Salvation is rightly considered the most important spiritual topic there is. We all want to one day make it into Heaven and have everlasting life with God (John 3:16). And it goes without saying that we would also want to avoid the place the Bible calls Hell, wherein is everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46).
But there
are disagreements, even among those who call themselves Christians, concerning
the requirement(s) to enter the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14). So I would like to address an odd situation
in Catholic apologetics concerning salvation.
Both
Catholics and Protestants agree with the idea that, for Christians, we were saved (past tense – Ephesians
2:8), that we are being saved (present
tense – 1 Corinthians 1:18), and that we will ultimately be saved (future tense – Matthew 10:22).
We all
believe that, in our salvation journey, there is 1) a distinct beginning, 2) a
growth process, and 3) a final destination.
The Protestant View
Generally,
the Protestant believes that the first stage is “justification,” wherein he
believes/trusts in the full and sufficient work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Protestant surrenders to the will of God
with love and thanksgiving and God gives him a new heart, with new desires. This justification is obtained apart from works (Romans 3:28) and is a
one-time event, not a process.
The second
stage is what the Protestant calls “sanctification,” which is a process (1 Thessalonians 4:1-7). Here is where he will, out of a thankful
heart, start to do good works for God as he grows closer and closer to Him,
conforming to the image of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). And even then, his works are not done to gain,
earn or merit salvation, but he does good works out of a thankful heart because
he is already saved!
And thirdly,
he enters Heaven, glorified with a new body to be with the Lord forever (1
Thessalonians 4:17).
The Catholic View
The odd
situation of which I spoke earlier is that the Catholic Church splits
justification into three parts: 1) “initial” justification, 2) “ongoing/progressive”
justification (which they also call sanctification), and then 3) “final
justification.”
In the first
phase, the Catholic begins his initial justification by being baptized
(normally, as an infant). Interestingly,
the Church claims that initial justification is not obtained by either works of any kind or even by faith. See here:
“… but we
are therefore said to be justified freely, because that none of those things
which precede justification – whether faith or works – merit the grace itself
of justification. For if it be a grace,
it is not now by works, otherwise, as the same Apostle says, grace is no more
grace.” (Council of Trent, Sixth Session,
Chapter VIII)
Second, in
the ongoing/progressive justification phase, his works are now able to merit
“an increase of justification” for himself.
And third,
at death, the Catholic experiences final justification, which will usher him
into Heaven (or more likely, Purgatory, to be first cleansed of temporal sins).
Baptism and Initial Justification
So,
according to the Catholic paradigm, you get no merit from either faith or works
that are done before the initial justification stage. Yet, this same initial justification is
obtained by water baptism (CCC #1992;
Council of Trent, Sixth Session,
chapters 6-7), which is, ironically, a ritual/work!
The Catholic
Church has it backward. The Bible says
that salvation begins with faith and no works (Romans 3:28; 4:4-5; Galatians
2:16). But the Church says that
salvation begins with a work (i.e., baptism) and no faith (Council of Trent, chapter VIII, above). There
seems to be some kind of disconnect here.
What About Abraham?
As I said, Catholics
believe that there are “levels” of justification. They say that someone can receive
justification and then later have an “increase” of that justification, again
and again. In their quest to prove these
different levels of justification, they will often point to the example of
Abraham.
The Catholic
will say that Abraham was justified at least three times in Scripture, i.e., in
Genesis
12:1-3, in Genesis 15:6, and in Genesis 22:1-14.
The first
time, in Genesis 12:1-3, God spoke to Abraham, telling
him to leave his family and his country and to go to an unknown land. God also told Abraham that He would make a
great nation from him. Abraham, looking
forward to the promise, must have been justified about this time, because of
his faith and his willingness to obey God.
I would
actually tend to agree with Catholics at this point, that Abraham was probably
justified here (or at least just prior to this point).
The second
time, in Genesis 15:6, Catholics will say that Abraham was “further”
justified, because here God tells Abraham that his ancestors would be as the
stars in Heaven, “And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for
righteousness.”
And, of
course, this same verse is quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 4:3, where he
emphasizes the point that Abraham was justified by faith, and not by his works.
But is Paul really
using this particular verse to point out that Genesis 15:6 marked an increase of the justification that Abraham
already had? Was he saying that Abraham
was more justified at this point, or
that he was receiving another “installment” of justification? No, God was
simply re-stating His promise to Abraham, and Paul was just showing that
Abraham’s faith here exemplified the
same type of faith/trust that he exhibited earlier in Genesis 12. Paul was simply pointing out Abraham’s continuing faith in God and his
non-dependence on work.
Just a few
verses later, the apostle Paul also mentions David (v. 6-8) and references
David’s repentance after he sinned with Bathsheba, quoting Psalm 32. But again, Psalm 32 was not the time
that David was justified. He was
justified and made right with God long before this particular time.
Paul’s whole
point in mentioning these two great men of faith was that they were examples of
someone who is credited with righteousness through faith/believing/trusting, apart from their good works (Romans
3:28; 4:4-5). There is no reason
to believe that this was about some kind of “progressive” justification, as
Catholics assert.
Catholics
will say that the third time Abraham was justified was in Genesis 22:1-14 where
Abraham offers his son Isaac on the altar to be sacrificed. Thankfully, God stopped him from going
through with it, but here Abraham proved his faith in God by being willing to
sacrifice his son. This passage is
referenced in James 2:21-24, which includes the idea that a man is justified by his works (v. 24).
So, what
does it mean to be “justified by works” and not just faith? We can see from the context of James
2 that he is referring to the idea of how we know if a person has true
faith or a fake/dead faith (v. 17, 20, 26). So, this whole section in James (v.
