Posted on 05/12/2015 4:21:27 PM PDT by RnMomof7
Let us begin with a church history exam question. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) was a figure not to be taken lightly. He was Pope Clement VIII’s personal theologian and one of the most able figures in the Counter-Reformation movement within sixteenth-century Roman Catholicism. On one occasion, he wrote: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is _______ .” Complete, explain, and discuss Bellarmine’s statement.
How would you answer? What is the greatest of all Protestant heresies? Perhaps justification by faith? Perhaps Scripture alone, or one of the other Reformation watchwords?
Those answers make logical sense. But none of them completes Bellarmine’s sentence. What he wrote was: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is assurance.”
A moment’s reflection explains why. If justification is not by faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone — if faith needs to be completed by works; if Christ’s work is somehow repeated; if grace is not free and sovereign, then something always needs to be done, to be “added” for final justification to be ours. That is exactly the problem. If final justification is dependent on something we have to complete it is not possible to enjoy assurance of salvation. For then, theologically, final justification is contingent and uncertain, and it is impossible for anyone (apart from special revelation, Rome conceded) to be sure of salvation. But if Christ has done everything, if justification is by grace, without contributory works; it is received by faith’s empty hands — then assurance, even “full assurance” is possible for every believer.
No wonder Bellarmine thought full, free, unfettered grace was dangerous! No wonder the Reformers loved the letter to the Hebrews!
This is why, as the author of Hebrews pauses for breath at the climax of his exposition of Christ’s work (Heb. 10:18), he continues his argument with a Paul-like “therefore” (Heb. 10:19). He then urges us to “draw near … in full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:22). We do not need to re-read the whole letter to see the logical power of his “therefore.” Christ is our High Priest; our hearts have been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience just as our bodies have been washed with pure water (v.22).
Christ has once-for-all become the sacrifice for our sins, and has been raised and vindicated in the power of an indestructible life as our representative priest. By faith in Him, we are as righteous before the throne of God as He is righteous. For we are justified in His righteousness, His justification alone is ours! And we can no more lose this justification than He can fall from heaven. Thus our justification does not need to be completed any more than does Christ’s!
With this in view, the author says, “by one offering He has perfected for all time those who come to God by him” (Heb. 10:14). The reason we can stand before God in full assurance is because we now experience our “hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and … bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22).
“Ah,” retorted Cardinal Bellarmine’s Rome, “teach this and those who believe it will live in license and antinomianism.” But listen instead to the logic of Hebrews. Enjoying this assurance leads to four things: First, an unwavering faithfulness to our confession of faith in Jesus Christ alone as our hope (v.23); second, a careful consideration of how we can encourage each other to “love and good works” (v.24); third, an ongoing communion with other Christians in worship and every aspect of our fellowship (v.25a); fourth, a life in which we exhort one another to keep looking to Christ and to be faithful to him, as the time of his return draws ever nearer (25b).
It is the good tree that produces good fruit, not the other way round. We are not saved by works; we are saved for works. In fact we are God’s workmanship at work (Eph. 2:9–10)! Thus, rather than lead to a life of moral and spiritual indifference, the once-for-all work of Jesus Christ and the full-assurance faith it produces, provides believers with the most powerful impetus to live for God’s glory and pleasure. Furthermore, this full assurance is rooted in the fact that God Himself has done all this for us. He has revealed His heart to us in Christ. The Father does not require the death of Christ to persuade Him to love us. Christ died because the Father loves us (John 3:16). He does not lurk behind His Son with sinister intent wishing He could do us ill — were it not for the sacrifice his Son had made! No, a thousand times no! — the Father Himself loves us in the love of the Son and the love of the Spirit.
Those who enjoy such assurance do not go to the saints or to Mary. Those who look only to Jesus need look nowhere else. In Him we enjoy full assurance of salvation. The greatest of all heresies? If heresy, let me enjoy this most blessed of “heresies”! For it is God’s own truth and grace!
I don't think it means what you think it means.
Nice straw man though.
Hoss
Your dad was probably talking about Protestant theologians.
I would assume you are not willing to make public accusations, so you take the hidden route to complain and try to get me suspended.
Sorry if I offended your sensibilities, Salvation.
RM, I reread the forum guidelines, and apologize. I will find something less potty, and more accurate (actually not more accurate since it expressed my feelings!)! I did not realize that was verboten.
BTW, I am daily offended by incessant postings with repetitive responses from the sole Roman Catholic poster...
It means Bible alone and every man is their own authority. So yes I know what it means.
Actually, you do not know what it means. You may think you do -- you obviously are parroting the Roman Catholic Cult's definition. But, if you'd like to actually learn the truth, read on...
