Isaiah 64:6 is, perhaps, one of the most cited verses to show that we should not (and could not) rely on our own righteousness for our salvation. Other favourite verse is Romans 3:10 that say no one is righteous. This leads to the concept of imputed righteousness of Christ to cover our unrighteousness. It is the concept adopted by Protestants and “Bible only” Christians in their justification. The suitable model for this justification is courtroom analogy where God is the judge and we are criminals, guilty of committed sins and are about to be thrown to jail (i.e. hell). God then offers the only solution – He sent His Son, Christ, a free gift from Him, and if we believe in Him, Christ will pay the penalty of our sins. This courtroom style or forensic justification fits well with Protestant’s belief that we are declared righteous through Justification. We take Christ righteousness while He takes our sins and bore them on the cross. This forensic Justification makes no room for purgatory and indulgences in Catholicism – Christ already paid the penalty of our sins, why are we still punished?
Catholics believe that our righteousness does come from God. By ourselves, because of original sin, we cannot produce any righteous acts. God, through Christ, helps us to become righteous but it needs our active cooperation. His help comes in the form of His Grace and this Grace will first move us to do righteous acts. Using our freedom we decide whether to cooperate with this given Grace or not. Scripture says: He who does right is righteous (1 John 3:7), indicating our active participation. Certainly we do need the righteousness that comes through faith (Romans 4:3, 13, Philippians 3:9). To do what is right includes believing in Christ, but it is not the only one we need. In Timothy 6:11 and 2 Timothy 2:22 Paul would not bother to ask Timothy to aim for righteousness – if the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, which Timothy already had as Christian, was the only one he need. Is being righteous necessary? Scripture says whoever does not do right is not of God but the children of devil (1 John 3:10) and the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9) while the righteous will go to eternal life (Matthew 25:46). The Psalmist cried: O LORD, who shall sojourn in thy tent? Who shall dwell on thy holy hill? (Psalms 15:1). The next verse gives the answer: He who walks blamelessly, and does what is right, and speaks truth from his heart. Christ said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6) and “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Blessed are those who do righteousness at all times (Psalms 106:3). Keep in mind that being righteous is not the same as being sinless. “To do what is right” in 1 John 3:7 certainly includes “to repent” but nobody needs to repent unless he/she sins in the first place. Scripture says (Proverbs 24:16): “for a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again.”
Coming back to Isaiah 64:6 one should read not only that verse but the entire Isaiah 64 to see the context, as well as other part of the Bible. In fact Isaiah 64:5 says: Thou [God] meetest him that joyfully works righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways. God blesses the righteous (Psalms 5:12), He loves righteous deeds (Psalms 11:7) and does reward us for being righteous (Psalms 18:20, Proverbs 11:18). Romans 3:10 say no one is righteous but at the same time Scripture mentions the existence of righteous men and women (Matthew 13:17, 23:29, Luke 1:6, Hebrews 11:4, 1 Peter 3:12). In Old Testament Noah, Daniel and Job were righteous (Ezekiel 14:14). No one can become righteous by their own will and power. We do need God’s grace that first moves us and enable us to do so. No one can be righteous continually either; we do fail from time to time. But God helps us with His Grace (and with our cooperation using our freedom) to stand up again and that’s what we call as perseverance. Thus Catholics believe that our righteousness does come from God through Christ – it includes not only faith in Christ but also other deeds that require our cooperation.
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure
Philippians 2:12-13
But by the grace of God I am what I am. and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me
1 Corinthians 15:10
Catholics do not use courtroom analogy to model Justification. The most suitable analogy to describe Catholic’s understanding of Justification is Family analogy. God is our Father and we are His (adopted) children. Adoption as sons of God is something biblical that Protestants also believe (cf. Romans 8:15, 23, Galatians 4:5, Ephesians 1:5). However their forensic Justification model cannot fit in the Family analogy. We are not only declared sons but also made and become sons (John 1:12, 1 John 3:1 & 5:1), become heir with Christ (Romans 8:17) and partake His divinity (2 Peter 1:4). In Family analogy we receive our adoption through our faith in Christ (Galatians 3:26), not because of any righteous (or unrighteous) things we did – faith in Christ is a free gift from God. Once belong to the family of God, we have our duties and must obey household rules. No good human father will tell his children that because they are his, they can do whatever they like and there are no rule to obey and no duty in the house. At the same time a father won’t tell his friends that his children must work in his house in order not to be thrown out of the house. Any human father wants his children to grow up and to become good persons, not to become criminals, drug addicts, prostitutes etc. and he is more than willing to help his children to achieve that goal. For example he is willing to spend money for their education (free gift from him, not student loan). He spent time with his children to teach them not to associate with wrong companies; he makes sure they are in good health etc. Obviously his children must cooperate with him and do their part. Just because the father pays the tuition fee they will not get the degree or skills unless they study. If they do not listen to their father’s advice they may end up becoming member of gangs or drug addicts. Any human father will discipline his children for their own good when they do something wrong and reward them for being good (be it ice cream treat, a new bike etc.). The reward is obviously a gift from the father, not their wages for being good. Similarly our heavenly Father wants us, his children, to learn, to grow, to do our duty and to become mature, that is, to become like Him (Philippians 2:14). In the process He will also sometime discipline us for our own good (Hebrews 12:6) and will reward us, a gift from Him, when we well behave. This family analogy fits well with Catholic understanding of Justification – it is a process through which we are made righteous.
