Why I\'m Not a Roman Catholic

*Note that much of this is based on arguments from the Book of Concord and Martin Chemnitz’ Examination of the Council of Trent

Sola Scriptura 1. Many times, the Scriptures are actually considered to be traditions a. Cyprian says, “in presenting the chalice of our Lord in order that it may be filled with wine, let the tradition of the Lord be observed, and let nothing else be done by us than what the Lord has previous done for us” i. This tradition, obviously, is found in writing b. Basil writes in his ​Contra Eunomium​ (Bk. 3), “this is in open conflict with the tradition of saving Baptism. ‘Go ye,’ He says, ‘baptize in the name, etc’...our baptism is according to the tradition of the Lord, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” i. That tradition is obviously found in writing c. Cyprian writes, in his ​Ad Pompeium,​ “if the truth has become uncertain in any point, let us return to the origin in the Lord and to the tradition of the Gospels and of the apostles...whence is this tradition? Does it come from the authority of the Lord and of the Gospels or from commands and epistles of the apostles? For God testifies in Joshua 1:7 that those things which are written must be done. If, therefore, it is either commanded in the Gospels or contained in the epistles and the Acts of the Apostles, let also this holy tradition be observed” i. Once again, this shows that tradition is rooted in the Gospels and oftentimes the Gospels are considered tradition d. Basil writes that faith is “the unhesitating assent to the things which are heard in the certainty of truth and preached by the grace of God...if the Lord is faithful in all He says, it is clearly a falling from faith and a sin of pride either to reject anything of the things that are written or to add anything unwritten.” i. It’s pretty clear that one receives the proper traditions through the Scriptures and adding unwritten traditions is really bad 2. Why do we have Scripture? a. We suggest that whatever the Apostles considered necessary for the Church to know in the future was written down i. Aquinas writes, “Matthew published his gospel in Judea especially for the benefit of those Jews who had come to faith in Jerusalem. For when he had preached the Gospel orally and now wanted to go to the Gentiles, he first wrote the Gospel, which he bequeathed as a memorial to the brethren from whom he was departing. For as it was necessary to preach the Gospel

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for the confirmation of the faith, so it was necessary to write it against the heretics.” Chrysostom writes (Homily 1 on Matthew), “Matthew wrote when the believers in Christ from among the Jews had approached him and asked that he would send them in writing what he had taught them by word of mouth, that it might be preserved.” Augustine notes that the Holy Spirit omitted certain things from the Gospels so we could simply comprehend what happened; the Holy Spirit didn’t want us overwhelmed with information 1. This isn’t to say those other acts and ideas weren’t important, but they aren’t as necessary Overall, we say that Matthew wrote his Gospel for the following reason: 1. That the Churches could have his writing in his absence to provide teaching when he couldn’t be with them a. Eusebius writes, “When Matthew had first preached to the Hebrews and was now about to go also to others, he committed his Gospel to writing in the language of the Fathers, and through writing supplied to those whom he was leaving what they might lack after his departure” 2. Because our memory is frail and fallible, so writing was necessary to preserve those key doctrines a. Eusebius writes, “when the Gospel had come to the West, such a great light of devotion illumined the minds of who had heard Peter that they could not be content with the unwritten teaching of the divine proclamation or remain steadfast in the things which they had learned of the Divine Word without writing; but they implored Mark with great earnestness that he would leave them a written account of that doctrine which they had received orally...and they say that the Apostle Peter, when he knew this by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was delighted by the wish of these men, in a formal statement approved this writing, confirmed it, and ordained that it should be read in the churches.” i. So, the people of the West saw the Scriptures as a sufficient summary of the oral Apostolic doctrines 3. That those who couldn’t receive the oral traditions would receive the summary of the whole faith in writing

a. Eusebius, Nicephorus, and Irenaeus all write that Mark wrote down what he preached specifically so we would know what we need b. “There are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) i. But John isn’t saying those extra-Scriptural ideas are necessary, as he writes, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31) so it’s pretty clear that the Scriptures we have are sufficient 1. By the time John wrote his Gospel, he’d seen the other Gospels. After John returned from Patmos, he verified the writings of the Synoptic Gospels c. Augustine writes, “although the Lord Jesus had done many things, not all were written, but those were selected to be written which were thought to be sufficient for the salvation of the believers” (​Evangelium Johannis tractatus, 49) d. Cyril writes, “Not all that the Lord did, was written, but that which the writers believed sufficient both for morals and for dogmas, in order that we may through the right faith and works, and shining through virtue, come to the kingdom of heaven through Jesus Christ” (​In Johannem​, 12) e. Irenaeus writes, “I take it that there are neither more nor fewer than these four Gospels...but the pillar and chief support of the Church is the Gospel and the spirit of life, consequently she has four pillars which breath incorruptibility from all sides and justify men. Those, however, who come from Valentinus bring forward their own writings and boast that they have more than these Gospels, because they have gone so far in their audacity that they call that the Gospel of truth which was not written by men of former times and which in nothing agrees with the Gospels of the apostles.” (​Against Heresies​, III, 11)

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4. That the doctrines of the Gospel wouldn’t be perverted by heretics a. Luke tells us that he wrote down his Gospel so we would know things of their greatest reliability against the heretics i. Theophylact summarizes Luke’s point: “before this, I taught you the Gospel orally, now I give it to you in writing, and thus I fortify your mind so that you may not forget the things that were delivered to you orally” ii. Ambrose tells us that Luke didn’t write down everything, but he wrote ​about everything iii. Chrysostom tells us, “He did not say ‘all’ but ‘concerning all,’ just as we say, ‘in short’ and ‘in general’; or, he speaks about all the things which are necessary.” b. Immediately after the death of the final Apostles, Ebion, Patmos, and Cerinthus arose, disturbing the Church with great heresies Concerning the Writings and Epistles of the Apostles 1. Once again, the Scriptures are the pillar, foundation, and norm of the faith a. As St. Jerome writes, “Whatever does not have authority in Holy Scripture can be rejected as easily as it can be approved” 2. The Epistles weren’t written immediately 3. Hebrews 6:1-2 says, “therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” a. So the foundation of the faith is repentance from dead works, faith toward God, baptism, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment 4. Nicephorus writes, “he gave epistles to most of those to whom the power and grace of the Holy Spirit had commanded him to go, and whom the Gospel had gloriously regenerated through faith in Christ. In them he taught the same things which he had clearly taught by word of mouth when he was present, and now that he was absent he recalled them to their memory by a short writing. In this way he afterward either with words of greater wisdom

accurately and clearly explained through his sacred writings also the things he had previously passed over in silence as being in the nature of a more hidden and abstruse mystery,” a. The epistles were written to do the following: i. Serve as reminders to what the Churches already learned ii. Clarify things from his sermons that may have seemed confusing iii. That people in the future - who weren’t present then - could learn from him 5. According to Tertullian, by his time, we still had the epistles of Paul with specific marks that showed their authenticity compared to fake epistles 6. On the verse “hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter” a. These traditions, however, weren’t different b. Good luck to the Romans in defending their doctrines as Apostolic c. This was the exact same scenario in the OT yet Christ rebuked the Pharisees; why weren’t they right in upholding every tradition they claimed from Moses? 7. The Church is the pillar and bulwark of truth because it has the apostolic doctrine 8. Augustine writes, “since the Holy Spirit did not want to have these things written, who will say that it was either this or that? And if anyone will be so rash and bold that he dares to say it, how will he prove it?” 9. Paul, as he leaves Titus, writes, “declare these things; exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you” (Titus 2:5) a. Paul wrote these things so Titus wouldn’t forget; he wanted more than oral traditions 10. Jerome writes, “it is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit which is set forth in the canonical writings; if the councils declare anything contrary to this, I hold it to be wicked” a. I already have this quote, but it’s good to write it down again 11. “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other

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gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9) a. “But it is my purpose, as I reckon, and not without reason, to live according to the Word, and to understand what is revealed;” - Clement of Alexandria 12. In Phillipians 4:8-9, Paul writes “Those things, which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” ultimately connecting what he writes to what he’s said St. Irenaeus writes, “that that which they delivered to us in writing might in the future be the foundation and pillar of our faith” "The holy and inspired Scriptures are fully sufficient for the proclamation of the truth.” - St. Athanasius (Against the Heathen, I:3) "Regarding the things I say, I should supply even the proofs, so I will not seem to rely on my own opinions, but rather, prove them with Scripture, so that the matter will remain certain and steadfast." - St. John Chrysostom (Homily 8 On Repentance and the Church, p. 118, vol. 96 TFOTC) “We are not entitled to such license, I mean that of affirming what we please; we make the Holy Scriptures the rule and the measure of every tenet; we necessarily fix our eyes upon that, and approve that alone which may be made to harmonize with the intention of those writings.” - St. Gregory of Nyssa (On the Soul and the Resurrection NPNF II, V:439) “If anyone preaches to you about anything which pertains to faith beside what you have received in the Scripture of the Law and the Gospel, let him be anathema, whether he is a bishop or an apostle, or even an angel from heaven.” - St. Augustine (​Contra litteras Petiliani​, Bk. 3, ch. 6) “No matter what they bring or from where they bring it, let us rather, if we are His sheep, hear the voice of our Shepherd. Therefore let us not listen to: This I say; that you say, but to: This the Lord says.” - Augustine (​De unitate ecclesiae​, ch. 3) "What is the mark of a faithful soul? To be in these dispositions of full acceptance on the authority of the words of Scripture, not venturing to reject anything nor making additions. For, if ‘all that is not of faith is sin' as the Apostle says, and ‘faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,' everything outside Holy Scripture, not being of faith, is sin." - Basil the Great (The Morals, p. 204, vol 9 TFOTC). “We are not content simply because this is the tradition of the Fathers. What is important is that the Fathers followed the meaning of the Scripture.” - St. Basil the Great (On the Holy Spirit, Chapter 7, par. 16)

j. “Since we have heard that certain who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, You must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:” (Acts 15:24) i. So we see that immediately there were people spreading false doctrines; Paul knew he had to write his doctrines down so people could know what was true and what was false 1. This was the point of Romans and Galatians for sure k. Many of the things Paul wrote to Jude were included in his epistles, so why not leave those churches to the Apostolic traditions? l. God Himself had to reach us because we cannot reach Him ourselves m. After Adam, the knowledge of God weakened, especially with Cain i. Traditions cannot be maintained by men as is evident with Genesis 6:3: “My Spirit shall not strive in man forever” 1. God had to give Noah special revelation n. After Noah, his descendents weren’t able to maintain the traditions given, since we soon see various nations worshipping foreign gods i. Abraham initially served foreign gods ii. The descendants didn’t forget or destroy tradition, but corrupted it, as we see with Laban o. God restored His doctrines to Abraham through special revelation i. He had to do the same with Isaac and Jacob p. Ultimately, God used written revelation to truly preserve His teachings, so we don’t absolutely need to know things beyond the Scriptures for our salvation i. Hilary writes, “What is not contained in the Book of the Law, that we do not even need to know” ii. You have to wonder why God wrote the Ten Commandments on tablets q. The written texts MUST be taken very seriously i. Moses commanded the Israelites to put his writings - which were divinely inspired - in the side of the ark 1. That Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, ‘Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.’” (Deuteronomy 31:25-26) ii. The King was ordered to have it and have it read every day 1. “And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn

to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel”. (Deuteronomy 17:18-20) iii. People must have the Word written all across their home 1. “And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house, and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:9) 2. “And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house, and upon your gates” (Deuteronomy 11:20) iv. It must be read by all men, women, and children 1. 'But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ (Matthew 4:4) v. "Read the divine Scriptures constantly. Never, indeed, let the sacred volume be out of your hand." - St. Jerome on 2 Timothy 3:14 vi. “These things were written so that we might not fall away, for we have many battles to fight, both inward and outward. But being comforted by the Scriptures we can exhibit patience, so that by living in patience we might dwell in hope.” - St. John Chrysostom (commentary on Romans 15:4) vii. ‘The lamp is the Divine word, of which it is said, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.” They who light this lamp are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He places his lamp upon a stand, who subdues his body to the ministry of the word, setting the preaching of the truth highest, and subjecting the body beneath it.’ - St. John Chrysostom (commentary on Matthew 5:14) r. The prophets who came after Moses were never given authority above the Scriptures i. The prophets were accustomed to writing down the most important doctrines 1. “Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes.” (1 Samuel 10:25) 2. “Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness.” (Isaiah 30:8)

3. Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” (Habakkuk 2:2) 4. “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now.” (Jeremiah 36:2) 5. “Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon.” (Jeremiah 51:60) 6. This was because God wanted to preserve doctrine in the most effective way possible a. Some doctrines and beliefs may not have been written down, but there’s probably a key reason for that: they’re not as important ii. The prophets, when told erroneous doctrines, immediately searched the Scriptures for the answers 1. “To the teaching and to the testimony! But if they speak not according to this word, there will be no dawn for them” (Isaiah 8:20) 2. Further, those in the time of Paul did the same to make sure what he said was true a. “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11) s. Traditions aren’t as clear and stable as the Scriptures i. We know that the teachings of the Scriptures were distorted by the time of Christ because the Pharisees read their own traditions into the Scriptures, though they read the Scriptures a lot 1. We clearly see that the Pharisees established traditions that went against God’s Word and they believed those traditions were fine because they were the ones who instituted them a. “For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, bronze vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not your disciples according to the tradition

of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? He answered and said unto them, Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such things you do. And he said unto them, Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother; and, Whoever curses father or mother, let him die the death: But you say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift devoted to God, whatsoever you might have received from me; he shall be free. And you allow him no more to do anything for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of no effect through your tradition, which you have delivered: and many such things do you.” (Mark 7:2-13) i. Notice in verse 7 that Christ is really critical of them for using traditions of men b. “When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces. “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.” One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” Jesus

replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”” (Luke 11:37-52) c. The entirety of Matthew 23 i. This is all about hypocrisy, but how has the Roman Church followed through with this? 2. It’s quite obvious that the problem with the Pharisees is that they saw traditions that were beyond Scripture as necessary for salvation a. Notice how Satan liked to do this in 1 Maccabees through Antiochus, pretending that certain traditions beyond Scripture are necessary for salvation 3. When Christ debated the Pharisees, notice that he never used arguments from previous Patriarchs, but rather, from the Scriptures, showing that all that is necessary for salvation is held within the Scriptures 4. St. Irenaeus noted that the Pharisees interpreted the Scriptures through their traditions, thus watering them down, writing “ Wherefore also Esaias declares: Your dealers mix the wine with water, ​Isaiah 1:22​ showing that the elders were in the ​habit​ of mingling a watered tradition with the simple command of ​God​; that is, they set up a spurious law, and one contrary to the [​true​] law; as also the Lord made plain, when He said to them, Why do you transgress the commandment of ​God​, for the sake of your

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tradition? ​Matthew 15:3​ For not only by actual transgression did they set the law of God at nought, mingling the wine with water; but they also set up their own law in opposition to it, which is termed, even to the present day, the pharisaical. In this [law] they suppress certain things, add others, and interpret others, again, as they think proper, which their teachers use, each one in particular; and desiring to uphold these traditions, they were unwilling to be subject to the law of ​God​, which prepares them for the coming of Christ​. But they did even blame the Lord for healing on the Sabbath-days, which, as I have already observed, the law did not prohibit. For they did themselves, in one sense, perform acts of healing upon the ​Sabbath day​, when they ​circumcised​ a man [on that day]; but they did not blame themselves for transgressing the command of God through tradition and the aforesaid pharisaical law, and for not keeping the commandment of the law, which is the love​ of ​God​.” (​Against Heresies,​ IV, 12) Andrada and the Jesuits are insulted when we accuse them of comparing their traditions to those of the Pharisees 1. The Romans will say that their traditions are received from the Apostles through succession but the Jews fabricated them. This is an incredibly bold claim, since the Pharisees would certainly say that they received their traditions from Moses a. The Pharisees and Talmudists believe that their traditions were given to them through an unbroken line since Moses. Petrus Galatinus actually has this, writing out the following succession: i. Moses ii. Eli iii. Samuel iv. King David v. Ahiah vi. Elijah vii. Elisha viii. Jehoiada ix. Zechariah x. Hosea xi. Amos xii. Isaiah xiii. Micah

xiv. Joel xv. Nahum xvi. Habakkuk xvii. Zephaniah xviii. Jeremiah xix. Baruch xx. Ezra xxi. Hillel xxii. Simon the Just xxiii. Gamaliel xxiv. Etc. b. Note that the Popes had far worse men in their ranks than these men above, yet the Pharisees still had immense errors 3. We don’t take the Church Fathers, as authoritative, though their words are incredibly valuable a. Augustine writes, “So I do not accept this opinion of Cyprian, that heretics are to be rebaptized, although I am incomparably inferior to Cyprian; as also I do not accept the opinion of the apostle Peter where he forced the gentiles to judaize, nor do I act upon it, although I am incomparably inferior to Peter” b. Augustine writes, in his ​Ad Vintentium Victorem​ (Bk. 2), “I neither can nor should deny that, as in my larger works, so also in so many of my smaller ones, there is so much which can be criticized with just judgment and without rashness” i. Also, in ​De dono perseverantiae​ (Ch. 21), “I would want nobody to embrace all my statements in such a way that he will follow me except in those things in which he has seen that I do not err. For this reason I now write my books of retractions, to show that I also have not followed myself in all things” c. Epiphanius asks for forgiveness if he has erred in any doctrines d. Ambrose writes, in his ​De officiis ​(Bk. 1), “for I think that I shall seem arrogant if I conceive a desire to teach among sons. I hope to attain not the grace of the prophets nor the strength of the evangelists nor the foresight of the pastors, but only application to a love for the divine Scriptures” e. Athanasius writes, “the Arians, seeing that they cannot have anything from the Scripture for their heresy, turn to the fathers, as robbers, when branded for their own activities, pretend that the upright and honest are their companions and as the Jews, when convicted by the Scripture, take refuge with Father Abraham, etc.” f. Cyprian writes (Bk. 2, Letter No. 3), “if Christ alone is to be heard, we ought not to give heed to what someone before us thought should be done, but what Christ, who is before all, has done before. For we ought not to follow the custom of man

but the truth of God. If therefore any of our predecessors either from ignorance or from simplicity of mind did not observe and hold what the Lord taught us to do by His example and teaching, pardon can be granted his simplicity from the goodness of the Lord. But we cannot be forgiven who have now been admonished and instructed by the Lord, who while He instructs us what we are to do in the future, pardons what in our simplicity we have done wrong in the past” g. Augustine condemned Pelagians even when they supported their arguments with Church Father statements i. Chemnitz writes, “against the donatists he says that those who embrace the errors of the fathers because (as Quintillian says) as if someone wanted to be like Peter in denying Christ or in forcing the gentiles to judaize or as if someone tried to be like David by committing adultery” 4. The Romans are proud to say that Irenaeus and Tertullian expressly appealed to traditions to defend their doctrines a. For one, read Irenaeus’ ​Against Heresies​ and look at all the Scriptural citations 5. The Romans often take Tertullian out of context when he says “we should, therefore, not appeal to the Scriptures nor base our battle on them, since in them there is no victory or an uncertain one” a. A few things happened here: i. People would take the Scriptures out of context and then use those fragments to support their positions ii. More importantly, the people they were combating would simply say that the Scriptures were non-authoritative and useless 1. So, they were using traditions to prove the authority of the Scriptures 2. Irenaeus writes, “when they are rebuked from the Scriptures, they turn and accuse the Scriptures themselves as if they were neither right nor authoritative, both because they do not always say things the same way and because the truth cannot be found from them by those who do not know the tradition, because it was not passed on in writing but orally.” (​Against Heresies,​ Bk 3. Ch. 2) 3. Tertullian writes, “this sect does not accept certain of the Scriptures, and those which it does accept it changes by additions and subtractions to suit its own purpose; and if it receives them, it does not receive them entire, etc…they say that the apostles did not want to reveal all things to all men, but that they committed some things openly and to all, other things secretly and to only a few, and that Paul called this ‘the deposit.’”

a. This shows that they thought that traditions were necessary in addition to the Scriptures b. What were Irenaeus and Tertullian teaching here? i. Certainly nothing contrary to the Scriptures ii. Irenaeus writes in his ​Against Heresies (​ Bk. 3 ch. 1), “We have learned from none others the plan of our ​salvation​, than from those through whom the ​Gospel​ has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the ​will​ of ​God​, handed down to us in the Scriptures​, to be the ground and pillar of our ​faith​.” iii. Irenaeus says the following about Polycarp’s teachings: “everything [was] in harmony with the Holy Scriptures” iv. Good luck finding purgatory, holy water, etc. in the early Church 6. Catholics usually just strawman SS a. Catholics think that SS is reading the Bible alone, but that’s really just an idea from radical reformers b. What Sola Scriptura really is i. Scripture is materially sufficient ii. The Church should interpret the Scriptures 1. Corporate judgment is key iii. Creeds are important but they have derivative authority c. Catholics say that SS leads to “30,000” denominations, but applying that same rule to Catholics creates hundreds i. Would Boston College Catholics agree with the Vatican? 7. The Romans claim that the Scriptures are too unclear, too confusing, etc. to read on our own a. Hilary of Poitiers notes that if you don’t have an understanding of the Scriptures, you barely have the Scriptures at all i. This is obvious from Matthew 13:23, as it says “But he that received seed in the good ground is he that hears the word, and understands it; who also bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” 1. Remember, Christ often spoke in parables so others who wouldn’t become Christian wouldn’t understand it ii. Many sections of Scripture, however, are quite obvious and don’t require much effort to understand 1. Of course, there are some dense sections of Scripture which are hard to understand iii. Remember the eunuch of Acts 8:31 who asks, “And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.”

1. Notice that this was prior to his regeneration, as the interpretation of the Scriptures is nearly impossible for the unregenerate a. “The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him; the spiritual man judges all things.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-15) i. Ambrosiaster writes “Their minds were hardened through unbelief, and this will not change until they convert and believe in Christ.” b. “If our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the good of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) i. Ambrosiaster writes, “Paul is saying that God dims the sight of worldly people because they are hostile to the faith of Christ. He is giving them what they want, since it is because they are hostile and tell lies that they move further toward not being able to believe what they do not want to believe.” b. Hilary states that the best reader of Scripture is one who puts the Scripture in context c. The Council of Trent says that the gift of interpretation is bound to the regular succession of the bishops that whenever someone interprets something, it must be brought to them to be approved first i. The Pope, of course, has all rights in the world here ii. This is obviously false, as 1 Corinthians 12:11, when discussing the gifts, says “But in all these works that one and same Spirit, dividing to every man individually as he will.” 1. God often passed over high priests and raised up prophets from elsewhere iii. The Bereans were acclaimed for testing everything Paul said alongside the Scriptures (Acts 17) d. What’s important is the illumination of the Holy Spirit for the interpretation of various texts i. As Origen writes in his Homily 17 on Exodus, “we must not only apply diligence to learn the sacred writings but must also beseech the Lord that He would Himself take the sealed book and see fit to open it; for it is He who opens the minds that the Scriptures may be understood” 1. Further, he writes “to explain these things we need the grace of the Holy Spirit” in his Homily 8 on Joshua

Basil writes in his ​De Spiritu Sancto​ (ch. 1), “the interpreter must thoroughly scrutinize the meaning which lies in the single words and syllables” iii. Augustine writes in his ​De scalis paradisis​ (ch. 2), “reading searches, prayer asks, meditation finds, contemplation tastes” 1. This is to show that all people are allowed to search the Scriptures for themselves iv. Jerome writes in his ​Apologia de libra contra Jovinianum​ that anybody who disagrees with his interpretations of Scripture is free to do so 1. This certain undermines the view that only a priest can v. Origen writes - when discussing Romans 2 - that “these statements about circumcision have been made by us with the understanding that if anyone says it better and more correctly, his view shall be held rather than ours” vi. Chrysostom often reproved the laity for saying that only the monks can interpret the Scriptures Ironically, the Romans twist the Scriptures and deny their true meaning i. They deny that “marriage is honorable in all” (Hebrews 13:4), but rather, only in the laity The Romans become slaves to the interpretations of the Roman Church regardless of their validity i. Andrada states, “nevertheless if the Church commands this, I shall believe it. For I will take captive my intellect in obedience to the Church.” They have to argue that the Old Testament was written down because it needed to be preserved, but the New Testament would be fine without being written down i. Notice, however, the following verses 1. “Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39) 2. “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11) a. St. Cyprian writes, “More strength will be given you, and the intelligence of the heart will be affected more and more, as you examine more fully the Scriptures, old and new, and read through the complete volumes of the spiritual books.” b. St. Justin Martyr references this in his ​Dialogue with Trypho,​ that he - in the story - particularly impresses Trypho by referring everything to the Scriptures 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “the unspiritual man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God” implying that the spiritual man does ii.

