Dr Paul Allen

In Luther's day, it was the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle who summed it up, and whose message was so widespread. Aristotle said, "We become righteous by doing righteous deeds." We become righteous by doing righteous deeds, or we become just by doing just acts. It was self-help "fake it till you make it" message. So, if you work at outward righteous acts and keep doing them, it claimed, you will actually become a righteous person. And for years Luther lived by the maxim "We become righteous by doing righteous deeds." As a monk, he desperately did all the righteous deeds he could imagine -- fasting, praying, pilgriming, monking, and what he slowly came to realize was the dream of becoming truly righteous by some simple change of behaviour was just that, an elusive dream holding its reward ever just out of reach. It consistently promised righteousness without delivering it, all the time exacting a heavier and heavier behavioural demand. ...

As we celebrate the 500th year of the reformation this year, I’ve been very encouraged by the fact that there are so many in the church who understand that the reformation is not over. This year is an opportunity for the church to really explore what the Roman Catholic church actually is, and ask whether or not it teaches the truth. Secondly, each believer must ask himself whether, when speaking with the Catholic individual, they are asking the right questions. Many Christians may accept the fact that the Roman Catholic church is a false church that teaches works-righteousness , but may have “the neighbor” who says he really loves Jesus , making it very difficult to figure out how to really know if they believe in grace or if they believe in works. I understand the dilemma. I have had many conversations recently during which someone, either Mormon or Catholic, who had all the same words until we got to the heart of the Gospel , and then simply denied it.  ...