Summarizing the difference between the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone and the Roman doctrine of justification by faith plus merit, R. C. Sproul writes:
[T]he Roman view of justification starts with baptism. The benefits that accrue from baptism can be lost by committing mortal sin, but they can be recovered by penance. The regained justification lasts until another mortal son is committed, and the cycle repeats. According to the Roman view, a believer’s destiny is determined by the purity of his heart at the time of death. Even if the believer does not die in a state of impenitent mortal son, there may be impurities on the soul, necessitating purgatory until the impurities are cleansed.
All of this is presented in the most recent Roman Catholic catechism. It states that if a believer has any impurities on his or her soul at the time of death, the believer will go to purgatory the soul of the believer may be in purgatory for only a week of he or she is near to sainthood, but more likely the believer will remain there for several hundred years, perhaps ever two million, three million, or four million years—until, in that place of purging, the believer is so cleansed from impurities that finally, when God looks at him or her, he sees an inherent righteousness.
Is that good news? It is actually the worst possible news we can hear. If someone told me that the only way I could get into the kingdom of heaven and be adopted into the family of God is to get rid of all impurities in my soul, I would despair. So let me tell you what the good news is. I despair of my righteousness; I acknowledge my sin. I put my trust in Christ and Christ alone. And the good news is that at the very instant I do, all that Jesus is, and all that Jesus has, is mine, and for the rest of my days he has me covered. The Father looks beyond my impurities and all my sin, and he sees the cloak of righteousness of Jesus. For that reason, I am justified not for today, not for this week, not until I commit another sin, but for eternity. Is there any better news than that in the whole world?—R. C. Sproul, Preaching the Cross (Crossway, 2007), 100–101.
Preaching the Cross is a collection of messages from the 2006 Together for the Gospel Conference. You can download the entire message from which today’s quote was taken here.
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Posted in: Papism · Preaching the Cross · R C Sproul · Soteriology & the Gospel
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3 Comments:
#1 || 10·08·10··07:33 || Chris r
Thanks for the article. I've been thinking a lot lately about this relationship between justification, sanctification and glorification. If we are fully justified at salvation and none of us works our way to glorification in this life then what is the purpose of sanctification on this earth?
#2 || 10·08·11··10:51 || Ret
Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I got to research more to justify this purgatory by the Romans. But it seems, there is no such thing written in the Bible. Faith, working through love, and kept alive through works, can bring us to the Kingdom of God.
#3 || 10·08·11··11:12 || David
Whoah, there, Ret!
Works do not keep faith alive. It is faith that produces works, and that faith is given and preserved by God.