Ummmm--your appeal to Tradition is duly noted here.
It is my opinion. But it makes sense. It did take much longer for the early church to accept James, 2 and 3rd John, et. al. as Scripture.
And--if you were Catholic, you might have a point. But you aren't Catholic, you are Lutheran. That means--you aren't allowed to appeal to Tradition as you do here.
See above.
In the second place, where does the Bible teach that "such books should be judged in light of the ones that were NOT 'spoken against' like Romans?" Please cite chapter and verse.
I never said there is anything like that in the Bible. I wrote "
I think that such books...". Perhaps you need to clean off your glasses.
I do admit that we are not saved by Jewish works of the law, such as circumcision, etc. The Jewish laws are no longer in effect. That does not entail we no longer have to follow the moral law.
Of course we are to follow the moral law. But in Ephesians 2:8-10, in context, Paul is talking about GOOD works, not works of the Jewish Law of Moses. He also makes this plain in Titus where he writes "He saved us, NOT on the basis of
works we have done in righteousness, but on account of His mercy..."
Works done in righteousness are good works, are they not?
I also admit that the initial Grace of Justification comes by Grace through Faith alone. The question is--what happens after we are given Faith.
A living faith leads to our wanting to do God's will and show love for others--not because we must, but because we want to.
Since Jesus and Jesus alone is the judge, what difference does it make what others think? The only person we need to prove our Faith to is Jesus. What difference does it make if we can "vindicate" our Faith before others?
If people see Jesus Christ in us, due to our good works done in love, then Jesus will be glorified and so will His Father in Heaven. They could also lead an unbeliever to Jesus Christ and salvation.
Right. And because those works are the product of Faith, they are saving.
False. Paul said "and NOT by works." Not, not, not. Works do not save us; they vindicate our faith, that it is genuine and living, plus they serve our neighbor.
Yes--HE enables us to walk in them. Doing good works in faith is all Jesus' doing. NOT ours.
As I said--you are a real Captain Obvious you are! Sargent Self Explanatory! Colonel Clear as Day! General Unmistakable!
Of COURSE it was to show contempt for Luther! Luther was an arrogant, blustery know-it-all---who didn't know much of anything.
Your last line is Catholic-ese for "Luther had the temerity to show that the Pope and Cardinals didn't know diddly-squat about the Gospel and Jesus Christ and Justification. And this Augustinian monk had the intestinal fortitude to stand up to the powers of your church back then, to declare the truth from the Scriptures--even if it cost him his life, as it did Hus a hundred years before him. So, since
Catholics cannot disprove what he taught from the Bible, the next best thing is to mock and denigrate him.
Thank you for proving this point.