Benediction - Scripture

Scriptural Reference:
"Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Ephesians 2:9

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight:
for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
Romans 3:20

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith
of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ."
Galatians 2:16

"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through him"
Romans 5:9

"God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God"
2 Corinthians 5:21

Reflection:
We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deserving. Wherefore, that we are justified by Faith only, is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification. The homily, which was written by Cranmer and integrated into the Anglican Church, tells us that because all people are sinners and have broken God's law. Therefore no one can be justified and made righteous before God through their actions. No matter how good those actions may seem or appear to human judgement.

Instead, everyone must seek another righteousness or justification from God, namely the forgiveness of their sins and trespasses. This justification, received through God's mercy and Christ's merits and embraced by faith, is accepted by God for our complete justification. It is our duty to remember God's great mercy, as he sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to fulfil the Law for us and make a sacrifice for our sins by shedding his precious blood, to appease God's wrath and indignation against us.

This homily served to define the purpose for and the theology based the break from the Catholic Church. Cranmer and the Anglican Reformers considered this doctrine to be crucial. The homily clearly states, 'this is the strong Rock and foundation of Christian Religion', and emphasise that 'whosoever denies, is not to be accounted for a Christian man'. This is a fundamental doctrine; to deny it is to not be a Christian at all. Sadly there are many pseudo Christian churches, ministers, priests and pastures who deny many things. So taking this as a measure of faithful application of a Christians walk would find many to not be Christian.

I'll state here and now that I'm in now ways throwing stones at the Catholic church. It's not my place to make a judgement on what or how the Catholics faithfully believe. I will however review something that is of grave concern if it's going to help define my own faith. And that would be the observation that the Church of Rome believes that the grace of God, earned by Jesus, is conditionally infused into the soul of the believer. The believer then works together with God to live a holy life, and on the final day, God will justify the believer based on the good works done in co-operation with grace.

This teaching suggests that justification is dependent on the believer's life, which is only acceptable if grace is received and the believer works hard enough. However, this goes against the gospel, as Paul emphasises that works should not be included in justification to prevent boasting (Ephesians 2:9). This doctrine takes away the glory that belongs to Christ. The true belief is that we are considered righteous before God solely because of the merit of Jesus Christ, through faith, and not because of our own works or merits. So how does this work? As Christians we have a faith in the atonement of the blood shed for us by Jesus the Christ. Gods' own Son. We can turn again to how Cranmer expresses it. He emphasises that our justification is a free gift and not something we can earn. Although a price had to be paid to satisfy God's justice, we had no means to pay it ourselves. God provided the ransom through the sacrifice of his beloved son, Jesus the Christ. Christ fulfilled the law on our behalf, allowing God's justice and mercy to come together for our redemption. Our acceptance before God is solely because of Christ's merit, not our own. Other causes of justification include God's mercy and grace, as well as our true and living faith in Jesus Christ, which is a gift from God. So ultimately, our salvation depends on faith alone, as we contribute nothing to it ourselves. In conclusion, we are justified by grace through Christ, received by faith.

So how does this relate to all who have stated they have faith? Cranmer made it clear that justifying faith does not exclude other important aspects like repentance, hope, love, dread, and the fear of God. He emphasised that although these are all present in a justified person, they do not contribute to the act of justification. He also stressed the importance of good works accompanying faith. He agreed with medieval writers that we are not justified without our good works. In this sense, faith alone does not justify a person, as it is always accompanied by other graces. However, Creamers' point is that nothing we do can merit justification, as it is not perfect and does not exceed our duty. So, sola fide is to be understood strictly in the context of merit. It is meant to take away any merit from our works, not to exclude good works themselves. It means having faith in Christ alone; as he is the righteousness of all who truly believe in him.

And yet, to quote Cranmers' words, Where "nothing we do can merit justification" there is the flip side to this in that "nothing we do can merit lack of justification". As long as the individual has fully accepted responsibility for their sins and they were truly repented for them. So essentially we could see someone like Ivan Milat in heaven. As I am not aware of the man's beliefs I can't in all honesty deny he could be in heaven. If by our very faith, and supported by the homily as written by Cranmer, many people we would not expect could well be there now.

For now, and in closing, we can rest assured that we are indeed saved wholly by our faith through the atonement of Gods' Son Jesus the Christ. And that's with our understanding that it's never by anything that we may do as a work or penance. So that we will never fall into the error of pride and by doing that, deceive ourselves and bringing shame to our faith and our salvation.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,
I thank and praise your Holy name.
For it is only by your grace,
Through the sacrifice of you Son,
And the atoning blood on the cross,
That I'm redeemed and saved.

I pray that each day of my mortal life,
You keep me close to your side,
Prepare me through the Holy Spirit,
Ready me for the battles I'll face,
And give me your righteous strength,
To walk humbly in faith with you.