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i. God clearly opens the minds of men to understand the Scriptures i. Luke 24:45 states, “Then opened he [Christ] their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,” ii. Psalm 19:8 states, “the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” iii. Psalm 119:105 states, “thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” iv. 2 Peter 1:19 states, “the prophetic word like a lantern shines in a dark place” j. Cyril writes, in his ​Contra Julianum​ (Bk. 7), “that they might be understandable to all, small and great, they have for practical purposes been set down in familiar language, so that they are not beyond anyone’s comprehension” k. Lactantius asks, “should not God, the maker of the mind and voice, and of language, be able to speak clearly? Yes, with the highest foresight He willed that those things which are divine should be unadorned, in order that all might understand what He Himself was saying to all” l. Augustine writes, “God wanted this same word to be complete and brief, and not obscure: brief, lest men should not have time to read it; clear, lest someone might say: I could not understand it.” m. Chrysostom, in his Homily 1 on John, writes, “His doctrine is clearer and brighter than the Sun” n. Chrysostom writes in his Homily 9 on 2 Corinthians, “whenever Paul says anything dark, he also interprets himself” o. Ambrose (Bk 2, Letter No. 7) says, “Paul explains himself in most of his epistles in such a way to say something, he performs the office of a grammarian rather than that of an expounder” p. Augustine writes, in ​Johannis Evangelium Tractatus​ 21, “perhaps we act rashly because we want to examine and investigate the words of God. But why were they spoken, if not that they may be known: why have they sounded, except that they may be heard: why have they been heard, except that they may be understood” 8. We know that the Scriptures were handed down orally; we don’t deny it! a. Andrada suggests that the Church was without the Scriptures for 20 years or so b. Why weren’t the Gospels written immediately? i. They had to be confirmed by the signs and wonders so people would receive them faithfully c. Again, however, all that was necessary for salvation was written down i. As Irenaeus says, “After the elders of the church at Ephesus had been called to Miletus, Paul says: ‘I kept back nothing but have declared to you

the whole counsel of God.’ Luke, without envy, transmitted what he had learnt, saying, ‘as they delivered them to us,’ etc.” (​Against Heresies,​ III, 14) 9. Sola Scriptura in Church History a. The Early Church i. Augustine writes, in his ​The Good of Widowhood (​ 2), “Whereas, therefore, in every question, which relates to life and conduct, not only teaching, but exhortation also is necessary; in order that by teaching we may know what is to be done, and by exhortation may be incited not to think it irksome to do what we already know is to be done; what more can I teach you, than what we read in the Apostle? For holy Scripture establishes a rule to our teaching, that we dare not “be wiser than we ought;” but be wise, as he himself says, “unto soberness, according as unto each God hath allotted the measure of faith.” Be it not therefore for me to teach you any other thing, save to expound to you the words of the Teacher, and to treat of them as the Lord shall have given to me.” ii. Augustine writes, in his ​Letters (​ 148.15), “For the reasonings of any men whatsoever, even though they be [true Christians], and of high reputation, are not to be treated by us in the same way as the canonical Scriptures are treated. We are at liberty, without doing any violence to the respect which these men deserve, to condemn and reject anything in their writings, if perchance we shall find that they have entertained opinions differing from that which others or we ourselves have, by the divine help, discovered to be the truth. I deal thus with the writings of others, and I wish my intelligent readers to deal thus with mine.” iii. Chrysostom writes, in ​Homily on 2 Corinthians ​(13.4), “Let us not therefore carry about the notions of the many, but examine into the facts. For how is it not absurd that in respect to money, indeed, we do not trust to others, but refer this to figures and calculation; but in calculating upon facts we are lightly drawn aside by the notions of others; and that too, though we possess an exact balance, and square and rule for all things, the declaration of the divine laws? Wherefore I exhort and entreat you all, disregard what this man and that man thinks about these things, and inquire from the Scriptures all these things; and having learnt what are the true riches, let us pursue after them that we may obtain also the eternal good things; which may we all obtain, through the grace and love towards men of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom, to the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, and honor, now and ever, and world without end. Amen.”

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Athanasius, after outlining the books of the Bible in ​Festal Letters​ (39, 6-7), writes, “These are fountains of salvation, that they who thirst may be satisfied with the living words they contain. In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let him take ought from these. For concerning these the Lord put to shame the Sadducees, and said, ‘Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures.’ And He reproved the Jews, saying, ‘Search the Scriptures, for these are they that testify of Me.’” Cyril of Jerusalem writes, in his ​Catechetical Lectures​ (4.17ff), “We ought not to deliver even the most casual remark without the Holy Scriptures: nor be drawn aside by mere probabilities and the artifices of argument. Do not then believe me because I tell thee these things, unless thou receive from the Holy Scriptures the proof of what is set forth: for this salvation, which is of our faith, is not by ingenious reasonings, but by proof from the Holy Scriptures...Let us then speak nothing concerning the Holy Ghost but what is written; and if anything be not written, let us not busy ourselves about it. The Holy Ghost Himself spoke the Scriptures; He has also spoken concerning Himself as much as He pleased, or as much as we could receive. Be those things therefore spoken, which He has said; for whatsoever He has not said, we dare not say.” Eusebius, in his ​Church History ​(7.24.7-9), says that Dionysius of Alexandria writes the following, “We did not evade objections, but we endeavored as far as possible to hold to and confirm the things which lay before us, and if the reason given satisfied us, we were not ashamed to change our opinions and agree with others; but on the contrary, conscientiously and sincerely, and with hearts laid open before God, we accepted whatever was established by the proofs and teachings of the Holy Scriptures.” Tertullian writes, in Against Praxeas (Bk. 11), “It will be your duty, however, to adduce your proofs out of the Scriptures as plainly as we do, when we prove that He made His Word a Son to Himself. . . . All the Scriptures attest the clear existence of, and distinction in (the Persons of) the Trinity, and indeed furnish us with our Rule of faith.” Gregory of Nyssa writes, in his ​Dogmatic Treatises​ (Bk. 12), “What then is our reply? We do not think that it is right to make their prevailing custom the law and rule of sound doctrine. For if custom is to avail for proof of soundness, we too, surely, may advance our prevailing custom; and if they reject this, we are surely not bound to follow theirs. Let the

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inspired Scripture, then, be our umpire, and the vote of truth will surely be given to those whose dogmas are found to agree with the Divine words.” 1. What did Gregory appeal to when the Arian controversy broke out? The Scriptures Irenaeus says that heretics are marked by their attitude towards the Scriptures 1. He writes, “when they are proved wrong from the Scriptures, they turn and accuse the Scriptures themselves, as if they were not correct and were without authority, both because they speak now one way, now another, and also because the truth cannot be found from Scripture by those who do not know the tradition; for (so they say) the truth was not given through epistles, but through the living voice” a. He’s basically saying that heretics would argue that the Scriptures cannot be properly understood without traditions added to it; this should make the Romans blush, since the Council of Trent tells us that we cannot have salvation unless we have additional traditions St. Irenaeus held the regula fidei, which was a statement everyone had to make before they were baptized 1. This showed what Church Traditions were Clement of Alexandria suggested in his ​Stromata​ that Scripture is what we use to dispute heresies Tertullian specifically stated that Docetism was incorrect because it was entirely contrary to the Scriptures 1. Tertullian was also against the concept of secret traditions - which was popular in Gnosticism In his ​Against the Heresy of One Noetus,​ Hippolytus wrote, “there is, brethren, one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the Holy Scriptures, and from no other source” Cyprian directly criticized the Pope’s view on baptism St. Athanasius stated that, “divine Scripture is sufficient above all things” and “the sacred and inspired Scriptures are sufficient to declare the truth” 1. This shows material sufficiency Cyril of Jerusalem wrote, “For concerning the divine and holy mysteries of the Faith, not even a casual statement must be delivered without the Holy Scriptures; Even to me, who tell thee these things, give not absolute credence, unless thou receive the proof of the things which I announce

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from the Divine Scriptures. For this salvation which we believe depends not on ingenious reasoning, but on demonstration of the Holy Scriptures” Basil wrote, “their complaint is that their custom does not accept this and that Scripture does not agree. What is my reply? I do not consider it fair that the custom which obtains among them should be regarded as a law and rule of orthodoxy. If custom is to be taken in proof of what is right, then it is certainly competent for me to put forward on my side the custom which obtains here. If they reject this, we are clearly not bound to follow them. Therefore let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in favor of that side will be cast the vote of truth” Gregory of Nyssa wrote, “We make the Holy Scriptures the rule and the measure of every tenet; we necessarily fix our eyes upon that and approve that alone which may be made to harmonize with the intention of those writings” in his ​On the Soul and the Resurrection “We are not entitled to such license, I mean that of affirming what we please; we make the Holy Scriptures the rule and the measure of every tenet; we necessarily fix our eyes upon that, and approve that alone which may be made to harmonize with the intention of those writings.” - St. Gregory of Nyssa (On the Soul and the Resurrection NPNF II, V:439) Chrysostom writes, “After the whole people of the Jews had fallen into the depths of corruption, writings and tables and the admonition which is mediated through them were given as a matter of necessity. And we perceive that this happened not only to the saints of the Old Testament but also of the New Testament. For Christ indeed also transmitted no writing to the apostles but instead of writings promised that He would give them the grace of the Holy Spirit. And that this is much better than the other, Jeremiah testifies in ch. 31:33 and Paul in 2 Cor. 3:3. But because in the course of time they grievously offended, some on account of the dogmas, others through depravity of morals, the written admonition was again necessary.” Augustine writes, “among the things which are clearly stated in Holy Scripture are found all things which comprise faith and morals for living, namely, hope and love.” (​De Doctrina Christiana, B ​ k. 2, ch. 9) Augustine writes, “what more shall I teach you than what we read in the Apostles? For Holy Scripture fixes the rule of our doctrine, lest we dare to be wiser than we ought. Therefore I should not teach you anything else except to expound to you the words of the Teacher.” (​De Bono Viduitatis,​ Ch. 2)

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Chrysostom writes, in a commentary on 2 Thessalonians 2, “all things are clear and plain from the divine Scriptures; whatever things are necessary are manifest” Basil writes, “the hearers taught in the Scriptures ought to test what is said by teachers and accept that which agrees with the Scriptures but reject that which is foreign” (​Moralia,​ Summa 72, ch. 1) Basil writes, “We do not think that it is right to make what is custom among them into a law and rule of the right doctrine. Therefore let the divinely inspired Scriptures be made the judge by us, and on the side of those whose doctrines are found in agreement with the divine words the vote of truth is cast” (​Moralia​, Summa 80) Origen, when commenting on Romans 3, writes, “For if so great and gifted an apostle does not believe that the authority of his sayings can suffice unless he can say that what he says is written in the Law and the Prophets, how much more ought we who are the least of all observe this, that we do not set forth our own opinions when we teach, but those of the Holy Spirit!” Epiphanius writes, “We can tell the solution of any question not through our own reasonings but from what follows from the Scriptures” (Heresy 65) According to Theophylact, Constantine said the following before the Council of Nicea: “For the books of the evangelists and apostles and the oracles of the ancient prophets plainly teach us what we are to think concerning divine matters. Therefore let us cease our hostile discord and take the solutions of the questions out of the divinely inspired sayings” Cusanus tells us that ancient ecumenical synods would place the Scriptures in the middle of their discussions Chrysostom writes, “they say that we are to understand the things concerning Paradise not as they are written but in a different way. But when Scripture wants to teach us something like that, it interprets it does not permit the hearer to err. I therefore beg and entreat that we close our ears to all these things and follow the canon of Holy Scripture exactly” (Homily on Genesis 13) Cyril writes, “It is necessary for us to follow the divine writings and not to depart in anything from their precept” (​De recta fide ad reginas)​ Origen writes, when discussing Jeremiah, “it is necessary for us to appeal to the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, for our thoughts and expositions do not find credence without these witnesses”

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Jerome writes, “without the authority of the Scriptures, talkativeness does not find credence” A commentary on Psalm 87, written under the name of Jerome, states, “the Lord will speak in the Scripture of the nations and princes who have been in it. How will the Lord speak? Not by word but by Scripture. In whose Scripture? The people’s, that is, the Holy Scripture which is read by all nations, that is, that they may all understand. Plato wrote not for nations but for a few people, for scarcely three people understand him. These, however, that is, the princes of Christ, wrote not for a few but for all people, not in order that a few but that all might understand. He also says in the Scripture of the princes, that is, of the apostles and evangelists, of those who have been in it...Therefore, no matter how holy anyone may be or how eloquent after the apostles, he has no authority. For the Lord proclaims in the Scripture of the nations and of the princes, of those who have been in it” Chrysostom writes in Homily 49 on Matthew 24: “When you shall see the wicked heresy, which is the army of Antichrist, standing in the holy places of the Church, then let those who are in Judea head for the mountains, that is, those who are Christians should head for the Scriptures. For the true Judea is Christendom, and the mountains are the Scriptures of the prophets and apostles, as it is written: ‘Her foundations are in the holy mountains.’ But why should all Christians at this time head for the Scriptures? Because in this period in which heresy has taken possession of the churches there can be no proof of true Christianity nor any other refuge for Christians who want to know the truth of the faith except the Divine Scriptures. Earlier we showed in many ways which is the church of Christ, and which heathenism. But now there is for those who want to know which is the true church of Christ no way to know it except only through the Scriptures. Why? Because heresy has everything just like the church. How, then, will anyone who wants to know which is the true church of Christ know it in the midst of this great confusion of things in the last days, commands that Christians who...want to gain steadfastness in the true faith should take refuge in nothing else but the Scriptures. Otherwise, if they look to other things, they will be offended and will perish, because they will not know which is the true church, and as a result they will fall into the abomination of desolation which stands in the holy places of the Church.” Chrysostom writes, commenting on Psalm 95, “if anything is said without Scripture, the thinking of the hearers limps. But where the testimony

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proceeds from the divinely given Scripture, it confirms both the speech of the preacher and the soul of the hearer.” Augustine writes, “When there is a dispute about a very obscure matter in which there is no help from certain and clear testimonies of the divine Scriptures, human presumption ought to hold itself in check and not do anything which would cause it to veer to either side” (​De peccatorum meritis​, Bk. 2, ch. 36) Chrysostom writes, in a commentary on Matthew 22, that “whatever is required for salvation is already completely fulfilled in the Scriptures” Origen states, in Homily 25 on Matthew, “in proof of all words which we advance in matters of doctrine, we ought to set forth the sense of Scripture as confirming the meaning which we are proposing. For as all gold which was outside of the temple was not sanctified, so every sense which is outside of the divine Scripture, however admirable it may appear to some, is not sacred because it is not limited by the sense of Scripture. Therefore we should not take our own ideas for the confirmation of doctrine, unless someone shows that they are holy because they are contained in the divine Scriptures as in temples of God” Cyprian writes in his ​Ad Pomperjum​, much to the approval of Augustine, writes “there is a short way for pious minds both to dethrone error and to find and bring out the truth. For when we return to the source and origin of divine tradition, human error ceases. If the waters of a channel which previously flowed freely and plentifully should suddenly fail, does one not go back to the spring and to find the reason of its failure there; whether the spring has gone dry because its veins have dried up at the source or whether, while flowing forth from undiminished and fully, it has been stopped somewhere along its way? This the priests of God must do also now, and if the truth should waver or become shaky in any one point, let us return to the origin in the Lord, to the doctrine of the evangelists and of the apostles, and let the manner of our action arise from the same place from which both order and origin arose...whence is this doctrine? Does it come from the authority of the Lord and of the Gospel, or does it come from the commands and epistles of the apostles? For that those things must be done which are written God testifies and commands when He says to Joshua: ‘the book of this law shall not depart out of your mouth, that you may observe to do all things which are written.’ If therefore it is either commanded in the Gospel or contained in the epistles and the Acts, then also this sacred doctrine must be observed, etc.”

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1. Oddly, he actually brought this about to support the concept of rebaptism; Augustine, of course, didn’t agree with rebaptism, but agreed with this axiom Augustine writes in his ​De unitate ecclesiae​ (ch. 10), “Neither dare one agree with catholic bishops if by chance they err in anything, with the result that their opinion is against the canonical Scriptures of God” 1. In ch. 12, he writes, “he who preaches another gospel, let him be cursed, or let him read it to me in the Holy Scriptures, and he shall not be cursed” 2. In ch. 16, he writes, “let them show their church if they can, not by the speeches and mumblings of the Africans, not by the councils of their bishops, not by the writing of any of their champions, not by fraudulent signs and wonders, because we have been prepared and made cautious also against these things by the Word of the Lord, but by a command of the Law, by the predictions of the prophets, by songs from the Psalms, by the words of the Shepherd Himself, by the preaching and labors of the evangelists, that is, by all canonical authorities of the sacred books...let him not say it is true because this one or that one performed such or such marvelous things, or because men pray at the memorials of our dead and are heard, or because such and such things are taking place there, or because this one or that one has seen such and such a vision either awake or dreamed it while asleep. Let these things be removed because they are either inventions of lying men or signs of deceiving spirits. For we also do not say that we should be believed because we are in the church of Christ, because innumerable bishops of our communion have commended this church to which we adhere, or because it has been praised by the councils of our colleagues, or because such great miracles both of answer to pray and of healing take place throughout the world in the holy places which our communion frequents, etc…The Lord Jesus Himself, when after His resurrection He presented His body to the eyes of His disciples that they might see and to their hands that they might touch it, lest they should think they were experiencing some deceit, nevertheless judged that He must strengthen them with the testimonies from the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, etc...These are the documents of our cause, these are the foundations, these are the pillars.”

3. In ch. 20, he writes, “demand of them that they show some clear testimonies from the canonical books. Remember that the Lord said: ‘they have Moses and Prophets; let them hear them.” xlii. It’s particularly noteworthy to comment that Augustine left the Manichean heresy after investigating the pure Scriptures 10. The Council of Trent effectively says that the Scriptures are incomplete regarding doctrine, so we must use doctrines from the Church a. Andrada suggests that the Church cannot be separated from the true doctrine of the faith, so we must follow everything the Church has said in the past i. Christ and the Apostles would be damned by such a statement ii. This is true insofar as the true Church is that which upholds the proper doctrines of the Scriptures b. Of course, Andrada accepts the notion that Scripture is the norm and rule of faith, but we can go beyond the canon of writings i. The concept of the canon doesn’t allow this, however, as Theophylact states, “a canon and measuring instrument does not allow any addition or subtraction” ii. Photius would dispute with such a statement, saying “as you have lost the whole when you have taken away or added anything to the canon, or rule, so it is also in the faith” iii. Basil would disagree with this, writing “a rule and measuring stick, so long as nothing is lacking to make it truly a rule and measuring stick, receives no addition to make it whole, for an addition happens because of a defect. But if it is imperfect, it is not at all rightly called a rule and measuring stick, etc.” c. The Romans try to support this with “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people,” (Jeremiah 33:31) saying that the OT Law wasn’t fully contained in the Scriptures i. Their interpretation of this verse, however, makes us wonder why God had any writing at all 1. The Scriptures would have to be written contrary to God’s command ii. This verse is clearly about one’s conscience IMO, not showing that God didn’t want to write d. Andrada fully states that we need to treat the councils and decrees of the Church to be equal with the Gospel

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The precise norm, canon, and rule of faith shall be established by the Church alone in this view, not the Scriptures 1. Albert Pighius states in his ​Hierarchiae ecclesiasticae assertio (Bk. 1, ch. 2) that the Apostles wrote some things down so they would be subject to tradition and the Church; he effectively indicates that the Church imparted canonical authority to the Scriptures a. He later curses anyone who speaks against the traditions of the Church even if they support the Gospel b. In chapter 4, Pighius states that when conflict arises, tradition should determine the answer, not the Scriptures because tradition is clearer i. This contradicts St. Augustine, who writes in book 2 chapter 9 of his ​De baptismo contra Donatistas​, “no rigged balances, where we can weigh out what we please and as we please, saying according to our own will: ‘This is heavy; that is light.’ Rather let us bring forward the divine balance from the Holy Scripture, from the treasuries of the Lord, and on it let us weigh what is heavier, or rather, let us not weigh but recognize what has been weighed by the Lord” He believes that the Gospel is more clearly expressed in the lives of the godly than the literatures This doesn’t make sense because we cannot know God without His assistance, particularly the Word 1. “For since in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:21) a. Lactantius writes, “Since, therefore, human wisdom has no existence (Socrates says in the writings of Plato), let us follow that which is divine, and let us give thanks to God, who has revealed and delivered it to us; and let us congratulate ourselves, that through the divine bounty we possess the truth and wisdom, which, though sought by so many intellects through so many ages, philosophy” b. We couldn’t know God without Christ, who is perfectly expressed in the Scriptures c. We cannot properly reason to doctrines

iv.

