2. Roman Catholic Teachings Concerning Justification, Taken from the Council of Trent

In the papal bull issued by the Roman pope Pius IV on November 13, 1564, we read the following:

I embrace and accept each and every thing that has been defined and declared by the holy Council of Trent concerning original sin and justification.

94. Here is the great secret as to why no flesh could be saved if the Lord were not establishing a new church. As long as the dragon and its crew stay in the world of spirits where they went when they were thrown down from heaven, no divine truth united to divine goodness can get across from the Lord to people on earth without being perverted or annihilated. Therefore there is no salvation. This is what the Book of Revelation means when it says,

The dragon was thrown down onto the earth and its angels were thrown with it. Woe to those who live on the earth and in the sea, because the Devil has come down to them in a giant rage. It persecuted the woman who had given birth to a son. (Revelation 12:9, 12, 13)

It was after the dragon was thrown down into hell (Revelation 20:10) that John saw a new heaven and a new earth and saw the holy New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven (Revelation 21:1, 2, and following). (For what “the dragon” means and who “the dragons” are, see §§87– 90 above.)

44. Brief Analysis

The proposition just stated is the faith of the new church in a simple form. This faith can be seen in fuller detail in the appendix to this volume [§§116– 117], and in complete detail in the first part of the work itself. That first part will present teachings concerning the Lord God the Savior and the trinity that exists within him; about love for God and love for our neighbor; and about faith and its partnership with these two loves. This faith will also be covered point by point in the rest of the work. Here, however, it is important to present at least a few items of support to illustrate this preliminary statement of the faith.

The following are a few arguments and passages to support the first point in the proposition — that there is one God, that the divine trinity exists within him, and that he is the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a fixed and constant truth that there is one God, that his essence is indivisible, and that there is a trinity. Given that there is one God and that his essence is indivisible, it follows that God is one person. And since he is one person, it follows that the trinity exists within that one person.

It is clear that the Lord Jesus Christ is God; he was conceived by God the Father (Luke 1:34, 35), and therefore God is the soul and the life within him. As he himself has said, the Father and he are one (John 10:30); he is in the Father and the Father is in him (John 14:10, 11); anyone who sees and knows him sees and knows the Father (John 14:7, 9); no one sees or knows the Father except the one who is close to the Father’s heart (John 1:18); all things that the Father has are his (John 3:35; 16:15); and he is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). (So we come to the Father by him because the Father is in him and is him.)

Paul says that all the fullness of divinity dwells physically in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:9). Isaiah says, “A Child has been born to us; a Son has been given to us. His name will be called God, Father of Eternity” (Isaiah 9:6). Furthermore, he has power over all flesh (John 17:2) and has all power in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). From these quotations it is clear that he is the God of heaven and earth.

The second point in the proposition — that believing in him is a faith that saves — is supported by the following passages.

Jesus said, “Anyone who believes in me will live and will never die.” (John 11:25, 26)

This is the will of the Father, that all those who believe in the Son will have eternal life. (John 6:40)

God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son so that everyone who believes in him would not perish but would have eternal life. (John 3:15, 16)

Those who believe in the Son have eternal life. Those who do not believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God abides on them. (John 3:36)

As for the remaining three points in the proposition — that we must abstain from doing things that are evil because they belong to the Devil and come from the Devil; we must do things that are good because they belong to God and come from God; but we must believe that this abstaining and doing come from the Lord working with us and through us — there is no need to illustrate or demonstrate these points. The entirety of Sacred Scripture from beginning to end supports them. Briefly put, the Word teaches nothing else but that we should abstain from things that are evil, do things that are good, and believe in the Lord God.

There is no such thing as a religious practice that lacks these three elements. Religious practice has to do with life; life is abstaining from things that are evil and doing things that are good; and none of us can abstain from evil or do good without the help of the Lord. Therefore if you remove these three from the church, you are removing both Sacred Scripture and religious practice from the church, and once these are removed, the church is no longer a church.

For the faith of the new church in a universal form and a specific form, see §§116, 117 below.

All these points will be demonstrated in the work itself.