Counterfeit Grace

(Gospel e-Letter - February 2008)

The Catholic Church does not teach that we are saved by works alone; the Church insists that we cannot be justified by works done by our own ability. The Council of Trent makes that clear:

If anyone says that man can be justified before God by his own works, whether done by his own natural powers or through the teaching of the Law, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. (Trent, Session 6, Canon 1).

Furthermore, Catholicism teaches that we can only be justified by God's grace. Again and again, the same council speaks of the 'grace of justification'.

Well then, is the Catholic doctrine identical to the biblical teaching on grace? The terminology may be the same, but is the meaning different?

Biblical Grace

When the Bible says that we are justified by grace, it means that God accounts the believer as righteous for Christ's sake. This legal right-standing before God is granted as a free gift to people who do not deserve it. Justification is by 'grace' because it is a favour that cannot be merited by works. The Bible sets grace in contrast to works so that we will never mix them up.

Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt (Romans 4:4).

And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace (Romans 11:6).

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began (2 Timothy 1:9).

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us … having been justified by His grace (Titus 3:5-7).

When the Bible speaks of grace in relation to salvation, it excludes any admixture of good works. Add one tiny drop of merit to grace, and you don't have the genuine, saving, divine grace any longer. If it is grace, it is not of works!

Catholic Grace

Catholic theology gives a different definition of grace so that it could add the merit of human works, and yet claim that salvation is by grace.

The Catechism defines grace as a "favour, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life" (paragraph 1996).

The Catechism rightly states that grace is a free and undeserved favour. But when the Catechism says that grace is the "help" that God gives us, it cleverly opens the way for the addition of our cooperation, our works and our merits. To this end, the third part of the Catechism explains the way to reach beatitude through our right conduct with the help of God's law and grace (see paragraph 16).

Initial justification at baptism is absolutely undeserved, but then Catholics are called to be further justified by their good works performed by divine grace, that is, by the help of God. At the end, they will be considered to have satisfied the law of God on the basis of those works.

Take a second look at canon 1 quoted above: it is not contrasting works with grace, but 'natural' works with works done with God's help. It denies justification by works done by our natural powers, but it affirms the opposite, namely justification by human works done by God's grace.

That is called salvation by grace; that is in fact salvation by human works!

Salvation by Grace

When the Bible says we're saved by grace, it means we're really saved by God's favour apart from the merit of our works. When Catholicism says we're saved by grace, it means we're saved by the merit of our works that God helps us perform.

God's remedy for our spiritual malady is pure grace. Catholicism poisons the gospel by the addition of human works and merit. But Catholicism kept the same label 'Salvation by Grace' on the new 'gospel'. Do not be deceived by a counterfeit 'grace'!

Meriting Grace

(Gospel e-Letter - January 2008)

Does the Catholic Church officially teach that the faithful can merit the graces needed to attain eternal life?

I wonder what your answer might be. Perhaps you resent the very suggestion that the Catholic Church teaches that we can merit grace or eternal life by our good works. You may also feel that evangelical pastors are being dishonest when they allege such things about Catholicism.

I asked the question in my blog during last December and I was not altogether surprised with the response. Of 883 respondents, 801 (90%) answered NO -- they do not believe that the Catholic Church teaches that we can merit the graces needed to attain eternal life. Also many Catholics who corresponded with me over the years have expressed the same conviction. Yet they are wrong.

The Catholic Church does in fact teach that we can merit the graces needed to attain eternal life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2027, states:

"No one can merit the initial grace which is at the origin of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can merit for ourselves and for others all the graces needed to attain eternal life, as well as necessary temporal goods."

It could not be any clearer than that: "we can merit … all the graces needed to attain eternal life." That does not mean that the Church teaches that we can merit the initial grace of justification. Even after conversion, the Church insists that we can only do good works by the power of the Spirit. Nonetheless it is also true that, according to the Catechism, we can merit further graces needed to attain eternal life.

I used to feel frustrated whenever Catholics denied this teaching of their church, and I tried to persuade them otherwise from the official writings, especially the Council of Trent. (The 6th Session gives a detailed explanation of the doctrine of Justification).

I am not bothered anymore; actually I am glad that many Catholics are unaware of some of these doctrines, and even reject them. I don't know the underlying reasons for this. Perhaps Catholic teachers and apologists are not presenting church doctrine clearly and faithfully as they should, or perhaps, it is due to the influence of evangelical Christianity. Whatever the reasons, I thank God that many Catholics believe that they cannot merit grace or eternal life.

What is absolutely sure is that the Bible teaches that eternal life is a gift. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). We have earned and merited God's wrath by our disobedience and sin. If God had to give us what we deserve, death and hell would have been our payment. "The wages of sin is death!"

