How does Christ’s blood provide for the remission of sins? How does the selling of indulgences align with Catholic teaching on justification? Catholicism teaches that because Christ lived a perfect life, His merits, along with those of Mary and the saints, are stored in a treasury that can be accessed by sinners in ways prescribed by the church. However, the Bible teaches that “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Are the two views compatible?

In this lecture Professor Walter J. Veith compares Catholic teachings on justification with the Protestant understanding. Why does Protestant theology insist on the necessity of the shedding of Christ’s blood, while Catholic theology does not? And how has Catholic teaching on this issue contributed to the development of other Catholic doctrines such as purgatory, indulgences, and praying to saints?

In brushing aside these important questions to establish unity with Rome, are Protestants selling their birthright as Esau sold his?