Dear Friends,
One of our members recently handed me a reprinted article dated Nov.
3, 1999. It was from the Wall Street Journal, and it was titled “By Grace
Alone.” In reading it. I discovered that Roman Catholics and Protestants
are much closer theologically than I had ever imagined. Maybe it was my
fault for not knowing what Pope Paul 11 had said in 1999 when he declared that
Roman Catholics and Protestants share the same beliefs regarding justification
by faith alone.
It was 504 years ago that that Roman Catholics and Protestants
went their separate ways over the issue of how one enters heaven. It was Martin
Luther who boldly proclaimed that it is faith alone that saves an individual
and opens the door to eternal life. Prior to that time the Roman Catholic
church had emphasized that it was not just one’s faith but a combination of
one’s faith and good works that led to salvation. It is faith alone, or faith
plus works that justifies a person and opens the doorway to eternal life?
When Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg,
he sent spiritual shockwaves around the world. The Protestant church was
birthed. It separated from the Roman Catholic Church over a number of issues,
but foremost among them was the difference regarding the pathway to salvation.
Now after 504 years of separation, the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant
Church are much closer theologically than I had imagined.
In 1999 at a conference between Protestant Lutherans and
Roman Catholics the churches resolved their long-standing debate over how one
is saved. The Roman Catholic Church acknowledged that they were wrong in what
they were teaching.
I quote from the Wall Street Journal, “The doctrine of works,
Luther charged, had the effect of convincing bad people, abetted by the
Catholic church's then practice of selling indulgences, that they could buy
their way into heaven. The Catholic Church put an end to indulgences in 1562 at
the council of Trent. But the dispute over justification, and the Catholic
Church’s official condemnation of Lutheran teaching, persisted until Sunday.”
On a Sunday 22 years ago, the Roman Catholic church under Pope Paul 11
“conceded the theological debate to Luther: agreeing that it is by grace alone,
in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part
, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit.”
This was a significant step in mending an important theological
difference separating the two churches. At this conference in Augsburg, Germany
it was announced that there was agreement between Protestants and Roman
Catholics regarding how one enters heaven. It was declared that salvation is
the result of faith, and faith alone, and not a combination of faith plus one’s
works. This was a startling concession by the Roman Catholic Church.
I share this because I recently was communicating with a Roman
Catholic friend of mine who was upset by a comment I had made in quoting Isaiah
64:6 which states, “all our good works are as filthy rags.” I was making the
point that no matter how good our good works may be, they will never be good
enough to open the doorway to heaven.
Our good works have nothing to do with our salvation. They are
simply a product of our salvation. Our good works spring from our understanding
and acceptance of God’s amazing grace that saves sinners such
as you and I. When we realize what Christ did for us on the cross, we
desire to show our love for Him by serving Him by serving others.
It has been said that the only good work that saves is the good
work that was done for us upon the cross.
What good work could the penitent thief do on the cross that might
save him. The answer is none. His hands and feet were nailed to a cross, and
there was nothing he could accomplish that could earn his way into heaven. So
helplessly, he tuned to Jesus saying, “Remember me when you come into
your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). And Jesus turned to him and said, “Today you will
be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Luther and Pope Paul 11 were right. There is only one way to
heaven and that is through “faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone.
If you haven’t made that decision, and if you are trusting in your own efforts
and your good works to help get you into heaven, stop trying and start
trusting, and simply put you faith in Christ alone for your salvation.
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
It is true that “faith without works is fruitless, but it is also
true that works without faith is rootless.”
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