Virtue That Counts
Evangelicals who visit Rome cannot help but enjoy the stately buildings and stirring sense of history. A few like it so much they never leave. Such is the case with Francis Beckwith, former president of the Evangelical Theological Society. In April, the Baylor University philosopher rejoined the Roman Catholic Church.
Such defections always provoke a little evangelical soul-searching, in this case about the classic doctrine of justification. Beckwith found the Protestant view, which assumes that sanctification follows justification, inadequate.
"As an evangelical, even when I talked about sanctification and wanted to practice it, it seemed as if I didn't have a good enough incentive to do so," Beckwith told Christianity Today. "Now [in Catholicism] there's a kind of theological framework, and it doesn't say my salvation depends on me, but it says my virtue counts for something."
Beckwith, in describing his confusion, has done us a favor, giving us an opportunity to explore a question that frankly many Christians ask: Why be good?
The Virtue of Christ
Justification by faith, which gives us assurance of our standing before God, is not just a pastoral doctrine. It goes to the very core of our theological tradition. Martin Luther described it as the "first and chief article" of Protestantism "on which the church stands or falls." It is no surprise then that recent affirmations of justification have attracted evangelicals as diverse as Tom Oden and R. C. Sproul, Pat Robertson and Ron Sider. Still, don't be surprised to see more debates about justification unfolding. Next month's cover story, by British scholar Simon Gathercole, will look at how some evangelical scholars are reinterpreting Paul's teaching on justification.
So what is ...
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Anonymous
I agree with those who are saying that this is all quite frightening. The gift of faith is the vehicle by which we receive the justification ("declared righteous") which is ONLY available through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - the perfect sacrifice which fulfilled the law. Romans 10:28-29 tells us that we must confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord (not the co-pilot) and believe that God raised him from death to be saved. That's it. After that we live life. Between justification and glorification (Romans 8) we live life and go through the process of sanctification, the process by which the Holy Spirit operates within us to conform us to the image of Christ (back to Romans 8) - the transformation of Romans 12:2. That is a promise, that God will complete the good work that He has started in us (Php 1:6) through the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Thes 2:13, Romans 15:16) and the Word of God (John 17:17). Our role: respond to the work that He has begun and is doing in us.
Anonymous
I agree with those who are saying that this is all quite frightening. The gift of faith is the vehicle by which we receive the justification ("declared righteous") which is ONLY available through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - the perfect sacrifice which fulfilled the law. Romans 10:28-29 tells us that we must confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord (not the co-pilot) and believe that God raised him from death to be saved. That's it. After that we live life. Between justification and glorification (Romans 8) we live life and go through the process of sanctification, the process by which the Holy Spirit operates within us to conform us to the image of Christ (back to Romans 8) - the transformation of Romans 12:2. That is a promise, that God will complete the good work that He has started in us (Php 1:6) through the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Thes 2:13, Romans 15:16) and the Word of God (John 17:17). Our role: respond to the work that He has begun and is doing in us.
Anonymous
I agree with those who are saying that this is all quite frightening. The gift of faith is the vehicle by which we receive the justification ("declared righteous") which is ONLY available through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - the perfect sacrifice which fulfilled the law. Romans 10:28-29 tells us that we must confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord (not the co-pilot) and believe that God raised him from death to be saved. That's it. After that we live life. Between justification and glorification (Romans 8) we live life and go through the process of sanctification, the process by which the Holy Spirit operates within us to conform us to the image of Christ (back to Romans 8) - the transformation of Romans 12:2. That is a promise, that God will complete the good work that He has started in us (Php 1:6) through the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Thes 2:13, Romans 15:16) and the Word of God (John 17:17). Our role: respond to the work that He has begun and is doing in us.