Three Points for Evangelicals
The last several months I have been listening to the popular Evangelical radio broadcast of the Christian Research Institute, “The Bible Answer Man.” Although usually I act as a Catholic youth minister and youth counselor, lately I have felt a sense of urgency to attempt Catholic apologetics in response to CRI.
I have called “The Bible Answer Man” to pose questions about the differences between the Catholic view and the Evangelical view on the issue of Christ’s justification of sinners. After each of my attempts to interact with these Evangelical scholars regarding the Catholic understanding of this doctrine, I felt I needed to state my scriptural defenses more succinctly in order to be effective in conveying to the Evangelical masses that Catholics are the original Bible Christians.
I believe it would be necessary to emphasize three points of Catholic doctrine regarding justification to be able to break through Evangelical misconceptions and the theological barriers which keep Evangelicals from accepting the Catholic view that a believer is justified by faith working in love (Gal. 5:6), not by faith alone (Jas. 2:24). As Martin Luther quipped, this is one of the foundational Christian doctrines upon which “the Church stands or falls.”
The three points are:
1. Dispel the misunderstanding of “works” salvation by accentuating the Catholic doctrine of salvation being effected by grace alone. Quote Ephesians 2:8-10 or, better yet, Titus 3:5-7. Point out there is no contradiction in our living the Christian life of faith, hope, and charity after being given the “Spirit of sonship” (Rom. 5:15) and the grace of regeneration. Actually, these are the supernatural effects of being made a child in God’s family; we mature and we produce these fruits. As God’s grace increases in our lives, so does the Holy Spirit and so do the theological virtues which the Holy Spirit infuses into our souls.
2. Quote Paul, John, Matthew, and James to show that the Bible does not teach salvation by faith alone (Rom. 2:6-13, 1 Cor. 13:2, 13, John 15:9-13, Matt. 19:16-17, Jas. 2:17-26); it teaches faith must “work in love” (Gal. 5:6) if it is a real, active, and living faith. Christ said, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:16-17). Our faith in Christ and our growing in holiness by keeping the commandments go hand in hand (Rom. 1:5, 16:26).
3. After affirming Christ’s accomplishment of redemption, emphasize that the real difference between Catholics and Evangelicals lies in the understanding of what grace is and how God applies grace of the redemption to souls. Does God merely declare us righteous, or does he make us righteous? Does God impute Christ’s righteousness to us in a legal sense, or does he infuse his own righteousness into our souls?
Quote 1 John 3:1-7 to show we are not merely declared to be God’s children when we’re justified – we actually become his children. Also use Romans 5:19, which is clear in stating that in Christ, the second Adam, we are made righteous. (This verse is a good paraphrase of the Council of Trent’s declaration on justification.) Finish by asking if the Evangelical view of justification lines up with 2 Peter 1:4, which states that we “become partakers of the divine nature.”
I realize apologetics is not an easy-as-1-2-3 formula. It takes time, patience, thick skin, and charity, and it requires a great deal of prayer and study. I am a frustrated but hopeful young apologist who believes wholeheartedly that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been preserved in the Catholic Church.
Jeffrey M. Gurley
Coraopolis, Pennsylvania
The League’s own Logic
Fr. Leslie Rumble is right about the slogan of justification “by faith alone” (April 1993). It doesn’t really express what Paul believed about justification. In fact, it doesn’t even express what most of the people who use that slogan believe.
Consider the enclosed tract, “Man’s Most-Asked Question,” from the Fellowship Tract League of Lebanon, Ohio. I found the tract on someone’s windshield. (Hmmm. Is it stealing if you snatch something somebody probably doesn’t want?) The tract leads a cartoon Everyman through Romans 3:23 (“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”), Romans 6:23 (“The wages of sin is death . . . the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”), and Ephesians 2:8-9 (“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast”).
The tracts notes, “You cannot work your way to heaven!” The worried Everyman asks, “What must I do to be saved?” The tract replies with Acts 16:31 (“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”). Everyman’s response? “I’ve always believed in Jesus! I’m not a heathen, you know!”
Now if the Fellowship Tract League actually believed that works have nothing to do with our salvation, at this point the tract would say to Everyman that he is saved and doesn’t have to worry. Instead the tract explains that “This belief is a total commitment to Christ and gives a new life,” and it quotes 2 Corinthians 5:17. Eventually it leads Everyman in the sinner’s prayer: “Just come humbly before the Lord and ask the Lord Jesus to be your Savior. He is the only one who can forgive your sins. Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ today!”
So it turns out that the Fellowship Tract League agrees with what Fr. Rumble wrote about Paul, that “he views the faith that justifies as the complete embracing of the Christian religion in practice.” The League even has its own religious ritual, the sinner’s prayer.
But let’s return to Acts 16:31. What Paul actually said to his jailer was, ” ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.’ And they [Paul and Silas] spoke unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, straightaway.” You’ll notice that Paul led his jailer to baptism, not through the sinner’s prayer.
