The Reformers' teaching on Justification: Justification is by faith alone and through Justification an exchange took place between believers and Christ, known as double imputation. The believers got Christ’ righteousness imputed on them as if that righteousness were theirs while they remain sinners. Christ got believers’ entire sins (past, present, future) imputed on Him as if those sins were His while He remains sinless. There is no limit of either amount or type of believers' sins imputed on Him. Christ willingly offered Himself to take the punishment of those sins by dying on the cross or God punished Christ for the sins of believers and He paid the penalty of those sins in full (Calvin went even further by teaching Christ went to hell to be tortured by the devil as believers’ substitute). Questions: 1. The phrase "justified by faith" appears four times in New Testament (Rom. 3:28, 5:1, Gal. 2:16, 3:24). New Testament was written in Greek and the one in Rom. 3:28 is in Greek passive present tense while the rest are in Greek passive aorist tense . Both tenses do not indicate once for all justification. If Scripture teaches faith-alone justification, then the Holy Spirit would inspire Paul to write the phrase "justified by faith" in Greek passive perfect tense. Unlike that of English Greek perfect tense indicates the action described by the verb (to be justified) was completed in the past with continuing effect to the present. 2. Scripture denies double imputation in Eze. 18:20 (ESV): “The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” 3. Scripture says that we lose righteousness by sinning or we cannot be righteous and sinner at the same time. Eze. 33:13 (ESV) says: “Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die." Death here refers to hell, not physical death. 4. By declaring believers as righteous who remain sinners and punishing Christ for the sins He did not commit on the cross God did abomination according to what Scripture says in Pro. 17:15 (ESV): “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.”
Few points: 1. In Catholic teaching only babies begins their Justification at Baptism; for adults they first must believe, which marks the beginning of their justification, before they can be baptized. 2. Scripture does distinguish between deadly (or mortal) and non-deadly (venial) sins in 1 John 5:16-17. You turn blind eye on this verse as it contradicts the imputation of your entire sins (past, present, and future) on Christ as taught by the Reformers. There is no limit of either amount or type os sins imputed on Him, hence scriptural distinction stated in 1 John 5:16-17 between deadly and non-deadly sins become obsolete and irrelevant. 3. Scripture does say that sins after faith affect our salvation - read Heb. 10:26-27 and James 1:15.
The Catholic teaching on Justification: Justification is on-going process that includes faith and sanctification. Through Justification we are transformed by grace from our unrighteous state to righteous one, through infusion of the righteousness of God through Christ in us. We do not and cannot become righteous by our own effort and we cannot be righteous and sinners at the same time. Therefore, our entire sins (past, present, and future) must be forgiven and washed away - they are neither imputed on Christ nor infused in Him. Christ willingly offered Himself to die on the cross to atone the sins of ALL MEN, but God did not punish Him for those sins. Scriptural reasons for Catholic belief on justification 1. Scripture says through Christ we are made righteous (Rom. 5:19). 2. What makes us deserve hell is our sins - through Adam we are made sinners (Rom. 5:19). Scripture says the soul that sins shall die (Eze. 18:4) and death is the wages of sin (Rom. 6:23). Death refers to hell, not physical death. According to Scripture there are deadly (mortal) and non-deadly sins (venial) as it is written in 1 Jo. 5:16-17. But we cannot avoid sinning both deadly and non-deadly, even after becoming believers (Heb. 10:26-27, James 1:15). 3. Why do we need to be made righteous through Christ to be saved? According to Scripture it is righteousness that delivers from death (Pro. 10:2, 11:4). “Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live” (Pro. 11:19, ESV). “In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death” (Pro. 12:28, ESV). Jesus said in Mat. 25:46 that the righteous shall go to eternal life. 4. Faith is counted as righteousness (Rom. 4:3). In Gen. 15:6 what was counted (Hebrew חָשַׁב, Strong H2803) to Abraham for righteousness is faith. But what was counted (the same חָשַׁב) for righteousness to Phinehas in Psalms 106:31 was not faith but what he did as described in verse 30 (in more detail in Num. 25:7-8). Scripture says (ESV): Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he [Christ] is righteous (1 Jo. 3:7). Our ability to have faith and to do what is right comes from and is only possible by grace through Christ - apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). 