Posted on 02/04/2015 7:44:15 AM PST by RnMomof7
The gospel of grace was both proclaimed and preserved in the earliest decades of church history. It was overwhelmingly affirmed by the apostles at the Jerusalem Council (in Acts 15), such that Paul could later tell the Ephesians, “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8–9).
Shortly after the Jerusalem Council, Paul wrote a letter to the churches he had planted on his first missionary journey. That letter, known as the book of Galatians, admonished its readers not to acquiesce to the works-righteousness of the Judaizers. To do so, Paul stated, would be to embrace another gospel—one which was not really good news at all (Gal. 1:6–9). The apostle went on to clearly explain that justification is not based on keeping the law, but is only granted by grace through faith in Christ (cf. Gal. 3:1–14). Given the theme of that epistle (justification by faith vs. justification by works), it is not surprising to learn that Galatians was Martin Luther’s favorite book of the New Testament, because in that text he found the gospel of grace so clearly revealed.
The New Testament emphasis (on a gospel of grace apart from works) became the foundation for the Protestant Reformation and its central tenet of sola fide. The biblical teaching on that issue remains the authoritative basis on which an evangelical understanding of the gospel is built. But while modern evangelicals rightly conclude that the doctrine of sola fide is founded in Scripture, many wrongly assume that there is relatively little support for that position in pre-Reformation church history. Nothing could be further from the truth.
As we continue this series, we will consider a number of Christian leaders from the patristic and medieval periods of church history who affirm sola fide. In today’s post, we will consider just three, starting with Clement of Rome (d. c. 99).
Clement pastored the church in Rome from about AD 90 to 100. That means, as a church leader, he was a contemporary of the apostle John. He was also a disciple of the apostle Paul and is likely mentioned in Philippians 4:3. So, his testimony is very early. Listen to what he wrote in his letter to the Corinthians. This is one of the earliest Christian documents that we have outside of the New Testament. In chapter 32 of his epistle, he said this:
And we [Christians], too, being called by His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians, 32.4.
It would be hard to say it any more clearly than that.
Another early testimony to this truth comes from Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69–160), a disciple of the apostle John. Polycarp is famous in church history for his martyrdom. One surviving letter from Polycarp (his Epistle to the Philippians) echoes the truth of sola fide in the very first chapter. Here is what he wrote:
I rejoice that the secure root of your faith, proclaimed from ancient times, even now continues to abide and bear fruit in our Lord Jesus Christ. He persevered to the point of death on behalf of our sins; and God raised him up after loosing the labor pains of Hades. Even without seeing him, you believe in him with an inexpressible and glorious joy that many long to experience. For you know that you have been saved by a gracious gift—not from works but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.
Polycarp of Smyrna, Epistle to the Philippians, 1.2–3.
Third, consider the words of the anonymous Epistle to Diognetus, written around the mid-point of the second century. The letter is evangelistic, attempting to convince the unbelieving Diognetus to embrace Christianity. It is in this context that the writer explains the heart of the gospel, underscoring the reality of Christ’s finished work on the cross and the righteousness that believers receive from Him. The unknown author explained:
He gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal. For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God? O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! That the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors!
Epistle to Digonetus, 9.2–5.
These quotes represent just the tip of the iceberg—all coming from the earliest chapters in church history. They remind us of the glorious truth of the gospel—that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. What a joy it is to recognize that gospel truth goes back long before the Reformation, through early church history to the apostles themselves.
Maybe not; but there is one group on FR that thinks that THEY and ONLY THEY are the ONLY 'authorized' distributors!
Apparently you overlooked the block of text I included in my post.
People who do good works are saved; people who do not do good works are damned.—Jesus Christ
Matthew 25:
34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? 38And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.
41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: 42for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me. 46And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.
The Gospel of Saint Matthew isn’t part of the Bible?
******People who do good works are saved; people who do not do good works are damned.—Jesus Christ****
Awww Arthur ..that is not the theme of that discourse
That does not say that one is saved by works does it?
It is describing the work of the SHEEP.
The Sheep were not ever GOATS.and the goats were never sheep.The Goats never behaved like sheep
This is the FINAL judgment. It is a judgement of rewards , not salvation .
Mat 16:27”For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”
Luke 14:14”For thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”
Rev 22:12”And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
1Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
The Goats are condemned , not because they did not work, but because they had never repented and believed
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
They were not sheep because they did the work that God had ordained for them, they did the work because they were the sheep.
Gal. 2:16: “[T]hat we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified
Here Jesus teaching on salvation by works
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
The will of the Father is that men believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved...
