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To: annalex; caww
What is to explain? The passage says everything the Catholic Church teaches: that sin is redeemed by the blood of Christ, in which we have faith (hm...); that grace alone justifies us given us freely without merit on our part. You did not include the remainder of the passage but had you read a couple verses down you would have seen that the thrust here is with the impossiblity of salvation by "works of the law", as the Jews believed. The passage does not say that we are saved by faith alone, and we do not teach that we are saved by works alone. We believe what St. Paul teaches. You don't: you add your own spin to his belief and in other places you ingore the Gospel altogether. You, for example, do not believe that His Blood is present in the Eucharist even though that belief is cited here as saving faith.

Let's look at that context:

Romans 3:20-31
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

So you see, I hope, that we are justified by faith. There is a Law of Works (which you seem to fancy), and there is a Law of Faith. We ARE saved by faith alone, and it is your "spin", or the spin you have heard all your life, rather, that insults and ignores the true Gospel.

The idea that this passage gives credence to His Blood is present in the Eucharist is nowhere to be found here much less that belief in that idea is required for "saving faith". When we trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins, we BY FAITH receive him and this act of genuine faith is what puts into place the redemption of our souls - we do not have to continuously receive him through a reinactment of the sacrifice of the Mass in order to be saved. But go right ahead and believe that, I know my words will never convince anyone, it is only the Holy Spirit with each individual heart who can do that.

5,980 posted on 12/27/2010 7:15:50 PM PST by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.)
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To: boatbums; annalex; 1000 silverlings; Alex Murphy; bkaycee; blue-duncan; caww; count-your-change; ...

The Sermon on the Mount is not a dissertation on how to be saved by works any more than the Law is a dissertation on how to be saved by works.

It was an expounding on the Law, showing what the true intent was. If keeping the letter of the OT Law was unable to save anyone, then what Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount is incapable of saving anyone because no one person, save Christ Himself, is capable of keeping the intent of the Law as presented in the Sermon on the Mount.

The Law was put into effect to lead us to Christ by showing us that we could NOT meet the righteous requirements of God and thus show us the need for a Savior.

What we earn for what we do is death and hell. Anyone who appeals to their own good works for salvation to God is going to be judged by them and that WILL result in condemnation. The only way the works could be counted as worthy is if the motivation for them were entirely pure and if the person were doing the good works to earn salvation, that would immediately disqualify them because the motivation would be self-seeking and impure.

Not only that, but since all it takes is one sin to render someone guilty of breaking the entire Law, once someone sinned one time, it wouldn’t matter if they were perfect for the entire rest of their lives. It’s too late. The wages of sin is death. All it takes is one. There is no good works outweighing bad works. That’s not God’s economy.

Galatians 2:15-21 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Galatians 3:1-29

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.


5,987 posted on 12/27/2010 8:10:58 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: boatbums; caww
[quoting Romans 3:20-31]There is a Law of Works (which you seem to fancy), and there is a Law of Faith. We ARE saved by faith alone

The passage does nto describe the Law of Any Works; it only describes the Works of the Law. That is contrasted to faith, but that includes good works. This is why St,. Paul diod not say "justified by faith alone apart from any works" but rather "justified by faith apart from the works of the law", which is the Catholic teaching.

The idea that this passage gives credence to His Blood is present in the Eucharist is nowhere to be found here

"sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith". You do not recieve the Blood by faith, -- you don't believe it is blood.

6,595 posted on 01/03/2011 8:32:46 PM PST by annalex (http://www.catecheticsonline.com/CatenaAurea.php)
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