This is an audio lecture, Bleating Wolves: Evangelicals and Catholics Together, by the late John Robbins of the Trinity Foundation. You will not want to miss this lecture since it is particularly relevant to the situation we seen in the Anglican churches where compromise is sought between Anglo-Catholics and Reformed Evangelicals. However, the compromises to be made are always to be made on the part of Evangelicals and Reformed Anglicans who must agree to Anglo-Catholic definitions of the 39 Articles and justification by faith alone rather than English Reformation definitions of those formularies and doctrines. It is high time that Reformed and Evangelical Anglicans stand against heresy and call it what it truly is rather than simply saying that justification is in the "fine print" of the Gospel. Such a position is essentially the same as saying the Gospel itself is merely a side item in the "fine print" of the Scriptures!
Justification by faith alone is not a secondary issue which we ought not to divide over but it is a primary issue by which we are either saved or lost for eternity. It is the central issue by which churches stand with the Gospel or fall into outright apostasy. Choose you this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15). Will you be justified by faith alone or will you justify yourself? (Romans 10:3-4; John 5:24; Romans 4:1-12).
Justification by faith alone is not a secondary issue which we ought not to divide over but it is a primary issue by which we are either saved or lost for eternity. It is the central issue by which churches stand with the Gospel or fall into outright apostasy. Choose you this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15). Will you be justified by faith alone or will you justify yourself? (Romans 10:3-4; John 5:24; Romans 4:1-12).
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2 comments:
I agree entirely. This is the article "of which nothing can be surrendered," Luther wrote in the Smalcald Articles. St. Paul tells us that if our salvation is of works, then it is no more grace. Rom. 11:6.
There can be a certain cooperation with Rome in areas of public morality, where we agree with them--issues of abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, etc., and charitable efforts like sending food to curb a famine. But there can be no joint affirmation with them where there is no agreement.
The leading Lutheran theologians rejected the pact that Rome and the Lutheran World Federation pushed through. Those who protested included the Lutheran professors under whom Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, studied for his doctorate--Martin Hengel, Peter Stuhlmacher, Oswald Bayer.
I'm not familiar with Hengel and Bayer. However, I heard Peter Stuhlmacher lecture when I was a seminarian at Asbury Theological Seminary. Can't remember the topic now because it has been so long ago. 1994 or 1995? Anyway, I have heard a few of Stuhlmacher's lectures on podcast since then. He has a solid understanding of justification by faith alone. I was wondering why that was so. I didn't know he was Lutheran but that seems to explain it! I was under the impression that he was Reformed for some reason.
Stuhlmacher is surprisingly conservative for a professor from Tubingen. I need to look for some of his works in New Testament theology.
In Christ,
Charlie
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