Faithful, knowledgeable, Church-loving, Catholic Author Peter Kreeft
quote
"How do I resolve the Reformation?
Is it faith alone that justifies, or is it faith and works?
Very simple. No tricks.
On this issue I believe Luther was simply right; and this issue is absolutely crucial.
As a Catholic I feel guilt for the tragedy of Christian disunity because the church in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was failing to preach the gospel.
Whatever theological mistakes Luther made, whatever indispensable truths about the Church he denied, here is an indispensable truth he affirmed — indispensable to union between all sinners and God and union between God’s separated Catholic and Protestant children."
end quote
Sadly, as a Confession Lutheran, I would say that which followed after Luther was not good. In fact our confessions strongly condemned and reject those who followed (e.g. Calvinism). In there quest to be as un-catholic as possible, they ceased to be catholic at all.
You don’t have the fullness of the church without the Sacraments (e.g. Holy baptism (baptism regeneration), Holy communion (corporal blood & body) private confession & Holy absolution…). There is a good reason why confessional Lutherans are closed off and distance themselves from Protestantism (e.g. Baptist, Presbyterians, etc.) and have close communion. Lutherans don’t want to come across as have anything to do with their heterodoxy.
What came after Luther, outside the Lutheran Reformation was not good, Calvin and Zwingli created unnecessary disunity. Luther didn’t set out to start something “new” after he was kick out. In fact Lutherans were holding out hope for some kind of reconciliation up until Council of Trent. After Trent they knew they were in it the long-haul. So, the Lutheran church carried on.
As far as faith and works.
There seems to be a shift in how Roman Catholic apologist approached the subject of justification or at least how they package it (e.g. initial justification is by grace and faith alone, meritorious works are a increase in faith, etc.). They are most certainly not pulling out the Baltimore catechism with Protestants.
The role of works do plays a role in the final judgement. Scripturally, there is a judgment according to demonstrative works. Just read 1 corinthians, etc. but are sanctifying works are not the cause of salvation.
Apology of the Augsburg Confession: art. xx, par. 91
89 The adversaries also add references to their own condemnation, and it is worthwhile to provide several of them. They quote from 2 Peter 1:10, “Be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure.” Now you see, reader, that our adversaries have not wasted any effort in learning logic, but have the art of concluding whatever pleases them from the Scriptures. For they conclude, “Make your calling sure by good works.” Therefore, they think that works merit the forgiveness of sins. This is a very nice way of thinking, if one would argue this way about a person whose death sentence had been pardoned: “The judge commands that from now on you stop stealing from others. Therefore, you have earned the pardon from the punishment, because you no longer steal from others.” 90 To argue in this way makes a cause out of no cause. Peter speaks of works following the forgiveness of sins and teaches why they should be done. They should be done so that the calling may be sure, that is, should they fall from their calling if they sin again. Do good works in order that you may persevere in your calling, in order that you do not lose the gifts of your calling. They were given to you before, and not because of works that follow, and which now are kept through faith. Faith does not remain in those who lose the Holy Spirit and reject repentance. As we have said before (Article XII 1), faith exists in repentance.
91 They add other references that make no more sense. Finally, they say that this opinion was condemned a thousand years before, in Augustine’s time. This also is quite false. For Christ’s Church always held that the forgiveness of sins is received freely. Indeed, the Pelagians were condemned. They argued that grace is given because of our works. 92 Besides, we have shown above well enough that we hold that good works should follow faith. “Do we then overthrow the law?” asks Paul. “On the contrary, we uphold the law” (Romans 3:31), because when we have received the Holy Spirit through faith, the fulfilling of the Law necessarily follows. Patience, chastity, and other fruit of the Spirit gradually grow by this love.
https://bookofconcord.org/apology-of-the-augsburg-confession/article-xx/#ap-xx-0089
A baptized saint who is living by faith is capable and able to do good works and they do good works. A baptized saint lives in daily repentance and faith.
Honestly, it would be good to see all non-liturgical, non-sacramental churches die off (e.g. Baptist, Presbyterians American Evangelicalism, “New Calvinism”, Calvinism) and brought into sacramental churches. The only viable Protestant churches are confessional Lutheranism or high church Anglo Catholics.
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The Lutheran study Bible had a interesting note which I agree with on the extreme Protestant revulsion toward ritual, tradition, and legalism.
Ritual and Devotion
The Books of Moses demonstrate close unity between the ritual acts of religion and sincere devotion. The ritual is devotion. For example, consider the close relationships between the following: (1) covenant ritual with loyalty, love, and trust; (2) ritual vows with peace; (3) ritual sacrifices with forgiveness and atonement; and (4) ritual cleanliness with holiness. These features illustrate the unity and antiquity of the Books of Moses as well as their relationship to later biblical writings. (The Books of Moses do not raise great concerns about empty ritual, later raised by Joshua [24:15–25] and decried by the prophets [e.g., Is 1:10–17; 29:13; 66:3–4; Am 4:4–5; 5:21–24; Mal 1:6–14].)
Radical criticism of the Books of Moses, which chopped them up into primitive religion and later, priestly religion, failed to recognize this essential unity between ritual and devotion. In part, the critical approach can be traced to extreme Protestant revulsion toward ritual, tradition, and legalism. The attitude that attacked medieval Christianity for its outward, ritual expressions of faith became secularized during the Enlightenment. This critical attitude was then turned on the Scriptures, giving birth to radical criticism of the Bible and the destruction of Christianity in much of Europe. (See Hummel, pp 19–31, 156–62.)
Sincere Christians should recognize the roots and the dangers of radically dividing between outward expressions of faith and inward devotion. God made us body and soul, and His Word applies to us body and soul. God’s people need both sincere faith and sincere ways to express that faith in the services of the Church. They likewise always need both of God’s messages: Law and Gospel."