Don Schenk
Allentown, Pennsylvania
A Happy Celibate
A few months ago, on ABC’s 20/20 program, another shot was taken at the Church’s requirement of celibacy for priests. This requirement drives our society crazy. Our nation is so saturated with sensuality that it is unthinkable that any American male could live without sexual activity. I wonder what these same people think about Jesus’ own lifestyle. It just goes to show what Bishop Fulton Sheen said many years ago: “If you don’t act like you believe, you soon believe like you act.”
On 20/20 the interviews were of priests who were having trouble living their vow of celibacy (more correctly, the responsibility of chastity). Each was struggling with an attraction to a particular woman. One of the men was asked whether he was fully aware of the ramifications of the vow at the time of his ordination. He said he accepted the obligation of celibacy as the “excess baggage” that accompanies the priestly ministry.
What a miserable life it must be for this man to miss the positive .aspects of this beautiful gift that a man gives to God and the Church on the day of his ordination (more correctly, the gift that God gives to him, that he accepts, and that he gives back to God and the Church).
As a priest, I find it thoroughly invigorating to think of a life totally dedicated to serving God and his Church. Is it easy? Not always. Is it joyful? Exceedingly. It brings with it an inner joy that the world cannot give and that the world cannot take away.
The attack on priestly celibacy has already been waged on marriage. Who can be expected to live with the same person for life? Isn’t that too much to ask? Who can expect to live it? The answer is those who follow Christ. I find that when the vows of marriage and celibacy are lived out, they support each other quite well. I always find strength and encouragement in couples who take seriouly their commitment to love each other faithfully. I would like to model my priesthood upon the way they live out their promises to each other.
Back to the show. Barbara Walters and Hugh Downs harped on the notion that the requirement of celibacy is inhumane. They interviewed Archbishop Pilarczyk, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, as the representative of the Church. He did a pretty good job of briefly explaining the Church’s expectations and reasons. I am sure they interviewed him for hours to get the few comments they allowed to be aired. The hosts said many people think bishops live in ivory towers and are out of touch with the people, if not with reality itself – another attempt to discredit the Church’s teachings and practices.
Of course, they interviewed no priests who were peacefully, joyfully, faithfully, and happily living out their commitment to Christ.
The Church cannot expect an unbiased report from the secular media. Christ promised that his Church would be opposed by a world that is hostile to the gospel message (and messengers). That is why he gave us the Holy Spirit, to give us the wisdom, strength, and courage to stand up to the fight as the apostles and martyrs of old did. Jesus remarked, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive back an overabundant return in this present age and eternal life in the age to come” (Luke 18:29-30). That sounds like a pretty good deal to me!
Rev. James N. Dean
Montgomery, Alabama
An Anti-Marian Catholic
Since you support the spread of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, I knew I must, on behalf of our Lord, send you this message. Let’s start with a Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them” (Ex. 20:3-5).
Our Lord is telling us not to worship anything but him. Do you understand this? According to the dictionary, devotion means “the fact, quality, or state of being devoted; piety, devoutness; religious worship; prayers, especially as used in private.” Worship is “reverence or devotion to a deity; religious homage or veneration or devotion for a deity.”
Can you see that worshiping Mary is wrong? She was a wonderful woman, but should not be worshiped. Your only devotion should be to our Father in heaven through his Son, Christ Jesus. People say, “I am just asking for intercession from Mary, just like you would ask someone to pray for you.” What they have just told me is that they have not accepted Christ as their Savior and have not developed a personal relationship with him. Do you think that if they knew Jesus they would need anyone’s intercession?
Intercession means “the act of interceding; mediation, pleading, or prayer in behalf of another or others.” You cannot pray to Mary and ask her to intercede or mediate for you. “For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5-6).
Please do not continue this blasphemy. I will pray for you, that the Holy Spirit will bring you out of the darkness and into the light that your eyes may be opened and you may know the truth. I am a member of St. John’s Catholic Church in Milwaukie, Oregon, where I worship and love the Lord. I flat-out reject the paganistic practice of praying to Mary or saints. They were wonderful, should be remembered and studied, but not prayed to or worshiped.
John C. Smith, Jr.
Milwaukie, Oregon
Editor’s reply: We’re sorry to learn you’re about to leave the Catholic Church – or so it seems you must if you reject the notion of the communion of saints. That is the logical result of the Protestant Fundamentalist position you take on Mary. Before you go, please read Fr. Mateo’s Refuting the Attack on Mary. You have erred through private (mis)interpretation of Scripture, and the error has led you to the presumptuous conclusion that most Catholics don’t have a “personal relationship” with Christ. Has it not occurred to you that a true “personal relationship” requires real devotion to all members of Christ’s family? Which is more likely: That 2,000 years of Catholic teaching are wrong, or that you are wrong? Please think about it.