Hear Jesus
Jhn 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
"I am the God that changes not"(mal3:6)
“I am the God that changes not”(mal3:6)
“Let us tell you what that REALLY means.” (Rome)
Let me get this clear: Some of the people go to Heaven, some of the people go to Hell. But the account is "not about salvation."
Surely you aren’t including your institution as representing the sheep in that parable are you? This...
http://therightscoop.com/breaking-isis-releases-horrible-video-burning-jordanian-pilot-alive-photos/
is the kind of “works” your institution is known for. Burning anybody alive who refuses to render obeisance to the Pope of Rome...as these Islamists did to this poor man in this video.
I’d suggest you come up with another passage of scripture to prove your point, this one backfires on you. Incredible that the RCC, of all people, lecture ANYBODY on good works! Have you ever repented of the “works” your church has done, burning Protestants alive?
Are you suffering confusion too?
Yeshua’s first job on Earth was the defeat of the Pharisees’ false law. Removing that burden that could not be born!
That was the theme of every one of his miracles.
That was the substance of the woes he invoked in Matthew 23.
That was 90% of his recorded life in the gospels, and crucifying those laws was indeed his first job.
Reading comprehension would be helpful!
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How about the Catholics beheaded and burned by Protestants?
Oh, that’s right. Protestants can burn Catholics because “works don’t matter.”
Of course, that means that while Catholics are now opposed in principle to burnings and beheadings, Protestants are still at liberty to burn and behead—because WORKS DON’T MATTER.
In the meantime, name someone beheaded or burned BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. (I.e, not by the State.)
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Is that Shark ride anything like a Jetski?
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Welll yes, but who the heck was Jesus? the Churches have taught me who Paul was but have not heard about this Jesus, sarc.
NO! I left the entire prot posse off, I left it up to all of you to ping each other.
Leaving your snark behind, the law of Moses could not save. It was the law of Moses that Christ came to finish/fulfil replacing it with His perfect sacrifice. The man made laws of the Pharisees had no contractual requirements on God or man.
Nope; for you made your CONCLUSION look like a QUOTE.
How did those get ASSIGNED to the Father's left and right sides?
By the WORKS they did; or something else.
We've no need to ping one another; as we are quite capable of sniffing out the stench that dead men's bones emit.
But; while we are speaking of fairies...
http://bishop-accountability.org/priestdb/PriestDBbylastName-A.html
It is your institution, not Protestants, who are famous, or should I say infamous, for burning people alive who don't agree with them. The Islamics, I see, are now taking up the precedent set by your institution.
Oh, that’s right. Protestants can burn Catholics because “works don’t matter.” Of course, that means that while Catholics are now opposed in principle to burnings and beheadings, Protestants are still at liberty to burn and behead—because WORKS DON’T MATTER.
It is indeed a relief to know Catholics are now opposed "in principle"...whatever that is supposed to mean. I do not know of any Protestant that believes burning and beheading "do not matter."
In the meantime, name someone beheaded or burned BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. (I.e, not by the State.)
You try to divert attention from the ROMAN Catholic Church to the ROMAN state, both Roman, when the burnings were done at the behest of the the RCC...and you know it.
There is really no difference between the religious institution that had secular Rome crucify Jesus, and your religious institution that had the same Roman state do the burning of Protestants. Your institution is guilty before God. If they won't repent of it, then you should for them.
I don't either but Catholics like to make comments that sooth their subconscious whether they are true or not.
You are lost in the woods!
This is not about the law saving.
>> “ It was the law of Moses that Christ came to finish/fulfil replacing it with His perfect sacrifice.” <<
You are deeply confused on all of this and you make Yeshua a liar with your assertions!
Torah never saved anyone, nor was it intended to do so. Torah is instruction in love and righteousness. It will not end until all of his elect are in the New Jerusalem, and the universe is gone. (Matthew 5) At that point his last feast, “the Last Great Day,” will have been fulfilled on his eighth day, the day of the new beginning.
All salvation will be by grace, from Adam to the end.
The man made laws of the Pharisees were the burden that oppressed Yeshua’s people, and he dedicated his life to demolishing every vestage of them. Every miracle he performed was centered on rejecting one of the man made laws.
His first miracle, at the Pharisee wedding, rejected the “washing of the hands.” He made wine in their hand washing pots.
Every miracle thereafter was aimed directly at one of the Takanot, until each of them had been destroyed. That was what Paul meant by “hanging them on the cross.”
That was why Paul was always dismayed when he found believers following the Takanot.
The false messianics today do the same errors; they wear Kippas, refuse to say the name of God, put on their shoes in the commanded order, and call their pastors Rabbi.
That was the source of the battle of words between “The Way International” and true messianics that reject such practices.
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