| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Carl" |
| Date: |
12 Dec 2007 11:57:46 PM |
| Object: |
Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
The following is an extremely interesting article from John MacArthur.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide
by John MacArthur
Many who have embraced "the New Perspective on Paul" are also proposing a
different slant on the doctrine of justification by faith. When the text of
Scripture is interpreted in the new light, they say, Pauline support for the
principle of sola fide [faith alone], the doctrine of imputation, and the
distinction between law and gospel doesn't seem quite so strong.
We say that's nonsense. We reject the historical and hermeneutical
revisionism of the New Perspective, but regardless of how one interprets the
apostle Paul, it is quite clear that Jesus taught justification by faith
alone. To abandon this truth is to abandon biblical soteriology altogether.
No doctrine is more important to evangelical theology than the doctrine of
justification by faith alone-the Reformation principle of sola fide. Martin
Luther rightly said that the church stands or falls on this one doctrine.
History provides plenty of objective evidence to affirm Luther's assessment.
Churches and denominations that hold firmly to sola fide remain evangelical.
Those who have strayed from the Reformation consensus on this point
inevitably capitulate to liberalism, revert to sacerdotalism, embrace some
form of perfectionism, or veer off into worse forms of apostasy.
The Very Essence Of Christianity
Historic evangelicalism has therefore always treated justification by faith
as a central biblical distinctive-if not the single most important doctrine
to get right. This is the doctrine that makes authentic Christianity
distinct from every other religion. Christianity is the religion of divine
accomplishment-with the emphasis always on Christ's finished work. All
others are religions of human achievement. They become preoccupied,
inevitably, with the sinner's own efforts to be holy. Abandon the doctrine
of justification by faith and you cannot honestly claim to be evangelical.
Scripture itself makes sola fide the only alternative to a damning system of
works-righteousness: "Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as
a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes
in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness"
(Rom. 4:4-5, emphasis added).
In other words, those who trust Jesus Christ for justification by faith
alone receive a perfect righteousness that is reckoned to them. Those who
attempt to establish their own righteousness or mix faith with works only
receive the terrible wage that is due all who fall short of perfection. So
the individual as well as the church stands or falls with the principle of
sola fide. Israel's apostasy was rooted in their abandonment of
justification by faith alone: "For not knowing about God's righteousness,
and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the
righteousness of God" (Rom. 10:3).
Biblical justification must be earnestly defended on two fronts. No-lordship
theology (the error we dealt with in the November/December issue of Pulpit)
twists the doctrine of justification by faith to support the view that
obedience to God's moral law is optional. This teaching attempts to reduce
the whole of God's saving work to the declarative act of justification. It
downplays the spiritual rebirth of regeneration (2 Cor. 5:17); it discounts
the moral effects of the believer's new heart (Ezek. 36:26-27); and it makes
sanctification hinge on the believer's own efforts. It tends to treat the
forensic element of justification-God's act of declaring the believing
sinner righteous-as if this were the only essential aspect of salvation. The
inevitable effect of this approach is to turn the grace of God into
licentiousness (Jude 4). Such a view is called antinomianism.
On the other hand, there are many who make justification dependent on a
mixture of faith and works. Whereas antinomianism radically isolates
justification from sanctification, this error blends the two aspects of
God's saving work. The effect is to make justification a process grounded in
the believer's own flawed righteousness-rather than a declarative act of God
grounded in Christ's perfect righteousness.
As soon as justification is fused with sanctification, works of
righteousness become an essential part of the process. Faith is thus diluted
with works. Sola fide is abandoned. This was the error of the Galatian
legalists (cf. Gal. 2:16; 5:4). Paul called it "a different gospel" (Gal.
1:6, 9). The same error is found in virtually every false cult. It's the
main error of Roman Catholicism. I'm concerned that it may also be the
direction many who are enthralled with "the New Perspective on Paul" are
traveling.1
If doctrine as a whole has been ignored in our day, the doctrine of
justification has suffered a particular neglect. Written works on
justification are noticeably missing from the corpus of recent evangelical
literature.2 In his introduction to the 1961 reprint of James Buchanan's
landmark work, The Doctrine of Justification, J. I. Packer made note of
this:
It is a fact of ominous significance that Buchanan's classic volume, now a
century old, is the most recent full-scale study of justification by faith
that English-speaking Protestantism (to look no further) has produced. If we
may judge by the size of its literary output, there has never been an age of
such feverish theological activity as the past hundred years; yet amid all
its multifarious theological concerns it did not produce a single book of
any size on the doctrine of justification. If all we knew of the church
during the past century was that it had neglected the subject of
justification in this way, we should already be in a position to conclude
that this has been a century of religious apostasy and decline.3
Having neglected this doctrine for more than a century, evangelicals are
ill-equipped to answer those who are saying Martin Luther and the Reformers
misunderstood the apostle Paul and therefore got the doctrine of
justification wrong.
