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Nice evasion attempt.....
When a Protestant proclaims that it is JESUS (alone... sola) that saves, that JESUS IS THE Savior..... Catholicism excommunicates and anathematizes and Catholics rebuke, insisting that it's OUR works that save. Your twist on this appears to be a common ploy by some Catholics, an attempt to SEEM to agree with Protestants but actually not.
Yes, of course, as EVERYONE HAS ALWAYS AGREED, faith is accompanied by our works. As Luther said, "Faith is busy with love." The point that faith is never alone has NEVER been in dispute. The dispute is which is effective in justification - are we justified by Christ or by self, are we justified by the works of JESUS (making Jesus the Savior) OR by those of self (making self the Savior). When a Catholic (or Mormon) insists, "We are saved by faith with works" WHICH is salvic (in the sense of narrow Justification)? Ah.... that's the issue.... NOT whether faith in CHRIST'S works is accompanied by OUR works. Illustration: My new Subaru Forester has an engine AND air conditioning. There is no such thing as a Subaru with one but not the other. But which empowers the car to go down the road? Your sly response, "it's the engine AND air conditioning" is at best an evasion and more likely an admission that Christ is being rejected as the Savior. It is illogical (and silly) to argue that because two things are inseparable that ERGO they both have the same function, but that's the ploy (silly as it is).
Here's what is telling..... We're on post 601 on this topic..... every one of these threads between Protestants and Catholics on this topic go on forever.... because Protestants proclaim that Jesus is the Savior (HIS works are the cause of our justification) and Catholics are horrified by that, repudiate that, rebuke that - on and on and on and on and on - yet try to avoid actually bluntly saying "self saves self" but rebuking every attempt to say "self does NOT save self." Very telling. Very revealing. And of course, we can't help but remember 500 years ago when Luther affirmed that Jesus is the Savior and the RCC was SO horrified by that that it split western Christianity over it.
Yup... the central affirmation of Christianity is that Jesus is the Savior. JESUS (no other - including self or the RC denomination).... IS (actually, really)... THE (one and only, all-sufficient).... SAVIOR (not helper or possibility-maker or door opener or inspiration). Ain't complicated. But the devil works overtime to make it SEEM so very complex, to make Christ as small and irrelevant as possible and self as big and important as possible... to mix Law and Gospel, to confuse Justification and Sanctification.... to confuse self and Christ. His attack is not to deny Christ - just remove him from the role of SAVIOR.
- Josiah
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