Theme 2 Part D
Luther
Luther's arguments for justification by faith alone
founder of Protestantism
German Augustinian monk and professor of theology
Sinners are not saved by acts of penance but by faith alone
absolute dependence on God’s promise of forgiveness
God will forgive mankind no
matter what they do on earth
Biblical Evidence: Paul's letters
Romans
‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’
‘We are justified by faith.’
Galatians
‘We know that a person is justified not by the works of law but through faith in Jesus Christ.’
Ephesians
‘By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is a gift from god– not the
result of works, so that no one may boast.’
Biblical Contradictions
The Epistle of James: ‘a person is justified by works and not faith alone.’
Luther: 'Epistle of straw', 'nothing of the nature of the gospel'
'Sales of Indulgences'
‘penance payments’ went towards the building of the church in St. Peter in
Rome
In Wittenberg half of all penance payments went towards the Cardinal Archbishop of Mainz to offset what he had paid the pope for his appointment as Archbishop
commissioner of penance payments and the doctrine of indulgences in Germany was a man named Johan Tetzel
Penance payments not only liberated teh living from doing actual penance, but that people in purgatory could be released and go to heaven if relative made payments on behalf of dead relatives
In 1517, he nailed a letter to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, protesting against clerical abuses in the Catholic Church
caused Protestant Reformation in Europe
Council of Trent responses to Luther
1545-1563 the Roman Catholic Church
1547 (Luther’s claims
of Justification by Faith Alone as heresy)
God does not just make people righteous; they must become righteous
Good works are required as a condition for ultimate justification
People cannot bring about their own salvation, they must cooperate with the grace of God
Justification in two phases
Righteousness is mediated first by baptism, which is
God’s gift of Grace
Righteousness is maintained and increased by acts of
penance, good works and participating in Holy Communion
Neither Faith nor Works alone will merit justification. They must work together, grace through baptism, but then good works are necessary to progress towards Salvation
Protestant criticism of the Council of Trent
The Council of Trent: ‘by his good works the justified man acquires a claim to supernatural reward from God
This ‘transactional’ idea contradicts Paul’s biblical notion that good works do not merit grace, as it is a gift
Protestant Reformers that acts of penance contradicts the biblical teaching that God doesn’t count people’s sins against them
Paul: ‘in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against
them.’
Justification must be can act of God’s grace, not something that is earned through good works
E.P Sanders
believes Luther misinterpreted in his interpretation of the term 'works' in Paul's letters
dismisses the idea that we gain justification through good works and acts
he researched Jewish law and used their version of good works
works = badges of identity
covenantal nomism