The evangelical movement is on the verge of abandoning the material
principle of the Reformation, and most evangelicals don't even see the
threat and would have no answer cogent if they did.
What must we do to be saved? The apostle Paul answered that question for the
Philippian jailer in the clearest possible terms: "Believe in the Lord
Jesus, and you shall be saved" (Acts 16:31).
Paul's key doctrinal epistles-especially Romans and Galatians-then expand on
that answer, unfolding the doctrine of justification by faith to show how we
are justified by faith alone apart from human works of any kind.
At least, that is the historic evangelical interpretation of Paul. But
that's the very thing under attack by the New Perspective.
So what if we move beyond the apostle Paul? Is it possible to prove the
principle of sola fide from the earthly teaching of Christ? It certainly is.
The Gospel According To Jesus
Although Christ made no formal explication of the doctrine of justification
(such as Paul did in his epistle to the Romans), justification by faith
underlies and permeates all His gospel preaching. While Jesus never gave a
discourse on the subject, it is easy to demonstrate from Jesus' evangelistic
ministry that He taught sola fide.
For example, it was Jesus Himself who stated, "he who hears My word, and
believes . . . has passed out of death into life" (Jn. 5:24)-without
undergoing any sacrament or ritual, and without any waiting period or
purgatory. The thief on the cross is the classic example. On the most meager
evidence of his faith, Jesus told him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall
be with Me in Paradise" (Lk. 23:43). No sacrament or work was required for
him to procure salvation.
Furthermore, the many healings Jesus accomplished were physical evidence of
His power to forgive sins (Matt. 9:5-6). When He healed, He frequently said,
"Your faith has made you well" (Matt. 9:22; Mk. 5:34; 10:52; Lk. 8:48;
17:19; 18:42). All those healings were object lessons on the doctrine of
justification by faith alone.
But the one occasion where Jesus actually declared someone "justified"
provides the best insight into the doctrine as He taught it:
He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that
they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: "Two men went up into
the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The
Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am
not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this
tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the
tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his
eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me,
the sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather
than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who
humbles himself shall be exalted" (Luke 18:9-14, emphasis added).
That parable surely shocked Jesus' listeners! They "trusted in themselves
that they were righteous" (v. 9)-the very definition of self-righteousness.
Their theological heroes were the Pharisees, who held to the most rigid
legalistic standards. They fasted, made a great show of praying and giving
alms, and even went further in applying the ceremonial laws than Moses had
actually prescribed.
Yet Jesus had stunned multitudes by saying, "Unless your righteousness
surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom
of heaven" (Matt. 5:20)-followed by, "You are to be perfect, as your
heavenly Father is perfect" (v. 48). Clearly, He set a standard that was
humanly impossible, for no one could surpass the rigorous living of the
scribes and Pharisees.
Now He further astounds His listeners with a parable that seems to place a
detestable tax-gatherer in a better position spiritually than a praying
Pharisee.
Jesus' point is clear. He was teaching that justification is by faith alone.
All the theology of justification is there. But without delving into
abstract theology, Jesus clearly painted the picture for us with a parable.
A Judicial Act of God
This tax-gatherer's justification was an instantaneous reality. There was no
process, no time lapse, no fear of purgatory. He "went down to his house
justified" (v. 14)-not because of anything he had done, but because of what
had been done on his behalf.
Notice that the tax-collector understood his own helplessness. He owed an
impossible debt he knew he could not pay. All he could do was repent and
plead for mercy. Contrast his prayer with that of the arrogant Pharisee. He
did not recite what he had done. He knew that even his best works were sin.
He did not offer to do anything for God. He simply pleaded for divine mercy.
He was looking for God to do for him what he could not do for himself. That
is the very nature of the penitence Jesus called for.