Thanks for this post. I hope more folks could appreciate this important concept, courtroom vs family.
The guests to the wedding feast in Matthew 22 weren’t handed wedding clothes with their invitations; nor did those in Revelation 7:14 ACQUIRE cleaned robes, but rather they washed THEIR robes clean in the blood of the Lamb. A clean garment over a filthy smelly one becomes filthy and smelly. We need to be made clean, not declared clean.
Vivator,
I found your site linked to a post on my friend Tiber Jumper’s site. Thank you for your article. It is well written and worth reading.
The differences between Catholicism and Protestantism are fairly clear and mostly accurate. However, I see no inconsistency between the declarative act of the Judge and the fact that He is judging those who are His children. In fact, the reason we can be called His children is because of His declarative act: the two cannot be separated. It seems to me that the “Courtroom vs. Family” paradigm is a false dichotomy.
I would also note that 1 John 3:7 says:
“Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.”
It does not say “Whoever practices righteousness becomes, is made righteous…” The Protestant position is that he does right in gratitude because he has been declared righteous.
The Reformers always saw the need for righteous acts on the part of believers as evidence of the regenerative, saving work of Christ through His Holy Spirit.
Blessings,
Pilgrimsarbour
Just responding to Jeff above: Of course, the martyred believers in Revelation 6 were “given” white robes, so we should be careful how far we go with such analogies.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
I’ve read Rev 6-7 just now, and I’m not sure those are the same groups of people, else John would have known who they were. Those who were martyred for their witness to God and those who had “come out of the great tribulation” (7:14) don’t necessarily seem to be the same group of people.
I could be wrong, though, if the “great multitude” (7:9) was simply the full “number of their fellow servants and their brethren” (6:11). I’ll have to study that again.
Scripture says that through Christ we are made righteous (Romans 5:19). If we are made righteous, then we are righteous like Christ as stated by 1 John 3:7. In my post I wrote “we are not only declared son but also made and become sons”. Noe also that the martyrs in Revelation 6 were given white robes after they enter heaven. Revelation 19:8 uses fine linen to symbolize the righteousness of the saints – it would not say so it their righteousness is external righteousness of Christ imputed on them. This does not mean Protestants ignore “being made righteous” but to them it is the outcome of Sanctification, which is not part of their Justification. Catholics, on the other hand, consider Sanctification as integral part of Justification. Pilgrimarbour pointed correctly that the Reformers always saw the need for righteous acts on the part of believers as evidence of the regenerative, saving work of Christ through His Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, not all Protestants agree with this – for the detail refer to my earlier post “by faith alone but not by faith that is alone” (category Salvation or Justification).
Ephsians 2
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Not sure what John’s point was in quoting Ephesians 2. Catholics have no problem at all with the truth presented in these verses.
Just finding my way to this blog and as a former protestant minister I am finding it most interesting.
Why is this site titled viva catholic? Are you not Christians instead of Catholics or Protestants? So there should be no further divisions among you.
Paul said, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought… One of you says,’I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided?”
You are wasting time on petty arguments that could otherwise be spent reaching people for Christ. Think of what Christians could do if they all worked together, instead of allowing the devil to divide them.
Trusting in Jesus Christ and what he did on Calvary is the only way to Heaven. Please interpret the Bible literally. When God says that All our righteousness is as filthy rags, that exactly what He means. God is not interested in confusing us, He wants us to understand that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And that NO man cometh unto the Father BUT BY ME. (Jesus)
Jonathan Fisher
Well I think that there is a very strange thing going on here.
Your saying you put your faith in Christ and your adopted as a son and made to be a obedient son basically.
This is pretty much no different from the protestant perspective.
You put your faith in the FINISHED work of Christ, you repent (turn away from mentally all false hopes such as self-righteousness) and your justified, you upon that time, become a new creature in Christ (which is described romans 6) where the new birth is described and you start to bear the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit and the new creature you’ve become in Christ thus producing outwardly good works.
If you look at Rom. 6 It’s not a fact that the apostle is telling us “die to sin!”, “stop sinning so that grace may abound” he’s telling us that it’s already TAKEN place in believers. He’s stating the facts of the new birth. Rom. 6:11 : therefore you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus,
Romans 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
It’s no longer enslaved! If you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, your sealed unto the day of redemption.
Read 1 Corinth chapter 6:
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous [2] will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [3] 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
[Now most Roman Catholic apologists stop here and say: "Look! Works + faith! required!"]
Please read the next few verses
11 And such WERE some of you. But you WERE washed, you WERE sanctified, you WERE justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Romans 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified(heaven).
I mean it’s plain from scripture.
If you get justified YOU WILL be glorified.
How do you get justified? Good works? no… Romans 4
23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
and
Romans
5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we [1] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
When roman catholic apologists also bring up james 2:24 they dont look at the context. From James 2:14 onwards it’s not talking about justification like paul is talking about. He means the same as John did in 1 john 2:
3 And by this we KNOW that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
It doesn’t say this is HOW we come to know him, or this is how we CONTINUE to know him. This is how we can know that we have come to know him. It’s a great joy to believers to have their assurance from seeing these verses then looking at how radically their lives have changed from disobedience to obedience, not by special effort, but by being born again, by being a new creature in Christ upon faith.
Thanks a lot I know I wrote a lot, but please look at the way the verses are constructed and take the entire bible into perspective instead of your tradition + out of context verses like james 2;24 which is ALWAYS used.
GBU
We do good things not for the sake of salvation, but in obedience to God and out of love for others.