LETTERS: SALVATION BY FAITH ALONE IS BIBLICAL TEACHING, UNLIKE JOINT DECLARATION

To the editor:

The recent signing of the ambiguous Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification which took place in Augsburg, Germany, on Oct. 31 between some representatives of the Lutheran World Federation (please note, 45 percent of the Lutheran church bodies in the world refused to sign this statement) has done nothing to resolve the long-standing division between Lutherans and Roman Catholics over the teaching of how God justifies (saves) us sinners. This is the very doctrine by which the Christian church stands or falls.

The recent response of Mike Young on Jan. 5 to the column by George Will on Dec. 30 moves me to write what follows.

Are we saved by the good works that we do? The answer to that question is an unequivocal no. If you and I want to be saved by our good works, then we must be absolutely perfect. This perfection is impossible for us since we are conceived by sinful parents. Therefore, we are born into this world sinful. As sinful people, you and I commit all kinds of sin, such as sinful thoughts, sinful words and sinful actions.

God tells us in Galatians 3:10-11, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the Law, to do them. But that no one is justified by the Law in the sight of God is evident, for The just shall live by faith.'" To break God's Law is just one point that condemns us to damnation in hell.

Are we saved by good works plus our faith in Jesus Christ? Again, the answer to that question is an unequivocal no. God tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9, "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."

To insist that you must add your own works to gain forgiveness of sins and be saved is to deny the very essence of grace which teaches that Jesus Christ did everything necessary to save us when he cried out from the cross, "It is finished" referring to his work of saving us sinners 100 percent by his holy life and his innocent suffering and death as the full and final payment of all our sins.

God says in Galatians 5:4, "You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by Law; you have fallen from grace."

Are we saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone? The answer to that question is an unequivocal yes.

Our salvation is a gift of God's grace from beginning to end so that no one can boast. Personal-work, righteousness, decision-for-Christ theology and anything else that gives credit to man in any way, shape or form for his salvation must be rejected by us Christians.

We sinners are saved entirely and totally by the amazing grace of God because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The benefits of Christ's work are brought to us 100 percent by the Holy Spirit through the power and blessing of God's Word.

It is regrettable that the Roman Catholic Church has refused to budge from or retract any of its canons or decrees of the Council of Trent (formulated between 1545 and 1563 under three different popes in Trent, Italy) in which the church rejects and repudiates the truth of God's Word that we sinners are saved by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Canon IX: "If anyone says that the ungodly is justified by faith alone in such a way that he understands that nothing else is required which cooperates toward obtaining the grace of justification ... let him be anathema."

Canon XII: "If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else than trust in divine mercy, which remits sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this trust alone by which we are justified, let him be anathema."

Thus, you have Scripture that declares unequivocally that we sinners are saved 100 percent by God's grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone, while on the other hand we have the Roman Catholic Church which still officially teaches in the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent that all those who believe this teaching or the Bible are anathematized or condemned.

On the basis of God's Word, I shall continue to believe, teach and confess that you and I and all sinners are saved by God's grace in Jesus Christ alone without the deeds of the Law. Whatever good works you and I do as Christians are always present as a fruit of faith but must never in any way be considered a part of the reason why God forgives us.

Yes, good works will always be present in the life of a Christian as we teach in our Lutheran Confessions, "The Book of Concord." The Formula of Concord, Article IV: "It is therefore as impossible to separate works from faith as it is to separate heat and light from fire."

When the Holy Spirit implants saving faith in Jesus Christ in the heart of the sinner, this is not a partial but a complete faith that trusts 100 percent in Christ alone for salvation. This complete faith is evidenced by the light of the good works that flow from the life of the Christian by the power of the Holy Spirit. These good works never earn nor merit any kind of forgiveness.

My prayer for all my fellow sinful human beings is that we will all be led by the Holy Spirit to confess with Peter and the early Christian church: "We believe that through grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved." -- Acts 15:11.

The REV. DAVID V. DISSEN

Retired Lutheran Pastor

Cape Girardeau