We cannot simply appeal to the ontological authority of the preachers, as the Scripture states, “Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spoke unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.” (Jeremiah 14:14) so there can clearly be people who claim to be prophets of God with various merits but that doesn’t automatically make them valid and correct 11. Sola Scriptura in the Scriptures a. In Acts 17:10-11, Paul told various Churches to inspect the Scriptures to prove what he was saying 12. The Development of the Canon a. It is foolish to say that the Scripture is called canonical because of some council’s decision i. Did the Scriptures have authority prior to the Council of Trent? ii. Augustine writes, “But who does not know that the sacred canonical Scripture, both of the Old and of the New Testament, is contained in certain fixed confines and that it is placed above all the later writings of the bishops in such a way that it is not possible at all to doubt or dispute whether something concerning which it is certain that it is contained in the Scripture is true or right? But the writings of the bishops, which are or are being written after the establishment of the canon, may be reproved by a perhaps wiser speech of one who is more experienced in the matter, by the weightier authority of other bishops, by the intelligence of the doctors, and by councils, if by chance something in them has deviated from the truth.” iii. Augustine writes, in his ​Ad Vincentium Donatistam​ (Letter No. 48), “do not gather fallacies from the writings of bishops against the divine testimonies, first, because this kind of writings must be distinguished from the authority of the canon. For they are not read in such a way as if a testimony might be brought forward from them that it is not permitted to think otherwise if perhaps they had a different understanding than the truth demands” iv. Commenting on Psalm 67, Augustine writes, “One must give assent to the testimonies of both Testaments in such a way that when anything is brought forth or proved from them, all contention is brought to a peaceful end...the Word of truth is given to preachers when the authority of the two Testaments is not forsaken by them” 1. This clearly shows that the status of the Scripture is ontologically prior to the words of preachers or the Church

Augustine writes, in his ​Contra Cresconium​ (Bk. 2, ch. 31), “we do Cyprian no wrong when we distinguish any and all of his writings from the canonical authority of the divine Scriptures. For it is not without cause that the canon of the church was fixed with such wholesome vigilance, to which the certain books of the prophets and apostles belong, which we dare not at all judge, and according to which we judge concerning other writings, whether of believers or of unbelievers” 1. Augustine believed that at this point God had already stated the authoritative canon b. From where does Scripture receive its authority? i. The Romans say that it comes from the Church, so the Church would thus be above the Scriptures 1. Some are willing to say that if the Church didn’t give authority to Mark, for example, as a book of canon, that it would have no more value than Aesop’s Fables ii. Scripture has an ontological authority on its own, as it is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) 1. Further, 2 Peter 1:27 states, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” iii. God chose certain people, however, that were quite credible, so the Church could know what was canon and what wasn’t 1. Paul would write his epistles with a certain sign as genuine, which Peter would then commend iv. Scripture was passed down successively and preserved in reliable histories, so how does the current Council even compare to that which was previously stated? v. The Canon of the OT can be determined easily by statements from the NT vi. When Tertullian criticized Marcion for a false gospel, he said, “first of all we establish that a Gospel document has its authors apostles, to whom this task of promulgating the Gospel was assigned by the Lord Himself. If it has as authors also apostolic men, these are nevertheless not alone but are together with apostles, for the preaching of mere disciples could become suspect, if the authority of the teachers, or rather, of Christ, who made the apostles teachers, did not stand with it.” 1. Later, he writes, “I say that this Gospel of Luke which we defend was established with the apostolic churches and now with all churches from the beginning of its publication. The same authority v.

vii.

viii.

ix.

x.

xi. xii.

xiii. xiv.

of the apostolic churches supports also the other Gospels which we possess through them and according to them.” Augustine writes, “they wrote at a time in which they earned the approval not only of the church of Christ but of also of the apostles who were then still living” Jerome remarks that the way the churches knew of the canon was through John the Apostle, whom God allowed to live longer than the others so that he could tell which writings were true and which were false Tertullian states in his ​De praescriptione t​ hat at his time, churches around the world collectively had all the authentic writings of the apostles with their autographs Eusebius writes that some churches thought that one book was written by Paul but they deemed the report making such a statement false, so they didn’t consider it canon Churches often declared writings false because they weren’t around during the time of the Apostles Serapion declared that a book claiming authorship by Peter was false because there was no record of it in the early church and never had it passed down to them With all the above in mind, the church is not that which declares the scriptures canon or not Augustine writes, in his ​Contra Faustum​ (Bk. 28 ch. 2), “when I begin to quote the Gospel of Matthew, you will say at once that that account is not Matthew’s. What will you quote to me instead? Perhaps some book of Manichaeus. As I therefore believe that this book is by Manichaeus because it is from the time in which Manichaeus lived in the flesh, preserved and brought down through the disciples by means of a certain succession of your leaders to your own times, so you shall also believe that this book is by Matthew, since the church also handed it down from the time in which Matthew himself lived in the flesh, in an unbroken sequence and by means of a sure, unbroken succession to these our times.” 1. Later, in Bk. 33 ch. 6, he writes, “also among secular writings many were later brought forward under the names of renowned authors and repudiated either because they did not at all agree with those which were known for certain as theirs or because they did not manage to become known at all in the time in which these renowned authors wrote and to be transmitted or commended to posterity either by the authors themselves or by their best friends. How do men know that the books of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and

other authors like them are their own, if not through the continuous witness of the times which came after them? And how do we know with respect to the writings of the fathers what each one wrote, if not because the writer made it known and published it to whomever he could in the times in which eh wrote it; and from there these things, through an acquaintance extending to more and more people and spread more widely to posterity, came down even to our times? Behold these writings which we have in our hands. If anyone should sometime after this our life deny either that those are of Faustus and these mine, how can he be convinced, except because those who now know them transmit their knowledge to those also who will come long after by an unbroken succession? Since these things are so, who will say that the faithful church of the apostles and the agreement of so many brethren could not have transmitted their writings faithfully to posterity?” a. So he’s basically saying that he knows Matthew is canon because people around his time and throughout generations constantly testify to it, not because they randomly have authority over it 2. Earlier (Bk. 11, ch. 2), Augustine writes, “What origin, what age, what line of succession will you quote as witness for the book produced by you? You see in this matter what the authority of the universal church can do, which is confirmed by the most firmly founded seats of the apostles, by the line of bishops who succeed one another to this very day, and by the consensus of so many nations” 3. He also writes, in Bk. 32 ch. 21, “if you here now ask of us how we know that these are writings of the apostles, we briefly answer you that we know it in the same way that you also know that these are writings of Manichaeus” a. So we know of the authors of the Bible not because of the church’s random decree, but because of independent testimony that is readily verifiable just as any other writing 4. Augustine writes in ​De civitate​ Bk. 15 ch. 23, regarding what he considers apocryphal writings, “let us omit the fables of those writings which are called apocrypha, because their obscure origin did not become clear to the fathers, from whom the authority of the true Scriptures has come down to us through the most certain and well-known succession. But in the apocrypha, although some truth

is found in them, there is nevertheless no canonical authority on account of the many false things in them. We cannot deny that Enoch wrote some divine things, since the apostle Judge asserts this in his canonical epistle; but it is not without reason that they are not in the canon of the Scriptures which was preserved in the temple of the Hebrew people by the diligence of a succession of priests. Why was this so? It was judged that they were not trustworthy on account of their age and because it could not be found out whether these were the things which he had written; because they were not brought forward by men who were found to have preserved them properly through a line of succession, prudent men rightly judged that the things which were put forth under his name ought not to be believed to be his, just as many writings are put forth by heretics under the name of other prophets also, and more recently under the name of apostles, which have all after diligent examination been set apart from canonical authority under the name of apocrypha” a. Again, there is an independent, verifiable way to determine what the canon is, which the fathers had; this wasn’t done by the mere will of the church 5. Augustine writes in ​Contra Faustum,​ “the Manichaeans read the apocryphal writings, written, I know not by what inventors of fables, under the name of the apostles. These would have merited during the time of their writers to be received into the holy church, if holy and learned men who were living at that time and were able to examine such things had recognized them as having spoken the truth.” a. So the way heretics tried to introduce new doctrines was by claiming authorship of one of the apostles, showing that’s a key way a new text was brought in; they couldn’t just take over the church and declare what the canon was 6. Gerson argues in his ​De vita spirituali​ lect. 2 that the early church had greater canonical authority than the church does now c. On the apocrypha i. The Church didn’t adopt the apocryphal writings because they were written after the time of the prophets ii. James, 2 Peter, Jude, 2 + 3 John, and Revelation were actually heated topics of discussion according to Eusebius and Jerome

iii.

Trent anathematizes anybody who fails to consider the apocrypha as full canon 1. This includes the following: a. Jerome b. Eusebius c. Origen d. Melito e. Hilary of Poitiers f. Cyprian iv. In such matters, declaring certain Scriptures canon that clearly aren’t, the Roman Catholic Church attempts to usurp the role of God 1. This follows 2 Thessalonians 2:4, “Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” a. Augustine comments, “Some think that we should render the Greek more exactly were we to read, not “in the temple of God,” but “for” or “as the temple of God,” as if he himself were the temple of God, the Church.” v. The apocrypha is useful for the edification of the common man, not for instruction of faith 1. No dogma should come from these books d. The Canon developed over time; it’s not like the Church arbitrarily defined the Scriptures based on their own authority e. The Canon was pretty uniform, though there were disagreements on the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonicals i. Here’s a spreadsheet with a series of canon lists: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sHvB5fXkf98uNQunO_CzukJh7 7qbp7DL_PMuFUe7OTc/edit#gid=0 ii. With that in mind, there were logical reasons that each Church Father held to each book 13. Councils are really messy a. The Council of Nicea and Reaction i. The majority took middle ground - though they leaned orthodox - between the two sides and included the following: 1. Eusebius of Caesarea 2. Disciples of Origen ii. The Arians first proposed a creed which was rejected and torn to pieces, with all 16/18 signers abandoning Arius’s cause

iii.

iv.

v.

vi.

vii.

Eusebius of the middle party proposed an ancient Palestinian Confession which acknolwedged Christ’s divine nature but didn’t discuss consubstantiality, so the even the Arians were willing to accept it 1. The extreme right couldn’t accept this, as they wanted a creed to which no Arian could honestly subscribe a. They wanted a creed to have homo-ousios as part of its confession, which Arius hated and saw as Sabellian and unscriptural Eventually, almost all the bishops subscribed to a creed written by Hosius of Cordova that is very similar to the Nicene Creed itself 1. Eusebius of Caesarea signed it after a day’s deliberation and wrote a letter about it to his diocese 2. Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicaea subscribed to the creed without the condemnatory formula, for which they were deposed and for a little while banished - so they then accepted its entirety 3. The Arian historian Philostorgius accuses them of being insincere, writing “of like essence” instead of “of the same essence” regarding Christ, which is a semi-Arian phrase 4. Only Theonas and Secundus refused to sign it, so they were banished with Arius to Illyria 5. Arius’s books were then burned and his followers were branded as enemies of Christianity The victory of the Nicene council over the views of the majority of the bishops was only a victory in appearance 1. It certainly erected a mighty fortress, but some of the bishops only agreed with reluctance or with the view that it would have a more broad interpretation Constantine eventually allowed Arius back into the empire, though he considered himself a follower of the Nicene faith 1. Arius was supposed to be received back into the faith, the charge of heresy being removed to some extent, but he died the night before of something like Cholera a. Some say that this was poisoning, others say it was an act of God b. Athanasius was allowed back into the empire after the death of Constantine in 337 Arianism still prevailed in the East with Constantius

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1. Eusebius of Nicomedia was made bishop of Constantinople, who was effectively the leader of both the Arians and Semi-Arians 2. The West, on the other hand, was more staunchly Nicene A Eusebian council was held in Antioch that issued 25 canons which were accepted as orthodox and valid yet confirmed the deposition of Athanasius and set forth several creeds which rejected Arianism but avoided the orthodox formula, specifically not using the homoousion To heal the division between the East and West, a council was held at Sardica in Illyria (343) where the Nicene party and Roman influence prevailed 1. Arianizing Oriental bishops were dissatisfied with the admission of Athanasius so they held a council in Philippopolis and confirmed the decrees of the council of Antioch a. So...this really didn’t work Constantius was compelled to restore Athanasius to office, but he still summoned 3 successive synods in favor of moderate Arianism 1. The synod of Sirmium in Pannonia (351), the synod at Arles in Gaul (353), and the synod of Milan in Italy (355) 2. Constantius forced the decrees of these councils over the Western Church and deposed + banished bishops like Liberius of Rome, Hosius of Cordova, Hilary of Poitiers, and Lucifer of Calaris, then drove Athanasius out of a cathedral of Alexandria during a divine service with 5,000 armed soldiers and installed George of Cappadocia, an Arian, in his place a. Athanasius, Hilary, and Lucifer all compared Constantius here to Pharoah, Saul, Ahab, and Belshazzar; they also said he was the forerunner of Antichrist, and even Antichrist himself Arianism held power over the Roman empire since it was the majority at one point, though not in its original form, but rather, in the doctrine of the similarity of essence 1. Even the papal chair had the heresy of Arianism at one point, with Liberius being an Arian for a while - though dying within orthodoxy, though not of conviction, but of fear 2. There were effectively 2 wings of Arianism now, the right side being semi-Arianism/Eusebianism and the left being full Arianism a. The former was led by Basil of Ancyra and Gregory of Laodicea and maintained that the Son is not of the same

essence as the Father, but only of like essence with the Father b. The latter was led by Eudoxius of Antioch and Eunomius of Cyzicus in Mysia who taught that the Son was of a different substance, was created out of nothing, etc. i. They were also called Heterousiasts b. The Nestorian Controversy i. History prior to the Council of Ephesus 1. Diodorus, bishop of Tarsus, and Theodore of Mopsuestia rigidly separated the divine and human natures of Christ such that Christ was practically a double-person to them 2. Nestorius - a monk, presbyter, and finally patriarch of Constantinople - followed the above doctrines, though he was more practical and less speculative a. He was a really honest man, a zealous figure for orthodoxy, but vain, imprudent, and wanting in practical judgment i. He wanted to purify the Earth of heretics, so he instituted violent measures against Arians, Novatians, etc. and asked the emperor to be stricter; he was only sympathetic with the Pelagians b. He correctly asserted that Christ has 2 natures, but it goes to a point where Christ is only a vessel for the Logos, a unity of moral character, not Person 3. Theodore and Nestorius earnestly fought the term Theotokos, for they believed that Mary bore Christ, but not the Logos a. This was attacked very quickly, as there was already a growing sense of devotion towards Mary 4. The chief antagonist to Nestorius was Proclus, bishop of Cyzicum and avid worshipper of Mary and supporter of her immaculate conception 5. A far more powerful antagonist was the patriarch Cyril of Alexandria, an extremely passionate, ambitious, and disputatious prelate a. Frankly, he was of worse character than Nestorius, but far smarter and correct in this instance b. He hurled 12 anathemas against Nestorius, to which Nestorius responded with 12 counter-anathemas accusing Cyril of Apollinarianism ii. The Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431 AD)

1. Theodosius summoned a universal council on Pentecost at Ephesus where 2. This was the 3rd ecumenical council and, thus, is held in particularly high regard by all churches; its moral character, however, was far below that of the 2 previous councils because it had violence 3. Nestorius brought 16 bishops with him and an armed escort a. He had imperial support but the majority of bishops were against him alongside the majority of the people in Ephesus and Constantinople b. One of his bishops couldn’t make it on time - so Nestorius wouldn’t show up, then Cyril and the rest of the bishops held a council that condemned Nestorius, calling him a new Judas; the imperial commissioner declared the decrees invalid since only a portion of the council was there 4. John of Antioch - the missing Nestorian bishop - finally reached Ephesus and with 42 other bishops - including Theodoret - deposed Cyril in a secret counter-council under the protection of the commissioner and a bodyguard 5. Cyril then held a second session that condemned Nestorius and the Pelagians again 6. After all this, Cyril and some others were arrested, then the emperor summoned 8 spokesmen from each of the parties to himself in Chalcedon a. After fruitless debates, the council was dissolved 7. John of Antioch and some others made a creed that Cyril could assent to because it was pretty orthodox, affirming the 2 natures united in Person a. Cyril, however, still wanted Nestorius banished i. He was banished for the sake of the Church and was exiled only to die sometime after 439, though nobody knows where c. The entire council of robbers i. The third ecumenical council was more negative rather than positive, condemning the Nestorian error without really fixing the true doctrine ii. While the Antiochian school begot Nestorianism, the Alexandrian school begot Eutychianism/Monophysitism, which over-emphasized Christ’s unity of Person such that it removed the distinction of natures

iii.

Eutyches was the theological representative, though not the author, of the monophysite heresy called Eutychianism 1. He was an aged and respected presbyter who was otherwise unimportant iv. Theodoret attacked the Eutychian heresy as a mix of Docetistic, Gnostic, and Apollinarian heresies v. 135 bishops met at Ephesus in 449 where Dioscurus, a Eutychian, presided, and protected 1. Many bishops called for the burning of Eusebius - the accuser of Eutyches in an earlier council at Constantinople 2. The council declared dyophysitism a heresy and declared Eutychianism orthodox a. Following this, the council deposed and excommunicated Theodoret, Flavian, and Leo 14. What’s happened without Sola Scriptura? a. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, said, “That we may be altogether of the same mind and in conformity with the Church herself, if she shall have defined anything to be black which to our eyes appears to be white, we ought in like manner to pronounce it black.” b. Developmental Doctrine 15. Regarding the translations, we don’t only need to use Jerome’s Latin a. The Council only discusses the validity of the Latin editions of the Scriptures approving the Vulgate specifically - so they kind of condemn the Scriptures in other languages i. This is obviously an incredibly questionable practice since Hebrew was the OT language ii. They’re fine with the exposition of Scripture in one’s native tongue but condemn the translation of the whole Scripture into a different written language 1. The languages of all nations, however, have been sanctified a. “Cretans and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.” (Acts 2:11) b. “For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” (Romans 14:11) c. “For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.” (Isaiah 66:18)

iii.

The Council declares that it’s wrong to deny the use of the Latin Vulgate at any time 1. Isn’t it more appropriate to use the original Greek and Hebrew at times? 2. As Augustine states, “the Greek translators can be counted, but the Latin by no means” a. Further, he writes, “which translator has followed the truth is uncertain unless the texts of the original language are read” (​de doctrina Christiana c​ h. 11) b. He also writes, “with respect to the books of the New Testament there is no doubt that we ought to believe the Greek text when anything is amiss in the manifold Latin versions” (​de doctrina Christiana​ ch. 15) 3. Even Lindanus admits that the Vulgate is wrong in its translation of some Psalms a. It also has errors in Sirach, Genesis 9, Matthew 9 Romans 1 + 4 + 11, Joel 2, 1 Samuel 19, and 1 John 5 iv. How does the Day of Pentecost fit with this narrative? b. God didn’t give the Scriptures in a way that was supposed to be only read by a select few i. Daniel and Ezra wrote out in a Syriac/Chaldiac dialect ii. Christ spoke in Syriac on the cross iii. The Eunuch in Acts 8 likely read the Scriptures in Greek iv. This would make no sense, since God wants all people saved v. Chrysostom constantly told the laity to read the Scriptures vi. It is good for the people to be able to understand the Scriptures and the mass in their own language 1. “Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.” (1 Corinthians 14:19) c. Augustine notes that in his day there were many different translations i. He writes “through this it has come about that also the divine Scripture, through which help is given in such great sicknesses of human inclinations, after it had begun in one language which could readily be spread through the world, it was spread far and wide through the various languages of the translators and became known to the nations for salvation. When they read it, they desire nothing else than to find the meaning and intention of those by whom it was written, and through these

means the will of God in accord with which we believe such men have spoken.” (​De doctrina Christiana) d. The Romans want to use the Latin Vulgate because it has many translations that aren’t in the Greek, but rather, changed in the Vulgate i. They say that Mary will bruise the head of the serpent in Genesis 3:15 ii. They alter the language of Genesis 14:18 to make it seem like Melchizidek was sacrificing the bread and wine iii. They remove the concept of original sin being concupiscence from Job 5:1 iv. They alter Ecclesiasticus 5:5 to deny Sola Fide v. They say marriage is a sacrament by altering Ephesians 5:32 vi. They say eternal life must be merited by adding “merit” into Ecclesiasticus 16:15 16. The Roman Catholic Church claims that there are many “apostolic traditions” defined in Trent, but we can’t find them whatsoever in the Church Fathers i. This is where the corruption, abuses, and superstitions of Rome come from ii. Peter a Soto writes, “It is an infallible Catholic rule: whatever the Roman Church believes, holds, and observes, even if it is not contained in the Scriptures, that was handed down by the apostles...those customs whose beginning, author, and origin are unknown or cannot be found have without any doubt been handed down by the apostles” and includes the following as examples of this kind of tradition: 1. The offering of sacrifice on the altar 2. The primacy of the Roman Pontiff 3. The consecration of the water in Baptism 4. The sacrament of confirmation 5. Prayers for the dead 6. The enumeration of sins to be made to the priest and the necessity of satisfaction iii. We include many things in this list: 1. Purgatory 2. The celibacy of the priests b. It’s incredibly dangerous for the Church to receive this of tradition dogmatically i. Remember, in the absence of the apostles, false prophets immediately arose ii. It’s practically gnostic 1. Irenaeus (​Against Heresies, ​Bk. 3, Ch. 2) writes, “When they are convicted from the Scriptures, they turn and accuse the Scriptures themselves that the truth cannot be found from them by those who

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do not know the tradition, for this was delivered not through writings but by the living voice, as Paul says, ‘wisdom among the perfect’” Tertullian, in his ​De praescriptione adversus haereticos​, writes that many heretics would simply say that their traditions were unwritten and must be followed. He responds, “for the Lord commands that if they had heard anything in darkness and in secret, they should preach it in the light and from the housetops; that they should not hide their lamp under a bushel but place it on a candlestick...even if they discussed certain things within the family, yet it must not be believed that these were things which would bring in a different rule of faith, diverse from and contradictory to that which they taught to people in general” Eusebius notes that the heretic Artemon boasted his doctrines as unwritten traditions that the apostles themselves had taught. Chrysostom writes, “The Lord, therefore knowing that there would be such a great confusion of things in the last days, commands that Christians who...want to gain steadfastness in the true faith should take refuge in nothing else but the Scriptures. Otherwise, if they look to other things, they will be offended and will perish Jerome writes, “other things also which they find and invent of their own accord without authority and testimony of the Scriptures, as though by apostolic tradition, the sword of God strikes through” Eusebius criticizes Papias for following the traditions of men over the Scriptures, writing, “Papias adds many seeming contradictions and certain strange parables and doctrines of the Savior and some other incredibly things, among which is also the Chiliastic opinion” a. Many other Church figures followed the Chiliastic opinion as tradition, yet it was condemned because it went against the Scriptures i. Irenaeus ii. Apollinarius iii. Tertullian iv. Victorinus v. Lactantius Clement thought that many apostolic traditions were unwritten, including some gnostic ideas, and he was thoroughly refuted by Tertullian

c. d. e. f.

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8. Origen believed many of his ideas were apostolic, yet they were thoroughly refuted by Jerome 9. There are many weird traditions of ancient writings a. That the Apostles preached in Hell, saving some b. That Christ lived to be 50 c. That Enoch and Elijah will fight the antichrist 10. The Apostolic Constitutions were apocryphal a. Some doctrines from Nicea directly refuted the Apostolic Constitutions b. It directly conflicts with Scripture in several areas Tertullian notes that some traditions are useful, though they don’t have to be received as apostolic and binding Cyprian thought that baptism wiped away only original sin, but not subsequent sins Jerome writes that Hegesippus wrote down the apostolic traditions i. We don’t, however, have them anymore Various Popes added in some doctrines: i. Alexander ordered the use of Holy Water ii. Syricius added the memory and invocation of the Saints iii. Pelagius added annual memorials of the dead to the Mass By Augustine’s time, the idea of Purgatory was uncertain and doubtful, though it is now considered Apostolic by the Romans

Justification, Faith, and Good Works 1. Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient to justify us; a. “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:56) b. “We are sanctified through the offering of Jesus Christ, once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10) c. The Book of Hebrews indicates that we go to God with confidence since Christ died for us, not for what we have done d. Acts 10:43 states, “To him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of sins.” i. Thus, we receive the remission of sins if we believe e. “But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” (Galatians 3:22) i. All people are under sin, but Christ justifies us

f. Romans 3:28 states, “We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law” i. It’s true that the Ceremonial Law is included, but Paul clearly discusses the Moral Law in Romans 1 and 7 1. He specifically mentions the Law against covetousness, which is moral 2. He’s constantly contrasting faith and works g. Romans 4:4-5 states, ““To him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” i. Faith is imputed for our righteousness h. Romans 5:1 states, “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God,” i. St. Ambrose writes, “Moreover, the world was subject to the Law for the reason that, according to the command of the Law, all are addressed, and yet, by the works of the Law, no one is justified, i. e. because, by the Law, sin is perceived, but guilt is not discharged. The Law, which made all sinners, seemed to have done injury, but when the Lord Jesus Christ came, he forgave to all sin which no one could avoid, and, by the shedding of his own blood, blotted out the handwriting which was against us. This is what he says in Rom. 5:20: ‘The Law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.’ Because after the whole world became subject, he took away the sin of the whole world, as he testified, saying (John 1:29): ‘Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.’ And, on this account, let no one boast of works, because no one is justified by his deeds. But he who is righteous, has it given him because he was justified after the laver [of Baptism]. Faith, therefore, is that which frees through the blood of Christ, because he is blessed, ‘whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered’ (Ps. 32:1).” j. "He Himself took on Him the burden of our iniquities, He gave His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal. For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of God? O sweet exchange (substitution)! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors! Having therefore convinced us in the former time that our nature was unable to attain to life, and having now revealed the Savior who is able to save even those things which it was [formerly] impossible to save, by both these facts He desired to lead

us to trust in His kindness, to esteem Him our Nourisher, Father, Teacher, Counselor, Healer, our Wisdom, Light, Honor, Glory, Power, and Life, so that we should not be anxious concerning clothing and food.” - Epistle of Diognetus Ch. 9 k. St. Augustine writes, in ​Of the Spirit and Letter,​ “The righteousness of the Law is set forth for this reason, viz. that he who should fulfill it might live in it, in order that when any one has recognized his infirmity, he may attain and work this righteousness, and live in it, not by his own strength, neither by the letter of the Law itself, which cannot be done, but, by procuring by faith, a justifier. Except in a justified man, there is no good work, wherein he who does it may live. But justification is obtained by faith.” i. Justification is procured through faith ii. St. Augustine later writes, “By the Law, we fear God; by faith, we hope in God. But to those fearing punishment, grace is hidden; and the soul laboring under this fear, betakes itself by faith to God’s mercy, in order that he may give what he has commanded.” l. Love follows faith i. “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” (Galatians 5:6) m. The remission of sins is received by faith alone n. How could Christ be the mediator if he isn’t sufficient for our salvation? 2. There is a clear difference in language regarding certain terms a. The term “grace” i. The term grace in “you are saved by the grace of God” is clearly talking about the gratuitous mercy, goodness, good will, or favor, of God, receiving us for the sake of His Son 1. We see a similar example when the author of Hebrews says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) ii. Paul distinguishes grace from good works, so we can‘t understand grace here as something like infused grace 1. Even St. Thomas admitted that there were cases where grace had to be understood in this capacity 2. “And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the

present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.”​ ​(Romans 3:24-28) 3. “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:6) a. This is a far cry from Thomist grace! b. The adverb “gratis” i. The term “gratis” regularly means “without a cause” throughout the Scriptures, and Paul clearly uses that same meaning in Romans 3:24 1. Therefore, it means God justifies us by His grace without a cause from ourselves; there is nothing within us that could justify us c. What that righteousness is which we plead against the judgment of God in justification i. For our sins to be forgiven, there must be a true and exhaustive fulfillment of the Law 1. We are justified by the fulfillment of the Law, which only occurs through Christ ii. Ultimately, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us without any merit of our own 1. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),” (Galatians 3:13) 2. “The Son of man came...to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28) 3. “Christ is the end of the Law that everyone who has faith may be justified” (Romans 10:4) 4. “For by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19) 5. “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born[​a​] of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5) 6. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) 7. “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful

flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:3-4) 8. “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27) d. Rome says that justification is the translation from the state of wrath into one of grace and adoption i. They think it’s just a movement from unrighteousness to righteousness 1. This means that one is moved into a state where they are inherently righteous e. We, however, say that justification isn’t defined by our newness, but by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness i. For us, it’s the declaration of someone or something as just 1. We see this in Greek, specifically in Plutarch, Sophocles, Suidas, and Lysias 2. Sirach uses this language correctly, saying, “unrighteous anger cannot be justified” (Sirach 1:22) ii. Effectively, justification is the absolution from sins 1. Even Andrada wouldn’t deny this f. The Romans say that justification and sanctification are the same; we however, say that they are different, and that justification is forensic i. It’s really clear that righteousness is something imputed, not something infused ii. “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” (Revelation 22:11) 1. Notice that justification is separate from righteousness and holiness iii. “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11) iv. We pray to be continually justified as we want to be continually justified through our single justified event v. “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” (Romans 8:33) 1. This shows clearly that justification is forensic, meaning we are absolved before the judgment of God for Christ’s sake