By Faith Alone
Furthermore, this man went away justified without performing any works of
penance, without doing any sacrament or ritual, without any meritorious
works whatsoever. His justification was complete without any of those
things, because it was solely on the basis of faith. Everything necessary to
atone for his sin and provide forgiveness had already been done on his
behalf. He was justified by faith on the spot.
Again, he makes a stark contrast with the smug Pharisee, who was so certain
that all his fasting and tithing and other works made him acceptable to God.
But while the working Pharisee remained unjustified, the believing
tax-gatherer received full justification by faith alone.
An Imputed Righteousness
Remember Jesus' statement from the Sermon on the Mount, "Unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not
enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:20)? Yet now He states that this
tax-gatherer-the most wicked of men-was justified! How did such a sinner
obtain a righteousness that exceeded that of the Pharisee? If the standard
is divine perfection (v. 48), how could a traitorous tax-collector ever
become just in God's eyes?
The only possible answer is that he received a righteousness that was not
his own (cf. Phil. 3:9). Righteousness was imputed to him by faith (Rom.
4:9-11).
Whose righteousness was reckoned to him? It could only be the perfect
righteousness of a flawless Substitute, who in turn must bear the
tax-gatherer's sins and suffer the penalty of God's wrath in his place. And
the gospel tells us that is precisely what Jesus did.
The tax-gatherer was justified. God declared him righteous, imputing to him
the full and perfect righteousness of Christ, forgiving him of all
unrighteousness, and delivering him from all condemnation. Forever
thereafter he stood before God on the ground of a perfect righteousness that
had been reckoned to his account.
That is what justification means. It is the only true gospel. All other
points of theology emanate from it. As Packer wrote, "The doctrine of
justification by faith is like Atlas: it bears a world on its shoulders, the
entire evangelical knowledge of saving grace."4 The difference between sola
fide and every other formula for justification is not theological
hair-splitting. A right understanding of justification by faith is the very
foundation of the gospel. You cannot go wrong on this point without
ultimately corrupting every other doctrine as well.
And that is why every "different gospel" is under the eternal curse of God.
---
1. I raise this concern because most New Perspectivists deny any legitimate
distinction between law and gospel; they often portray justification in
stages, with final justification dependent on the believer's own works; and
many of them downplay or reject the imputation of Christ's righteousness to
the believer. They have focused their revisionist hermeneutic on the very
passages where Paul most clearly teaches these doctrines, such as 2
Corinthians 5:21 and Philippians 3:9. To give a more thorough analysis the
New Perspective's devastating impact on the doctrine of justification is far
beyond the scope of this article. But most critics of New Perspectivism have
raised very similar concerns. See, for example, David Linden, The New
Perspective of N. T. Wright on the Doctrine of Justification.
2. Two notable exceptions are James White, The God who Justifies
(Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2001), and R.C. Sproul, Faith Alone (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1995).
3. James I. Packer in James Buchanan, The Doctrine of Justification
(Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1961 reprint of 1867 original), 2.
4. Packer, in Buchanan, 2.
.
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| User: "vernono vernono@hereandthere" |
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| Title: Re: Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
13 Dec 2007 09:32:33 AM |
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"Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:fjqhla$nam$1@news.utelfla.com...
Carl: The source of cut and paste and no thought.
Carl: The thief.
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| User: "Carl" |
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| Title: Re: Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
13 Dec 2007 12:16:17 PM |
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"vernono" <vernono@hereandthere> wrote in message
news:4761508e$0$31568$7836cce5@newsrazor.net...
"Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:fjqhla$nam$1@news.utelfla.com...
Carl: The source of cut and paste and no thought.
Incorrect
Carl: The thief.
Slander
.
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| User: "vernono vernono@hereandthere" |
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| Title: Re: Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
13 Dec 2007 01:09:52 PM |
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"Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:fjrsti$rai$1@news.utelfla.com...
"vernono" <vernono@hereandthere> wrote in message
news:4761508e$0$31568$7836cce5@newsrazor.net...
"Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:fjqhla$nam$1@news.utelfla.com...
Carl: The source of cut and paste and no thought.
Incorrect
Proof every day.
Carl: The thief.
Slander
Just the truth.
Apparently doesn't know the meaning of thief.
