“A FOUR POINT SUMMARY OF REFORMATION JUSTIFICATION” Part 3
The following is a four point summary of the absolute importance and complete opposite differences between Roman Catholicism and the Christian Reformation. Points 1 & 2 were discussed on Tuesday 27th July 2021. Point 3 was discussed on Wed 28th July. Today Thurs 29th July 2021, we will discuss Point 4.
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Roman Catholicism |
The Reformation |
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1.
Justified by God’s work of grace in man |
1.
Justified by God’s work of grace in Christ |
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2.
Justified by faith which has become active by good works of charity |
2.
Justified by faith alone |
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3.
Justified by infusedrighteousness |
3.
Justified by imputed (outside of yourself) righteousness |
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4. Justification means making a man righteous in
his |
4. Justification means a man is accounted and |
4. JUSTIFICATION
MEANS THAT A MAN IS ACCOUNTED AND DECLARED RIGHTEOUS.
This
has always been the stumbling block for Rome. They say “How can
God
declare anyone righteous if they are not righteous inside of
themselves?” Roman
Catholicism is the religion of human reasoning. To support their
argument,
they reach into the Latin and take the meaning of the word “justify” to
be “made
righteous” inside the man himself. The Catholic reasons that a
man must
be transformed within himself before he can have right standing
with
God. Surely the reader can see, how this just produces endless torment
within a
man. This is why the Catholics whip themselves, starve themselves and
strap
barb wire to their bodies for punishment as they know they are wicked
sinners
and never good enough before God. As they believe the wafer is actual
body
of Christ being ‘unbloody sacrifice’, how many of these biscuits must
they eat
to be pure inside? Indeed, how much of Christ’s actual blood
must they
drink? The Catholic’s never ending quest is for to have 100% purity
within
themselves – but here’s the dilemma that can never be solved – “HOW
MUCH OF GOD’S
SPIRIT MUST BE POURED INTO THEM TO MAKE THEM RIGHTEOUS ENOUGH IN GOD’S
EYES?” It’s
like a rat running inside a circular wheel – it can never stop! There
is never
an end to it!
In
contrast, Reformation salvation theology is based upon St Paul’s
scripture But
to him
that worketh not, but believeth on him that JUSTIFIETH THE
UNGODLY,
his faith is counted for righteousness. Romans 4:5. See
that?
God accounts an ungodly man, that is, declares a
wretched sinner,
as justified, as righteous, even when he isn’t inside of himself,
because
someone else paid the law’s penalty on his behalf. God justifies all
sorts of
sinners, not on the condition of any preceding righteousness they have
of their
own, but on the condition they believe and are fully persuaded like
Abraham
(Rom 4:21) what God has done for them – that God has already
reconciled and
accepted them in the substitute – the Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest
in the
flesh who came to satisfy his own laws because an ordinary man could
not. This
is an incomprehensible love - that a man would die for his enemies!
WHAT SORT LOVE
IS THAT?! Certainly not human love. It had to be God’s love (Jn 3:16).
Christ
died in our place.
The
Reformers pointed out the words “justify” and “justification”
are
legal and judicial words connected with courts of law
and closely
related to trials, judgment, penalties and justice (Deut 25:1; 1Kings
8:32;
1Cor 4:3; Matt 12:37; Rom 3:4). The words directly point to a declaration
and pronouncement from the divine court in heaven that a
sinner can be
certain of right-standing with God upon believing what God has already
done FOR HIM and outside of him – that is, God
punishes
Christ instead of the man himself.
“Justification”
does not mean a change in the man’s own person, but a declaration
of how he appears in God’s eyes. Divine justification does not
make a
man internally righteous, but simply accounts him as righteous.
In the
Old Testament God did not pronounce Abraham as a father after
Isaac was
born but before. Believing God would perform what he had promised,
Abraham, by his
own faith, accepted that he would be a father as God declared
it so.
As in creation, God said “Let there be light” before there was light
(Gen 1:3).
Although
we are foul sinners inside, we can have right standing with God
for what
Christ has already done for us. Abraham staggered, but believed
God, that
his and Sarah’s dead bodies (Rom 4:20) would produce a child.
Similarly, we are
dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1), but we can believe, reckon
and account
that God can give birth to a new creature calling “…those
things
which be not as though they were.” (Rom 4:17). Upon believing on
what
Christ has done for us, God will spiritually circumcise a man
so his
soul is cut from his sinful flesh. The
soul is spiritually washed clean and thereby saved (Col
2:11). Even
though still trapped in sinful flesh, our saved soul is the new
creature
(2Cor 5:17). A saved person can now stand before God saying “I believe
that
with Christ’s work outside of me, you declare me free!
Harley Hitchcock
This
website’s front page is:
www.
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A FOUR POINT SUMMARY OF REFORMATION JUSTIFICATION Part 1
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“JUSTIFICATION EXPLAINED” Part 1
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Australian Bible Ministries, PO
Box 5058 Mt. Gravatt East, 4122 Qld, Australia
www.AustralianBibleMinistries.com