Amen

Of the Justification of Man Anglican Church Article XI
HOME SCRIPTURE BOOK REVIEWS POETRY RECIPES GARDENS FILM REVIEWS	Scriptural Reference: "Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:9 "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ." Galatians 2:16 "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" Romans 5:9 "God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" 2 Corinthians 5:21 Reflection: We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deserving. Wherefore, that we are justified by Faith only, is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification. The homily, which was written by Cranmer and integrated into the Anglican Church, tells us that because all people are sinners and have broken God's law. Therefore no one can be justified and made righteous before God through their actions. No matter how good those actions may seem or appear to human judgement. Instead, everyone must seek another righteousness or justification from God, namely the forgiveness of their sins and trespasses. This justification, received through God's mercy and Christ's merits and embraced by faith, is accepted by God for our complete justification. It is our duty to remember God's great mercy, as he sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to fulfil the Law for us and make a sacrifice for our sins by shedding his precious blood, to appease God's wrath and indignation against us. This homily served to define the purpose for and the theology based the break from the Catholic Church. Cranmer and the Anglican Reformers considered this doctrine to be crucial. The homily clearly states, 'this is the strong Rock and foundation of Christian Religion', and emphasise that 'whosoever denies, is not to be accounted for a Christian man'. This is a fundamental doctrine; to deny it is to not be a Christian at all. Sadly there are many pseudo Christian churches, ministers, priests and pastures who deny many things. So taking this as a measure of faithful application of a Christians walk would find many to not be Christian. I'll state here and now that I'm in now ways throwing stones at the Catholic church. It's not my place to make a judgement on what or how the Catholics faithfully believe. I will however review something that is of grave concern if it's going to help define my own faith. And that would be the observation that the Church of Rome believes that the grace of God, earned by Jesus, is conditionally infused into the soul of the believer. The believer then works together with God to live a holy life, and on the final day, God will justify the believer based on the good works done in co-operation with grace. This teaching suggests that justification is dependent on the believer's life, which is only acceptable if grace is received and the believer works hard enough. However, this goes against the gospel, as Paul emphasises that works should not be included in justification to prevent boasting (Ephesians 2:9). This doctrine takes away the glory that belongs to Christ. The true belief is that we are considered righteous before God solely because of the merit of Jesus Christ, through faith, and not because of our own works or merits. So how does this work? As Christians we have a faith in the atonement of the blood shed for us by Jesus the Christ. Gods' own Son. We can turn again to how Cranmer expresses it. He emphasises that our justification is a free gift and not something we can earn. Although a price had to be paid to satisfy God's justice, we had no means to pay it ourselves. God provided the ransom through the sacrifice of his beloved son, Jesus the Christ. Christ fulfilled the law on our behalf, allowing God's justice and mercy to come together for our redemption. Our acceptance before God is solely because of Christ's merit, not our own. Other causes of justification include God's mercy and grace, as well as our true and living faith in Jesus Christ, which is a gift from God. So ultimately, our salvation depends on faith alone, as we contribute nothing to it ourselves. In conclusion, we are justified by grace through Christ, received by faith. So how does this relate to all who have stated they have faith? Cranmer made it clear that justifying faith does not exclude other important aspects like repentance, hope, love, dread, and the fear of God. He emphasised that although these are all present in a justified person, they do not contribute to the act of justification. He also stressed the importance of good works accompanying faith. He agreed with medieval writers that we are not justified without our good works. In this sense, faith alone does not justify a person, as it is always accompanied by other graces. However, Creamers' point is that nothing we do can merit justification, as it is not perfect and does not exceed our duty. So, sola fide is to be understood strictly in the context of merit. It is meant to take away any merit from our works, not to exclude good works themselves. It means having faith in Christ alone; as he is the righteousness of all who truly believe in him. And yet, to quote Cranmers' words, Where "nothing we do can merit justification" there is the flip side to this in that "nothing we do can merit lack of justification". As long as the individual has fully accepted responsibility for their sins and they were truly repented for them. So essentially we could see someone like Ivan Milat in heaven. As I am not aware of the man's beliefs I can't in all honesty deny he could be in heaven. If by our very faith, and supported by the homily as written by Cranmer, many people we would not expect could well be there now. For now, and in closing, we can rest assured that we are indeed saved wholly by our faith through the atonement of Gods' Son Jesus the Christ. And that's with our understanding that it's never by anything that we may do as a work or penance. So that we will never fall into the error of pride and by doing that, deceive ourselves and bringing shame to our faith and our salvation. Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank and praise your Holy name. For it is only by your grace, Through the sacrifice of you Son, And the atoning blood on the cross, That I'm redeemed and saved. I pray that each day of my mortal life, You keep me close to your side, Prepare me through the Holy Spirit, Ready me for the battles I'll face, And give me your righteous strength, To walk humbly in faith with you. Amen