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The strategy of God
Doing good: The shape of the Christian life (Part 1): Why we don’t
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Recent comments
Scott Tubman on "We are poorly dressed" - Part 2 (20/08/2008).
Ian Carmichael on Sola Gratia - Tahlia's story (20/08/2008).
Cathy McKay on "We are poorly dressed" - Part 2 (20/08/2008).
Gordon Cheng on An interview with Mark Thompson (20/08/2008).
Martin Kemp on The indivisibility of truth (20/08/2008).
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Scott Tubman on "We are poorly dressed" - Part 2 (19/08/2008).
Scott Tubman on "We are poorly dressed" - Part 2 (19/08/2008).
Alex Phillips on A freebie for you: Jonah in the ESV (19/08/2008).
Nicole Starling on "We are poorly dressed" - Part 2 (19/08/2008).
Recent posts
An interview with Mark Thompson by Sandy Grant (1 comment). Today we interview Mark Thompson... Mark, how did you come to Christ? I first heard the gospel … more
Sola Gratia - Tahlia’s story by Lionel Windsor (4 comments). Tahlia was born addicted to heroin, thanks to her mum Shae’s addiction. Tahlia (not her real name) lives with … more
“We are poorly dressed” - Part 2 by Nicole Starling (9 comments). Thanks to everyone who contributed comments in answer to the question that I raised in my previous … more
The indivisibility of truth by Tony Payne (4 comments). This Saturday’s classic Briefing extract is about the indivisibility of truth. It’s from Briefing #8, August 1, 1988: If … more
Dread, joy and Morning Prayer by Tony Payne (5 comments). Standing on the 5th tee at St Michael’s, in Sydney’s East, the golfer experiences a mixture of nervousness and dread. Here … more
A freebie for you: Jonah in the ESV by Gordon Cheng (10 comments). Here at Matthias Media, we read and recommend the English Standard Version Bible, the ESV, as a superior … more
‘We are poorly dressed…’ - Part 1 by Nicole Starling (15 comments). “We are poorly dressed… Be imitators of me.” (1 Cor 4:11, 16) “All her household are clothed in … more
Where’s your ministry ‘AT’? by Ben Pfahlert (11 comments). Christians and soldiers have a lot in common, or at least they should (2 Tim 2:3-4). Firstly they both know that … more
Countering Nowism by Lionel Windsor (2 comments). It’s been interesting to follow the comments on Tony’s post about the … more
The evangelical inferiority complex by Tony Payne (3 comments). It’s Saturday. Must be time for another classic snippet from the early days of The Briefing, this time about evangelicalism’s … more
Tony Payne
Tony is the Publishing Director at Matthias Media; editor of The Briefing; author of Islam in our Backyard, Fatherhood and numerous other Matthias Media resources; husband to Ali; father of five teenagers; and an avid consumer of books and almost any televised sport.
Sola Panellists
- Tony Payne (convenor)
- Peter Bolt
- Gordon Cheng
- Sandy Grant
- Gavin Perkins
- Ben Pfahlert
- Archie Poulos
- Nicole Starling
- Mark Thompson
- Jean Williams
- Lionel Windsor
Thanks Gavin for your interesting post - I’m sure that it’s given us all some interesting things to think about.
Just by way of clarification, hopefully I can make a few comments that could be of assistance with respect to your commentary on Catholicism.
Firstly, I think your suggestion that Catholicism teaches that people need the Catholic church to be saved isn’t correct in the sense that you seem to mean. Note particularly paragraph 819 of the Catechism, which reads:
“Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth” are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: “the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible element,” Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and eccesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to “Catholic unity.”
That is, the Roman Catholic Church has merely preserved the sacraments - it doesn’t have a monopoly over them. A baptism performed in the name of the Fathher and the Son and the Holy Spirit, for instance, it valid whether performed in a Catholic Church or a “Low” Anglican Church. In this respect, it’s not merely Roman Catholicism that teaches baptismal regeneration, but Martin Luther himself, the very Father of the Reformation.
Secondly, I’d point out that there is a subtle, though very real distinction between “remission for the temporal punishments due to one’s sins” and salvation. While the Catholic Church teaches the former, only God is the judge of the latter. In both cases, it is God who ultimately forgives. Also note that as I pointed out before, the Catholic Church extends beyond it’s institutional dimensions.
Hi Gavin, thanks for your post. I have one quibble: ‘Christ alone’ includes the work of Christ, but it is not restricted to it, any more than speaking of ‘Gavin Perkins’ is equivalent to speaking of the sum of the outputs that you have produced.
‘Christ alone’ is a claim about a person, not simply a claim about the things that person has done. The who is every bit as important as the what.
I think you’d probably agree with this, of course. I only point it out because to my mind it’s a general weakness of (some?) reformed theology to overly separate the person and work of Christ, and to over-emphasise the atonement as opposed to the incarnation. Some truths are unities that need always to be held together.
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