5. But Catholics are not obsessed with accumulating righteous deeds - Ecl. 5:16 warns us (ESV): “Be not overly righteous.” The reason is those accumulated righteous deeds will be forgotten through committing one deadly sin as it is written in Eze. 33:12-13 (ESV): “The righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins. Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die." Since, in Catholic teaching, our ability to do righteous works comes from and is only possible by grace there is no unfairness from God’s side when He ignores our past accumulated righteous works when we sin. It will be unfair if we contribute, even partially, in doing those righteous works. 6. God does not demand us to be perfectly righteous (sin-free) through-out our life. What He demands from us when we sin is written in Eze. 33:14-16 (ESV, emphasis in capital added): “Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet IF HE TURNS FROM HIS SIN AND DOES WHAT IS JUST AND RIGHT, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. NONE OF THE SINS THAT HE HAS COMMITTED SHALL BE REMEMBERED AGAINST HIM. HE HAS DONE WHAT IS JUST AND RIGHT; HE SHALL SURELY LIVE.” Whenever we sin, in Catholic teaching, grace from God will move and enable us to turn from sin (or to repent) AND to do what is right and just. Doing what is just and right is known in Catholic teaching as TEMPORAL PUNISHMENT. Our past sins will be forgotten, and we will live or regain our righteous state back. God will ignore our past accumulated sins if we repent AND do what is just and right. This is gracious act of God as Scripture says: “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psa. 130:3). Rom. 4:7-8 says (ESV): “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds re forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” 7. When we die and stand for judgment (Heb. 9:27) we will go to heaven if we die in righteous state, that is, without any un-repented deadly sin. One un-repented deadly sin is enough to send a person to hell. If a person dies with un-repented non-deadly sin and/or temporal punishment he/she will go through purification in purgatory before entering heaven. Our salvation depends neither on the number of sins (deadly and non-deadly) nor on the number of righteous works we do, but depends on grace that enables us to die in righteous state.
The Reformers' teaching on Justification:
Justification is by faith alone and through Justification an exchange took place between believers and Christ, known as double imputation. The believers got Christ’ righteousness imputed on them as if that righteousness were theirs while they remain sinners. Christ got believers’ entire sins (past, present, future) imputed on Him as if those sins were His while He remains sinless. There is no limit of either amount or type of believers' sins imputed on Him. Christ willingly offered Himself to take the punishment of those sins by dying on the cross or God punished Christ for the sins of believers and He paid the penalty of those sins in full (Calvin went even further by teaching Christ went to hell to be tortured by the devil as believers’ substitute).
Questions:
1. The phrase "justified by faith" appears four times in New Testament (Rom. 3:28, 5:1, Gal. 2:16, 3:24). New Testament was written in Greek and the one in Rom. 3:28 is in Greek passive present tense while the rest are in Greek passive aorist tense . Both tenses do not indicate once for all justification. If Scripture teaches faith-alone justification, then the Holy Spirit would inspire Paul to write the phrase "justified by faith" in Greek passive perfect tense. Unlike that of English Greek perfect tense indicates the action described by the verb (to be justified) was completed in the past with continuing effect to the present.
2. Scripture denies double imputation in Eze. 18:20 (ESV): “The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”
3. Scripture says that we lose righteousness by sinning or we cannot be righteous and sinner at the same time. Eze. 33:13 (ESV) says: “Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die." Death here refers to hell, not physical death.
4. By declaring believers as righteous who remain sinners and punishing Christ for the sins He did not commit on the cross God did abomination according to what Scripture says in Pro. 17:15 (ESV): “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.”
Few points:
1. In Catholic teaching only babies begins their Justification at Baptism; for adults they first must believe, which marks the beginning of their justification, before they can be baptized.
2. Scripture does distinguish between deadly (or mortal) and non-deadly (venial) sins in 1 John 5:16-17. You turn blind eye on this verse as it contradicts the imputation of your entire sins (past, present, and future) on Christ as taught by the Reformers. There is no limit of either amount or type os sins imputed on Him, hence scriptural distinction stated in 1 John 5:16-17 between deadly and non-deadly sins become obsolete and irrelevant.