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2. Notice that condemnation and justification are used oppositely; is someone gradually being condemned? No. The Law accuses all of being under sin; therefore, this is a single event that happens “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 4:3-4) 1. Lactantius writes, “But that he may obtain the favour of God, and be free from every stain, let him always implore the mercy of God, and pray for nothing else but pardon for his sins, even though he has none.” 2. Notice how justification is in a courtroom setting; it’s forensic! “​My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1) 1. Notice that you need an advocate before the Father, like a courtroom 2. Augustine writes, “And lest haply he should seem to have given impunity for sins, in that he said, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all iniquity; and men henceforth should say to themselves, Let us sin, let us do securely what we will, Christ purges us, is faithful and just, purges us from all iniquity: He takes from you an evil security, and puts in an useful fear. To your own hurt you would be secure; you must be solicitous. For He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, provided you always displease yourself, and be changing until you be perfected.” 3. Irenaeus writes, “Wherefore we have need of the dew of God, that we be not consumed by fire, nor be rendered unfruitful, and that where we have an accuser there we may have also an Advocate,” a. Clearly, he’s making a differentiation between an accuser an advocate, just like a courtroom setting “Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight no one living is righteous.” (Psalm 143:2) 1. Again, this is a forensic situation “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”(Luke 18:13-14)

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1. Notice that he “went down to his house justified,” once again showing forensic concepts “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,” (Acts 3:19) 1. Once again, notice how forensic this is “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:14) 1. This shows how justification occurs: the requirements God has for us are taken away, nailed to the cross a. Again, this sounds like imputed righteousness 2. Augustine writes, “With good reason do we celebrate the Passover wherein the blood of the Lord was poured out, by which we are cleansed of every offense. Let us be assured; the devil was holding the bond of slavery against us, but it was blotted out by the blood of Christ.” 3. Ephrem the Syrian writes, “At the birth of the Son the King was enrolling all men for the tribute money, that they might be debtors to him: the King came forth to us who blotted out our bills and wrote another bill in his own name that he might be our debtor.” 4. Irenaeus writes, “Now those oblations are not according to the law, the handwriting of which the Lord took away from the midst by cancelling it;” 5. Chrysostom writes, “See to it that we do not again become debtors to the old contract. Christ came once; he found the certificate of our ancestral indebtedness which Adam wrote and signed. Adam contracted the debt; by our subsequent sins we increased the amount owed. In this contract are written a curse, and sin, and death and the condemnation of the law. Christ took all these away and pardoned them. St. Paul cries out and says: “The decree of our sins which was against us, he has taken it completely away, nailing it to the cross.” He did not say “erasing the decree,” nor did he say “blotting it out,” but “nailing it to the cross,” so that no trace of it might remain. This is why he did not erase it but tore it to pieces.” “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.” (Romans 4:3-4)

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1. Again, notice how it’s that someone is accounted as righteous, not infused with righteousness “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” (Romans 4:5-6) 1. Notice that his faith is accounted for righteousness 2. God imputes righteousness upon us 3. Ambrosiaster, commenting on verse 5, writes, “This refers to somebody who is bound by sin and who therefore does not do what the law commands. Paul says this because to an ungodly person, that is, to a Gentile, who believes in Christ without doing the works of the law, his faith is reckoned for righteousness just as Abraham’s was. How then can the Jews think that they have been justified by the works of the law in the same way as Abraham, when they see that Abraham was not justified by the works of the law but by faith alone? Therefore there is no need of the law when the ungodly is justified before God by faith alone.” 4. Ambrosiaster also writes, on verse 6, ‘Paul backs this up by the example of the prophet David, who says that those are blessed of whom God has decreed that, without work or any keeping of the law, they are justified before God by faith alone. Therefore he foretells the blessedness of the time when Christ was born, just as the Lord himself said: “Many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.”’ Commenting on Romans 4:7, Ambrosiaster writes, “Obviously they are blessed, whose iniquities are forgiven without labor or work of any kind and whose sins are covered without any work of penitence being required of them, as long as they believe. How can these words apply to a penitent, when we know that penitents obtain the forgiveness of sin with much struggle and groaning? How can they be applied to a martyr, when we know that the glory of martyrdom is obtained by sufferings and pressures? But the prophet, foreseeing a happy time when the Savior comes, calls them blessed because their sins are forgiven, covered and not reckoned to them, and this without labor or work of any kind.” “Knowing that a man is not [​a​]justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might

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be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Galatians 2:16) 1. Notice once again the language of forensic investigation “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) 1. Condemnation or salvation are binary, discrete options “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19) 1. Imputation! “What shall we answer; what shall we say; whereby shall we be justified?” (Genesis 44:16) “Let him that has a cause come to me, that I may justify him” (2 Samuel 15:4) “Let us argue together; let them bring their witnesses; set forth your case, that you may be proved right” (Isaiah 43:26) “So that Thou art justified...and blameless in Thy judgment” (Psalm 51:4) “To justify the righteous, to condemn the ungodly” (Deuteronomy 25:1) “Condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct upon his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness” (1 Kings 8:32) “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination” (Proverbs 17:15) 1. How do you not look at this as a federal transaction? “Woe to you, who justify the wicked and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him” (Isaiah 5:23) 1. Again, federal transaction “For God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19) 1. ‘Not imputing, i.e. truly taking away our sins, blotting out the handwriting of the decree which was against us. Fastening it to the cross, as it is said, Colossians ii. 14. And to us, who are his apostles and the ministers of his gospel, he hath imparted and committed this word of reconciliation, by the preaching of his doctrine, and the administration of his sacraments In these functions we act and we speak to you as the ambassadors of Christ; we speak to you in his name, we represent his person, when we exhort you to be reconciled to God. "He that heareth you, heareth

me."’ - George Leo Haydock, effectively affirming imputed righteousness xxvii. ECF quotes 1. Augustine writes, in a commentary on Psalm 31, “if the ungodly is justified, then an unjust man becomes a just one. But how? You have done nothing good, yet forgiveness of sins is given you, etc.” 2. Ambrose writes, “he is justified from sin to whom all sins are remitted through baptism.” 3. Hilary, commenting on Matthew 9, says, “it disturbs the scribes that sin, which the Law could not remit, is forgiven by man, for only faith justifies.” 4. Oecumenius, citing ancient explanations of Romans 3, says, “the righteousness of God is justification from God, absolution, and liberation from sins from which the Law could not absolve” 5. Oecumenius writes, “how does justification take place? Through remission of sins, which we obtain in Christ Jesus” 3. Justification comes by faith a. “Now Christ by atoning for our transgressions not only gave us life but also made us his own, so that we might be called children of God, made so through faith. What a great error it is, therefore, to go under the law again after receiving grace.” - Ambrosiaster (Commentary on Galatians 1:4) b. “Whosoever will candidly consider each particular, will recognise the greatness of the gifts which were given by him. For from him have sprung the priests and all the Levites who minister at the altar of God. From him also [was descended] our Lord Jesus Chris​t​ according to the flesh. Romans 9:5 From him [arose] kings, princes, and rulers of the race of Judah. Nor are his other tribes in small glory, inasmuch as God had promised, Your seed shall be as the stars of heaven. All these, therefore, were highly honoured, and made great, not for their own sake, or for their own works, or for the righteousness which they wrought, but through the operation of His will. And we, too, being called by His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” - 1 Clement Ch. 32 c. “Human beings can be saved from the ancient serpent in no other way than by believing in him who, when he was raised up from the earth on the tree of martyrdom in the likeness of sinful flesh, drew all things to himself and gave life to the dead.” - Irenaeus (Against the Heresies, IV, 2, 7).

d. "What then was it that was thought incredible? That those who were enemies, and sinners, neither justified by the law, nor by works, should immediately through faith alone be advanced to the highest favor." - St. John Chrysostom (Homily 4 on 1 Tim) e. “Having thus shown the power of faith, and displayed the gifts of (the covenant of) grace, he now turns his discourse to exhortation, bidding us also take heed to the practice of virtue; for having said that, when (the covenant of) faith was revealed, the law became superseded, and that the patriarch had attained the righteousness which is of faith, it was necessary that he should add moral counsels, lest such as lived at ease should take occasion from hence to neglect practical virtue, under the plea that faith alone was sufficient for justification.” Theodoret (commentary on Romans 4) f. “‘To declare His righteousness.’ What is declaring of righteousness? Like the declaring of His riches, not only for Him to be rich Himself, but also to make others rich, or of life, not only that He is Himself living, but also that He makes the dead to live; and of His power, not only that He is Himself powerful, but also that He makes the feeble powerful. So also is the declaring of His righteousness not only that He is Himself righteous, but that He doth also make them that are filled with the putrefying sores (​katasapentai​) of sin suddenly righteous. And it is to explain this, viz. what is "declaring," that he has added, "That He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Doubt not then: for it is not of works, but of faith: and shun not the righteousness of God, for it is a blessing in two ways; because it is easy, and also open to all men. And be not abashed and shamefaced. For if He Himself openly declareth (​endeiknutai)​ Himself to do so, and He, so to say, findeth a delight and a pride therein, how comest thou to be dejected and to hide thy face at what thy Master glorieth in? But what is the "law of faith?" It is, being saved by grace. Here he shows God's power, in that He has not only saved, but has even justified, and led them to boasting, and this too without needing works, but looking for faith only.” - St. John Chrysostom (Homily on Romans 3:19) g. “They said that he who adhered to faith alone was cursed; but he, Paul, shows that he who adhered to faith alone is blessed.” - St. John Chrysostom (Homily 20 on 1 Corinthians) h. “For you believe the faith; why then do you add other things, as if faith were not sufficient to justify? You make yourselves captive, and you subject yourself to the law.” - St. John Chrysostom (Homily 3 on Titus) i. God does not wait for time to elapse after repentance. You state your sin, you are justified. You repented, you have been shown mercy. - St. John Chrysostom (Homily 7 On Repentance and Compunction)

j. “This do in remembrance of me;” (Luke 22:19) indicates that the mass is done in remembrance of what Christ has already done k. Justifying Faith isn’t simply an intellectual exercise, as some Catholics claim we say i. We believe that faith is the wish to receive the offered promises of Christ 1. Psalm 130:3, “if thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand” shows that we are justified by faith and the promises of God l. "Indeed, this is the perfect and complete glorification of God, when one does not exult in his own righteousness, but recognizing oneself as lacking true righteousness to be justified by faith alone in Christ" (Saint Basil the Great, homily on humility, The Fathers of the Church vol 9, p. 479) m. “The patriarch Abraham himself before receiving circumcision had been declared righteous on the score of faith alone: before circumcision, the text says, “Abraham believed God, and credit for it brought him to righteousness.” - [St John Chrysostom (Fathers of the Church, Vol. 82, Homilies on Genesis 18-45, 27.7 (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1990), p. 167.] n. “The metaphor of inheritance refers to receiving eternal life. But how does this come about? By faith in Jesus Christ, when we believe in him, that he is the Son of God and that he himself saves us and that he has accomplished every mystery on our behalf. All these things are reported in the gospel. But what should be noticed here is that, while Paul is stating this fact, he addresses it to their persons, offering incentives to persuade them more readily. “You all,” he says, “are sons of God.” Before, he had said, “We are under a custodian.” Now as it were he names them anew, saying “You are sons of God”—but sons from faith in Christ Jesus.” Gaius Marius Victorinus o. “The Jews maintain two opposing tenets. For in no way and by no argument can they be persuaded that the promise to Abraham was rendered void by the law, and they are right. But in their shortsighted vanity they maintain another contrary principle, thinking that justification could not come without the practice of the law. They know that Abraham, who is the type [of justification], was justified through faith alone, without the practice of the law…. The heirs to the promise of Abraham are therefore those who are his successors in the adoption of the faith by which Abraham was blessed and justified. The testimony of the promise to Abraham is therefore called a covenant [to signify] that after his death there would be heirs in the promise, made sons of Abraham through faith.” Ambrosiaster (Commentary on Galatians 3)

p. St. Jerome writes, “Then, therefore, we are righteous, when we confess that we are sinners, and that our righteousness consists not in our own merit, but in God’s mercy.” q. St. Augustine writes, “All the commandments of God are fulfilled, when whatever is not done, is forgiven.” r. Ambrosiaster writes, “God has decreed that a person who believes in Christ can be saved without works. By faith alone he receives the forgiveness of his sins.” (Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:4) s. In his commentary on Romans 1:11, Ambrosiaster says, “For the mercy of God had been given for this reason, that they should cease from the works of the law, as I have often said, because God, taking pity on our weakness, decreed that the human race would be saved by faith alone, along with the natural law” t. Ambrosiaster writes, in his commentary on Romans 1:17, “Paul says this because the righteousness of God is revealed in the one who believes, whether Jew or Greek. He calls it “the righteousness of God” because God freely justifies the ungodly by faith, without the works of the law, just as he says elsewhere: “That I may be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” He says that this same righteousness is revealed in the gospel when God grants faith to man, through which he may be justified. The truth and righteousness of God are revealed in this, when a man believes and confesses. The righteousness is of God because what he promised, he gave. Therefore, whoever believes that he has received what God promised through his prophets proves that God is just and is a witness of his righteousness. “Through faith for faith.” What does this mean, except that the faith of God is in him because he promised, and the faith of man is in him because he believes the one who promises, so that through the faith of the God who promises the righteousness of God might be revealed in the faith of the man who believes? For to the believer God appears to be just, but to the unbeliever he appears to be unjust. Anyone who does not believe that God has given what he promised denies that God is truthful. This is said against the Jews, who deny that Christ is the one whom God promised. “As it is written: ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’” Paul now moves over to the example of the prophet Habakkuk in order to declare that in the past it was revealed that a just man lives by faith and not by the law, i.e., that a man is not justified before God by the law but by faith. Commentary on Paul’s Epistles” u. Chrysostom: “For a person who had no works, to be justified by faith, was nothing unlikely. But for a person richly adorned with good deeds, not to be made just from hence, but from faith, this is the thing to cause wonder, and to set the

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power of faith in a strong light.” NPNF1: Vol. XI, Homilies on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans, Homily 8, Rom. 4:1, 2. Chrysostom: “For they said that the one who does not keep the law is cursed, while he shows that the one who strives to keep it is cursed and the one who does not strive to keep it is blessed. They said that he who kept not the Law was cursed, but he proves that he who kept it was cursed, and he who kept it not, blessed. Again, they said that he who adhered to Faith alone was cursed, but he shows that he who adhered to Faith alone, is blessed.” Homily on Galatians 3.9-10. Mark J. Edwards, ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament VI: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1998), p. 40. 3:8. St. Paul states that Abraham was justified by his faith when he says, “Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:9) Ambrosiaster writes, on Romans 3:20, “Paul never says that they will not be justified before God because they have not kept the law of righteousness in the commandments but because they have refused to believe the sacrament of the mystery of God, which is in Christ. For God has declared that they should be justified by Christ and not by the law, which may justify for a time, but not before God. Therefore those who keep the law are justified in time, not before God, because faith, by which they are justified before God, is not in them. For faith is greater than the law. The law pertains to us but faith pertains to God. The law has a temporary righteousness, but faith has an eternal one. When Paul says “all flesh” he means every human being … but when he says “in the flesh” he means those who are bound by sin. For just as righteousness makes them spiritual, so also sins make them carnal, and they take the name from the deed. By faith the law is abolished, and faith then follows.” i. He continues to say that the Law here is the Law of righteousness, not the ceremonial Law St. Paul writes “We establish the Law through faith,” (Romans 3:21) i. St. Augustine comments, “The righteousness of God is not that by which God is righteous but that with which he clothes man when he justifies the ungodly. To this the Law and the Prophets bear witness…. The righteousness of God is not manifested outside the law, since in that case it could not have been witnessed to in the law. It is a righteousness of God apart from the law because God confers it on the believer through the Spirit of grace without the help of the law.” 1. This sounds like imputed righteousness

z. Those who are justified will receive eternal life i. “Whom he justified, them he also Glorified.” (Romans 8:30) aa. In his commentary on Romans 3:24, Ambrosiaster writes, “they are justified freely because they have no done anything nor given anything in return, but by faith alone they have been made holy by the gift of God” i. Prosper of Aquitaine writes “grace is the glory of God, not the merit of him who has been freed” bb. “The wall is no longer necessary; our common identity within the diversity of cultures is Christ, and it is he who makes us just. Being just simply means being with Christ and in Christ. And this suffices. Further observances are no longer necessary. For this reason Luther's phrase: "faith alone" is true, if it is not opposed to faith in charity, in love. Faith is looking at Christ, entrusting oneself to Christ, being united to Christ, conformed to Christ, to his life. And the form, the life of Christ, is love; hence to believe is to conform to Christ and to enter into his love. So it is that in the Letter to the Galatians in which he primarily developed his teaching on justification St Paul speaks of faith that works through love (cf. Gal 5: 14).” - Pope Benedict XVI (2008 papal address) cc. Catholics like to use the following arguments/verses against us i. “Though I have all faith, etc., and have not charity, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2) 1. This isn’t a good verse to use against us because we affirm that faith without those things isn’t a living faith 2. If a man has faith but no love, he has discarded the Holy Ghost, which will soon result in a lack of love 3. This passage was written to people who were already justified but aren’t showing the fruits of the Spirit, which could lead to a lack of faith ii. That charity/love is the preferable virtue to faith and hope 1. “The greatest of these is charity.” (1 Corinthians 13:13) a. Catholics use this to say that since charity is the greatest virtue, it should be that virtue which justifies i. We agree that love is the greatest virtue because the first commandment is to love God ii. That the greatest virtue is charity doesn’t mean it justifies 1. Faith justifies because it apprehends Christ 2. “Charity which is the bond of perfectness” (Colossians 3:14) a. The Roman Catholics claim that since this is the virtue that perfects men, it is that which justifies

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Well, with this view in mind, there is no reason for Christ b. Here, Paul is talking to the Church as a whole i. The perfection of the Church is found in the love in its members; love prevents schism 1. Paul here isn’t speaking of justification, but rather, of something fulfilling what it is supposed to do, and that thing is the Church a. St. Ambrose interprets this verse in the following way: “Just as a building is said to be perfect or entire, when all its parts are fitly joined together with one another.” 2. Perfection here can be thought of as tranquility 3. “Ye see then how by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24) a. The Roman Catholics teach that we are saved by love and works b. Works show that faith is alive i. This is all about the distinction between those whose faith is dead and alive; those in the Church to whom he was speaking thought that their acknowledgment of the truth was enough 1. This is a different definition of faith c. Good works must follow faith just as good fruit comes from a good tree i. However, those good fruits don’t make the good tree d. Men having both faith and good works are certainly righteous, since they show that the faith is true e. Nowhere does James say that works don’t need Christ f. ​James isn’t really using justification in the same way i. James and Paul didn’t have systematic theology texts out, so we can use justification in several ways. In the context of James, a clearer word to use is “vindicated” g. Again, good works necessarily flow from faith

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The kind of faith James is talking about is mere intellectual assent that God exists, but saving faith in the Lutheran definition is trust in God, which is not what demons have h. Faith appears to simply be intellectual assent in the Roman Catholic system, which is exactly what James is attacking i. Verse 19 also shows that demons have faith; is this really talking about the same faith as in Romans? 4. “Forgive and ye shall be forgiven” (Luke 6:37) a. This is simply a promise to be added, not a matter of justification i. This is, of course, a reference to the Law 1. One cannot fulfill the Law (really ever) without being regenerated b. (John 15:5): “Without me ye can do nothing.” i. This shows that we cannot follow the Law without first being regenerated c. Romans 5 shows that we have access to God through Christ d. Human reason only understands works, not faith e. We can redeem our sins through repentance, but our faith justifies us i. Our sins are remitted in faith, but they may be redeemed in penance 1. The works do not remit sins 5. If we were justified by the Law, why would we need the Gospel? a. We could never know if we were justified with God within this system b. We would basically deny Christ 6. Catholics will say that by contrition we could get rid of our sins, but were Judas or Saul justified by their contrition? No. a. Both had contrition but no faith i. Meanwhile, Peter and David had faith and contrition 7. Love and works are virtues, but they don’t justify a. These are encouraged and show our faith b. They help sanctification dd. St. Paul writes, “we establish the Law through faith” (Romans 3:21) i. We ought to perceive that we are super far from the Law

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He also writes, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us,” (Galatians 3:13) ee. In a commentary on Romans 3:23, Theodoret writes, “For by bringing faith alone, we have received remission of our sins, in that the Lord Christ has offered up His own body for us, to be, as it were, the price of redemption.” ff. St. Paul writes, in Colossians 2:10, that, “ye are completed in him” i. So in Christ, we are perfect, through imputed righteousness, but we still should go through the process of sanctification gg. St. Ambrose writes,“Therefore it is proper for us to believe both that we are to repent and that we are to be pardoned; that, nevertheless we should hope for pardon as from faith; and faith obtains it as from a handwriting,” and “it is faith which covers our sin” 4. The Law doesn’t justify us a. Those who seek the remission of guilt and sins from the Law dishonor Christ b. “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4) c. Some Catholics - at least at the time of Luther - thought that grieving over sins and wishing to purge them would merit grace from God, which collapses into Pelagianism i. St. Augustine states, “If natural ability, through the Free Will, suffice both for learning to know how one ought to live, and for living aright, then Christ has died in vain, then the offense of the cross is made void. Why may I not also here exclaim? Yea I will exclaim, and, with Christian grief, will chide them: ‘Christ has become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the Law; ye are fallen from grace’ (Gal. 5:4, cf. 2:21). ‘For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth’ (Rom. 10:3, 4). And John 8:36: ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.’” ii. John 3:5 shows that we need to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit iii. What would the point of Christ be? d. According to St. Paul, “the Law worketh wrath” (Romans 4:15), so the Law cannot justify us e. Roman Catholics often cite Matthew 19:17, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” and Romans 2:13, “The doers of the Law shall be justified” to show that the Law justifies us i. Saying the Law justifies us denies Christ’s free gift to us ii. Good works are to be done on account of God’s command

iii. Good works are meritorious for rewards, but not for justification f. St. Paul writes, “The good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:19) g. David writes, “Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.” (Psalm 143:2) and “Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity.” (Psalm 32:2) i. We cannot justify ourselves in any way ii. Sin is always present, but we are imputed with righteousness 5. Our own works cannot bring our justification; only our faith in Christ can do such a thing a. “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be Saints” (Romans 1:7) shows that we are called to be Saints solely by God i. St. Augustine writes, “​They reaffirm the words that follow: Saints by vocation. And although someone attributes himself to obey the one who calls him, no one can be attributed to having been called. Saints by vocation should not be understood as being called because they are already saints, but they have become saints because they have been called.” b. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works” (Ephesians 2:8) c. St. Ambrose writes, “Redemption by the Blood of Christ would become of little value, neither would the preeminence of man’s works be superseded by the mercy of God, if justification, which is wrought through grace, were due to the merits going before, so as to be, not the free gift of a donor, but the reward due to the laborer” (​De Vocatione Gentium)​ i. In the next chapter he says that this doesn’t mean we’re to stop works and love; this shows that he’s dividing them quite clearly d. “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” (Romans 5:1) e. If we believe that our own works bring us to God, we deny the role of Christ f. Holy days don’t merit more graces i. Fasting on certain days doesn’t merit grace ii. The traditions of men don’t merit grace either 1. To say that human traditions would justify us is pretty much the Galatian heresy a. This adds another mediator 2. None of the Church Fathers tried to institute traditions like this a. The Fathers had rites because they were useful, showing when to meet, how to be a member of the Church, etc. 3. Traditions are definitely of value, as St. Paul says in Colossians 2:23

