As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“One contention of those who deny imputed righteousness is that we can’t ride on the coattails of Christ’s righteousness. These scholars argue that our inheritance is the result of Spirit-empowered obedience of faith that lies within us.” - TGC
“Both James and Paul agree: a lively faith produces good works. In this article, then, I aim to explain how they both agree with each other. But before I do that, I will first suggest that James echoes Jesus and so does not aim to contradict Paul.” - Wyatt Graham
What had Luther discovered that made him so unflinching in the face of being burned alive? What convictions were beginning to drive him? This sermon explores Luther’s theological journey and his personal discovery of justification by faith alone. - Ligonier
Happy Reformation Day!
October 31 is a glorious day to remember and celebrate salvation by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone, through Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone.
The passage that transformed the Western world on this date more than 500 years ago makes the whole issue plain:
The heart of the Protestant Reformation is that God declares you to be righteous by faith alone, in Christ alone. If you don’t believe this, then you do not have the true good news. This doctrine is often called “justification by faith.” It’s a churchy phrase that has lost some of its punch—many Christians know it’s “good,” but perhaps they can’t explain what it means. This article will show how the apostle Paul explains this vital truth. It’s a very big deal. Maybe the biggest deal ever.
We can trace the “Christian” family through three broad streams:
“The glory is all God’s because He does everything from everlasting to everlasting for our salvation.” - Ligonier
“The most serious, and potentially damning, errors surface when the two are not carefully distinguished. According to Turretin, justification and sanctification differ in at least five ways.” - Kevin DeYoung
This article argues that the Roman Catholic Church (“Rome”) is wrong about the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement. In fact, she is so incorrect that her teaching on this matter is grave error that distorts the gospel.
By “Christ’s atonement,” we mean the action by which Christ’s vicarious death reconciles us to God and restores fellowship with him. The dispute here is about the sufficiency of this atonement. Did Christ atone for the consequences of all our sins? Is his atonement permanent or conditional?
How is a person justified before God? That was the question that ignited the Reformation. Beyond that foundational question, theologians have debated additional questions, such as “What is the importance of justification in relation to the other benefits of salvation?” and “Where does justification fit logically in relation to saving faith?”
To answer these questions about justification, we must first explore the exact nature of justification. Theologians have held two main positions: infusion and imputation.
At the time of the Reformation, Catholics and Protestants differed greatly in their understanding of justification and grace. The Catholic position defined justification to include all of the benefits of salvation, making it a process. Grace was understood as a God-given ability to do good works which was infused into the person. This Catholic view is sometimes described by the words, “Christ IN us.”
“Occasionally, some well-meaning Baptists have asserted that belief in both the active and passive obedience of Christ as the ground of our justification is something foreign to Baptist life… is this understanding of the active obedience of Christ something new to Baptist life or is it rather something that many Baptists have affirmed from the early decades of Baptist history?” - DBTS Bl
Discussion