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| I love stone arch-bridges! They are simply graceful and majestic at the same time. Concerning the picture: The stone arch-bridge was ALREADY completed WITHOUT the faith nor the works of the pedestrians crossing it. They certainly cross it by faith, and crossing they experience the solid bridge under their feet! Their crossing evidences the existence of the bridge and manifests their faith and works; it does not bring the bridge into existence!!! |
The justification of the dead condemned sinner before God:
is it by -
is it by -
The RCC's "faith AND works,"
or
or
Her Protestant daughters "faith ALONE",
or
or
The Bible's "NEITHER"???
It is popularly attributed to Luther, a man revered by many, that "the doctrine of justification is the article of a standing or falling church."
This statement was intended to strike a fatal blow upon the Roman Catholic Church. since her doctrine on justification was, and still is, completely erroneous.
This is what the Harlot Church believes concerning justification before God:
"If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, Canons on Justification, Canon 9).
It was rightly observed that "But, when the Roman Catholic Church negates justification by faith alone, it necessarily implies that we must do something for justification; for if it is not by faith alone, then it must be by faith and something."
Therefore, the RCC teaches justification of guilty condemned sinners before God by BOTH faith AND works.
Luther battled against that error and taught that the justification of guilty condemned sinners before God is NOT by faith AND works, but by faith alone.
The whole reformation movement was built upon Luther's "sola fideism" - i.e. condemned guilty sinners are justified before God by their act of faith in Christ. Luther amputated works from the equation of justification before God.
However, Luther's position was no nearer the truth on justification than that of the Harlot Church!!! Luther was completely mistaken and confused by his sola fideism!
The Harlot Church teaches FAITH PLUS WORK for justification before God. But the justification of condemned guilty sinners before God is NEITHER by their act of faith NOR their works. It is by God's free grace alone, based solely on the finished work of Jesus Christ alone.
Luther and his fellow Protestants amputated one of those two gangrenous limbs embraced by the Harlot Church, and declares that justification before God is by faith alone, and without works. The Protestant still ends up with one GANGRENOUS limb - justification by faith ONLY! One cancerous limb is no less cancerous than two CANCEROUS limbs! BOTH, the Harlot Church, and all her "sola fidei" daughters are gravely and grievously mistaken, one no less than the other.
The Scriptures plainly declares that justification before God is SOLELY and WHOLLY by God, and that freely by sovereign grace. It has to be, and this is plainly obvious.
An un-justified man is a man STILL in his native state of condemnation and death, therefore incapable of anything towards his justification before God; a man in his un-justified state is utterly incapable of believing in order to be justified. Moreover, faith is a fruit and effect of justification by God.
FAITH is the alone instrument for a justified man to EXPERIENCE the blessedness of the justification that has taken place by the free grace of God... see Gen 15:1-6. Abraham was already justified by God free grace when God called him out of the Ur of the Chaldeans. Many insisted that Abraham was an UN-justified man before God in Gen 12-14, and was justified by God only in Gen 15:1-6.
FAITH and WORKS are evidence of a justified state. They are EVIDENCE of justification already applied by God's free and sovereign grace.
The RCC has mistaken them both for LEGAL justification before God. The Protestant daughters of the RCC abandoned one of them and hold fast to the other equally gangrenous limb.
Both have mistaken the means of EVIDENTIAL justification before one's own conscience and men as the instrument of forensic justification before God!!
Take a look here:
http://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2008/01/by-faith-alone-vs-not-by-faith-alone.html.
By Luther's standard, that is "the doctrine of justification is the article of a standing or falling church - are all the "sola fidei" churches standing, or fallen?
He who ears to hear, let him hear!
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If you are interested in what the Old School Baptists believed in justification, see what they have summarized here, and some commentaries.
http://things-new-and-old.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-doctrine-of-justification-as.html
