I have been having quite an argument on my blog concerning controversial statements I made about the Pope. Well some have criticized my stance by saying that JBFA should not be the "only thing that matters". Often citing any number of social/ethical issues as being equally important and then quoting from some part of ECT.

What say you?

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Benjamin P. Glaser
Pittsburgh, PA
Fairmount ARP Church

Student of Theology
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary
My Blog

Luther called it:

"The article upon which the church stands or falls."

Social and ethical issues and Evangelicals and Catholics Together is NOT the Gospel.

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Sterling Harmon
Coventry, CT
PCA
Deacon
________________

"Whatever is laudable in our works proceeds from the grace of God."
-- John Calvin, Institutes III:xv.3.

"Our Lord God must be a good man, to be fond of worthless fellows. I cannot like them, and yet I, myself, am one."
-- Martin Luther, Table Talk

Luther:

"All heretics have continually failed in this point, that they do not rightly understand or know the article of justification. If we had not this article certain and clear, it were impossible we could criticize the Pope's false doctrine of indulgences and other abominable errors, much less be able to overcome greater spiritual errors and vexations."

Conversely, imo-- because we do have the article of justification "certain and clear" we are not bamboozled by popish mythologies or the wishful musings of ECT or FV or any of the other doctrinal deviations we have floating about us.

Thomas Watson in A Body of Divinity wrote:

"It was a saying of Luther, that after his death the doctrine of justification would be corrupted."
Indeed the emphasis on social and ethical issues is part of that corruption.

Christology, the Trinity--that would be more important, because God is more important than me. I wouldn't want to make my soteriology subservient to my Trinitarianism. Of course, I don't deny JBFA.

Hi Sterling,

As far as I know, this saying belongs to the Reformed theologian, J. H. Alsted, at least in this form. I think this is significant because it suggests the falsehood of the claim that justification is the "Lutheran" (central) dogma and predestination is the "Reformed" (central) dogma.

rsc

__________________
R. Scott Clark, D.Phil
Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology

"For Christ, His Gospel, and His Church"
Associate Pastor
Oceanside URC
The Heidelblog

Ivanhoe,

I think I know what you're saying, but JBFA is about God. Also, did you mean to say that you don't want your trinitarianism subservient to soteriology? If so, I think you are correct. Our soteriology can only be understood in light and on the foundation of a robust, orthodox view of God.

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Jon Peters
Member, Reformation Fellowship (OPC) (Roseville, CA)
Folsom, CA

Jacob,

This assumes that the two are in competition. Don't forget that the RCC affirms Nicene Orthodoxy and even recites it every week in Church.

In my estimation, however, they deny what they cite because it is the Trinity that has decreed that men would be saved by the righteousness of Christ.

In my estimation, an argument to place other issues before the nature of justification end up being problematic because it assumes a man can bend the knee and worship God before he has been born from above and trusted in God. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and that fear of God is found by faith alone that is born from above. We can talk all day long about other doctrines being more central but a man won't even begin to comprehend those things until he has an Evangelical fear.

__________________
Rich
Okinawa, Japan
Deacon, Central Baptist Church, SBC

SoliDeoGloria.com - A Community for Reformed Thought and Discussion
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Dr. Clark:

That's interesting. I have seen it attributted to Luther many times.

Tell me about Alsted. I'm not familiar with the name. Who was he? When did he write? Where did he say it?

Thanks.

sh

From an early meeting of Presbytery:

__________________
Yours sincerely,


"Illum oportet crescere me autem minui."

1 Cor 15:1-8

Is There Anything More Important Than Justification By Faith Alone?

If you are referring to the preaching that goes on in the church, then I would have to say no. Is there a sermon preached in the NT with any other theme?

I have been preaching forever (it seems like) through Romans and keep expecting the sheep to tire of the message of JBFA but they do not. As I creep closer to chapter 12 and anticipate a change, I realize more and more that chapter 12 is so dependant on chapters 1-11 that I cannot cease preaching the message of JBFA. The words "I beseech ye therefore" require the message of JBFA before any preaching can be done concerning an acceptable walk before God. Our acceptable walk is our 'reasonable service' only when we fully realize what has been done on our behalf.

The more I preach (around 150 sermons) the more I realize there is nothing more important than JFBA when it comes to preaching.

Sorry for rambling but there was a very positive response to my sermon on JFBA for the elect remnant in Rom 11 this morning. I am still on a 'high'.

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Dr. Clark:

I did a google search on Alsted. I found this from an article you wrote:

Westminster Seminary California clark
I found it quite helpful. Thanks.

Even R.C. Sproul credits Luther with this famous slogan. Now I'm intrigued to find out who REALLY originated this statement. Luther was 50 years prior to Alsted, so my initial leaning is Luther, but that could be wrong.

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Will Shin
Pastor/Church Planter
Grace Reformed Church
Rockville, MD

It is the first of many important issues.

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HaigLaw, ruling elder
Grace PCA, Shreveport, LA
http://www.xanga.com/HaigLaw

My former pastor pointed out that many doctrinal errors can be traced to an error in, or confusion of, justification and/or sanctification.

When reading through churches' "statements of faith," I always look for the one word "alone" - justification by faith *alone*, etc.

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BJ Mora
Grace OPC, Modesto, CA
Reformed & Presbyterian Churches & Denominations in North America

T4G

If you click on Dever's message, he deals with liberalism's social/ethical additives to the gospel.

__________________
Ryan Barnhart - Pastor of OGBC
Husband to a beautiful wife, Father to two beautiful girls
"But by the grace of God I am what I am." I Corinthians 15:10

"I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms. And in the Great Day my Resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer." - John Paton

Nothing is more important than the Gospel. And, at the heart of the Gospel (at least as it is being attacked today) stands justification by faith alone.

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Dennis E. McFadden
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

I could not find any place where the phrase appears in the 55 volume English Luther's Works, other than in the introduction to the 1536 Disputation on Justification by Lewis W. Spitz.

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C.P. --Member, Pineville Presbyterian Church (OPC)

"Where is the young man who fears the judgment to come? What is the breath of an enemy of God to the blast of the soul by the breath of the Almighty? If you fear the frowns of a fellow worm, how will you stand in judgment with an angry God?" --Asahel Nettleton

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