But thanks to God, he deals graciously with his chosen people. He gives us freely what we have not worked for; he gives us the gift of infinite value purchased by the precious blood of Christ. "The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We cannot merit grace because we cannot pay for a gift; we can only receive grace and eternal life with empty hands and an eternally grateful heart. That is my prayer for all the readers of this letter and your loved ones. May God richly bless you in Christ throughout 2008.

The Futile Faith of Some Catholics

(Gospel e-Letter - December 2007)

Do you fully rely by faith on the Lord Jesus for your salvation? I'm not asking you if you believe in Jesus in a vague and general way, but whether or not you trust him with all your heart to get you to heaven.

If you were brought up in the Catholic religion, you have been told at confession to make satisfaction for sins by doing penance, such as prayer and fasting. You were also taught to merit grace by doing good works.

You believe in Jesus, and yet, if you follow the official teaching of the Catholic Church, you don't fully trust him with the salvation of your soul. The focus of your heart is shifted from Christ and his cross to self and your deeds. You must make satisfaction; you must merit grace; you must add works to your faith in Christ for your final justification.

My friend, I am constrained to forewarn you that such faith cannot justify you before God. I say it again, on the authority of the divine Word: if you attempt to add works to faith for justification, Christ is of no value to you. Listen carefully to what the Bible says:

"But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5 NKJV).

And again, read the same scripture in a Catholic version:

"But when one does not work, yet believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness." (NAB).

Whose faith, according to the inspired Scripture, is credited as righteousness? Is it the faith of him that believes and works? Or of him who believes and does not work? Are you attempting to be justified by faith apart from works, or by faith and works combined?

The apostle is not excluding works as the fruit or purpose of salvation. Elsewhere he is adamant on the absolute necessity of works, godliness and love in the Christian life.

But in this context he is speaking on a different matter, on how God justifies the ungodly. He speaks of righteousness "accounted" or "credited" to the sinner that believes in Christ. Paul tells how the legal debt is crossed out and instead God writes "Righteous by Faith" on the believer's account.

Paul will not allow us to miss the point. The Protestant motto "faith alone" is definitely feeble in comparison to the powerful apostolic statement: "him who does not work but believes"! The Bible does not merely say "faith alone" but it positively excludes works altogether for justification. Indeed the Spirit defines justifying faith by contrasting it to works. He rightly believes in God who makes no attempt to present his personal works for justification.

What about the person who both works and believes in Christ? Can he be justified also? As much as I wish to give a positive answer, I would be deceitful if I do. No, sadly, the person who attempts to be right with God by faith and the merits of his works will most certainly fail. There aren't two ways to God; there aren't two contradictory gospels – one that excludes works and the other that includes them. There is but one gospel: the justification of whoever does not work but believes.

Add one grain of works to your faith, and it is no longer the faith that justifies but a futile and demonic counterfeit.

Dear friend, are you justified by faith; are you at peace with God? Are you convinced that a fatal heart attack will usher you straight to the glory of heaven? If you are doubtful and uncertain, it is because you are not grasping the cross of Christ. You cannot -- as long your hands are filled with "good works".

Throw them away! Discard your works-merit in the rubbish bin where they belong. Come empty-handed to Christ and hold fast to him as your only defense before the God's Law. If you do not work but believe on the Lord who justifies the ungodly, your faith will be accounted for righteousness. That's a divine promise!

The Dead Faith of Some ‘Evangelicals’

(Gospel e-Letter - November '07)

The gospel is constantly being assailed on every side. Catholics tend to err by relying on personal deeds to merit eternal life, while evangelicals are prone to wander to the opposite extreme, excluding good works altogether. They speak of "faith alone" as if good works have no obligatory place in Christianity.

More than 2/3 of the participants in an online poll think that "faith alone" implies that good works are either optional or desirable; only a third considers good works as an necessary aspect of the Christian life.

Catholics rightly expose barren faith as unbiblical, and I would add, it is also contrary to the historic Protestant position. For many modern evangelicals, the motto "faith alone" means something altogether different from what their forefathers understood.

The Protestant Confessions agree unanimously on justification by faith alone; they also insist that Good works are an essential part of the Christian experience. The Confessions are emphatic on this point:

This faith is bound to bring forth good fruits … it is necessary to do good works commanded by God (Lutheran).

It is impossible for this holy faith to be unfruitful (Reformed).

[Good works] do spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith insomuch that by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit (Anglican).

[Faith] is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love (Presbyterian, Baptist).

The Confessions are unified on the necessity of good works, and more importantly, they are in agreement with the testimony of Scripture, our ultimate authority.