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St. Bernard writes, “For it is necessary first of all to believe that you cannot have remission of sins, unless by the indulgence of God, but add yet that you believe this, viz. That through him sins are forgiven thee. This is the testimony which the Holy Ghost asserts in thy heart, saying: ‘Thy sins are forgiven thee.’ For thus the apostle judges that man is justified freely through faith. g. According to the Psalmist, we cannot be justified of ourselves when he says, “Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.” (Psalm 143:2) i. This denies that anyone can be justified h. Saying that we are justified by works denies the free promise of Christ i. This free promise is thus abolished i. Augustine stated that good works are only effective if they have faith i. He writes, against the Pelagians, “Then, therefore, we are righteous, when we confess that we are sinners, and that our righteousness consists not in our own merit, but in God’s mercy.” 6. Good works naturally flow from faith a. St. Ambrose writes, "Faith is the mother of a good will and doing what is right." 7. Traditions of men aren’t necessary acts of worship a. St. Augustine forbids that men’s consciences be burdened with such observances b. “Why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers, nor we were able to bear; but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved, even as they.” (Acts 15:10) 8. To do good works, we first need Christ, as He says, “without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5) a. We cannot apprehend the Law without Christ b. Faith cannot be observed without Christ c. According to the author of Hebrews, “without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6) d. The doctrine of repentance necessarily requires faith 9. St. Augustine writes, “God leads us to eternal life not by our merits, but according to his mercy.” 10. St. Cyprian writes, “Lest anyone should flatter himself that he is innocent, and by exalting himself, should perish the more deeply, he is instructed and taught that he sins daily, in that he is bidden to entreat daily for his sins.” 11. Faith makes the distinction between the saved and unsaved 12. St. Paul writes, “If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:10) 13. We don’t try to separate the fruits of righteousness from faith

a. Abolishing faith as justification would abolish Christ as mediator b. Repentance helps apprehend the promises of grace 14. The Romans care more about the Papacy and bishops than the Gospel itself a. St. Paul noted that this would happen in Galatians 4:9, 5:7, Colossians 2:8, and Timothy 4 b. Pope Leo X condemned Sola Fide, thus condemning the Gospel i. This happened in Israel 15. St. Bernard wrote that his sins weren’t enough for his justification 16. Denying Sola Fide leads to indulgences and Purgatory, which are both incredibly erroneous a. It substitutes the efficacy of Christ for the efficacy of man b. The Mass was never commanded in this way by Christ, so why should we be concerned? c. Romans constantly cite the Fathers on Purgatory, but they do so in a deceiving way i. All that Augustine said was that his mother asked him to remember her at the altar 1. This says nothing about his belief nor the Scriptures nor tradition, but rather, what his mother asked 2. Augustine would never agree that the Eucharist should be used for the dead 17. Using the phrase “faith alone” is fine because although “faith alone” isn’t in the Scriptures, it’s clearly implied in Romans 3-5 a. Further, the Trinity isn’t in the text, but we piece texts together and see the Trinity 18. Why isn’t man justified by works of the Law? Because the Law brings knowledge of sin, not justification a. “Because by the Law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20) b. “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” (Galatians 3:10) 19. The new works brought in the regenerate are certainly good, but they are the gift and working of the Holy Spirit a. That’s why they’re called the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) b. “This is acceptable in the sight of God” (1 Timothy 5:4) speaking of the works of the regenerate c. “We do what pleases Him” (1 John 3:22) 20. David clearly wanted to be justified not by himself, but by the righteousness of someone else

21. Christ sums up His entire doctrine when He says, “he does not come into judgment” (John 5:24) a. This judgment is clearly the examination of the life and works of the Christian 22. Paul regularly uses the past-tense to describe his justification 23. When Paul was writing to Galatians, the Galatians were already justified a. The Galatians wanted to add their good works to faith in the article of justification b. We know that they were regenerate because he writes, “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Galatians 3:2), so they already had the Spirit by the time he was writing to them c. If people could be justified through the Law, then Christ died for no purpose 24. One’s justification comes from the entire man, not some quantity of works added up to some amount. Therefore, we need a perfect man, Christ, to give us our righteousness a. “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30) b. Remember, if anyone keeps the whole of faith except one small part, they’re still unworthy c. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10) d. Yet, somehow we still all sin. So none of us is worthy, yet we can be justified; this only works with imputed righteousness i. “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8) e. “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Galatians 2:16) 25. More ECF quotes a. In the Fathers we find many different statements because they use “justify” in the Latin sense; however, when they examine verses that use the Hebrew sense, they agree with our definition i. Basil says, in a sermon on humility, “let him who boasts boast in the Lord, that Christ has been made by God for us righteousness, wisdom, justification, redemption. This is perfect and pure boasting in God, when one is not proud on account of the true righteousness and is justified solely by faith in Christ” ii. Origen, writing on Romans 3 and referencing Galatians, writes, “far be it from me to glory except in the cross of Christ...you see that Paul does not

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glory on account of his own righteousness, purity, and wisdom nor because of his other virtues and deeds. But when was this? At the time when he was writing to the Galatians” Hilary, commenting on Psalm 51, says, “for these very works of righteousness would not suffice to merit perfect blessedness unless the mercy of God did not consider in this our will to righteousness the defects of human changes and impulses. Therefore, there is hope in the mercy of God forever and ever.” Basil comments on Psalm 114, “for an eternal rest awaits those who have rightly contended in this life; not on account of the merits of their works but from the grace of a most bountiful God, in which they have hoped” Augustine writes, in ​Ad Bonifacium​ (Bk. 1, ch. 21), “you may proclaim that ancient just men possessed ever such great virtue, yet nothing saved them except faith in the Mediator, who shed His blood for the remission of sins.” 1. (Bk. 3, ch. 5): “the Pelagians believe they are singing the praises of the saints if they do not dare to say that they were men of imperfect virtue, although the chosen vessel confesses this: ‘Not that I have already attained this or am already perfect.’ Yet, soon after, the same man who had denied that he is perfect, says: ‘Let those of us who are perfect be thus minded,’ that he might show that according to the manner of this life there is a certain perfection and that to this perfection that also is counted, if one realizes that he is not yet perfect. For what was more excellent among the ancient people than the holy priests? And yet God commands them first to offer a sacrifice for their own sins. And what was holier among the New Testament people than the apostles? And yet the Lord commanded them to pray: ‘Forgive us our debts.’ Therefore there is for all the godly who sigh under the burden of their corrupted flesh and in the infirmity of this life the one hope that ‘we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, and He is the expiation for our sins.’” In ​Contra Cresconium ​(Bk. 5, ch. 80), Augustine says, “for a good name among men a great number of witnesses who know me suffices; but in the presence of God I do not dare to justify myself under the gaze of the Almighty by my conscience alone, although I bear it without trepidation against your accusations. And I look for an abundance of mercy flowing out from Him rather than for an extreme examination of judgment, consider that it is written, ‘when the righteous King will sit upon His

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throne, who will boast that he has a pure heart, or that he is clean from sins?” 1. So, clearly, we will never be inherently clean from sins In Letter No. 29 to Jerome, Augustine writes, “charity is greater in some, smaller in others, and in some there is none at all. However, a measure so full that it cannot be increased is found in no one, so long as man lives here on Earth. But so long as it can be increased, the part which is less than it should be, has the nature of a defect. Because of this defect ‘there is not a righteous man on Earth who does good and never sins’; because of this defect ‘no man living will be justified in the sight of God’; on account of this defect, ‘if we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us’; on account of this also, no matter what we may have accomplished, it is necessary for us to say: ‘forgive us our debts,’ although all our words, deeds, and thoughts have already been forgiven in baptism” 1. We are fully forgiven in baptism Ambrose says, in ​De Jacob et vita beata​ (ch. 6), “I will glory not because I am righteous but because I am redeemed; I will glory not because I am free from sins but because my sins are forgiven me. I will not glory because I have done good nor because someone has done good to me but because Christ is my advocate with the Father and because the blood of Christ has been shed for me” 1. So we aren’t free from sins whatsoever, but because Christ advocates for us to the Father Augustine writes, in ​De verbis apostoli​ (Sermon 2), “but you say: ‘it suffices me that I have obtained forgiveness of all sins in baptism.’ Is then the infirmity at an end because iniquity has been blotted out? Surely, until your sluggishness is healed, you still say ‘forgive us our debts’ to Him who will be gracious to all your iniquities. Finally, what remains after the redemption from all corruption except the crown of righteousness? That certainly remains. But let there not be in it or under it a head swelled because it is to receive a crown. Note that He who redeemed your life from corruption and who crowns you does not desire to crown a swelled head. Now here you will say: ‘my merits show it; my virtue has done this; I am being rewarded according to what is owed me; it is not a gift!’ Hear rather what the psalm says: ‘all men are liars.’ Hear what God says: ‘Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.’” 1. (Sermon 15): “You have saved them for nothing. What is for nothing? You find nothing why you should save, but you find much why you should condemn”

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a. There is nothing within us worth saving, so God only saves us by free grace and for Christ’s sake 2. So, good luck saying we have infused grace In a commentary on Psalm 31, Augustine says, “who are the blessed? Not those in whom God finds no sin. For he finds that in all, for ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ If therefore sins are found in all, it follows that they are not blessed, except those whose sins are forgiven. This the apostle has therefore recommended in these words: ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Again, ‘if it is by grace, it is given freely.’ What does this mean, ‘it is given freely?’ It means it costs nothing. You have done nothing good, and forgiveness of sins is given you. Your works are considered and they are found evil; if God should reward those works as they deserve, He would surely damn you. God does not pay you the just punishment, but gives you undeserved grace.” Jerome says, in his ​Dialogus contra Pelagianos (​ Bk. 1), “therefore we are righteous when we confess ourselves sinners and when our righteousness consists not in our own merit but in the mercy of God” 1. So, we are righteous before God when we confess faith, and there is nothing of our own merit there Gregory says, in his homily 7 on Ezekiel, “therefore our righteous advocate defends us as righteous in the judgment, because we both know and accuse ourselves as unrighteous. Therefore let us trust not in our tears nor in our works but in the fact that we have an advocate” 1. This is incredibly based 2. Clearly, language of federal transaction and forensic justification Bernard says, in Sermon 5 on Isaiah, “if there is some little righteousness that is ours, it is perhaps right, but it is not pure, unless perhaps we believe that we are better than our fathers, who affirmed no less truthfully than humbly: ‘all our righteousness are like the cloth of a menstruant woman.’ For how could there be a pure righteousness where guilt cannot yet be lacking?” 1. So, we’re clearly guilty, but God doesn’t see us that way In Sermon 73 on the Song of Solomon, Bernard writes, “if he should mark the iniquities also of the elect, who will stand? Hear what a holy and elect man says to God: ‘thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to Thee in a time of favor.’ Therefore also the saints have need to pray on account of their sins, that they may be

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saved by mercy, not trusting in their own righteousness. For all have sinned and are in need of the mercy of God” 1. We are only saved by God’s grace, in the free sense of grace Ambrose writes, in ​De Jacob et vita beata​, “we are not justified by works but by faith, because the infirmity of our flesh is an impediment to works; but the brightness of faith overshadows the error of works and merits forgiveness of our faults” 1. This is really clear that we are not justified by our works Augustine writes, in his ​De civitate Dei​ (Bk. 10, ch. 22), “the forgiveness of sins is accomplished through the Mediator of God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, through whom, after He has made a cleansing from sin, we are reconciled to God. This cleansing of sins is not made in this life through our virtue but through divine compassion, through His tenderness, not through our power; because the virtue, no matter how small, which is called ours, is granted to us by His goodness. But we would be ascribing much to ourselves in the flesh if we did not live under His forgiveness until He directs us otherwise” 1. So we don’t cleanse sins through our virtue rediscovered by infused grace; rather, it’s divine compassion for us Commenting on Psalm 130, Augustine writes, “‘if Thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?’ Behold, it appears from what dept he cries. For he cries under the weight and the billows of his iniquities. He looked about himself, he looked about his life; he say it completely covered on all sides with shameful and evil deeds; wherever he looked, he found nothing good in himself; no joyful sight of righteousness met him. And when he saw such great and so many sins on all sides, and the multitude of his crimes, he exclaimed as one greatly terrified: ‘if Thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, Lord, Lord, who could stand?’ He did not say: ‘I could not stand,’ but, ‘Who could stand?’ For he sees that almost our entire human life is barked at by sins, that all consciences are accused by their thoughts, that not a single pure heart is found which can assume that it is righteous. And because this cannot be found, therefore let every heart look to the mercy of the Lord, its God, and say to God: ‘if Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?’ But what hope is there? ‘For with Thee there is expiation.’ And what is that expiation except a sacrifice? And what is the sacrifice except what has been offered for us? The outpoured innocent blood has blotted out all sins of the guilty. Therefore ‘with You there is forgiveness.’ For if there were no forgiveness with You, if You only wanted to be the judge, and were not

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willing to be merciful, if You should mark all our iniquities and investigate them, who could stand? Who would stand before you and say, ‘I am innocent?’ Who would stand in Your judgment? Therefore the only hope is that there is forgiveness with You.” 1. This passage is dense but it clearly shows: a. Forensic justification b. That God blots out our sins, not simply infusing us with grace c. That there is no such thing as a pure heart Bernard writes, in Sermon 23 on the Song of Solomon, “Oh, only truly blessed one, to whom the Lord has not imputed sin. For who does not have sin? No one. For all have sinned and lack the glory of God. Yet who will accuse GOd’s elect? It is sufficient to me for all righteousness only to have Him gracious against whom alone I have sinned.” 1. (Sermon 61): “I confidently take from the heart of the Lord what is of myself lacking to me; for it overflows with mercy, nor does it lack opening through which it flows out...I will remember Your righteousness alone; for it is mine, for You have been made righteousness for me by God. Do I have to fear that one may not suffice for both? It is not a short cloak which, according to the prophet, could not cover two. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. And a full and eternal righteousness shall cover both You and me equally” a. Dang, this is his best quote Posidonius writes the following about Augustine in his ​De vita Augustini (ch. 27): “Augustine had indicated to us that he had heard a very wise and most pious answer given by Ambrose of blessed memory when he was about to die, which he praised and proclaimed often. For when that venerable man was lying in his last illness and was asked by the faithful who were standing with tears at his bedside that he should request free passage for himself from the Lord of life, he said to them: ‘I have not lived in such a way that I am ashamed to live among you; but neither am I afraid to die, because we have a good Lord.’ And in this our Augustine as an old man admired and praised the polished and balanced words. For it must be understood that he said, ‘neither am I afraid to die, because we have a good Lord,’ lest it be believed that he had with too much confidence prided himself on his own purified morals. However, ‘I have not lived in such a way that I am ashamed to live among you,’ this he had said with respect to what men were able to know of a human being. For knowing the

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examination of divine justice, he says that he has more confidence in the good Lord than in his own merits. And to Him he also said daily in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Forgive us our debts, etc.’” 1. So notice that he’s very confident about how God would judge him, but not how men judge him. Why is that? Because God judges with a different standard than man, that being, by Christ’s righteousness In the ​Life of Bernard​ (ch. 12), the author says, “when he appeared to be drawing his last breath, as his mental powers failed, he seemed to be presenting himself before the tribunal of his Lord. But there was also present over against him Satan, assailing him with wicked accusations. But when he had said his say, the man of God also had to speak on his part. Undaunted and unperturbed, he said: ‘I confess that I am not worthy and that I cannot obtain the kingdom of heaven through my own merits. However, my Lord is obtaining it with a twofold right, namely, through the inheritance of the Father and by the merit of His suffering; with the one He is content, and the other He gives to me; because of this gift, since He vindicates this to me by right, I am not desturbed.’ By this word the enemy was routed, etc.” Anselm, writing to his dying brother, wrote the following: “When a brother seems to be in his death struggle, it is godly and advisable to exercise him through a prelate or other priest with written questions and exhortations. He may be asked in the first place: ‘brother, are you glad that you will die in the faith?’ Let him answer: ‘yes.’ Do you confess that you did not live as well as you should have? ‘I confess.’ ‘Are you sorry for this?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Are you willing to better yourself if you should have further time to live?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has died for you?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you believe that you cannot be saved except through His death?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you heartily thank Him for this?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Therefore always give thanks to Him while your soul is in you and on this death alone place your whole confidence. Commit yourself wholly to this death, with this death cover yourself wholly, and wrap yourself in it completely. And if the Lord should want to judge you, say: ‘Lord, I place the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and Thee and Thy judgment; I will not contend with Thee in any other way.’ If He says that you have merited damnation, say: ‘I place the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between myself and my evil deserts, and the merits of His most worthy passion I bring in place of the merit which I should have had, and, alas, do not have.’”

1. That last part there really shows imputed righteousness xxii. Anselm writes, in his ​Meditations,​ “my life terrifies me. For when diligently examined, my whole life appears to me either as sin or as unfruitfulness. And if there seems to be some fruit in it, then it is either so counterfeit or imperfect, or in some way corrupt, that it can either fail to please or can actually displease God. It is certainly altogether either sinful and damnable or unfruitful and worthy contempt. But why do I separate the unfruitful from damnable. For every tree which does not bring forth good fruit will be cast into the fire. Therefore, O dry and useless wood, worthy of eternal fires! What will you answer on that Day, when an account is demanded of you, how you spent the whole time of life that was given you down to your last moment? O dread! On this side there will be the accusing sins, on that side terrifying justice; below appears the horrid chaos of hell, above the irate Judge; inside, the burning conscience, outside, the burning world. Hardly shall the righteous be saved. Where shall the sinner, thus caught, hide? To hide will be impossible, to appear intolerable. Where can I find counsel? Where salvation? Who is He who is called the messenger of great counsel? It is Jesus. The same is the Judge, in whose hands I tremble. Revive, sinner; do not despair. Hope in Him whom you fear, flee to Him from whom you have fled. Jesus Christ, for the sake of this Thy name, do to me according to this Thy name. Look upon a poor man who calls upon Thy name. Therefore, Jesus, be Thou my Savior for Thy name’s sake. If Thou wilt admit me to the all-embracing bosom of Thy name’s sake. If Thou wilt admit me to the all-embracing bosom of Thy mercy, it will not be more crowded on my account. It is true, my conscience has merited damnation, and my repentance does not suffice for satisfaction; but it is certain that Thy mercy overcomes every offense, etc.” 1. This, oh so clearly, is a different view than infused grace 26. What does Trent say about justification? a. The Tridentine decrees say that justification of a sinner is not solely the remission of sins, but also, that justification is sanctification i. Anybody who supports imputed righteousness is anathema ii. Remission of sins - for the sake of Christ - is a part of justification b. They say that Christ hasn’t merited the blotting out of our sins, but the infusion of love, that through the strength given to us by Christ, we can extinguish the offenses we commit

i.

Andrada specifically says, “on account of the infused love we are called righteous, yes, after our sins have been destroyed through the service of our love, we are reconciled into the grace of God” ii. It’s very clear for us Lutherans that Christians need to be sanctified, but their justification isn’t defined by their sanctification c. Their argument i. Andrada thinks that to “justify” is to fill and equip the soul with a new infused quality with inherent righteousness, that being love 1. He also says that the other virtues of Christianity, like love and grace, are required for justification 2. The problem is, this love is never enough to fulfill what Christ completed ii. Andrada thinks that Paul speaking of works is a reference to the Ceremonial Law 1. Augustine refuted this pretty well iii. The Holy Spirit clearly writes the Law into the hearts of the regenerate iv. Notice how Peter, in Acts, constantly exhorts the people to believe, rather than fulfill the works of the Law 27. What truly justifying faith is a. We definitely need to define faith properly if we are going to say it is that through which we seek, apprehend, receive, and apply to ourselves from the Word i. There is a dead faith 1. This is what James talks about in James 2 2. This is only a historical knowledge ii. There is living faith 1. Looking upon the scope and end of Scripture, knowing its truth and seeking to follow it 2. Faith seeks the promises of grace 3. Faith is warm, seeking to fulfill the discussions within Scripture 4. Faith knows that it is deeply burdened with sin and deserves the wrath of God, then desiring, wanting, and seeking reconciliation with God b. The Gospel is very clear on the proper effects of faith i. “To one who does not work but trusts Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness” (Romans 4:5) ii. “All the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name...so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)

iii.

“They are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24-25) iv. Hebrews 10 shows that patience is a natural part of faith c. Again, faith shouldn’t be determined in the context of works, but rather, in a dichromatic relationship with works i. “The Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works” (Romans 9:30-32) ii. “For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”” (Romans 10:11) iii. “That in Christ the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14) iv. “But the Scripture cosigned all things to sin, that what was promised in faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (Galatians 3:22) v. “All things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23) vi. “If you will not believe, you will not have life in you” (John 6:53) vii. “God is one; and He will justify the circumcised on the ground of their faith and the uncircumcised because of their faith” (Romans 3:22) viii. “Christ is the end of the Law, that everyone who has faith may be justified” (Romans 10:4) ix. “Everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the Law” (Acts 13:39) x. When Paul discusses faith and works, he uses them as opposites d. Andrada and the others think that faith + hope + love all apprehend Christ, but one of them alone - especially faith - cannot apprehend Christ i. We know that faith naturally brings good works, but faith exists in contrast to works in justification 1. Israel precisely didn’t reach justification because they wanted to fulfill it by their work ii. You have to say that you can only hear if the eyes are involved because perfect sensation requires both the eyes and ears e. Our faith allows us to be bold and approach the throne of Christ i. “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him." (Ephesians 3:12) ii. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1)

iii.

“Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God." (Romans 4:20) f. There are different degrees of faith as well i. There is weak faith (Matthew 14) 1. Weak faith trusts in knowledge a. “One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.” (Romans 14:1) ii. There is moderate faith iii. There is strong faith g. Faith justifies because its proper object is Christ h. The Romans desecrate us when they say that our definition of “faith alone” implies the removal of sanctification and renewal i. As we’ve argued before, faith without works is dead ii. If someone doesn’t perform good works after their faith, they probably don’t have true faith

Is Presumption Sinful? 1. The Council of Trent doesn’t allow us to live confidently in our forgiveness of sins a. Someone who is truly justified shouldn’t even try to consider themselves justified b. They argue this is the case because some sins are so hidden that they can’t really be known by anyone but God c. This effectively makes us dependent on the Law for our justification i. “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the Law; you have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5:4) d. This goes against the whole message of the Gospel i. “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed, etc.” (Romans 4:16) ii. “We know that we have passed out of death into life” (1 John 3:14) iii. “I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13) iv. “So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible

v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x.

xi. xii.

xiii.

xiv.

xv.

for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6:17-18) “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, holding fast the confession of our hope without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23) “No one shall snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28) “To make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own” (Phillippians 3:12) “Set your hope fully on the grace that is coming to you” (1 Peter 1:13) “Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God” (Romans 5:1-2) Christ says, “your faith has saved you” (Luke 7:50) and “take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:2) which would be sinful statements in this logic “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord...will award to me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:8) “Having believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:13) 1. Chrysostom writes, “By this seal God shows great forethought for humanity. He not only sets apart a people and gives them an inheritance but secures it as well. It is just as if someone might stamp his heirs plainly in advance; so God set us apart to believe and sealed us for the inheritance of future glory.” “It is God who has put His seal upon us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 1:22) 1. Severian writes, “Shepherds brand their sheep so as to distinguish the ones which belong to them from others. This is what Christ has done to us.” “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30) 1. Jerome writes, “that we have been “sealed” with the Holy Spirit means that both our spirit and our soul are impressed with God’s own seal, signifying that we belong to him. By this we receive in ourselves that image and likeness in which we were created at the outset…. You are sealed so that you may be preserved to the end. You may show that seal on the day of redemption, pure and unblemished and not damaged in any part. You are thereby ready to be counted with those who are redeemed.” “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4)

xvi. xvii.

xviii.

xix.

xx.

xxi.