Sola Scriptura as a Reformed doctrine means simply this: all the information or truth that is needed for our salvation and spiritual lives is found in the God's word. Here's a much more eloquent definition from ligonier.org:
"Sola Scriptura simply means that all truth necessary for our salvation and spiritual life is taught either explicitly or implicitly in Scripture. It is not a claim that all truth of every kind is found in Scripture. The most ardent defender of sola Scriptura will concede, for example, that Scripture has little or nothing to say about DNA structures, microbiology, the rules of Chinese grammar, or rocket science. This or that “scientific truth,” for example, may or may not be actually true, whether or not it can be supported by Scripture—but Scripture is a “more sure Word,” standing above all other truth in its authority and certainty. It is “more sure,” according to the apostle Peter, than the data we gather firsthand through our senses (2 Peter 1:19). Therefore, Scripture is the highest and supreme authority on any matter on which it speaks.
But there are many important questions on which Scripture is silent. Sola Scriptura makes no claim to the contrary. Nor does sola Scriptura claim that everything Jesus or the apostles ever taught is preserved in Scripture. It only means that everything necessary, everything binding on our consciences, and everything God requires of us is given to us in Scripture (2 Peter 1:3).
Furthermore, we are forbidden to add to or take away from Scripture (cf. Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Rev. 22:18–19). To add to it is to lay on people a burden that God Himself does not intend for them to bear (cf. Matt. 23:4).
Scripture is therefore the perfect and only standard of spiritual truth, revealing infallibly all that we must believe in order to be saved and all that we must do in order to glorify God. That—no more, no less—is what sola Scriptura means."
So...now you REALLY know what it means. And no where does it mean "every man is their own authority." That's just a whole cloth lie of the Roman Catholic Cult.
Hoss
How about giving us something that's actually witty. Those "rubber/glue" replies are getting a little...stale.
Thanks in advance....
Hoss
“Sola Scriptura as a Reformed doctrine means simply this: all the information or truth that is needed for our salvation and spiritual lives is found in the God’s word”
Well it’s not, so says the Catholic Church. Remember it? Without the Catholic Church there would no Bible. You know scripture because God, working through the Catholic Church, gave the world the Holy Bible.
Would you like to define Sola Scriptura for me ?
that would be a small c catholic..
**You know scripture because God, working through**....
...Israel, saved from famine in Egypt,
...a harlot, married to a decendent of Judah,
...ravens, and a gentile woman preserving Elijah,
...hiding his Son in Egypt to escape Herod,
...hypocrites (scribes and Pharisees) to preserve the scriptures,
...the apostles, who gave us the NT,
...and even blind leaders of the blind...
....**gave the world the Holy Bible.**
So.... the Catholic Cult was around before Christ, eh? Since, according to you, the Roman Catholic Cult is the conduit through which scripture is provided to us, where is there evidence that the Old Testament authors ate wafers and worshipped Mary?
Oh, wait... they were Jewish. Hmm.
This is another tired, old canard that is continually parroted by Roman Catholic Cultists...God didn't work through the Catholic Church -- we have God's Word despite the best efforts of the Roman Catholic Church.
We have God's word because of God. God inspiring the men who wrote the Scriptures. You know... Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, Moses, Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Solomon, David....
Nice try, again. And again, you fail.
Hoss
https://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/SOLASCRI.TXT
It is plaigerism when you post things as if you wrote them...
What, something like "you don't have any cattle"?
“There’s not one verse anywhere in the Bible in which it is taught”
Scripture as the final authority of doctrine and Christian growth is taught from Genesis to Revelation and in every book in between.
It is the foundational understanding of why each book was included as Scripture.
God’s specific inspired Word reveals the things which are to come in the future.
God’s Word revealed what happened when He acted before time began.
The longest chapter of Psalms is devoted to the place of Scripture alone - Psalm 119
It is what Christ used as His defense when sorely tempted by the ultimate evil - satan.
It is the basis of every prophecy of God.
It is the basis of every command from God.
God’s specific Word revealed His Law.
It is the basis of understanding the identity of Messiah.
Christ fulfilled not tradition, but 353 of God’s specific prophetic words that make up inspired Scriptures.
God’s inspired revelation revealed and recorded His Gospel.
Anything less than the inspired Words of God is not authoritative.
What, something like "you don't have any cattle"?
Why, yes.
Hoss
My router went down and a new one will arrive tomorrow, so until then I can only be on here a few minutes. But I do want to respond to your points, so please don’t think the devil has chased me to hell just yet!
No they don't
Yeah, but it is....has been since its inception and foundation by Jesus Himself...
Wow..10 bad Popes....most of your 2 lists were duplicates...and all those 10 in only 2,015 year....that's an average of 1 every 201.5 years....I would say that Christ was doing an outstanding job of protecting and leading HIS CHURCH AGAINST EVIL just as He promised to do.....I will be with you until the end of time....
Catholics don't dislike protestants...we pity them for not having the fullness of Christianity as we do.
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