Growing up in the Catholic Church I felt the weight of my sin. That place would not let me forget it. I became an altar boy because I felt the lure of the religious and the mystical. The church offered me no relief, but it did provide me with an escape; it offered me a world filled with costumes and rituals. Looking back on it, I will say it was a distraction. Never was the liberating truth of the Gospel spelled out in such a way that it would ever be considered a suspect for bringing anyone joy. The word "Gospel" means "good news," but you would never guess that from the experience I had. I remember one priest becoming happy and they kicked him out! I learned later he had become born again. Sproul in this section delineates a key difference between Protestants and Catholics that to this day, since the first day I heard it 40 years ago, brings me much joy to the point of wanting to sing. I pray it lift your heart too.
This is a review of How Can I Be Right With God by R.C. Sproul with study questions added to turn them into lessons. These lessons are part of a wider study on Sanctification which has as its goal the fulfillment of Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
I’ve set these studies up in a specific order so that all may easily build on the foundation of Christ with the finest materials - gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor 3:10-13). God has gifted the Church with amazing evangelists, pastors, and teachers to help us in this building project (Eph 4:11-16). Although I am not one of these gifts to the Church, I do seek to organize their material in such a way as to help you become all that God wants you to be. I invite you to study along with me. You can see an overview of the complete study on Sanctification here. To go to the start of this current series click here. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23
6: By Christ Alone
In the sixth session of the Council of Trent (~1550), the Roman Catholic Church defined its doctrine of justification, giving a list of more than twenty canons of denunciation—views that they repudiated, including the Reformation view. But in their exposition of the doctrine of justification, the church decreed that faith is necessary for justification.
Some say that the Roman Catholic Church thinks that faith is insignificant, unimportant, or unnecessary. One of the worst slanders against the Roman Catholic Church is that the difference between Rome and Protestants is the Protestants believe in justification by faith, and the Catholics believe in justification by works, as if the Roman church didn’t believe in the necessity of faith. That is simply not true.[1]
In the canons of the Council of Trent, the Roman church said three fundamental things about faith as it relates to justification: faith is the initial movement; it is the foundation of justification; and it is the root of justification. Thus, the Roman Catholic Church does not teach that justification happens apart from faith because it’s by faith that we enter into the sacraments and we receive the infusion of the righteousness of Christ, and it’s by faith that we work with that infused grace, that we cooperate with it and assent to it so that righteousness then begins to inhere within us.
But what’s missing in the Roman Catholic formula regarding faith is the word sola.[2] When Luther made the declaration sola fide—that justification is by faith alone— that word alone is what provoked a lot of the controversy. The Reformers would say, in response to the Council of Trent, that faith is not only the initial step, foundation, or root of justification; it is all you need for justification to follow, that is, for a person to receive the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. The only thing we need to get the benefit of the work of Christ is faith. Anyone who has true faith immediately and completely receives all the benefits of the work of Jesus Christ. Calvin insisted that justification is not just initiated by faith, it is completed by faith. The very second someone has true faith, God declares him justified and imputes to him all of the merit of Christ, so that all that Christ is and all that He has accomplished becomes his.
Luther referred to the righteousness that justifies us as extra nos, meaning “outside of us.”[3] He meant that the righteousness that justifies us is not our own. He used another Latin phrase to capture this idea: alienum iustitsia, which means “alien righteousness.” When Luther said that the justice or righteousness by which we are justified is an alien righteousness, a righteousness that is extra nos, he meant that the righteousness that justifies the Christian, and the only righteousness that could ever justify a Christian, is the righteousness that inherently belongs to Jesus. It’s given to us and counted for us, but properly speaking, it is Jesus’ own righteousness.
If indeed the righteousness by which we are justified is something already accomplished by Jesus, what the Apostles and Reformers were saying is that the only thing for me to do to receive the benefit of that righteousness is to put my trust in it, rely upon it, grasp it in faith, receive it, and embrace it humbly, receiving this free gift of justification by relying on Jesus and Him alone. That’s what is meant by justification by faith alone.
For the Roman Catholic Church, the justice by which we are justified comes from Christ initially, but it becomes ours as we cooperate with it and it becomes inherent within us so that it is properly our own justice, our own righteousness.[4] Then it isn’t alien or extra; it’s inner, a righteousness that is in us, not one that is apart from us.
While the Roman Catholic Church denies the doctrine of justification by faith alone, it does not deny the importance of faith; it does not teach that justification is by works alone. But it does insist that certain works are necessary in order for a person to be deemed just by God, which can be seen most clearly in its doctrine of penance, as we saw in the last chapter.
The Roman Catholic Church does not say that a person can become righteous without Christ or without grace. It does not deny the sinner’s dependence upon Jesus Christ and His grace for justification. Christ is necessary for justification, but in the sense that He makes it possible for us to be justified. If we cooperate with and assent to His grace, we actually become inherently righteous; only when that righteousness is inherent within us will God declare us just.
Luther got exercised about the idea that we could possibly have any merit or righteousness of our own that would avail before God’s throne. He said the Word of God is a thunderbolt against all kinds of merit apart from the merit of Christ. The Roman church repudiated sola fide because it believed that a person, in addition to faith, must have works, and in addition to works, must have merit in order to be deemed just and to be rewarded by God. But the Reformers believed that this concept of work and merit cast a shadow upon the full purchase of our redemption that was accomplished once and for all by the merit of Christ that was won for us and for all who believe.
One beloved hymn of the church is “Rock of Ages” by Augustus Toplady. A verse in that hymn says,
“Nothing in my hand I bring—simply to the cross I cling
Naked, come to Thee for dress; helpless, look to Thee for grace
Foul, I, to the fountain, fly—wash me, Savior, or I die.”
This hymn directs our attention to where we must put our reliance and confidence for salvation. It must not rest in our own activity, performance, or merit—rather, our confidence must look to Christ, who alone has sufficient merit for us, and whose righteousness is perfect and freely given to all who put their trust in Him. The only merit that we bring to the judgment seat of God of our own is demerit.
Questions & Notes
- True or False: One of the differences between Rome and Protestants is that the Protestants believe in justification by faith and the Catholics believe in justification by works. ↑
- What is missing in the Roman Catholic formula regarding faith is the word _________. ↑
- Luther referred to the righteousness that justifies us as extra nos, meaning “_________ _________ _________ .” ↑
- For the Roman Catholic Church, the justice by which we are justified comes from Christ initially, but it becomes ours as we _________ with it and it becomes inherent within us. ↑
Click on the "How Can I Be Right with God” tag below to see all the posts in this series. To go to the start of this series click here.
