promise of heaven.

Hope that is seen The Catholic Church understands justification as

(assurance) is not hope at all; it actually a true eradication of sin and a true sanctification
Justification by Grace:
nullifies faith (See Rom 8:25-35). and renewal. The soul becomes objectively !ot by Faith Alone
pleasing to God and so merits heaven. Scripture
Catholics pray for the “grace of perseverance” conceives of the forgiveness of sin as a real and The Catholic Church has always affirmed that
in their faith, of which it is written, he that complete renewal of man. The words used are salvation is a free gift that God freely offers to
“shall persevere to the end, shall be saved” (Mt “blot out” (Ps 50:3), “clears away” (Ps 102:12), mankind. God “desires all men to be saved and
10:22, 24:13). “takes away” (Jn 1:29). The few times the Bible to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim
Have you been saved? mentions “covering” sins, it refers not to the 2:4). God is the Saviour of all men, especially
forgiveness of sins by God, but to the of those who believe.”(1 Tim 3:10). Human
forgiveness of one man’s sins by another. Since beings cannot save themselves. Nor does
Evangelicals will sometimes ask a Catholic:
only God really forgives, the best we can do is mankind deserve eternal life, any more than we
“Have you been saved?”. A Catholic’s answer
overlook, or “cover” them. Fundamentalism’s “deserved” to be created in the first place.
would be threefold:
notion that God “covers” our sins, but does not Nothing that a person has ever done or ever
1. I have been saved. It is an objective fact actually remove them is an unfortunate could do on his own can merit or earn eternal
that Jesus Christ has died and been raised to misreading of the Bible that found its origin in life; God must offer it or confer it.
save me from my sin. Salvation has already Martin Luther.
begun to take effect in the life of everyone who We can only be saved by Jesus Christ
has accepted Jesus Christ and has been baptised “Are you saved?” asks the fundamentalist. “I am
(2 Cor 5:17). redeemed”, answers the Catholic, “and like the The Catholic Church does not teach and has
apostle Paul I am working out my salvation in never taught that a person can be saved by
2. Secondly, I am being saved; I am still
fear and trembling”(Phil 2:12) – with a firm anyone else other than Jesus Christ. No one is
running the race and, we all, with unveiled
hope but not with a false assurance – and I do all saved by Buddha, Mohamed or the leaders or
face, beholding the glory of the Lord are being
this as the Church has taught, unchanged, from gods of any other religions. Nor do Catholics
changed into his likeness from one degree of
the time of Christ”. believe that anyone is saved by the Pope, the
glory to another (2 Cor 3:18).
Virgin Mary, the saints or any other member of
3. I hope to be saved. “I hope that I may the Church. Jesus alone is the Saviour of man:
arrive at the resurrection from the dead …. I am “…. There is salvation in no one else for there
racing to grasp the prize, if possible, since I is no name under heaven given among men by
have been grasped by Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:11- which we can be saved” (Acts 4:12).
13).
Both works and faith play a part in
Catholic and Protestant views of justification Written by John Lee and Frank Bompas.
Printed with ecclesiastical approval. salvation
The Reformers saw justification, then, as a Many Evangelicals will say they believe
mere legal act by which God declares the sinner Christians are saved by faith, and that Catholics
to be meriting heaven even though he remains, believe they are saved by works. Both
in fact, unjust and sinful. It is not a real statements are fundamentally inaccurate. Both
eradication of sin, but a covering of non- Protestant and Catholic Christians accept the
imputation. One’s sins are covered, as it were, Pope John Paul II Society of Evangelists
P.O. Box 5584, Bakersfield, California 93388
official starting tenet of soteriology that we are
by a blanket, the “dungheap” of sin remaining all saved by grace. This is not a point of
e-mail: [email protected] Phone: 661 393-3239
underneath. It is not an inner renewal and a real disagreement between Protestants and
www.pjpiisoe.org
sanctification, only an external application of Donation Welcome and Appreciated Catholics. This is one of our glorious
God’s justice. Pamphlet 068 agreements!