“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever” (Psalm 125:1) Augustine writes, in ​De verbis Domini ​(Sermon 28), “All your sins are forgiven you. Therefore do not trust in your own work but in the grace of Christ. For the apostle says: ‘by grace you are saved.’ Therefore there is here not arrogance but faith; to declare that you have been accepted is not pride but consecration” Bernard says, in ​De fragmentis septem (​ Sermon 3), “three things I consider as the things in which my entire hope stands: the love which adopted me, the truth of the promise, the power of restoration. Let my foolish thinking murmurs it will, saying, who are you? Or, how great is that glory? Or, by what merits do you hope to obtain it? And I confidently reply: I know whom I have believed and am certain that He has with great love adopted me, that He is truthful in His promise, that He is mighty in performance. This is a threefold cord which is hard to break, which was sent down for us all the way into this prison from our fatherland; I pray earnestly that we may hold it firmly, that it may raise us up, that it may draw us, and bring us where we shall see the glory of the great God” Bernard writes, in his ​In dedicationem ​(Sermon 5), “‘Who will be able to be saved?’ The disciples ask. With men this is impossible, but not with God. But now that we are certain of the possibility, what do we do concerning the will? Who knows whether he is worthy of love or of hate? Who knows the mind of the Lord? Here, then, it is clearly necessary that faith should come to our aid. Here the truth must assist us, that what is hidden in the heart of the Father concerning us may be revealed to us through His Spirit; and that, when His Spirit bears witness, He may persuade our spirit that we are children of God” Augustine responds to the objection of presumption by saying, in his Evangelium Johannis tractatus​ (22), “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and do you dare to promise yourself that you will not come into judgment? God forbid, you say, that I should dare to promise this to myself, but I believe Him who promises: ‘He will not come into judgment.’ Therefore, I do not come into judgment, not through my presumption but through His promise” Hilary writes, commenting on Matthew 5, “the Kingdom of Heaven, of which our Lord declares that it is founded on Him, He wants us to hope for without any ambiguity of an uncertain will, because otherwise, if faith is uncertain, there is no justification by faith”

Cyprian, in ​De mortalitate (​ Treatise 4), says, “what room is there here for anxiety and worry? Who is alarmed or sad under these circumstances, except he who lacks hope and faith? For to fear death belongs to him who is not willing to go to Christ; not to want to go to Christ belongs to him who does not believe that he begins to reign with Christ. For it is written that the just lives by faith. If you are righteous and live by faith, if you truly believe in God, why do you not, as one who will be with Christ and is sure of the promise of the lord, embrace Him?...God promises you immortality when you depart from this world, and you doubt and wave? This is not to know God at all; this is to offend Christ, the Lord of the faithful, through the sin of unbelief, this is not to have in the house of faith the faith established in the Church” 2. Roman Catholics are forbidden to be sure of their salvation because all they teach is Law! a. This doctrine can only bring despair 3. On election a. There are 4 decrees with respect to the causes of salvation or damnation i. The decree of God concerning the redemption of the human race through the obedience and suffering of Christ ii. The decree of calling through the ministry of the Word iii. The decree of God that by His Spirit, through the hearing of the Word, He wants to work in men so that they may repent iv. The decree of God that He wants to justify and save those who flee in faith to the throne of grace after hearing of their sins b. Those whom God calls and justifies should consider themselves elect i. Election is used as a basis of certainty, saying, “He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4) c. We know that many fall from grace because of their own works i. This doesn’t happen because God wills someone to leave the faith, but because they kick the Spirit out 1. We can’t teach a man that, no matter what he does, he cannot fall from God’s grace ii. Christ doesn’t cast anyone out on His own iii. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phillippians 2:12) iv. “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12) 4. Oftentimes Paul seems confident regarding the election and salvation of himself and others a. 'Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, We give thanks xxii.

to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.' (I Thessalonians 1:2-5)

The Eucharist 1. For a long time, Catholics weren’t able to take part in both kinds; now, Catholics can when the bishop of the area allows it, which seems pretty common a. Generally, the blood was/is denied to the laity, which is terrible i. Paul indicates in 1 Corinthians 11 that all shall receive both kinds ii. “Drink ye all of it” (Matthew 26:27) iii. St. Jerome states, “The priests administer the Eucharist, and distribute the Blood of Christ to the people” iv. St. Cyprian also supported giving the blood to the laity 2. The Eucharist is like medicine for the sick, but the mass itself doesn’t justify a. St. Ambrose says, “Because I always sin, I am always bound to take the medicine.” 3. Transubstantiation a. Scotus actually preferred consubstantiation, but he deferred to the Church for transubstantiation b. Scripture supporting sacramental union i. 'The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.' (​1 Corinthians 10:16-17​) 1. Notice that Paul mentions both elements ii. 'For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”' (​1 Corinthians 11:23-26​) 1. Again, notice that both elements are there somehow

Confession 1. We obviously cannot recount all of our sins a. “Who can understand his errors?” (Psalm 19:13) b. “The heart is deceitful, who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) c. “I say not to thee, that thou shouldest disclose thyself in public, nor that thou accuse thyself before others, but I would have thee obey the prophet who says: ‘Disclose thy way before God.’ Therefore confess thy sins before God, the true Judge, with prayer. Tell thine errors, not with the tongue, but with the memory of thy conscience.” St. John Chrysosotom (“Of Repentance,” ​Distinct v. Cap Consideret)​ 2. Confession is valuable for one’s conscience, but it’s not necessary like the Romans say

Monastic Vows 1. Monastic vows don’t give us more graces 2. Monasticism in the Middle Ages became forced and many people thought it would merit graces a. Monasticism was seen as better than baptism b. “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4) c. The Pope would annul marriages in the Middle Ages to force monastic vows 3. Areopagites often said that monastic vows grant eternal life, which is blatantly false 4. The Romans claim that Christ’s discussion of dividing families applies to monastic vows, but that’s silly a. Christ’s discussion was tearing apart families where the Gospel itself is concerned, which certainly isn’t in monastic vows 5. The monastic vows don’t easily remove chastity, though the adversaries often claim so a. These natural inclinations of man are not so easy to remove b. Remember 1 Corinthians 7:2, “To avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife. c. The adversaries claim that Christ enforced monastic vows with his statement, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou last, and give to the poor, and come and follow me.” (Matthew 19:21) i. There isn’t actually a command for it; it was just a command unique to the circumstance

The Church, Its Powers, and the Mass 1. The Church isn’t meant to be a secular authority a. Nicholas of Lyra once said, “The Church does not consist of men, with respect to power, or ecclesiastical or secular dignity, because many princes, and archbishops, and others of lower rank, have apostatized from the faith. Therefore, the Church consists of those persons in whom there is a true knowledge and confession of faith and truth.” b. The Roman Church believes that the Church has outward authority from an ecclesiastical authority, namely, the Pope i. The Church, in their view, has to be the Supreme authority of the whole world 1. The Roman Pontiff would have absolute power a. Nobody can dispute this in their Church b. He can ignore any law he desires 2. Matthew 16:19, with the binding and loosing of sins, is about refusing to remit sins or choosing to remit sins 3. We maintain the mass, but not necessarily the Latin portion a. How would it benefit someone to have a Latin mass if they can’t understand it? b. We retain the Latin portion for those who are actually learning Latin 4. Romans often used the Mass for the dead a. Our adversaries cannot justify having a mass to liberate the dead b. Using the Eucharist for dead people misses the point of the Eucharist: it increases the faith of the recipient i. It comforts us in moments in guilt 5. The Romans act as though the mass saves from Purgatory a. We can remit the mass without fear of sin and danger b. Indulgences have obviously occurred c. The mass is an attempt to reach God through the works of man 6. The Keys bind and loose sins, but we cannot easily determine everything that is a sin a. “For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified?” (1 Corinthians 4:4) 7. According to Jerome, all who preside over the Church are bishops and elders a. There’s a chief bishop instituted pragmatically, but what powers do bishops have that elders don’t? i. This just shows that the difference in offices is a human invention b. Arguments from Phillip Schaff, one of the greatest Church historians and patristic translators to have ever lived i. Sacerdotalism in church fathers

c.

d. e. f.

1. Ignatius is arguably the first to see the clergy as a necessary medium, though he never claims sacerdotalism 2. Tertullian was arguably the first to make explicit sacerdotal claims, as Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and the Didache all made clerical distinctions in analogy a. Clement of Rome, in fact, says that election needs to be affirmed by the whole congregation i. Augustine, Ambrose, Athanasius, and Cyprian were all elected into the priesthood 3. Cyprian goes very far, giving all the responsibilities of the Levitical priesthood to the Christian clerical class a. He can really be considered the bridge to sacerdotalism 4. We first see the term “priest” applied to the ministerial class in the 3rd Century or so 5. Celibacy was optional at this point in the Church a. Tertullian and Gregory of Nyssa were certainly married 6. Irenaeus affirmed the priesthood of all believers Many of the most important Church Fathers of this period were laymen of some sort, or at most only presbyters i. Justin Martyr ii. Origen iii. Tertullian iv. Arnobius v. Lactantius vi. Athenagoras It’s very hard for us to determine when and how the episcopate developed out of the presbytery Interestingly, Hippolytus says that the Roman bishops Zephyrinus and Callistus were very corrupt The view that the episcopacy was set in place by the apostles themselves is supported by the following: i. James, according to an epistle of Pseudo-Clementine origin, was the supreme bishop of the Church 1. We know for sure that he was the bishop of Jerusalem ii. The angels of the 7 churches of Asia look a lot like later bishops iii. Ignatius indicates that the episcopacy exists iv. Clement of Alexandria claims that John instituted bishops after his return 1. Polycarp became the bishop of Smyrna according to Irenaeus, Tertullian, Jerome, Eusebius, and Polycarp himself

g. That the episcopacy came to replace the presbytery is supported by the following facts: i. Jerome, Chrysostom, and Theodoret all argue that the bishops of the NT themselves were presbyters ii. Clement, in 1 Clement, uses the word “bishop” and “presbyter” interchangeably iii. The Didache mentions bishops and deacons, but not presbyters, implying that bishops were the same as presbyters iv. Irenaeus says that the difference between the presbytery and episcopate is minimal 1. He calls the bishops of Rome “presbyters” v. Jerome argues that the presbytery was around but the episcopacy developed to fight division within the Church 1. Further, he argues that 12 presbyters would elect a president to serve as bishop h. Development of the Episcopate. Ignatius. i. By the middle of the 2nd Century, the episcopal system was universal, even among the heretical Ebionites ii. Ignatius regularly tells the Church to follow the bishops 1. However, for Ignatius, the episcopacy isn’t diocesian as much as it is congregational a. There’s no primacy within the episcopacy i. Episcopacy at the time of Irenaeus and Tertullian i. Irenaeus treats the episcopacy as a diocesian office 1. He seems to use the terms “presbyter” and “bishop” interchangeably, though ii. Tertullian regularly distinguishes between the presbyter and bishop 1. He broke this however when he became a Montanist j. Cyprianic Episcopacy i. Cyprian is the typical high-churchman of the 3rd Century, claiming special duties to the priesthood 1. Cyprian considers the bishops to be bearers of the Holy Spirit passed down from Christ through the Apostles then to the bishops in unbroken apostolic succession ii. Despite this, Cyprian required that bishops be ordained by other bishops k. Beginnings of the Metropolitan and Patriarchal Systems i. While bishops were equal in dignity and power, there still were different ranks 1. The lowest level was the bishop of a country church

2. The bishops of capital cities were mid-tier in importance 3. The bishops of apostolic churches had utmost authority a. Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome were arguably the most prominent l. Germs of the Papacy i. Rome claims not only human right for the papacy, but divine right, tracing its origins to Christ and Peter 1. Some assumptions of this view: a. That this role would be transferable b. That Peter was at Rome starting at some point until his martyrdom, prior to which he appointed a successor i. There is very little historical evidence for this c. That the historical bishops of Rome have held universal authority over Chrisitans throughout history ii. Historical influences for the ascendency of Rome: 1. The high antiquity regarding the Church of Rome, which is held by Paul in the NT 2. The labors of Paul and Peter at Rome 3. The political preeminence of Rome iii. Clement of Rome 1. The Epistle of Clement clearly demonstrates a feeling of superiority of Rome over the other Churches iv. Irenaeus 1. Irenaeus calls Rome the greatest and oldest Church founded by Peter and Paul, though this is a claim of honor, not necessarily jurisdiction v. Cyprian 1. Cyprian, though a supporter of the papacy, seemed to dispute with it a lot a. He accused Pope Stephen of error and abuse 8. All believers are priests a. “Ye are a royal priesthood” (Ephesians 2:9) when speaking to the whole Church 9. The ​Novelli a​ nd ​Codex f​ rom Justinian show that bishops didn’t have authority over special marriage issues; this belonged to a court 10. The Roman Catholic Church really isn’t united too well a. Some camps – specifically the conservative apologists – will argue that all Catholic doctrine is founded on tradition or is implicit in the Scriptures, whereas the more liberal Jesuit school will say that certain doctrines actually were added over time

i.

Some Roman Catholics argue for Sola Fide 1. With that in mind, Lutheran groups are actually more united than Catholics are 2. Joseph Fitzmyer, a really big figure in the Roman Catholic Church, says that Luther was correct on Romans 3. Some have argued that St. Bernard supported something like Sola Fide 11. Councils are not meant to override Scripture, nor do they have the same authority; we are called to dispute councils when they are wrong a. “I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with hypocrites. have hated the congregation of evildoers; and will not sit with the wicked.” (Psalm 26:4-5) i. Haydock thinks this means Protestants, but note that he at least admits there are councils of the wicked ii. Augustine confirms that there are councils of the wicked iii. Note specifically that there are ​congregations ​of evildoers, so it can be specific groups in ways that seem religious b. “Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1) i. Haydock admits that this means council, so there are councils of the wicked c. “I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of your hand: for you have filled me with indignation.” (Jeremiah 15:17) d. The councils against Micah, Jeremiah, and Christ were all wicked, yet performed by spiritual leaders e. We are commanded to examine the spirits to see if they are of God i. “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1) ii. “Test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) iii. “Beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15) f. St. Jerome writes, “That is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, which is set forth in canonical books. If the council pronounces anything against this, I consider it wicked.” i. So a council isn’t inherently valid because of its ontological status g. The Romans cite Emperor Martian who writes, “Let no one draw into dispute matters which have once been judged and rightly ordered by a synod, seeking thereby occasions for tumults or treachery” i. Martian clearly doesn’t mean we should listen to everything synods and councils say

ii.

Martian further states, “Now let profane contention cease, for whoever debates anything further after the truth has been found, seeks lies” 1. So he’s not saying “oh the Council is automatically infallible,” but rather, that when the truth is found from Sacred Scripture, anybody who continues down a path of something else is inherently seeking division and lies h. Tertullian writes in his ​Apologeticus,​ “A law which does not want to be tested is deservedly suspect; and if it rules, undiscussed and untested, it is wicked, since no law owes to itself alone the consciousness that it is just but to those of whom it expects obedience” i. This is clearly true of councils as well ii. The Council of Trent didn’t invent opponents for debate at all, but rather, simply made a decree and condemned those who disagreed without any response allowed iii. Councils and synods were initially used to promote and maintain ecclesiastical unity + decide questions of faith and discipline 1. The precedent for these is the council of Jerusalem iv. In the earliest synods, the meetings were public and involved the participation of confessors and laymen 1. Origen was pretty prominent in v. The Council of Carthage, led by Cyprian in 256, dealt with the issue of heretical baptism 1. 78 bishops, many priests + deacons, confessors, and laymen in good standing vi. After the Council of Nicea, however, only bishops really had significant power in councils and synods 1. Bishops began to look at themselves as autonomous figures, not just representatives of their churches a. However, they certainly didn’t claim infallibility i. Even Cyprian saw some degree of independence among the bishops, not working as a hierarchy

Original Sin 1. Different conceptions of original sin a. The scholastics often say that it’s a deficiency and not some positive evil that exists in the human nature b. Some say the sin is some error in our flesh that also brings our will down

c. Some, namely the Pelagians, say that sin isn’t something that adheres in us, but rather, is only something that happened to Adam 2. Albert Pighius wrote significantly on original sin a. He believed the following about original sin: i. It exists ii. It was brought by Adam iii. It naturally affects us b. He disagreed with Augustine’s view that original sin is concupiscence/desire because sin couldn’t exist without the Law c. Pighius says that original sin is only a transgression of Adam which brings guilt and yields punishment; original sin, in this view, isn’t something inherent to the human substance i. This is how one defends many papist notions ii. This is clearly false given what previous thinkers believed, but it’s never condemned by Trent 1. Trent simply hides what Andrada says rather than condemning it d. Following some Scholastics, Andrada suggests that original sin is primarily the body looking for pleasures which disagree with the soul and are inherently unreasonable, and that concupiscence has always existed in us, even in our original state i. Concupiscence isn’t itself a sin, but rather, sinful when unrestrained ii. Original righteousness was meant to hold back our problematic passions iii. Regeneration effectively makes original sin no longer a problem since concupiscence is restrained iv. Further, he says that original sin is that which someone commits willingly and knowingly 1. There is no voluntary act in original sin! 2. Francisco de Mayro adds, “but original sin has been voluntary in only one particular will, namely, that of Adam, but universally, that is, in us, it is altogether involuntary” v. Andrada even suggests that original sin is the least offensive of all sins e. Andrada will probably accuse us of Manichaeism, as the Pelagians said of Augustine, but we say that everything in us is corrupted by defect, not because God created us with that intrinsic nature, but because we created this defect in ourselves i. As Augustine writes, “all good things which nature has in its formation, life, senses, mind, etc., it has from the most high God, its Creator, but the imperfection, which darkens and weakens those natural good things, has been contracted from original sin”

3. Many of the Scholastics practically ignored original sin a. Oftentimes the Scholastics simply followed the ethics of Aristotle b. Scholastics were good following Augustine’s definition of original sin in the context of concupiscence i. Romans 7:5, “working in our members to bring forth fruit unto death” support this context ii. St. Bonaventure agreed that original sin is “immoderate concupiscence” iii. St. Thomas agrees, saying that original sin is a massive defect iv. Hugo states that sin is “ignorance in the mind and concupiscence of the flesh” 4. In baptism, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us, but concupiscence remains; unfortunately, the Catholics condemned Luther for this idea a. As St. Augustine stated, ‘sin is remitted in baptism, not in such a manner that it no longer exists, but that it is not imputed” b. St. Augustine also notes, “the law, which is in the members, has been annulled by spiritual regeneration, and remains in the mortal flesh. It has been annulled because the guilt has been remitted in the sacrament, by which believers are born again; but it remains, because it occasions desires, against which believers contend.” i. This means that guilt is remitted in the sacrament, which is likely baptism with that in mind c. We have clearly shown that original sin in the unregenerate is concupiscence, which is a defect in the nature of man d. The remission of all sins takes place in baptism, so original sin doesn’t remain in the same way after baptism i. Baptism is the washing of regeneration and the renewing through the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5) 1. In place of original sin, the Holy Spirit works in us to grant new powers, gifts, and impulses 2. The Holy Spirit begins to heal our nature, crucifying the old man with his faults, evil lusts, and actions of the flesh, ultimately destroying the body of sin ii. Clearly, there still is some original sin in us after baptism 1. “The good which I want, I do not do, nor do I find a way to do it” (Romans 7:15) 2. Throughout the entirety of Scripture, the regenerate are encouraged to continue their process of sanctification, as there is much work to be done

3. Augustine writes, in his ​De peccatorum meritis ​(Bk. 2, ch. 7), “the old infirmity is not taken away the moment a person is baptized, but the renewal begins with the remission of all sins. For although total and full remission of sins is made in baptism, nevertheless, if there should occur at once also a total and full transformation of the person into permanent newness, I do not say also the body, but if the perfect renewal could occur in Baptism in the soul, which is the inner man, the apostle would not have said: ‘although our outer man is corrupted, nevertheless, the inner man is renewed from day to day’” a. This is a discussion of 2 Corinthians 4 4. Peter Lombard, in Bk. 2 distinction 32, writes that baptism crucifies concupiscence yet it still inheres in the regenerate e. Concupiscence is clearly not seen as a good thing by God, so why would it be a part of us since the beginning? i. Romans 7 quite quickly refutes the idea that concupiscence isn’t bad ii. Augustine writes, in his ​Contra Julianum​ (Bk. 6), that the guilt of concupiscence has been removed, but it still adheres in the believer 1. Julian thought that after baptism, concupiscence is perfectly fine, being sanctified in the believer; this is clearly absurd 2. He writes “we do not say that concupiscence was evil only before baptism, but we say that also that is evil which remains in the baptized” (Bk. 6 ch. 6) f. Essentially, concupiscence is forgiven and weakened in baptism, but it isn’t completely gone i. We are imputed with Christ’s righteousness 1. “Blessed are those whose sins are covered” (Romans 4:7) ii. Augustine writes, “furthermore, how could so great an evil, by the mere fact that it is present in us, fail to hold in death and to drag into ultimate death, unless its bonds were loosed through that remission of all sins which takes place in baptism?” (Bk. 6, ch. 5) 5. The teaching of the Scriptures on Original Sin a. It is false that at human nature was initially concupiscent, since that implies a natural disorder and rebellion i. Man was created in the image of God, so the entire human substance was perfect 1. “Lo, this only have I found, that God has made man upright; but they have sought out many devices.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29) a. It’s very clear in Athanasius that we were made perfect

2. Genesis 1:27 says that we were made in the image of God, yet Genesis 5:3 then says that Adam begat sons in his own image a. There’s clearly an ontological change here towards something imperfect ii. Commands from Romans 12 show what humanity was supposed to be iii. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) b. Scripture is very clear that our corrupt nature is more than just our inclinations, but rather, our desires themselves i. “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19) ii. “And you has he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins: In which in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our behavior in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, has made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you are saved;” (Ephesians 2:1-5) 1. This shows what we once were, but now shall be when perfected in Christ 2. “We were children of wrath” shows that we used to be stuck in our passions of the flesh, both in thought and deed 3. “Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of mind” clearly shows that the desires of the mind are sinful too, meaning they were not part of our original constitution iii. The restoration we receive in Christ is in all parts of man iv. “The law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin...I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:14-15) 1. This shows that our carnal desires themselves are inherently sinful v. “The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5) 1. The thoughts of men are inherently evil, which is different from what it used to be vi. “for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth;” (Genesis 8:21) vii. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-23)

viii.

We are called to have our vices and lusts crucified 1. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24) a. Again, this shows that the very passions themselves are evil 2. “​Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that we should no longer serve sin.​” (Romans 6:6) ix. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:6-7) x. David writes, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5) 1. So clearly, there is sin even in conception 6. Regarding the word “sin” a. Augustine at one point seems to say that concupiscence that remains after regeneration isn’t sinful, but we must note what Augustine means by sin i. In his ​Ad Bonifacium​ (Bk. 1, ch. 13), he writes, “those things are called sins, which are done, spoken, or thought unlawfully according to the concupiscence of the flesh or in ignorance and which, when they have been done, make men guilty if they are not forgiven.” ii. In ​Ad Valerium ​(Bk. 1, ch. 24), he says, “for this is not to have sin, not to be guilty of sin” iii. In ​Contra Julianum​ (Bk. 6, ch. 5), he writes, “you who think that if concupiscence were an evil, he who is baptized would be without it, err greatly. For he is without all sin but not without all evil, which is said more plainly thus: he is without all guilt of all evils, not without all evils, for he is not without the evil of ignorance, which is so great an evil that through it man does not perceive the things which are of the Spirit of God, etc.” 1. In bk. 2 he says, “the concupiscence which remains in the regenerate after baptism is no longer called sin the same way (namely as before baptism), where it makes guilty” iv. Therefore, as the quotes above show, Augustine understands sin to be when men don’t resist the lusts of the flesh through the Spirit but obey them, allowing the regenerate to re-enter God’s wrath and eternal death unless they repent 1. Again, this shows Augustine was no supporter of eternal security b. In Romans 6, 7, and 8, Paul clearly condemns concupiscence as sinful i. He calls it sin several times

ii.