14-26) is about the proof or demonstration of one’s faith. This section is not about how to be saved, but it’s about observing
the fruit of those professing to be
saved. James is saying that a man is
justified by works in the sense of being vindicated,
or proven, by his works. This type of
“justification” is seen elsewhere in Scripture (Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:29; 10:29;
16:15), and the context of James makes it obvious that he was referring
to vindication. See here:
https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2010/01/faith-alone-part-2.html
So, saying
that the life of Abraham proves that a person is justified multiple times is
simply not true.
Funny how
the Sixth Session of the Council of Trent (which focuses heavily on
justification) never uses, or even mentions, Abraham as an example of one who
is “increasing in justification,” as many Catholics try to use the term!
Wrong Category
The apostle Paul made it abundantly clear that there are no
works done in the “justification” category:
“For
we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:28)
“Now
to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on
Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
(Romans 4:4-5)
“Knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by
the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the
law no flesh shall be justified.” (Galatians 2:16).
Again, according to Holy Scripture, in justification, there
are no works that merit. But because of
the Catholic Church’s unbiblical splitting of justification, it allows their
works to merit salvation in the justification stage. This is dangerous because it (supposedly)
allows our works to “merit” what only the work of Jesus on the cross could
possibly merit.
Just a side note: Catholics will also play word games with
the term “merit,” as well. Another topic
for another day.
Faith Working in Love
Also, Catholics
love to use Galatians 5:6 when debating justification, because it says that
we are saved by faith which works through
love. And they’ll say, “See, works (of love) must be involved/present
along with your faith for you to be
saved!”
But context will demonstrate otherwise:
Galatians 5:
(v. 3) “For I testify
again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole
law.
(v. 4) “Christ is
become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are
fallen from grace.
(v. 5) “For we through
the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
(v. 6) “For in Jesus
Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith
which worketh by love.”
And the
Protestant will point out that v. 4 says that if you try to be
saved using the law/commandments/works, you are “fallen from grace” (the NASV says “severed from Christ”)! Therefore, salvation/justification is by
faith, apart from works. But this same faith will then afterward produce works of love, but the
works themselves don’t save. Very
simple.
But the
Catholic may say, “But this passage is only describing initial justification – that’s why works have no merit here!”
But
remember, this passage contains faith, but Trent says that neither works NOR faith are used in the initial
justification stage! Therefore, Galatians
5:3-6 is not at all talking about this mythical “initial justification”
phase. Sorry, my Catholic friends, but
you can’t have it both ways.
This is also
how Catholics tend to deal with other critical passages on justification that
speak of salvation by faith apart
from the merit of works, for example, Romans 3:28; 4:5; 4:6; Galatians 2:16;
Ephesians 2:8-9. Catholics will
say that these refer to the initial justification phase, yet in all of these passages, faith is clearly
in view and baptism (which is the only
thing that supposedly merits in this stage) shows up in none of these passages! So,
no, these key passages are not
referring to this artificially fabricated phase of “initial” justification.
Can Works Merit Grace in Any Stage?
After
reading books like Romans and Galatians, one can see that there is a real
problem with a “faith plus works” salvation system. And that is exactly what the Catholic Church
has. But when the Church uses this
deceptive “initial justification” concept, it muddies the water concerning the
role of works and faith.
But the
following passage makes it very clear that works do not save in any part of our salvation journey:
Galatians 3:
(v. 1) “O foolish
Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before
whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
(v. 2) “This only would
I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the
hearing of faith?
(v. 3) “Are ye so
foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are
ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
Notice (v.
2) that there are only two options: you are either saved by works of
the law (which is impossible with
mere men), or by faith. He then equates
the law (works) with operating by the flesh (v. 3). Paul is basically saying to us, “You must start
in the Spirit (faith/trusting in the cross – v. 1), and you never
leave that option – you continue in
your faith by never relying on works
to save you. You are made perfect
(completed) by trusting in the gospel message, not in your works.”
Again, this
passage is clearly telling us that IN NO PHASE of our salvation journey do
works contribute to our salvation. Works
are definitely present in our lives, and we will get heavenly rewards for them,
but the free gift of God (eternal life) is only obtained through faith.
In other
words, we start salvation by faith,
we continue/maintain that same
salvation by faith and end it by
faith. In this way, we are telling Jesus
that His work/suffering on the cross
was sufficient to save us and that He
gets all the credit!
Conclusion
According to
Scripture, there exists a justification phase and there is a sanctification
phase, ultimately followed by the glorification phase. Nowhere do we see anything called “initial
justification” where faith is not
required.
There is
nothing in the New Testament that tells us to “grow in justification,” or that
you can be “further justified.” Therefore,
Catholics have no biblical reason to split justification into two or more
categories.
Catholics
recognize that having a “works-based salvation” sounds bad. That’s why they are quick to deny this
Protestant accusation toward them. And
with the concept of “initial” justification, they feel that they can
temporarily avoid the stigma of that accusation.
If a
policeman came into the home of a drug user and the homeowner told him, “But
officer, I don’t have any drugs in my
kitchen!” That may be true, but that
doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have drugs in another
room of his home.
In a similar
way, just because you Catholics don’t have works that merit salvation in one of your three categories of the
salvation journey, doesn’t mean that you don’t have works that merit. You still have a “works-based salvation,” it’s
just in another category.
Yes,
Catholics often deny it, but they do indeed embrace a “faith plus works” salvation. But a faith that will later result in good
works is not the same thing as a “faith plus works” system.
So, the big
question is this: Is “initial justification,” as described by the Catholic
Church, a biblical concept? And the
answer is no.
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