Was Martin Luther Wrong?

Are There Reconcilable Differences?

A real email exchange between two fellows discussing the difference between the Roman Catholic and the Reformational view of salvation.

This discussion is also pertinent to some discussions among protestants thinking about reformulating justification.

Mr. Faith Plus Works
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I enjoy reading and listening to Dr. Sproul, but I always have one question when he raises this concern; what does one mean when one says faith? Does having faith mean uttering the words or does it mean something more? And, if it means something more then what does it mean?

Mr. Faith Alone
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Good question! If you want to know what Mr. Sproul means by 'faith', then I would recommend reading his book titled, "Faith Alone-The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification". He offers a clear and concise explanation of what he means by faith. He focuses on this question specifically on pages 75-88. He defends the threefold definition of saving faith that was agreed upon by orthodox, confessing Christians during the Reformation. "The constituent elements of saving faith are 1) notitia, 2) assensus, 3) fiducia. Each element was regarded as necessary for saving faith. None of these elements, even fiducia, taken alone or separately, is a sufficient condition for saving faith. All three are essential to it" (page 75).

Mr. Faith Plus Works
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When you answer the question do you reach the conclusion the difference between the two is not as great as thought?

Mr. Faith Alone
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The answer that we are led to by Scripture is that justification is by faith alone. This is the heart of the gospel that the Holy Spirit proclaimed through the Apostle Paul (Rom. 1:17; 3:21-5:21; Gal. 2:15-5:1). The necessary means, or instrumental cause, of justification is personal faith in Jesus Christ as crucified Savior and risen Lord (Rom. 4:23-25; 10:8-13). The meritorious grounds of our justification is entirely in Christ Jesus and His righteousness. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The Catholic Church sees justification as a process. They affirm that faith contributes to our acceptance with God, but it is not sufficient to save. Our works of satisfaction and merit supply what is lacking to declare us right before God. Rome sees baptism as the primary instrumental cause of justification, and the sacrament of penance, whereby congruous merit is achieved through works of satisfaction, as the supplementary cause of restoring God's grace when one commits mortal sin. So believers save themselves with the help of the grace that comes from Christ by the churches sacraments. This is another gospel. Not that there is another, but it is a perversion of the one, true gospel of Jesus Christ. The Council of Trent of the Roman Catholic Church officially condemned the doctrine of justification by faith alone and its related teachings. Here are some of the most famous lines:

• Canon 9: If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone..., let him be anathema.


• Canon 11: If anyone says that men are justified either by the sole imputation of the justice of Christ or by the sole remission of sins,... let him be anathema.


• Canon 12: If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else than confidence in divine mercy, which remits sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this confidence alone that justifies us, let him be anathema.


• Canon 24: If anyone says that the justice received is not preserved and also not increased before God through good works but that those works are merely the fruits and signs of justification obtained, but not the cause of the increase, let him be anathema.


• Canon 30: If anyone says that after the reception of the grace of justification the guilt is so remitted and the debt of eternal punishment so blotted out to every repentant sinner, that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be discharged either in this world or in purgatory before the gates of heaven can be opened, let him be anathema.


• Canon 32: If anyone says that the good works of the one justified are in such manner the gifts of God that they are not also the good merits of him justified; or that the one justified by the good works that he performs by the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ...does not truly merit an increase of grace and eternal life... let him be anathema.

The above continues to be the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church to this very day. Thus, the difference between the two is much greater than many people realize. The differences are fundamental. Paul's reaction to such a distortion of the gospel (so as to remove all glory and sufficiency for salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus alone) should be our reaction, and we should heed his apostolic woe. "Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!" (Galatians 1:8-9)

I hope this was helpful.

May the grace of Jesus Christ be with you,
Mr. Faith Alone

The photo is Stuttgart, Schillerplatz by Per-Andre Hoffmann