The Romans claim that we ought read these passages as allegorical when they describe sin 7. Church Father writings on concupiscence a. The Romans say that the Catholic Church has never seen concupiscence in the regenerate as sinful...but we’ll see about that lol i. Augustine quotes Ambrose, writing, “our vices which resist the law of the mind through the law of sin; their guilt, indeed, has vanished in baptism, but their infirmity has remained” 1. Ambrose further writes that evil is the fleshly desire to lust against the Spirit ii. Hilary calls our bodies the “stuff” of all vices, writing, “remember that our very bodies are the ‘stuff’ of all vices, through which we, polluted and filthy, preserve nothing clean, nothing innocent in us” iii. Cyprian writes, “let no one flatter himself that he has a pure and spotless heart, so that, relying on his innocence, he believes that medicine need not be applied to his wounds, because it is written: ‘who will boast that he has a pure heart? Or who will boast that he is pure from sin?’ but if nobody is able to without sin, then whoever says that he is blameless is either proud or foolish, etc.” iv. Compare the above quotes with what Trent has said, that baptism removes original sin so that it is seen as perfectly fine v. Augustine, quoting Hilary, writes, “we cannot be clean in this earthly and carrion habitation of the body unless through the ablution of mercy from heaven, we attain a cleansing when a more glorious nature is wrought in our earthly body after the change of the resurrection” 1. Yeah so we’re clearly not truly clean until we reach heaven, which seems also to decimate the notion of perfected sanctification vi. Jerome writes, regarding our first impulses, “although they have guilt, they do not involve an offense” 1. By first impulses, he means those passions which excite and incite the will to perform an act vii. Augustine, again, calls concupiscence not good, not holy, but evil (​Contra Julianum​ Bk. 6, ch. 6) viii. Augustine writes, in ​Contra Julianum​ (Bk. 6, ch. 6), “distinguish the evils which we bear in patience from those evils which we restrain through continence,” saying that concupiscence is both worthy of punishment and guilt

Augustine writes, in ​Contra Julianum​ (Bk. 2), “the law of sin warring against the law of the mind, which is also in the members of so great an apostle, is remitted in baptism but not condoned” x. Augustine writes, in ​De peccatorum meritis​ (Bk. 1, ch. 3), “through the baptism of Christ this is accomplished, that the sinful flesh is put off. But it is not put off in such a way that there is no inborn concupiscence of the flesh but in such a way that that does not hurt a dead man which was in him while he lived. For this is not given suddenly in baptism, except perhaps by an unspeakable miracle, that the law of sin which wars against the law of the mind is wholly extinguished and in no more” xi. Augustine calls concupiscence, in his ​In Evangelium Johannis tractatus​, 41, “the apathy that struggles against our salvation” and “the infirmity which collapses before the law of God” xii. Augustine writes, in his ​Evangelium Johannis tractatus​, 41, “they [the regenerate] have been set free from sin because there is no charge or complaint against them. But this is liberty which has been begun but not yet made perfect; it is not yet total, not yet pure liberty, because I see in my members another law...whatever sin we have committed has already been taken from us in baptism. But does no infirmity remain, because all our iniquity has been blotted out? Certainly, if none had remained, we should live here without sin. If, therefore, you serve the law of sin through the flesh, do what the apostle says: ‘let not sin therefore reign in our mortal body!’ He does say: let it not be’, but, ‘let it not reign!’ As long as you live, sin must be in your members, only let the rule be taken from it, and let what it commands not be done.” 8. The arguments of Trent regarding Concupiscence and original sin a. Trent says that the regenerate have nothing that God hates in them i. Romans 7 teaches quite the opposite 1. Romans 7:15: “I do not what I want, but what I hate” ii. There is certainly no condemnation for those in Christ, but that’s different from what Trent teaches 1. Rome understands “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) to mean that there is nothing in the regenerate man worth damnation 2. Rome also teaches that “we were buried with Christ by baptism into death” (Romans 6:4) means that original sin is completely removed when we’re baptized a. We’re certainly to be dead of sin, but that doesn’t mean it no longer exists ix.

b.

c.

d.

e.

3. Trent, of course, says, “the baptized, putting off the old man and putting on the new, are spotless, pure, and harmless” a. Of course, they say this denying imputed righteousness While we shed the old man and bring the new man in baptism, we are called to lay aside the old man throughout our entire live i. “That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24) ii. “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,” (Colossians 3:9-10) iii. Augustine writes, in ​De peccatorum meritis​ (Bk. 2, ch. 8), “if in the inner man a perfect newness were affected in baptism, the apostle would not say: ‘though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day.’ For surely, he who is still being renewed from day to day has not yet been entirely renewed. And to the extent to which he has not yet been renewed, to that extent he is still in the old state, etc.” The most powerful argument they put forward is that concupiscence cannot affect those who resist it i. Augustine writes, in his ​Contra Julianum​ (Bk. 5, ch. 3), “in the same way you could also absolve the evil angels from guilt. For you are very eloquent and fit to speak a panegyric to Satan and his angels” We receive the remission of all sins in baptism i. “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11) ii. The baptized are cleansed, yet they need to cleanse themselves daily 1. Sanctification begins, but isn’t perfected, in life 2. Augustine, referencing Hilary of Poitiers in ​Contra Julianum ​(Bk. 2), says, “we cannot be clean in this dwelling place of our earthly and mortal body unless we obtain cleansing through washing by heavenly mercy, once the more glorious nature of our earthly body has been brought about after the change in the resurrection...you see that Hilary does not deny our cleansing in this life, and yet he hopes for human perfection, that is, for a nature more perfectly cleansed in the final resurrection” Sanctification must occur, though we are justified in baptism

Augustine writes, in ​De perfectione justitiae​, “also the absurd statement is not made that he is without spot, not because he is already perfect but because he blamelessly hurries toward that perfection, being without damnable crimes and not neglecting to cleanse even venial sins through alms. For after we have entered upon this our way by which we strive for perfection, pure prayer makes pure when we truthfully say: ‘forgive us as we also forgive.’ Therefore while that which is not imputed is rebuked, our course may be held without spot toward perfection, in which perfection, when we have come to it, there will no longer be anything at all which must be cleansed by forgiveness” ii. Augustine writes, in ​Contra Julianum​ (Bk. 6, ch. 5), “to this perfection also which is hoped for one comes through the same baptism which is here received” 1. In (Bk. 2) he writes, “it heals the one who has been defiled from guilt at once, from infirmity gradually” iii. Augustine writes, in ​De peccatorum meritis​ (Bk. 2, ch. 7), “because the renewed parents begat carnally, not from the first-fruits of the renewal but from the remainders of the old nature...this we ought to consider and remember principally on account of the questions which have been raised about this matter, or which can still be raised: in baptism only the full and perfect remission of all sins takes place; the entire quality of the person himself is not immediately changed, but the first-fruits of the Spirit in those who progress well from day to day, as the newness increases, change in them what is carnally old until the whole is so renewed that also the infirmity of the living body arrives at spiritual firmness and incorruption” 1. (Bk. 2, ch. 28): “if the departure from this life follows at once, there will be nothing at all which may hold him guilty, for all the things which were holding him have been taken away” iv. Augustine writes, in his ​De verbis apostoli (​ sermon 2), “but you say to me that it suffices that I have received remission of all my sins in baptism. Is the infirmity then ended because the iniquity has been blotted out? You still bear the fragile flesh; the body which is corrupted still oppresses the soul; in any case, you still say until your weaknesses are healed, ‘forgive us our debts.’” f. As we’ve seen above, Andrada is basically Julian, so Augustine would like to have a word with him i. He’s also acting kind of Pelagian ii. Augustine argues that nobody in this life, except Christ, has lived without sin i.

g. We are regenerated through baptism i. Augustine writes in ​Evangelium Johannis​ ​tractatus​: “after the regeneration of baptism let us pray the physician that we who have been wounded may be brought to the inn to be cured” 9. Did Mary ever sin? a. Scripture only speaks of one exception to original sin: Christ i. “For it was fitting that we should have such high a priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners” ii. All other humans have original sin 1. “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all men sinned” (Romans 5:12) 2. “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22) 3. “We were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:3) b. The ECFs were pretty clear that Mary had sin i. Augustine writes, ​De natura et gratia​ (ch. 36), “about the holy Virgin Mary, on account of the honor of the Lord, I want to have no question whatever when we treat of sin. For we know that on her more grace was conferred for vanquishing sin in every part, because she was worthy to conceive and bear Him of whom it is certain that He had no sin, etc.” 1. This shows that she had grace specifically to vanquish sin, showing that she had some sin that she needed to vanquish ii. Augustine writes, in ​De fide, ad Petrum​ (ch. 23), “hold to this most firmly and by no means doubt that every man who is conceived through coitus of man and woman is born with original sin, subject to impiety, subjected to death, and born on this account a child of wrath by nature” iii. In ​De nuptiis et concupiscentia,​ Augustine writes, “for this reason Christ chose not to be born of coition, that He might teach also by this that everyone who is born from coition is sinful flesh, since only what was not born from this was not sinful flesh” iv. Ambrose comments on Luke, “for of all those born of a woman it is the holy Lord Jesus alone who does not feel the contagions of earthly corruption because of the uniqueness of His unstained birth” v. Ambrose also writes, commenting on Isaiah, “every man is a liar, and no one is without sin except the one God. It has therefore been held that from man and woman, that is, through the mingling of their bodies, no one is

thought to be without defect. But he who is without defect is without this conception” vi. Augustine writes, in a commentary on 2 Corinthians 5:14 ‘Paul said: “Therefore all died; and Christ died for all, in order that they who are alive may live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again.” All people, consequently, without a single exception, were dead through sin, original sin or original with personal sin superadded, either by ignorance of or conscious refusal to do what is right. And for all these dead souls one living man died—a man utterly free from sin—with the greater intention that those who come alive by forgiveness of their sins live no longer for themselves but for him who died for all on account of our sins and rose again for our justification.’ vii. Augustine calls it heresy to say that anyone besides Christ was born immaculately, writing in his ​Contra Julianum​ (Bk. 5, ch. 15), “if without any doubt the flesh of Christ is not sinful flesh but similar to sinful flesh, what keeps us from understanding that, aside from this one exception, all other human flesh is of sin?...Whoever denies this is found to be a detestable heretic...From this it is apparent that this concupiscence through which Christ did not want to be conceived cause the propagation of evil in the human race. For the body of Mary, although it came from there, nevertheless did not transmit it in into the body, because she did not conceive it from there” 1. He clearly affirms here that Christ is the one exception to original sin, calling anyone who disagrees a heretic 2. He directly says that Mary had concupiscence, thus she had original sin viii. Bernard writes, “with the exception of the man Christ, it is true of all what one humbly confesses: ‘I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me’” 1. Clearly, he’s saying that nobody besides Christ was conceived immaculately c. When did the immaculate conception begin as doctrine? i. Lombard suggested that Mary could have been purified by conceiving Christ through the Holy Spirit, though he certainly didn’t say that Mary was conceived immaculately ii. There was an apocryphal story - found in the protoevangelium of James that tells of Mary’s nativity iii. The Romans simply reasoned from “it was possible” to “it happened”

iv. v.

vi.

Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, Gregory of Ariminium, etc. all contradict that opinion Pope Sixtus IV interposed his ideas in 1483, saying that either idea could be accepted since the Church had said nothing yet 1. In 1466, during a great sale of indulgences, he said that Mary’s conception would one day be celebrated by all the faithful a. He says, specifically, “because Mary is the way of mercy, the mother of grace, the friend of piety, the consoler of the human race, who prays earnestly for the salvation of the faithful who are burdened by the weight of transgressions and intercedes ever watchful with the King, whom she bore, therefore we consider it necessary that all the faithful celebrate the festival of her wondrous conception, that from this they may become more fit subjects of divine grace through the merits and intercession of the Virgin. And we ordain that those who have taken part in the celebration shall obtain the same indulgence and remission of sins which are obtained at the Corpus Christi festival” Apparently Anselm celebrated the festival of Mary’s conception

Invocation of the Saints 1. Romans claim that Jerome won this debate, but Jerome was talking about honoring the Saints, not invoking them 2. There really isn’t a reason to invoke the Saints since Christ is our mediator a. Christ states, “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you” (John 16:23) b. Matthew 11:28 indicates that prayers to Christ are enough c. It’s not necessarily wrong to invoke the Saints, but our adversaries invoke them before Christ d. Our adversaries have ascribed specific saints various tasks, but they have no support of this i. Sebastian keeps off pestilence, Valentine protects against epilepsy, etc. ii. This puts all confidence in Christ into others

Forced Celibacy of Priests 1. Of the Reasons for Disapproving Celibacy

a. The Romans try to fight the lusts of their priesthood by enforcing celibacy b. Some men certainly are fit for celibacy, but those who aren’t should get wives i. “To avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife.” (1 Corinthians 7:2) c. Vows of celibacy - which are forced when going into the Priesthood - dissolve marriages, which goes contrary to Christ Himself i. Christ stated, “What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.” (Matthew 19:6) d. The Papacy often goes against Synods, which is the nature of the Antichrist e. The adversaries act like celibacy is pure because marriage is impure i. In believers, marriage is sacred since it has been sanctified by God 1. “It is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer,” (1 Timothy 4:5) 2. “The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife,” (1 Corinthians 7:14) ii. There were clearly wonderful married people 1. Abraham, David, etc. 2. The Blessed Virgin Mary was married iii. Celibacy is of value because it allows one to pursue other tasks 1. “He that is unmarried careth for the things which belong to the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:32) 2. Celibacy in the Ante-Nicene Clergy a. Clergy were held to very high standards regarding sexual practices i. Monks were generally opposed to female society and had a rude contempt of married life 1. In Egypt - the land of the monastic orders - women never got full dignity 2. Basil prohibited speaking with women, touching one, or even looking on one unless absolutely necessary 3. This led to the Justinian rule wherein a marriage could be dissolved so someone could become a monk 4. Some monks vowed to never speak with their female family members b. The celibacy of clergy was optional i. Irenaeus mentions that there were married deacons ii. Tertullian was married iii. Athanasius says that many bishops and monks actually had children iv. Gregory of Nyssa was married v. The Apostolic Constitutions say that a priest, bishop, or deacon can be married, but only once

c. The first step towards forced clerical celibacy was the banning of second marriages for priests, bishops, and deacons i. According to Hippolytus and Tertullian, some priests were married several times d. The Council of Nicea, in fact, almost made laws against priestly marriage, but ultimately didn’t i. Rather, it simply warned against priests living with unmarried women e. The prohibition of clerical marriage really occurred in the Latin Church i. Pope Siricius and Innocent I banned it ii. Jerome, Chrysostom, and Augustine all agreed 3. Of the Arguments of the Adversaries a. The adversaries say that God revealed it to them b. The adversaries say that priests need to be pure i. Again, marriage isn’t unclean c. Third, they say that married clergy is a doctrine of the heretical Jovinians 4. History

The Papacy 1. The Pope is only the Bishop of Rome a. He is an associate of other bishops, as St. Cyprian showed i. See above, where we mentioned that Cyprian openly defied the Pope on certain matters b. Nobody today dares to call the Pope a brother, but rather, a gracious lord, which is clearly terrible c. He roars like a lion - as described in Revelation 12 - shouting that only those who obey him can be saved i. His bulls are fierce d. The Roman Pontiff claims to have power above all other bishops and Christendome in general i. He also suggests that he has power over all temporal orders e. The Pope claims to be the vicar of Christ on Earth, and that believing in it is necessary for salvation f. In Luke 22:25-26, Christ explicitly forbids lordship among the apostles i. The exact verse says, “and He said unto them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But you shall not be so; but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that does serve

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The apostles were asking Christ who should command them, and Christ rejected that there was a “greatest” among them, forbidding a concept of lordship in the Apostles g. In Galatians 2:7, Paul admits that he was never ordained by Peter and doesn’t need to be i. He says that the call of ordination doesn’t depend on St. Peter ii. He once preached the Gospel without consulting Peter iii. He should have acknowledged Peter as a superior if he was h. In 1 Corinthians 3:5, Paul writes that all ministers in the Church are equal i. He’s just a servant and minister of God ii. The Council of Nicea stated that the bishop of Alexandria should manage the Churches in the East and the Roman bishop should manage those in the West iii. Churches should elect their own bishops according to the Council of Nice iv. According to St. Cyprian, bishops never needed the Bishop of Rome’s approval to be ordained, and that this was an apostolic practice v. How could one bishop approve the ordination of all possible pastors? vi. Many Councils and Synods occurred without having Rome preside 1. If Rome was always superior, representatives would need to be there 2. St. Jerome writes, “If authority is sought, the world is greater than the city. Wherever there has been a bishop, whether at Rome, or Eugubium, or Constantinople, or Rhegium, or Alexandria, he is of the same merit and priesthood.” 3. Gregory, when writing to the Patriarch of Alexandria, wrote that he shouldn’t be considered a universal bishop i. Arguments of the Adversaries i. They cite the classic Matthew 16:18 1. In Matthew 18:18, the context of binding and loosing keys is plural 2. Peter really serves as a representative for the Apostles 3. “This rock” is a reference to Peter’s confession a. This is confirmed by Origen, Bede, Cyprian, Augustine, Hilary, and Chrysostom at least 2. The Church had no Pope for 500 years a. It would arguably be better off without a head figure b. It’s better to have a system of bishops i. St. Jerome wrote that the priests in Alexandria together governed all Churches since the Apostolic period until the rise of the Pope c. It doesn’t make much sense to say that Peter was the first pope

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He had a wife (Matthew 8:14) 1. Some apostolic traditions give him children and say that his wife was martyred in Rome before him 2. So...what right do Popes have to ban clerical marriage? ii. He was certainly a poor man (Acts 3:6) 1. Compare that to the Papacy of the middle ages iii. We can’t trace the notion of Peter’s 25-year status as Pope anywhere prior to St. Jerome 1. We have no reference to the succession of Peter to the next Pope in the NT or the Early Church a. Neither Clement of Rome nor Ignatius of Antioch mention any such succession iv. Peter was at the Council of Jerusalem and started the debate but certainly didn’t preside over it - which James did (Acts 15) 1. According to the Vatican, the entire matter of circumcision should have been asked directly to Peter rather than a council v. Peter was rebuked by Paul - a younger Christian (Galatians 2) 1. Good thing Peter is absolutely supreme vi. Peter never discusses his authority over the other bishops like modern Romans do 1. He tells the people to live in humility and that love of money and power are the roots of evil (1 Peter 5:1-3) d. Patriarchs were really those in power i. Above the Metropolitans were 5 Patriarchs 1. They were really the bishops of Rome, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, and Constantinople a. They were generally equal, but the extent of their diocese affected it significantly ii. The Nestorians - when splitting off from the orthodox church - developed a patriarchal system iii. The Greeks continue this system while the Latin Church started to develop the papacy with Leo the Great iv. The Rival Patriarchs of Old and New Rome 1. Over time, the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria lost power, though the Patriarch of Constantinople gained significant power a. He never, however, exercised papal power like done in the West over the Latin Church 2. Rome, of course, also had significant power

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a. Theodoret records that he had the greatest outward and inward eminence, both political and spiritual b. Rome was always pushing forwards 3. Interestingly, the Roman see rarely saw apostasy, but the see of Constantinople saw Arians, Nestorians, and Monophysites in general a. Constantinople always saw strife The Latin Patriarch 1. The advantages of the Roman patriarch over that of Constantinople led to the rise of the papacy 2. Undeniably, the papacy is the result of a long historical process 3. As patriarch, the bishop of Rome had equal footing with the four patriarchs of the East, but had a much larger district and the primacy of honor 4. The Romans called themselves popes so they might rise sooner above the others, for the name “patriarch” denotes oligarchical power, while “pope” designates monarchical power Conflicts and Conquests of the Latin Patriarchate 1. Many bishops claimed independent authority a. The archbishops of Milan claimed independence from Rome and regularly traced their church to the apostle Barnabas, being ordained without the Pope i. Gregory I was the first to try to exercise his power here, reinstating an excommunicated presbyter b. The Roman Pontiff had to fight to assert Roman jurisdiction in Gaul The Papacy 1. Greek Christendom never recognized the Papacy’s claims to being a divine institution as the successor of St. Peter a. Though the Papacy had some support in the West during the Ante-Nicene Period, this was certainly not the case beyond the Latin Church 2. The metropolitan and patriarchal powers claimed authority upon church usage, but papacy made claims based on divine right 3. Difficulties with the papacy a. Paul stood as his own and took strong ground against Peter b. There really isn’t much evidence that Peter handed down some divine tradition and power

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c. Cyprian was really the first to give Matthew 16:18 the papist view Opinions of the Fathers 1. The Latin Fathers a. In general, the fathers assert the primacy of Peter over other apostles, considering him the foundation of the church in virtue of his profession of Christ - though Christ is the divine ground and rock of the Church i. Thus, they saw some primacy in the seat of Peter, but this was very vague b. Ambrose too speaks highly of the Roman Church, conceding to it special powers i. However, he calls it only a primacy of confession, “not of honor; of faith, not of rank” c. Jerome advocates the Roman bishop as the successor of Peter, but advocates the equal rights of the bishops i. A certain primacy of honor, not of power d. At first, St. Augustine supported the papist interpretation of Matthew 16, but later retracted this view and considered the rock to be Christ i. He certainly noted that the entire church received the keys 2. The Greek Fathers a. Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa + Nazianzen, Ephraim, Syrus, Asterius, Cyril of Alexandria, Chrysostom, and Theodoret are more mixed i. They pretty much believe in the primacy of honor 3. The Decrees of Councils on the Papal Authority a. The most favorable council to the papist claims was the Council of Sardicia in Illyria, for it put significant power at the feet of the Roman bishop i. This council was only a local Western council, however ii. It really wasn’t enforced b. The Councils of Nicea, Constantinople, Ephesus I, and Chalcedon give equal power to Rome with the other patriarchs, though with a precedence of honor c. Protestantism broadly rejects the entire patriarchal system and papacy, but the Greeks reject the latter

e. The Synodical System; The Ecumenical Councils i. Above the patriarchs, even the Pope, stood the ecumenical or general councils as the highest representatives of the unity and authority of the Catholic Church ii. Just like the episcopal orders, councils developed out of a hierarchical gradation of orders 1. Full ecumenical councils couldn’t happen until the Roman Empire became Christian 2. Oftentimes these councils used Greek language and terms and took place in Eastern locations with a few Latin locations a. The Council of Constantinople (381) contained no Latin bishops, but rather, only 150 Greek bishops iii. The Council of Ephesus II (449) was specifically designed by the emperor and pope to be an ecumenical council, but instead of this it has been branded as a synod of robbers for its violent sanction of Eutychianism iv. The public opinion of the Latin and Greek churches is that there are 7 ecumenical councils 1. Nicaea I (325) - Council of Nice (787) v. The call for ecumenical councils emanated from emperors 1. They usually fixed the time and place of the assembly, then summoned the metropolitans and more distinguished bishops of the empire, providing transit and all-expenses paid 2. The first decidedly papal call for a council was the Council of Chalcedon (451) 3. Oftentimes local councils were called by princes 4. Emperors regularly took part in ecumenical councils, often attending in person or sending delegates with full authority for the occasion a. They were often treated very highly b. Constantine had little influence, wishing to act like a servant, but Justinian I had great influence c. Over time, the emperor lost power while the Pope gained greater power vi. Councils allowed the principle of common public deliberation as the best means of arriving at truth and settling controversy 1. In matters of discipline the majority decided, but unanimity was needed for matter of faith - unless the minority was excised 2. In the midst of an assembly, the Gospels lay open upon the desk or table, serving as a symbol of the presence of Christ

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Councils held a feeling of infallibility for a while 1. Pope Gregory the Great at one point put the first four councils on the level of the Scriptures a. He didn’t, for some reason, include the fifth ecumenical council 2. Some of the canons, however, weren’t held so 3. Augustine, however, put councils below the Scriptures, which are the highest and most perfect rules of faith a. He said that later investigations and research may contradict a council, and rightly so b. However, the councils certainly may be inerrant c. He generally had a great view of councils, but had he attended the Council of Ephesus (431), he may have seen the terrible actions there d. In some way, he certainly made the Scriptures dependent on the authority of the Church, writing, “I would not believe the Gospel did not the authority of the Catholic Church compel me” viii. The protestant church makes the authority of the general councils, and of all ecclesiastical tradition, depend on the degree of its conformity to the Scriptures 1. Protestants hold the first 4 councils highly ix. Some fathers were rather pessimistic about councils, like Gregory of Nazianzen, who said that councils were “assemblies of cranes and geese” 1. He once said “to tell the truth, I am inclined to shun every collection of bishops, because I have never yet seen a synod came to a good end or abated evils instead of increasing them. For in those assemblies (and I do not think I express myself too strongly here) indescribable contentiousness and ambition prevail, and it is easier for one to incur the reproach of wishing to set himself up as judge of the wickedness of others, than to attain any success in putting the wickedness away. Therefore I have withdrawn myself, and have found rest to my soul only in solitude.” 2. However, he was pretty inconsistent, speaking with great respect of the council of Nice and advocated the Nicene creed quite vehemently 3. Was Peter the first Pope? a. “For neither did Peter, whom first the Lord chose, and upon whom He built His Church, when Paul disputed with him afterwards about circumcision, claim

anything to himself insolently, nor arrogantly assume anything; so as to say that he held the primacy,” - St. Cyprian (commentary on Galatians 2:5)

