Dr Paul Allen

English: The inside of an Orthodox church. Greek Orthodox Church. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Jeremiah 6:1–15 “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” ( v. 14 ). Throughout history men have appeared who would become famous for seeking peace at any price. Perhaps the greatest twentieth-century example of such a figure is the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain who in 1938 proclaimed that he had achieved “peace in our time” with Adolf Hitler even as he was preparing to unleash his blitzkrieg on Europe. Chamberlain’s aversion to hostility was so great that Hitler played him for a fool. Conflict is something that most people, when given the opportunity, try to avoid. Peace is so desirable that significant differences between individuals and groups are often ignored, and unity is sought under the lowest common denominator. When peace is sought under these auspices, it can be easy to ignore the importance of truth altoge...

Image of "Dawn: Luther at Erfurt" which depicts Martin Luther discovering the doctrine of Justification by Faith. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Protestant Reformation threw the Christian world into chaos. At the beginning of the 1400’s the Pope ’s authority was absolute and the only means of salvation were the sacraments given under his auspices. There was a secular/sacred distinction that was ironclad, meaning that the priests and laity lived in practically two separate worlds. There was no concept of church membership, corporate worship, preaching, or Bible reading in the churches. And as far as doctrine was concerned, there was no debate—the creeds and declarations from Rome (and soon to be Avignon) were the law. Things had been this way for six hundred years. In a world where life expectancy was in the 30’s, that is essentially the same as saying that the church had been in the dark forever. But if you fast-forward to the end of the 1500’s, all of that had b...

StJohnsAshfield StainedGlass Baptism (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In natural revelation God reveals himself through creation, but this is incomplete and insufficient revelation. “It reveals Him to us only as Creator. It does little, if anything, to reveal Him to us as holy, as Judge, as Son, as Savior, or as Spirit.” For us to know God as he is and for us to obey him, we must have more than the revelation God gives us through what he has created. “Knowledge of God requires a message, a message from God , a perspicuous (clear) message from God. And God sent a self-attesting, manifestly clear message in Word form .” This was Jesus Christ , the very Word of God. But Jesus was not the only living and active Word of God. There is also Scripture, God’s words recorded and written. “This written Word which reveals God to us has a unique and supernatural quality to it, part of which is that these are the words through which God the Holy Spirit makes Himself known to us individual...

Martin Luther, author of the text of Christ lag in Todes Banden, and who, with Johann Walter, also wrote the melody (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Martin Luther's teaching of " justification by faith alone " was a battle cry for the sufficiency of the merit of Christ and for the graciousness of redemption. His slogan sola fide ("by faith alone") was merely an extension of Augustine 's earlier credo, sola gratia ("by grace alone"). What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ is not merit. No one can possibly subtract from or add to the merit of Christ. His merit is capable of neither diminution or augmentation. Our best works are always tainted by our sinfulness. We are debtors who cannot pay our debts, let alone accrue a surplus of excess merit. To interpret Colossians 1:24 in the way I mentioned in the previous reading is to cast a grotesque shadow over the utter perfection and fullness of Christ's meritorious suffering . What then does...

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ ( Romans 5:1). The doctrine of justification by faith alone , over which the Protestant Reformation was fought, means that justification is by Christ alone . There is nothing we can do to merit our salvation. Rather, redemption from slavery to sin is freely given to all who trust in God. Theologians representing the papacy argued against the Reformers that James 2:24 says, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” They argued that human works contribute to meriting salvation, though the primary work was done by Christ alone. The Reformers replied from Romans 4:2–3, “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and ...

Four Reformers (Photo credit: keepps ) “ For God so loved the world , that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”  (John 3:16). In the study of justification , faith is the only instrument by which we lay hold of the righteousness of Christ . This righteousness of Christ is the ground of our justification and is imputed to us when we trust in Jesus alone for salvation. The Father then declares us righteous in His sight, enabling us to inherit eternal life. This is accomplished entirely apart from any works we perform. Justification by faith alone has been opposed by Roman Catholicism , which says that a combination of our faith and good work s provides for our justification. One impetus for this understanding has been Rome ’s fear that the doctrine of justification by faith alone would encourage people to live immoral lives. Rome fears that this doctrine might lead some to think that the casual acceptance of Jesu...

Image of "Dawn: Luther at Erfurt" which depicts Martin Luther discovering the doctrine of Justification by Faith. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus , whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption”  (1 Cor. 1:30). Has the centuries-long division between Protestants and Roman Catholics finished?  Since the Council of Trent in the mid-sixteenth century, Rome has said that faith is the foundation and the root of justification. For Rome, if there is no faith there is no justification. However, it is not faith alone that justifies a person in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church . Rather, it is faith plus works. In the Roman system, a person cannot be justified unless he has some actual, personal righteousness. Faith lays hold of the grace of Christ , but this grace must be completed through human cooperation. Human beings must cooperate with the grace of Christ and do good works , which in tu...

Christ oriental - Our Lady of Lebanon Melkite Church, Fortaleza Brazil (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Rom. 3:28). Protestantism , in keeping with its commitment to the Bible as the final authority in all matters of faith and life, emphasizes that justification is by faith alone . Only by our faith are we justified.  It would be a mistake, however, to view this faith as in itself some kind of meritorious work that earns our justification. Faith is not some good thing that makes up for all of the evil that we have done in our lives. Christians mistakenly assume that we are justified as a reward for the goodness of our faith or that we, even after the Fall, possess some small bit of good will that enables us to exercise fai th on our own. The Bible tells us that this is not the case. Our faith itself is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8). We are responsible to exercise it, but the only reason we have it at all...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia When it comes to supposed contradictions in the Bible , a classic example is Paul vs. James on the subject of justification. Paul says, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” ( Romans 3:28). James says, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone ” (James 2:24). The tension between the two seems irreconcilable at first glance: either a person is justified apart from works or they aren’t; either Paul is right or James is. They can’t both be right; that would be irrational, postmodern thinking in which truth is relative and, therefore, meaningless. But not necessarily. We have to remember that a single word can have more than one meaning, depending on the context in which it is used. The same word can even be used in seemingly opposing statements and yet both can still be true. (My favorite example is “cleave,” a word that has two directly opposed...

If anything has been lost from our culture, it is the idea that human beings are privately, personally, individually, ultimately, inexorably accountable to God for their lives. The prevailing doctrine of justification today is not justification by faith alone . It’s not even justification by good works or by a combination of faith and works. The prevailing notion of justification in Western culture today is justification by death. It’s assumed that all one has to do to be received into the everlasting arms of God is to die. Related articles Pragmatic Praise for a Pelagian Preacher (divinesatisfaction.com) Justification by faith is secondary (johnmeunier.wordpress.com) ^UR- Justification by faith - For if, wh (rosary2007.wordpress.com) Entering the Justification Debate (greenbaggins.wordpress.com) Justification And Santification: Don't Confuse The Two (withalliamgod.wordpress.com) Know Justification? (missoulaurc.wordpress.com) What Does Justification Mean? (apo...