Speaking by the mouth of Zachariah, the Holy Spirit announced the purpose of God's redemption before the birth of the Saviour. God delivers his people that we "might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life" (Luke 1:75). Believers are saved to serve God.

Jesus would not have any unprofitable servants; he disowns and casts them into the outer darkness. Jesus' true disciples are obedient. "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed" (John 8:31); and again, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me" (John 14:21).

Many who profess to believe in Christ will be exposed and condemned on the Day of Judgement. Their unfruitful life will bear witness against their dead faith. "I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me" (Matthew 25:26-30). Worthless servants will be cast into hell, and undoubtedly many of them would be evangelicals who had hoped on a fake version of "faith alone".

Jesus' apostles taught the same truth. Paul says, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:11-14)). Whoever is saved by grace is also taught to say "No" to ungodliness and "Yes" to righteousness. Why? Because Christ died for that very reason: He "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."

But someone might object, "Does not Paul say in Ephesians 2:8, 9 that we are saved by grace through faith and not of works?" Yes indeed he does exclude personal works as the meritorious cause of our salvation, but in the very next verse, Paul presents works as the goal of our salvation. The saved are "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." They who are not saved "by works" are saved "for good works". God had eternally determined that his children would do good works.

The apostle Peter presses the duty of godly living on all Christians: "As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:14-16). Unless we pursue holiness, as we are commanded, we will not see he Lord.

James warns against the fatal delusion of merely hearing God's Word without obedience: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:21, 22). Who knows how many nominal Christians continue to live in sin and sloth, and yet presume to be saved! They have all eternity to regret their folly.

The apostle John puts it succinctly: "He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). Obedience is not optional; obedience is not merely desirable. An unfruitful life unmasks the phoney and worthless "faith" of the spiritually dead. Like breathing and a beating heart, good works are a vital sign of salvation.

Forgiven, for she loved!

(Gospel e-Letter - October 2007)

A Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus for dinner. As they reclined at the table, a woman, who had lived a sinful life, came into the house, knelt behind Jesus, weeping and kissing his feet. She dried them with her hair and anointed them with perfume. The Pharisee was shocked and whispered his doubt in Jesus. But Jesus told him: “I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.”

Jesus forgave this woman because she loved much. What did Jesus mean by using these thought-provoking words? Did the woman gain Jesus’ favour because she gave her love to him? Or was her love the result and evidence of her receiving Jesus’ forgiveness?

If the former is true, some readers of this letter may be tempted to embrace Roman Catholicism, for the magisterium teaches that you can merit all the graces needed to attain eternal life. However, if the latter is correct, Catholic readers should seriously consider whether they have been misled in a matter of vital importance, namely, the way of salvation.

Read the Bible passage (Luke 7:36-50) carefully and then consider the following observations.

1. She had nothing to pay her debt

Jesus told a story to Simon to explain why the woman was showing so much love and gratitude. It was about a certain moneylender who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii (a denarius was about a day’s wage), and the other fifty. Even though they had nothing with which to repay him, he freely forgave them both. He then asked, “Now which of them will love him most?”

Simon rightly answered that the one forgiven most will love more. But we notice that neither one of them had the means to settle their debt. “They had nothing with which to repay.”

Thus, the sinful woman could not have merited Jesus’ favour by her expression of love. Our legal debt to God cannot be paid with acts of love. Like all of us, she had nothing to pay the debt of her sins.

2. She was forgiven freely

Jesus stressed the debtors’ bankruptcy; he also underlined the generosity and goodness of their creditor. He could have demanded their punishment; but instead he freely cancelled all their debt. “He freely forgave them both.” They did not work to pay off their debt; both were forgiven gratis!

Jesus forgave the woman freely without any payment by her; she could contribute nothing, not even the love she lavished so liberally upon him.

3. The woman’s love followed after forgiveness

We cannot mistake the meaning of Jesus’ words if we read them in context. He said, “Therefore I tell you, her sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who been forgiven little loves little.”

Forgiveness comes first and it results in gratitude and love in the forgiven person. He who is forgiven little will, in response, love little; whoever is forgiven more, will be more grateful. That's why the woman loved Jesus so much!

Her sins were “forgiven - for she loved much” simply means that her great love proves that she had been forgiven many sins. Her exorbitant love was the natural response to the grace of Jesus.

4. She was saved by faith

Simon was offended at the sight of the woman at Jesus' feet. The Pharisee could only see a prostitute, but Jesus saw the tears of repentance and the clean heart of a converted, believing woman. So Jesus comforted the woman and reassured her that she was forgiven.