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| User: "john w" |
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| Title: Re: Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
13 Dec 2007 03:57:41 PM |
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x-no-archive: yes
On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:09:52 -0700, "vernono" <vernono@hereandthere>
wrote:
© 2007 John D Weatherly all rights reserved; no portion of this post
may be used anywhere else without written permission of the author.
"Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:fjrsti$rai$1@news.utelfla.com...
"vernono" <vernono@hereandthere> wrote in message
news:4761508e$0$31568$7836cce5@newsrazor.net...
"Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:fjqhla$nam$1@news.utelfla.com...
Carl: The source of cut and paste and no thought.
Incorrect
Proof every day.
OTC, Carl has several times said that he is putting up these
articles to benefit Christians who may not be aware of all the great
Christian literature out here.
AND, when Carl CLEARLY posts the SOURCES of his articles, he is not
at all a thief.
Which makes you, vern, a liar.
Yet again!
Carl: The thief.
Slander
Well, Carl has used the wrong word. In here, it's libel, not
slander.
Just the truth.
Evidently, vern, you have run short on your supply of people to
belittle.
May I suggest an exercise in baring your teeth and saying 10 VERY
UGLY things to
your mirror image.
That would be a good start.
There are those who appreciate the service Carl performs.
I questioned and challenged him BRIEFLY. When he explained that in
most cases, he has permission to post the articles, and he does it so
that folk -- like me-- are aware of the plethora of EXCELLENT
Christian literature,
we appreacite it.
How about, vern, you exercise some of the "live and let live"
tolerance the Apostle Paul taught.
"For one man, he observes all the holidays, he avoids certain foods,
he worships every Sunday; for another, he doesn't observe holidays, he
eats everything in sight, and he considers one day the same as the
next.
Let each of you do what seems right to him."
You DEMAND that everyone see things YOUR way. You essentially flip
Paul off every time you do this song-and-dance.
Paul also said, "be aware that there will be those you will not be
able to get along with. Do the best you can to get along with
everyone."
You also flip Paul off when you don't bother to try to get along
with people.
I'd like to think that as the birthday of the Prince of Peace draws
near, we'd all be making a greater effor to "just get along."
I suppose not.
Apparently doesn't know the meaning of thief.
.
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| User: "rogue" |
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| Title: Re: Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
13 Dec 2007 09:51:11 PM |
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On Dec 14, 1:57 am, john w <johnw<no>@yahoo.com> wrote:
x-no-archive: yes
On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:09:52 -0700, "vernono" <vernono@hereandthere>
wrote:
(c) 2007 John D Weatherly all rights reserved; no portion of this post
may be used anywhere else without written permission of the author.
"Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:fjrsti$rai$1@news.utelfla.com...
"vernono" <vernono@hereandthere> wrote in message
news:4761508e$0$31568$7836cce5@newsrazor.net...
"Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:fjqhla$nam$1@news.utelfla.com...
Carl: The source of cut and paste and no thought.
Incorrect
Proof every day.
OTC, Carl has several times said that he is putting up these
articles to benefit Christians who may not be aware of all the great
Christian literature out here.
AND, when Carl CLEARLY posts the SOURCES of his articles, he is not
at all a thief.
Which makes you, vern, a liar.
Yet again!
JERRY
No, if the material is copyrighted and he uses it without permission,
that makes him a thief.
Now, there are numerous sources available on the web where people have
written material and made it freely available to be copied and used by
others.
I think all the stuff on John Wolf's site is freely available. ;-)
But if Carl is using material copyrighted by others and without
permission, he's a thief, plain and simple.
.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
14 Dec 2007 10:47:23 AM |
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On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:57:41 -0800,
UNACCEPTABLE AND DELETED
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| User: "rogue" |
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| Title: Re: Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
13 Dec 2007 09:48:29 PM |
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On Dec 13, 10:16 pm, "Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote:
"vernono" <vernono@hereandthere> wrote in message
news:4761508e$0$31568$7836cce5@newsrazor.net...
"Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:fjqhla$nam$1@news.utelfla.com...
Carl: The source of cut and paste and no thought.
Incorrect
Carl: The thief.
Slander
JERRY
It's not slander if it's true. If you steal someone else's
intellectual property without attribution or permission, you steal.
If you continually copy and paste other's thoughts and add nothing of
your own, you are a cut-and-paste clown.
.