The Works of the Unregenerate 1. Statement of the Romans a. Andrada says that the unregenerate can naturally do good works, though not by faith and not necessarily for the right reasons i. There is certainly a divide between Augustine/Prosper of Aquitaine and the Scholastic Doctors, the latter of whom said that man could naturally fulfill the commandments without the help of the Holy Spirit 1. The Scholastics would say that these men can avoid mortal sins by his natural powers, thus removing obstacles through free will, meriting some grace from God a. There is no doubt that some church fathers thought this, as Clement of Alexandria, Epiphanius, and Justin Martyr certainly thought so i. Justin thought that Socrates and Heraclitus were Christians because they lived according to “right reason” ii. Clement of Alexandria thought that philosophy by itself justified the Greeks iii. Epiphanius says that many were justified without the Law or the Gospel, but solely through the Law of Nature 2. Augustine knows that the unregenerate cannot perform good works of the Law without divine help, writing in ​De peccatorum meritis (Bk. 1, ch. 5) , “let us drive away from our ears and minds those who say that once we have received free will we need not pray that God may help us to keep us from sinning” ii. Oddly, he suggests that philosophers had faith in God 1. They clearly didn’t know the Christian God, though they certainly had some picture of God 2. Somehow he suggests that because the philosophers knew of God’s general revelation, they expected the special revelation of Christ 3. This is blatantly false, as Paul says, “since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God

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through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21) a. So it’s pretty clear that absent God’s direct revelation, people didn’t have enough wisdom to know Him b. Further, “the unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them” (1 Corinthians 2:14) 4. This is clearly condemned as Pelagian by Augustine when he says, “perhaps you will provide for Fabricuius, Regulus, Fabius, Scipio, Camillus, and other such men some place between damnation and the kingdom of heaven, where they did not please God, for it is impossible to please Him without faith, which they had neither in their works nor in their hearts. I do not think that you are so far gone that you would do so shameless a thing, etc.” Apelles, a Marcionite, once said that people should be allowed to stay in their own religions and if they believed in Christ crucified and performed good works, they’d be saved i. Similarly, Rhetorius taught that all religions have good intentions, so they are on the road to Heaven Actions in and of themselves aren’t sinful, but become sins based on the actions of the heart i. God doesn’t judge according to external works, but according to the heart ii. Julian asks Augustine if it would be sinful for a faithless man to clothe a naked man, to which Augustine replies: “altogether, insofar as it is not from faith, it is sin not because the act itself, that is, to cover the naked, is sin but only an ungodly man will deny that not to glory in the Lord in such a work is a sin...but if mercy in itself because of natural compassion a good work, he uses also this good thing badly, who uses it without faith; and whosoever does this good thing without faith does it badly; but he who does something badly certainly sins. Therefore men are themselves sinners when they do even good things badly, because they do them not with a faithful, but with an unbelieving will, that is, a foolish and harmful will, and that kind of will, as no Christian doubts, is an evil tree, which can bring forth nothing but evil fruits, that is, only sins. For everything, whether you like it or not, which is not of faith is sin” While every work of the unregenerate is sinful, the severity of those sins varies Andrada and Trent conden anybody who says that all works done prior to justification are sinful

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In doing so, they condemn Augustine, Ambrose, Prosper, Anselm, and certainly the Scriptures themselves 2. What does Scripture say about the works of unbelievers? a. We need to distinguish the works of God which are left in man from those which are per se corrupt i. Augustine writes, “the soul and the body and whatever good things of soul and body are naturally ingrafted also in sinners are gifts of God, since God made them, not they themselves. Thus the knowledge of numbers, the knowledge of the law of nature, and all true concepts in man are in themselves and in their order good things; also the arts and true laws built up from them are good things. So some dispositions of the mind in man are forbidden by the law of God, others are commanded” ii. All good things are from God, but those things are corrupted by the sin of man 1. Augustine writes, in his ​De natura et gratia​ (ch. 3), “all good things which nature has in its formation, life, senses, mind, etc. it has from God the Most High its Creator and Maker. But the imperfection which darkens and weakens these good natural things, so that it has need of enlightenment and healing, has been contracted from original sin. Therefore the natural good things which still remain in man have been in various ways and horribly vitiated, damaged, and contaminated through sin. For we have been robbed of the gifts of undamaged nature, and in addition a sad wounding and not only says that the imagination of the heart is evil, but Jeremiah declares that the heart itself is corrupt” b. Some acts of the unregenerate are not intrinsically evil i. Can they, however, perform acts that are themselves honorable and good? 1. Aristotle and other ethicists clearly care to be virtuous 2. Augustine wrote the following in ​De civitate Dei (​ Bk. 5, ch. 15): “if God would not even grant to them this earthly glory of a most excellent empire, no reward would be rendered to their good arts, that is, to their virtues, by which they endeavored to attain to so great a glory. For concerning people who appear to do something in order to be glorified by men even the Lord says: ‘truly, I say to you, they have their reward.’” 3. Therefore, the substance and essence of the acts that the unregenerate perform aren’t inherently evil ii. Whatever is good in an evil man is in some way corrupted

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1. Augustine writes, “services are weighed not according to the acts but according to their aims…when therefore a person does anything in which he does not appear to sin, if he does not do it for the reason for which he ought to do it, he is convicted of sin. True virtues, however, serve God, by whom they are given to men, in men. Hence whatever good is done by a person but is not done for the reason for what it ought to be done, true wisdom teaches that although it may appear good by virtue of the service, it is a sin because the purpose was not right” Those good works that an unregenerate performs are not truly good works, but rather, are considered sins because they aren’t used to serve God 1. What the old man does, even in good works, is not renewed by the Spirit in sanctification 2. “For it is not a good fruit which does not spring from the root of charity” 3. “An evil tree cannot bring forth anything but evil fruits, that is, only sins...everything that is not of faith is sin” - Augustine 4. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Matthew 12:33) 5. “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination” (Proverbs 15:8) 6. Origen writes, that the works of the heretics are sinful because they aren’t done in faith 7. “Let his prayer be counted as sin!” (Psalm 109:7) 8. Ambrose writes, in his ​De vocatione gentium​ (Bk. 1, ch. 3), “without the worship of the true God also that which seems to be virtue is sin; nor can anyone please God without God” 9. Prosper of Aquitaine writes, in his ​De vita contemplativa​ (Bk. 3, ch. 1), “the apostle did not say: ‘whatever is not of faith is nothing’; but by saying, ‘it is sin,’ he declared that if works have not been of faith, they are not to be considered good things but vices which do not help those who do them but condemn them as proud, and shut them out from the regions of eternal salvation”

Free Will 1. Various questions related to free will a. If free will is the very essence of the will so it is also the essence of the intellect then the intellect and will are both significantly damaged, though not wholly lost b. Original sin has not corrupted man to the point where the will has no movements or actions at all

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The unregenerate mind isn’t moved so that it has no thought, deliberation, judgment, choice, etc. ii. Ambrose (or Prosper of Aquitaine) writes, in ​De vocatione gentium​ (Bk. 1, ch. 3), “the judgment of the will has been corrupted, not taken away...man has been robbed by the devil not of his will but of the soundness of his will” iii. Justin, in his ​Second Apology​, writes, “some things are moved without a judgment, as a stone is moved downward. Others are moved by a judgment, not, however, a free judgment, as when a sheep, seeing the wolf, judges from natural instinct, not from deliberation, that it must flee from him; it cannot choose whether it will flee or not” iv. Civil governments clearly testify to this, as Paul writes, “Gentiles who have not the Law do by nature what the Law requires” (Romans 2:14) c. There are many hindrances in the way of this freedom i. Aristotle understood that the passions often override reason ii. The tyranny of Satan is powerful d. God is not the cause of sin i. As Augustine writes in his ​De peccatorum meritis ​(Bk. 2, ch. 5), “God does not aid us to sin; but that we turn away from God is our own doing, and this is the evil will” 1. Again, this seems to show the capability of one to apostatize ii. Augustine writes in his ​Contra duas epistolas Pelagianorum​ (Bk. 1, ch. 2), “who of us can say that through the sin of the first man free will has perished from the human race? Freedom has indeed perished through sin; but that was the liberty which was in Paradise and which had full righteousness with immortality. But free will has not perished even now in the sinner, because though men sin, especially all who sin with pleasure; and because they love sin, that which they like pleases them. Therefore also the apostle says: ‘when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.’ Behold, it is shown that they could also not have served sin at all except through another freedom” 1. (Ch. 3): “Not therefore, as they accuse us of saying, are all forced into sin, as unwilling ones through the need of their flesh. But if they are already of an age where they use their own judgment, they are both held in sin by their will and are precipitated from one sin into the other by their will. For he who persuades and deceives them is after nothing else in them except that they may commit sin voluntarily or through ignorance of the truth or through delight in iniquity or through the twin evils of blindness and weakness.

However, this will, which is free with respect to evil things, because it is delight by evil things, is not for this reason free with respect to good things, because it has not been made free” iii. Augustine writes, in his ​De dogmatibus ecclesiasticis ​(ch. 21), “we fall as a result of our own power and weakness.” e. Delight in sin is a “truly wretched freedom” i. Anselm says, “the power to sin is neither freedom nor a part of freedom” ii. Augustine, in his ​Enchiridion​ (ch. 30), writes, “of what kind, I ask, can the freedom of a bonded servant be, except when sinning delights him? For he serves in a manner befitting a freeman who gladly performs his master’s will: and therefore he is free to sin who is the slave of sin” iii. In ​Ad Bonifacium ​(Bk. 3, ch. 8), Augustine says, “free will is captive and good for nothing except to sin” iv. Augustine says, in ​De verbis apostoli​ (sermon 13), “to be sure, when God does not assist, you act with a free will, but badly. Your will, which is called free, is fit for this, that it should be a damnable slave girl by doing evil. When I say to you: ‘without the help of God you do nothing,’ I mean nothing good. For to do evil you have a free will without the help of God, although that will is not free. For by whom one has been overcome, to him he is bound as a slave. And everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin” f. You can sin freely, but to be able to sin is not to be free i. The unregenerate are subject to the captivity and tyranny of Satan ii. They don’t, however have the free will to refrain from sinning 1. He can have some external capacities g. Article II: The Chief Point at Issue in the Controversy Concerning Free Will i. We ask how the acting of those spiritual things begins ii. In true conversion, there is a change in the will, intellect, heart, etc. iii. The Holy Spirit must begin things in the believer 1. Augustine writes, in ​De Fide, ad Petrum ​(ch. 32), “hold most firmly that a man whom neither ignorance of letters nor some frailty or adversity hinders, can indeed either read the words of the Law and of the Gospel or hear them from the mouth of some preacher, but not one can obey the divine commands except he to whom God has previously come with His grace, so that what he hears with the body he may also perceive with the heart, and when through the working of God he has received good will and power, he may both will and be able to do God’s commands, etc.”

a. “Therefore the beginning must be made wholly from the Word, that it be read, heard, and be meditated on” (Chemnitz) iv. Lombard developed something kind of like prevenient grace, saying that there are four stages of the will 1. The four stages: a. What it was like in the uncorrupted nature before the Fall b. What it is after the Fall prior to the beginning of regeneration c. When it has already begun regeneration d. What it will be in the glorification 2. What does the Council of Trent say about free will? a. Andrada suggests that free will, without the assistance of the Spirit, cannot bring spiritual actions not because of the effects of original sin that one experiences since birth, but because man has so ensnared himself in sinful actions that he cannot exit it by his own strength i. So, the will and intellect still have some natural powers, but those powers are repressed and slowed down through the sins that person commits ii. Thus, the Holy Spirit doesn’t affect the powers of the will, but rather, sets them free from the works they’ve performed in life iii. Overall, this is like when a physician heals a sick man iv. Therefore, there is not the depravity of man caught by original sin, but rather, man’s power and will is simply weakened throughout his life without the help of the Spirit, and that the infusion of the Spirit’s grace begins the unfettering of those powers naturally within the person 3. What does Scripture say about free will? a. The Scriptures are pretty clear that the unregenerate mind is very weak i. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light “(Ephesians 5:8) 1. Prior to regeneration and becoming Christian, one is darkness ii. “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:5) 1. Those in darkness don’t understand the light 2. Augustine writes ,”Whereas that life is the light of men, but foolish hearts cannot receive that light, beingso encumbered with sins that they cannot see it; for this cause lest any should think there is no light near them, because they cannot see it, he continues: And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. For suppose a blind man standing in the sun, the sun is present to him,

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but he is absent from the sun. In like manner every fool is blind, and wisdom is present to him; but, though present, absent from his sight, forasmuch as sight is gone: the truth being, not that she is absent from him, but that he is absent from her. A certain Platonist once said, that the beginning of this Gospel ought to be copied in letters of gold, and placed in the most conspicuous place in every church.” 3. Cyril of Alexandria writes, “Darkness he calls the nature that lacks illumination, i.e. the whole originate nature. For since he calls Him the Light, to shew that the rational creation which lacks and is imparticipate thereof is other than It, he turns the force of the epithet used to the very contrary, doing this also, after my judgment, not without an aim, but considering in himself this above all, that the nature of things originate, producing nothing whatever from its own self, but receiving its whole being and well-being such as it is from its Creator, has rightly said to it, What hast thou that thou didst not receive? And since along with the rest, it has light itself also God-given, not possessing it does it receive it: but that which has not of itself light, how will it not be the contrary, or how will it not be called darkness? For that the Light shineth in darkness is a credible demonstration (yea rather one following from very necessity), that the creation is darkness, the Word of God Light.” “I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.'” (Acts 26:17-18) 1. Their eyes need to be opened “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,” (Ephesians 2:1) 1. Prior to God’s assistance, one is dead in trespasses and sins a. Gaius Marius Victorinus writes, “Death is understood in two ways. The first is the familiar definition—when the soul is separated from the body at the end of life. The second is that, while abiding in that same body, the soul pursues the desires of the flesh and lives in sin.” “Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),” (Ephesians 2:5)

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1. Again, Christ is the one who makes us alive “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,” (Colossians 2:13) 1. Again, Christ made us alive “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) 1. Prior to becoming regenerate, spiritual men of God, we cannot know the things of God whatsoever, seeing them as foolishness “​Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;” (2 Corinthians 3:5) 1. We cannot think of anything correctly by ourselves 2. Augustine writes, “Therefore it rests not in human power but on God’s, that we have the “power to be made the sons of God.” They receive it from him who inspires in the human heart devout thoughts, through which it possesses “faith which works through love.” For acquiring and retaining this good, and for progressing perseveringly in it to the end, “We are not sufficient to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,” in whose power are our heart and our thoughts.” 3. Cassiodorus Senator writes, “Since the Lord’s call comes before all merit, and he does not find a thing deserving but makes it so, for that reason it is called gratuitous; otherwise it would be called just. So this is the goodwill which summons and draws us. We can think or perform nothing which benefits us without our obtaining it from the Author of goodness. As Paul says, “For we cannot think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” So let the Pelagians’ madness fall silent, lest in seeking falsely to ascribe some goodness to itself the will is instead deprived of him who bestows it.” 4. Fulgentius of Ruspe writes, “In this debt which you demand from us and you repay, do not doubt that I am assisted, so that God, who works in us both to will and to bring to completion the work of the good will, himself gives that I may worthily think and worthily speak. For in good thoughts, “Not that of ourselves we are qualified to take credit for anything as coming from us; rather our qualification comes from God.” And for this reason we do not fail for want because by a free gift our sufficiency is from him in

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whom there is no want. Just as he does not need our goods, so he always abounds in giving, nor does he become needy by giving who gives that by which he is always filled; nor is there any pleasing gift of thought, word or deed offered by us to him which he himself has not given with free kindness. Wherefore the holy giving of God is always free because no demand based on human merits has ever preceded, because even if a human being has any good merit, it comes from him from whom comes “every good and perfect gift.” “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:21) 1. The wisdom of the world, of all non-Christians, did not and cannot know God, thinking those things are foolish 2. Lactantius writes, “Since, therefore, human wisdom has no existence (Socrates says in the writings of Plato), let us follow that which is divine, and let us give thanks to God, who has revealed and delivered it to us; and let us congratulate ourselves, that through the divine bounty we possess the truth and wisdom, which, though sought by so many intellects through so many ages, philosophy” “All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knows the Son, but the Father; neither knows any man the Father, except the Son, and he to whomever the Son will reveal him.” (Matthew 11:27) 1. Nobody knows the Father (Son) besides the Son (Father), so nobody, without the assistance of He who already knows the other Person, can achieve this knowledge “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:7) 1. The carnal mind, meaning that mind without the Spirit, cannot be subject to the law of God. Therefore, God is needed for this “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5) 1. Without Christ, we have no capabilities, especially no capabilities to know (of) Him and bear good fruits 2. Augustine writes, “Abide in Me, and I in you: not they in Him, as He in them; for both are for the profit not of Him, but them. The

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branches do not confer any advantage upon the vine, but receive their support from it: the vine supplies nourishment to the branches, takes none from them: so that the abiding in Christ, and the having Christ abiding in them, are both for the profit of the disciples, not of Christ; according to what follows, As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you, except you abide in Me. Great display of grace! He strengthens the hearts of the humble, stops the mouth of the proud. They who hold that God is not necessary for the doing of good works, the subverters, not the asserters, of free will, contradict this truth. For he who thinks that he bears fruit of himself, is not in the vine; he who is not in the vine, is not in Christ; he who is not in Christ, is not a Christian. But lest any should suppose that a branch could bring forth alittle fruit of itself, He adds, For without Me you can do nothing. He does not say, you can dolittle. Unless the branch abides in the vine, and lives from the root, it can bear no fruit whatever. Christ, though He would not be the vine, except He were man, yet could not give this grace to the branches, except He were God. For the branches of the vine are as contemptible, if they abide not in the vine, as they are glorious, if they abide. One of the two the branch must be in, either the vine, or the fire: if it is not in the vine, it will be in the fire. For then may His words be said to abide in us, when we do what He has commanded, and love what He has promised. But when His words abide in the memory and are not found in the life, the branchis not accounted to be in the vine, because it derives no life from its root. So far as we abide in the Savior we cannot will any thing that is foreign to our salvation. We have one will, insofar as we are in Christ, another, insofar as we are in this world And by reason of our abode in this world, it sometimes happens that we ask for that which is not expedient, through ignorance. But never, if we abide in Christ, will He grant it us, Who does not grant except what is expedient for us. And here we are directed to the prayer, Our Father. Let us adhere to the words and the meaning of this prayer in our petitions, and whatever we ask will be done for us.” “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7) 1. Nothing is ours inherently, but rather, we only inherit things

a. This means we cannot initiate our own salvation 2. Tertullian writes, “The people who boast imagine that they are justified by their own efforts, and therefore they glory in themselves, not in the Lord.” xiv. “No man can come to me, except the Father who has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44) b. Not only does the unregenerate will lack power, but it has evil and hard-hearted tendencies i. “But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,” (Romans 2:5) ii. “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh:” (Ezekiel 11:19) 1. Notice that God’s the one who has to put a new spirit in those people iii. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26) 1. Notice, again, that God has to put the new spirit in them iv. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) 1. Can a heart so evil, without the help of God, push itself to find God? c. Scripture is clear that when someone is freed from sin, they are granted new capabilities i. Again, Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:26 ii. “​For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.​” (2 Corinthians 4:6) iii. And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;The great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.” (Deuteronomy 29:2-4) iv. “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” (Matthew 13:11)

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“Therefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3) “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) 1. Notice that God is the one cleaning him and creating a new heart 2. “And Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father who is in heaven.’” (Matthew 16:16-17) “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) 1. Notice that we’re “created in Jesus unto good works” by God “Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phillippians 1:6) 1. Notice specifically that God initiates it 2. “You will perform” is a reference to sanctification “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) Lombard says (Bk. 2, distinction 27), “faith is not from the power of our nature, because it is purely a gift of God” “I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against you.” (Psalm 41:4) 1. Notice that he cannot heal his own soul Some Augustine quotes 1. He says in his ​De gratia et libero arbitrio​ (ch. 17), “who is it that has begun to give love, though it be but little, except He who prepares the will and by cooperating completes what He begins by working it? Therefore He Himself in the beginning works in us that we will and cooperates with the willing to completion, Phil 1. That, therefore, we may will, He works without us; but once we will, and will in such a way that we may do, He cooperates with us. Nevertheless, without Him, either working that we may will or cooperating when we will, we can do nothing toward the good works of piety.” 2. In ​De dogmatibus Ecclesiasticis​ (ch. 32), he says, “God works in us that we may will and do; He does not permit those things to be

idle in us which He has given us to be exercised, not to be neglected, in order that we also may be co-workers of the grace of God; but if it should appear to us that something in us is on the decline through our own carelessness, let us with true concern hasten back to Him who heals all our diseases” 4. How Andrada misrepresents Augustine’s doctrine of free will a. Andrada tries to say that Augustine allowed the unregenerate man to do some things i. They try to say that the will of man is simply kickstarted, but Augustine says it’s a truly changed will, not simply something superadded ii. Augustine writes in his ​Contra Julianum (​ Bk. 2), “human nature, also that which is born under sin and whose beginning is in imperfection, is capable of justification, but through the grace of God” iii. Augustine actually says that God’s effects and works in man are beyond those things which man can naturally do 1. Augustine writes, in his ​De gratia et libero arbitrio​ (ch. 2), “It is certain that it is we who will and do when we will and do; however, He works to will and do by giving to the will the most efficacious powers about which it is written: ‘God works in us both to will and to do’” 2. He writes, in his ​De praedestinatione sanctorum ​(ch. 3), that it is an error to believe that our agreement with the Gospel’s preaching is from us 3. Augustine writes, “through grace the human will is not taken away, but the evil will is changed into a good one; and when it has been made good it is aided” 4. He writes, in his ​De gratia et libero arbitrio​ (ch. 16), “the Pelagians believe they know something great when they say: ‘God would not command what He knew could not be done by man.’ Who would not know this? However, He commands some things which we cannot do in order that we may know what we ought to ask from Him. For from the commanding and prohibiting Law there is not knowledge of our strength and power but knowledge of sin, that is, of ‘powerlessness’ and corruption. And yet He does not command in vain; for grace is promised, which works that we may will and do...Let us remember that the same One who says ‘Make for yourselves a new spirit will I give you.’ How can He say ‘Make for yourselves’ and then say ‘I will give you’? Why does He command if He Himself will give it? Why does He give if man

will do it, except because He gives what He commands and assists, that he whom He commands may do it? For it is through grace that a man who previously was of an evil will becomes a man of good will; through grace it also happens that the good will, once it has begun to exist, is increased, etc.” b. Ambrose and Augustine both teach that grace is resistible i. Augustine says, in his ​Contra duas epistolas Pelagianorum ​(Bk. 4, ch. 6), “it could be understood in a good sense if it were not said by those whose opinion is known. For it is to one who resists that the approach of the divine call, namely, the grace of God itself, is first procured, and then, when he no longer resists, the spirit of virtue is kindled in him.” ii. Ambrose writes, in his ​De vocatione gentium ​(Bk. 2, ch. 9), “that grace is rejected by many as a result of their wickedness; but that it is received by many is both of divine grace and of the human will. For no kind of virtue will be met with which may be had either without the gift of divine grace or without the consent of our will” 1. He also writes (Bk. 1, ch. 9), “though man naturally has the power not to want the good, nevertheless, he does not have the power to want the good unless it is given him. Nature has contracted the former through guilt; the latter it receives through grace” 5. How deceitfully Trent discusses free will a. They try to say that the free will to perform good actions has never been defeated by sin, but hide it i. The Pelagians also played with free will this way ii. Augustine brilliantly writes, in his ​Ad Bonifacium (​ Bk. 3, ch. 8), “free will, having been taken captive, has power for nothing except to sin, but unless it is divinely set free and aided, it has no power for righteousness” iii. In ​De verbis apostoli​ (Sermon 11), Augustine writes, “for doing evil you have a free will without God’s assistance, although it really is not free; for by whom one is vanquished, to him he is assigned as a slave iv. Augustine writes, in his ​Ad Vitalem​ (No. 5), “we lost our free will to love God by the greatness of the first sin” v. Augustine writes, in ​Enchiridion​ (ch. 30), “Man, by using free will in an evil manner, destroyed both himself and it. For even as he who kills himself, certainly kills himself while living; so, when sin is committed with a free will, sin is the victor, and the freedom of the will has been lost. For by whom anyone is vanquished, to him he is also assigned as a slave” b. The will is passive towards regeneration