We have Jesus’ explicit statement that the woman "was saved by faith". He did not tell her, “Your love has merited my grace.” Rather, he interpreted her love as the concrete evidence of her trust in him. He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” She was saved by grace, through faith, and not because of her works.

Well then, what is your conclusion?

If you admit that you owe a debt to God which you cannot pay, do you trust in the Lord Jesus alone for complete forgiveness? If you claim that you are saved, is your heart overflowing with love for your Saviour? Can the Lord say about you: “You are forgiven because you love me so much”? If he can’t say that, your profession of faith is empty, and neither will he say, “Your faith has saved you.”

And if you say that you believe in Jesus and yet attempt to work in order to merit his grace, you have missed the gospel message. You need to realize that you have nothing to repay your legal debt to God; you still need to experience the magnificence of his amazing grace. Jesus’ full and complete forgiveness is free, received by faith, and not in exchange for the tokens of your good works.

Your love for Jesus should be the result and not the cause of his saving grace.

God so Loved the World

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 is perhaps the best known verse of the Bible. It is a summary of the Gospel and it has brought peace, forgiveness and life to thousands of people, including myself. It is my prayer and desire that God would apply these truths to your heart, that you too may experience his marvelous love.

Loving the unloving

Who is the God who loved the world? He is the Creator of the universe, our Maker and Master. God created us special, as the bible says, ‘in his own image.’ That implies that we can love and be loved, for God is love. It is only in the experience of love that the purpose of our existence could be fulfilled.

However, from the beginning our first parents, Adam and Eve, disobeyed the Lord. They ate the forbidden fruit and, in effect, they told God: ‘We do not love you; we don’t care about you or your commands; we shall live independently of you. We’ll do our will, not yours!’ That is what the bible calls ‘sin.’

Like our first parents we have also sinned against our Maker. There is no fear of God in our culture. We play down the seriousness of sin, calling it ‘a mistake’, ‘human weakness’ or 'a psychological problem' - anything, as long as we excuse or justify sin. Thus, although the Lord commands us, ‘You shall have no other gods before me,’ we say that it’s alright for everybody to worship according to his own religion. And though his God's Law says, ‘You shall not steal,’ pilfering and cheating in taxes and business is the norm for many 'good' people. Tragically, what appears alright to us is filthy in the eyes of God, for sin is rebellion against him.

Moreover, the consequences of sin are enormous. That's why the good world he created in the beginning is now in a mess. Take a look around you: there’s pain, suffering, misery and death. And that’s all because of our sin. According to John 3:16, we are perishing. We are on our way to the grave; but worse still, to appear before the judgment seat of God and to his just punishment in Hell forever.

You thought John 3:16 is good news! Believe me, it is! However in order to understand its beauty, first you need to see the ugliness of sin. We are sinners. We are guilty. We are perishing.

He gave his Son

Praise God, there is hope! A hope that’s not found in ourselves or in our strength or in our morality. The one and only hope is God – the God against whom we sinned. The good news is that ‘God so loved the world.’ He did not love the world because it is loving or loveable. He loves the world despite the fact that is it rebellious and sinful. Motivated by love, God did something incredible to save sinful people. God gave his beloved Son for the salvation of his enemies.

The ‘only-begotten Son’ is Jesus Christ. He was born in Palestine 2000 years ago to a young Jewish woman, Mary. He was human like us, except he was without sin. Moreover, Jesus is not a mere man. He is also Divine, and he exists with the Father and the Holy Spirit from eternity.

How did Jesus accomplish the mission entrusted to him by his Father? Did he simply teach us a new or better morality? No, he did not come down from Heaven merely to be a teacher. The prophets could fulfill that job well enough. Jesus is more than a teacher: he is first of all, the Saviour. Salvation is a task that only he could perform.

Jesus was given by the Father to die on the cross of Calvary. He had no sins of his own but he took responsibility for the sins of his people. The sin is ours and we deserve to suffer the just penalty in Hell for eternity. But when Jesus suffered and died, he paid the full penalty demanded by God’s Law for his people’s sin. He became their substitute -- the sinless dying instead of the sinful. Amazing love!

Whoever believes

Do you believe in the Son of God? If you do, you will not perish in Hell because the blood he shed is the sufficient payment of your debt. If you don’t believe, then you are a stranger to the God of love, and there is absolutely no hope for you.

‘To believe is Jesus’ is not merely an acknowledgement of his existence. Faith in Christ is the sure conviction that he is the eternal Son of God; that he died for your sins; that he rose from the death and that he is your living Saviour. To believe in Jesus means to trust in him alone – and have no confidence in your own ‘goodness’, anybody or anything else.

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. May the Lord set you free from sin and Hell; may he give you life eternal. It is the only life worth living.