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| User: "john w" |
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| Title: Re: Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
13 Dec 2007 03:51:07 PM |
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x-no-archive: yes
On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:16:17 -0500, "Carl" <saints@nettally.com>
wrote:
© 2007 John D Weatherly all rights reserved; no portion of this post
may be used anywhere else without written permission of the author.
"vernono" <vernono@hereandthere> wrote in message
news:4761508e$0$31568$7836cce5@newsrazor.net...
"Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote in message
news:fjqhla$nam$1@news.utelfla.com...
Carl: The source of cut and paste and no thought.
Incorrect
Carl: The thief.
Slander
I wouldn't let vernon bother you, Carl.
YEARS ago (before your time), vern OCCASSIONALLY had something
interesting to say.
Some time ago (a few years), it seems the dark forces took him over.
Now he takes pot shots at those who don't march in lock step with his
VERY narrow views.
He has taken to libeling me like the worst of the miscreants in here.
If you don't march in lock step with him, you will be on the
receiving end of his vitriol.
Frankly, the ONLY One I even TRY to "march in lock step with" is the
Holy Spirit.
Some (vern, John H, Elaine, Cathy, CB, Jimmy) have the idea that only
THEIR version of Christianity works.
smirk.
I remind myself that the Kingdom of Heaven actually is big enough
for them, too. They merely have to bow their proud knees and receive
it.
God bless!
;-)
.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
14 Dec 2007 10:47:47 AM |
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On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:51:07 -0800,
lies
UNACCEPTABLE AND DELETED
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| User: "rogue" |
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| Title: Re: Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide |
13 Dec 2007 08:51:54 AM |
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On Dec 13, 9:57 am, "Carl" <sai...@nettally.com> wrote:
The following is an extremely interesting article from John MacArthur.
May God bless,
Carl
my website --http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog --http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
Jesus' Perspective on Sola Fide
by John MacArthur
Many who have embraced "the New Perspective on Paul" are also proposing a
different slant on the doctrine of justification by faith. When the text of
Scripture is interpreted in the new light, they say, Pauline support for the
principle of sola fide [faith alone], the doctrine of imputation, and the
distinction between law and gospel doesn't seem quite so strong.
We say that's nonsense. We reject the historical and hermeneutical
revisionism of the New Perspective, but regardless of how one interprets the
apostle Paul, it is quite clear that Jesus taught justification by faith
alone. To abandon this truth is to abandon biblical soteriology altogether.
JERRY
You think so?
And shall come forth; THEY THAT HAVE DONE GOOD, unto the resurrection
of life. -- John 5:29
For you render to each one according to his WORKS. -- Psalm 62:12
I the Lord ... give every man according to his ways, and according to
the fruit of his doings. -- Jeremiah 17:10
When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness ... and DOETH
that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul. -- Ezekiel
18:27
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His
angels, and then He will reward each ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS. Matthew
16.27
Then 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. For 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:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in
prison, and ye came unto me. -- Matthew 25:34-36
Who will render to each one ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. ... For not the
hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, BUT THE DOERS OF THE
LAW WILL BE JUSTIFIED. -- Romans 2:6, 13
For we must all appear before the jugment seat of Christ, that each
one may receive the things done in the body, ACCORDING TO WHAT HE HAS
DONE, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD. -- 2 Corinthians 5:10
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform
themselves into ministers of righteousness, WHOSE END WILL BE
ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS. -- 2 Corinthians 11:15
The Father, who without partiality judges ACCORDING TO EACH ONE'S WORK
-- 1 Peter 1:17
I will give unto every one of you ACCORDING TO YOUR WORKS. --
Revelation 2:23
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books
were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS. And the sea gave up the dead which
were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in
them: and THEY WERE JUDGED EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS. --
Revelation 20:12-13
Looks like MacArthur doesn't know what he's talking about.
Or, we can take the viewpoint that NO ONE can know what they are
talking about on this subject, since the bible also contradicts itself
on this point.
No wonder Christians are so screwed up!
CARL, via MacArthur
No doctrine is more important to evangelical theology than the doctrine of
justification by faith alone-the Reformation principle of sola fide. Martin
Luther rightly said that the church stands or falls on this one doctrine.
JERRY
So, not on belief in the Trinity, Carl? Is this also a contradiction
according to the heresies you are teaching?
snipped the rest as it's all irrelevent when the bible fails to be
true on history, prophecy and consistency.
.
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