences?\u201d<\/a> (12-3-23). Here\u2019s what he says:<\/p>\n 1:53 I want to press you Roman Catholics: why is it that you\u2019re still talking about indulgences\u00a0in the year 2023 of our Lord?<\/span><\/p>\n 2:18 Let me just explain here \u201cwhat is an indulgence?\u201d Well a plenary indulgence, according to Roman Catholic theology, is the idea that you can do something, okay, that will elicit the mercy of the Pope such that the Roman Catholic Church will dispense for you a little bit of grace. Now, it\u2019s not a lot of grace, okay, because it isn\u2019t intended to entirely save your soul\u00a0. . .<\/span><\/p>\n 4:17\u00a0We Protestants are aghast at this, because none of this has anything to do with the actual biblical gospel\u00a0. . .<\/span><\/p>\n If you watch the entire video, you\u2019ll find that Pastor Everhard never cites a Catholic source so that he and his viewers can better understand how we define and apply indulgences. Wouldn\u2019t that be nice if he did what any B-student tenth-grader writing an essay<\/em> does: cite a source<\/em>? But I guess that\u2019s too much to ask.<\/p>\n Failing that, he goes on \u2013 again in typical Protestant apologetic fashion \u2013, to talk about everything under the sun except <\/em>the supposed topic at hand (judging by the title of his video). At 4:28 he starts talking about the \u201cgospel\u201d as Protestants define it (which is, of course, boils down to the false doctrine of faith alone). Then he starts in on (you guessed it!) Mary\u2019s Immaculate Conception at 6:25. Then he even disagrees even with most Protestants in attacking Nativity scenes at 7:22, as a type of idolatry, later attacking icons as well. This<\/em> has something to do with indulgences?<\/p>\n I do agree with one thing he said at 9:30: \u201clet me show my total Protestant ignorance.\u201d<\/span> Then he launches into another discussion a million miles away from the supposed topic: whether a particular church can be a holy place. After that he gets ecumenical and recognizes that Catholics agree with Protestants that Jesus died on the cross and rose again, and monotheism and trinitarianism, and then goes back to his usual rambling till the end of the video, that runs 11 \u00bd minutes.<\/p>\n Now, having seen how our theological opponent, Pastor Everhard, acts when he is \u201canalyzing\u201d [choke!] a Catholic doctrine, let\u2019s now do the real thing<\/em> and explain the biblical reasons why Catholics believe in indulgences. The Catechism of the Catholic Church<\/em> (section 1471) defines it as \u201ca remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.\u201d That\u2019s it<\/em>! That\u2019s the basic idea. It\u2019s not complicated. But then a Protestant or less informed Catholic will wonder where the idea of temporal punishment for sins comes<\/em> from? It sounds foreign to them: one of the many \u201cicky\u201d and unbiblical Catholic \u201cinventions\u201d as they wrongly perceive them to be. But in fact, it comes from the Bible. Here are several examples:<\/p>\n 2 Samuel 12:13-14<\/strong> (RSV) David said to Nathan, \u201cI have sinned against the LORD.\u201d And Nathan said to David, \u201cThe LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child that is born to you shall die.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n David had committed murder and adultery. He repented and God forgave him. But he still had \u201ctemporal punishment\u201d. His son died, and later his son Absalom would rise up and lead an armed rebellion against him. But there\u2019s much more than this in Scripture.<\/p>\n We have the story of Moses\u2019 sister Miriam, who \u201cspoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married\u201d (Numbers 12:1). 12:9 says that \u201cthe anger of the LORD was kindled\u201d and in 12:10 we learn that \u201cMiriam was leprous.\u201d This is a prime example of temporal punishment for sin. But then Moses prayed for her healing (12:13-14) and God complied. And this is exactly<\/em> what an indulgence is: the removal of temporal punishment for sin. It\u2019s clear as day, right in the Bible. Later, Moses himself suffered temporal punishment: he wasn\u2019t allowed to enter the Promised Land:<\/p>\n Deuteronomy 32:51-52<\/strong> . . . you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Mer\u2019i-bath-ka\u2019desh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you did not revere me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. For you shall see the land before you; but you shall not go there, into the land which I give to the people of Israel.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The incident is recorded in Numbers 20. God had told Moses to speak to the rock, to make water come out, but in exasperation with the complaining of the people, Moses struck it twice in disobedience, and he also implied that he had the power to make the water come out, rather than God. In this case, Moses wasn\u2019t <\/em>granted an indulgence.<\/p>\n In Numbers 14:19 Moses prays, \u201cPardon the iniquity of this people\u201d and in 14:20 God replies, I have pardoned, according to your word.\u201d But then God goes on to say that none who rebelled against him in the wilderness would be able to enter the Promised Land, either (14:21-23). Like Moses, they didn\u2019t receive an indulgence to remove the penalty for sin, but their sin itself<\/em> was pardoned.<\/p>\n Thus we already see in the Old Testament both temporal punishment for sin and merciful removal of that punishment in some cases, as with Miriam. This is the doctrine of indulgences, explicitly and clearly taught in the Bible. But some might ask at this point, \u201care there any examples of this sort of thing in the New<\/em> Testament?\u201d The answer is yes. Paul referred to receiving Holy Communion \u201cin an unworthy manner\u201d (1 Corinthians 11:27). Then he wrote something very interesting and very \u201cun-Protestant\u201d as we say, noting that the one who does this \u201cdrinks judgment upon himself\u201d (11:29) and that as a result, \u201cmany of you are weak and ill, and some have died\u201d (11:30). Once again, this is temporal punishment for sin.<\/p>\n If we want to see an indulgence, we have that in Paul\u2019s treatment of a serious sinner among the Corinthians:<\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 1:1-5<\/strong> It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father\u2019s wife. [2] . . .\u00a0 Let him who has done this be removed from among you. [3] For though absent in body I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment [4] in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, [5] you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Paul has pronounced a penance, a temporal punishment, and a \u201cjudgment\u201d so that the man can be \u201csaved.\u201d But then he later decided to relax the penance and grant an indulgence:<\/p>\n 2 Corinthians 2:6-8, 10<\/strong> For such a one this punishment by the majority is enough; [7] so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. [8] So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. . . . [10] Any one whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Lastly, in section 1478, the Catechism explains further how one receives <\/em>an indulgence:<\/p>\n An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This power to \u201cbind and loose\u201d was given to Peter in Matthew 16:19 and to the disciples in Matthew 18:18: representing the power of the pope and bishops and priests, respectively. Jesus also told His disciples in John 20:23: \u201cIf you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.\u201d That had to do with the sins themselves, not punishment for them. The Church has the power \u2013 given to it by our Lord Jesus \u2014 to withhold forgiveness of sins, or absolution, in the name of God, or to grant pardon. This is a similar but distinct act related to indulgences. The penance given by a priest after confession is similar to the punishment of sin, though it is most often very mild these days.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve provided explicit biblical proof of indulgences, believe it or not! Pastor Everhard seemed to be completely unaware of any of this. Now he won\u2019t be anymore, if he ever sees this. If not, please pray for him \u2013 and many others like him \u2014 to stop misrepresenting the views of his fellow Christians, that is, Catholics. It\u2019s bearing false witness, and is a serious sin and violation of the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, and the Royal Commandment.<\/p>\n Related Book<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n God of Love, Fire & Light: A Biblical Defense of Purgatory<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Dave Armstrong & Kenny Burchard, November 2024, 137 pages)<\/p>\n Related Articles<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n