The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it Scripture clearly teaches that “graced” works are law (the Torah) against grace (through faith in
this way: “Since the initiative belongs to God in involved in the “by” of justification. James 2:26 Jesus Christ WORKING IN LOVE – Gal 5:6).
the order of grace, no one can merit the initial is the most obvious passage: “…. You see that a
grace of forgiveness and justification” (CCC person is justified by what he does and not by An Evangelical apologist once said that all the
2010). faith alone.” cults started by tampering with the words of
Scripture to make it say what they want.
Evangelicals and others however define Is it any wonder that some of the Reformers
justification as an act of God whereby he attempted to put James into an “appendix” to the Catholics unashamedly start with the gospel and
declares the Christian righteous. It happens at Bible rather than in its historically accepted base their soteriology on Jesus’ teachings. The
one moment in time and is made possible by place? rest of the New Testament is looked at as an
the Christian’s faith alone (sola fide: The teaching of Jesus on justification expansion on Jesus (which it is) and must be
justification by faith alone - Latin). understood in the light of his teachings.
Justification continues throughout our Most important: this is also the gospel of Jesus. Evangelicals start their study of soteriology
lives His ideal was that of a life of (graced) good with the Pauline epistles. All the rest of the
works flowing from a vibrant inner faith. See Mt Bible is a “footnote” to Paul, including the
Catholic Christians believe that justification 7:24-27, the two sons (Mt 21:28-32), the Good teaching of Jesus. A check of evangelical
starts at a moment in time but continues Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37), the talents (Mt 25:14- literature will bear this out.
throughout a person’s life. Justification, for 30), the sheep and the goats (Mt 25:31-46) and
Catholics, is made possible by faith working in other texts to teach a unity of faith and works This approach to Scripture bears an uncanny
love (Gal 5:6). It is an error to think that for salvation. How much more explicit could resemblance to the heresy of Marcion, the 2nd
Catholics do not have a place for faith in Jesus have been in the following: “Not everyone century Gnostic, who relegated all of the Old
justification. who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the Testament and most of the New Testament to
kingdom of heaven, but only he who ‘does the second place under the Pauline epistles. He
The unscriptural belief of justification by faith will of my Father in heaven’” (Mt 7:21). taught that the Old Testament was lived under
alone only arose with Martin Luther in the 15th an entirely different economy to the New (that
century. In order to substantiate this man-made It is important to keep in mind that Paul uses the will sound familiar to most Evangelicals,
claim, Luther deliberately added the word word “works” in a very different way from particularly “dispensationalists”). Because
“alone” to his German translation of Rom 3:28. either James or the Catholic Church. Paul is Marcion led the first major split in the Church
In reality, the only time “alone” appears with usually referring to Jewish obligational “works of Jesus Christ, Polycarp, a disciple of St John,
the word “faith” in the original Greek text is in of the law”, as opposed to “graced works”. Look referred to him as “the first-born of Satan”.
James 2:24 where it says we are not saved by at Rom 3:28: “For we maintain that a man is There are some Evangelicals who teach that
faith alone. justified by faith apart from observing the law” “people of Jesus’ time lived under the law; we
(the Torah). Paul uses the word as a verb rather live under grace, therefore very few of Jesus’
Justification is incomplete without sayings apply to us”(sic).
than a noun, probably due to his continued
sanctification
struggles with the “party” of the circumcision. In
Phil 2:12 he exhorts his converts to “work out Catholics speak of heaven as our “hope”.
Some Evangelicals have likened Catholic Evangelicals speak of knowing (being
your salvation with fear and trembling”. Why
justification to Evangelical justification and “assured”) that one is saved. Although Scripture
work, why fear, why trembling, if faith is all that
sanctification rolled up into one A Catholic uses both terminologies, Catholics are actually
is necessary?
would respond that justification is not complete using the more common biblical language, for
without complete sanctification: “Justification faith, hope and charity are the three virtues of 1
In Eph 2:8-10 “For it is by grace that you have
entails the sanctification of (man’s) whole Cor 13:13. Our hope is in Christ, and his
been saved …. Not by works” Paul is not pitting
being”) (CCC 1995).
faith against works. He is pitting works of the