29. The points just presented illustrate the truths stated in §§19 and 21, that Roman Catholics were the source the leading reformers drew on for their own teachings on the trinity of persons in the Divine, original sin, the assigning of Christ’s merit to us, and our being justified by faith alone.

The purpose of these points has been to show the origin of these key Protestant teachings, especially how the separation of faith from good works and the teaching concerning faith alone came about. Protestants arrived at this for the sole purpose of differentiating themselves from Roman Catholics. Yet this disagreement was more a matter of semantics than of real substance.

The quotations given at the beginning of the book [§§9– 15] clearly reveal the foundation on which the faith of the Protestant churches was built and what inspired the development of that faith.

105. 25 Roman Catholics today are not at all aware that their church once embraced concepts of the assigning of Christ’s merit to us and of our justification by faith in that. These concepts lie completely buried beneath their external rituals of worship, which are many. Therefore if Catholics give up some of their external rituals, turn directly to God the Savior Jesus Christ, and take both elements in the Holy Eucharist, they are better equipped than Protestants to become part of the New Jerusalem, that is, the Lord’s new church.