3. Scripture does say that sins after faith affect our salvation - read Heb. 10:26-27 and James 1:15.
The Catholic teaching on Justification:
Justification is on-going process that includes faith and sanctification. Through Justification we are transformed by grace from our unrighteous state to righteous one, through infusion of the righteousness of God through Christ in us. We do not and cannot become righteous by our own effort and we cannot be righteous and sinners at the same time. Therefore, our entire sins (past, present, and future) must be forgiven and washed away - they are neither imputed on Christ nor infused in Him. Christ willingly offered Himself to die on the cross to atone the sins of ALL MEN, but God did not punish Him for those sins.
Scriptural reasons for Catholic belief on justification
1. Scripture says through Christ we are made righteous (Rom. 5:19).
2. What makes us deserve hell is our sins - through Adam we are made sinners (Rom. 5:19). Scripture says the soul that sins shall die (Eze. 18:4) and death is the wages of sin (Rom. 6:23). Death refers to hell, not physical death. According to Scripture there are deadly (mortal) and non-deadly sins (venial) as it is written in 1 Jo. 5:16-17. But we cannot avoid sinning both deadly and non-deadly, even after becoming believers (Heb. 10:26-27, James 1:15).
3. Why do we need to be made righteous through Christ to be saved? According to Scripture it is righteousness that delivers from death (Pro. 10:2, 11:4). “Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live” (Pro. 11:19, ESV). “In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death” (Pro. 12:28, ESV). Jesus said in Mat. 25:46 that the righteous shall go to eternal life.
4. Faith is counted as righteousness (Rom. 4:3). In Gen. 15:6 what was counted (Hebrew חָשַׁב, Strong H2803) to Abraham for righteousness is faith. But what was counted (the same חָשַׁב) for righteousness to Phinehas in Psalms 106:31 was not faith but what he did as described in verse 30 (in more detail in Num. 25:7-8). Scripture says (ESV): Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he [Christ] is righteous (1 Jo. 3:7). Our ability to have faith and to do what is right comes from and is only possible by grace through Christ - apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).
5. But Catholics are not obsessed with accumulating righteous deeds - Ecl. 5:16 warns us (ESV): “Be not overly righteous.” The reason is those accumulated righteous deeds will be forgotten through committing one deadly sin as it is written in Eze. 33:12-13 (ESV): “The righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins. Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die." Since, in Catholic teaching, our ability to do righteous works comes from and is only possible by grace there is no unfairness from God’s side when He ignores our past accumulated righteous works when we sin. It will be unfair if we contribute, even partially, in doing those righteous works.
6. God does not demand us to be perfectly righteous (sin-free) through-out our life. What He demands from us when we sin is written in Eze. 33:14-16 (ESV, emphasis in capital added): “Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet IF HE TURNS FROM HIS SIN AND DOES WHAT IS JUST AND RIGHT, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. NONE OF THE SINS THAT HE HAS COMMITTED SHALL BE REMEMBERED AGAINST HIM. HE HAS DONE WHAT IS JUST AND RIGHT; HE SHALL SURELY LIVE.” Whenever we sin, in Catholic teaching, grace from God will move and enable us to turn from sin (or to repent) AND to do what is right and just. Doing what is just and right is known in Catholic teaching as TEMPORAL PUNISHMENT. Our past sins will be forgotten, and we will live or regain our righteous state back. God will ignore our past accumulated sins if we repent AND do what is just and right. This is gracious act of God as Scripture says: “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psa. 130:3). Rom. 4:7-8 says (ESV): “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds re forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin”
7. When we die and stand for judgment (Heb. 9:27) we will go to heaven if we die in righteous state, that is, without any un-repented deadly sin. One un-repented deadly sin is enough to send a person to hell. If a person dies with un-repented non-deadly sin and/or temporal punishment he/she will go through purification in purgatory before entering heaven. Our salvation depends neither on the number of sins (deadly and non-deadly) nor on the number of righteous works we do, but depends on grace that enables us to die in righteous state.