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!
OK, that is acceptable. Els Meister, we have a Limerick creator in the making. 😂
By golly BB, I believe you are onto something here. I choose that option 😂😇 After all, one of life's greatest pleasures, is being able to choose, therefore I choose not to belong to any works based religions, of which there are many. 🙊 I see heads exploding. Some people need to get used to it. I did not take swimming lessons, so I won't be swimming the Tiber in this lifetime, not now, not ever. Can I have an amen on that? 😱
Could you provide the post numbers where “Prots” BRAG, yes BRAG, about “being stupid for Jesus”?
Sounds like somebody may have been quoting Paul from 1 Corinthians 4:10 and was taken out of context.
“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.”
Go back and read everything and I’ll respond to you. You obviously aren’t following the conversation that took place up to that point.
Exactly. We hear these people whine about "us all" being one but can't define who "us all" is.
Yes, it seems like we need to define EVERY term we use, like who is the real Jesus, what does it mean to call on the name of the Lord. What does it mean to "believe" and what is "faith?" To use the example you gave, CB, when we say Jesus, we know who we are talking about, but "Jesus" in a Mormon's mind, conjures up the spirit brother of Lucifer. It might cut the cheese, but it ain't going to cut the mustard.
If I had my pix there; I'd get bills from heart doctors!
And what if this Mormon ALSO believes that he must do OTHER stuff as well to be saved?
A Limerick creator on FR;
Composed verse like that of a zephyr.
With a voice smooth as silk;
She created her milk;
For all knew that she was a heifer!
No; the person was channeling the Anti-Paul.
2 Corinthians 10:17
But, "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord."
I’ve read them.
A “practicing” homosexual is not included in “ such were some of you”.
Jesus saves sinners where they are. They do not continue practicing sin.
Yes they are tempted and sometimes fall into temptation but they do not continue to practice homosexuality.
Mormons who trust the Jesus of Scripture can be saved, as anyone can be, but if they are trusting the Mormon entity they say is Jesus, no, because he is NOT the Jesus of Scripture who died for the sin of the world.
Mormons use Christian lingo. They make it sound like they mean the same things that Christians mean when they say “Jesus “ but when presed for clarification, they will fess up about what they really mean, just like what happened with me and the guy I worked with.
You would have loved my Mom and Dad. She was Methodist and he was Catholic. They were so supportive of each other’s faiths and so involved in each other’s faith communities that they referred to themselves as a Metholic and a Cathodist.
There once was a Limerick kind of guy
To whom others on FR would fly
He had a nice cow
Who only knew how
To hoof around, feeding on rye.
Consider this to be the Battle of Midway, in the Limerick war 😂😇😃🇵🇭
There once was a FReeper named Elsie
Who was quite a joker, you see
He loved to post funnies
To entertain his honeys
So let’s give him a hand, shall we
Take that, Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu and Soryu. Book em Danno 😎
LOL. I love it.
You guys are too much......
Jesus does the saving. Not us. He did not ask me to have my doctrine straight before He saved me. He doesn’t ask others to have theirs straight before He saves them. So, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Rom 10:13
Do you clean fish before you catch them?
1 John 1: 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
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