Subject: Is John 3:16 for real? |
Bible Note: Good Morning Emmaus, I am finally ready to respond to your suggestion that I read what the Council of Trent had to say about "justification." It is certainly not light reading, but then how can a matter dealing with our eternal destiny be anything other than deep? In an effort to respond to your suggestion, and additionally to the internet forum itself, I began to take notes on each point of the statements made by the Council about justification. Well, in no time, I began to realize that it would be too much material to try to share in this type of format. So, I followed a hunch that really paid off for me. I logged on to a Catholic Theological Journal website known as "First Things." It is a really fine journal with lots of interesting articles on many subjects. I went into the search articles for anything to do with the Council of Trent, and I found one that summarizes all of my findings wonderfully well. I refer everyone to that article now: http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9912/articles/dulles.html The article is written by Avery Dulles, S.J. from Fordham Univesity in a remarkably objective style. The following is from the article regarding the differences between the Protestant view of regeneration, and the Catholic view: Martin Luther taught that 1)justification, as God's act, is independent of all human cooperation. 2)justification consists of the favor of God, who freely imputes to us the merits of Christ. It is not a matter of inner renewal.3)justification is received by faith alone, independently of any good works or obedience to God's law. 4)eternal life is a sheer gift; it is not merited by good behavior. The Council saw the above as false doctrine and responded with the following views: 1)although justification is an unmerited gift, it needs to be freely accepted, so that human cooperation is involved. 2)justification consists in an inner renewal brought about by divine grace; 3)justification does not take place by faith without hope, charity, and good works; 4)the justified, by performing good works, merit the reward of eternal life. So, the above summary itemizes the differences between all the great theologians (past and present) of the Protestant and Catholic Churches. At this point, if I may, I would like to add one thought of my own, and I emphasize the fact that the following is my thought alone. It appears to me that the members of the Council of Trent were sometimes evaluating justification from God's point of view, and sometimes from the human point of view. Luther, on the other hand, seems to be treating justification strictly from God's point of view. It seems that Luther speaks of justification specifically, while the Council somehow mixes justification and sanctification. As is only too obvious, I am not about to solve these questions, but I wish to thank you Emmaus for putting me on the trail of a very interesting study. To all of our friends on the internet, the article I refered to is a "must read." Yours in the Lords, Dan K. |