some years ago I was involved in a
Catholic evangelical dialogue and a key
moment occurred when one of the
evangelical interlocutors kind of
challenged the Catholics he said what is
the gospel as far as you're concerned
how would you articulate what the good
news the gospel is of course I knew what
he was doing because a lot of
evangelicals pride themselves on being
able to say very clearly very succinctly
what the gospel is and they think that
Catholics often become sort of
tongue-tied that we can't articulate it
very well and of course for a lot of you
Angelica 'ls the gospel is some version
of Luther's great insight about
justification by grace through faith
that we are sinners incapable of saving
ourselves Christ has died for our sins
by surrendering in faith to him
accepting his grace we become justified
we become saved and so you know you see
it reflected in evangelical preaching
Billy Graham you know will proclaim the
good news you're a sinner you can't save
yourself here's the good news do you
accept that faith come down and pledge
your faith and and you're saved and this
means evangelicals can often say with
great precision first of all whether
they're saved and exactly when they were
saved so I knew what the challenge was
it was to Catholics well can you do the
same can you give people that same
confidence in that same assurance about
salvation well see here's my take on it
as I'll say in a few minutes there's a
lot to the Protestant take there's a lot
of truth and wisdom in it but see I
think it's good the Catholics are a bit
more tongue-tied because I think it's a
little more complicated and not quite as
easy to sum up in a in a few simple
moves now here's how I try to get at it
what is the gospel what is the good news
I think first we should say the good
news is the resurrection of Jesus from
the dead when the first Christians use
that term you one guy Leone gospel are
good news glad tidings
what they were referring to was the
resurrection of Jesus from the dead
think of some of the earliest
charismatic preaching kerygma means like
that fundamental Proclamation the
earliest charismatic preaching is you
killed him God raised him we put Jesus
to death but God raised him from the
dead it was the good news of the
resurrection which proved that God's
love is more powerful than sin and death
and anything that's in the world now a
first implication of that that Jesus
Christ is Lord so Paul's phrase gazers
kurios which is all through his letters
Jesus is Lord every tongue proclaimed
the glory of God the Father Jesus Christ
is Lord
that's the charisma that's the good news
because the resurrection shows that
Caesar is not Lord that there's no one
in this world none of the tyrants or
potentates of this world deserve our
final Allegiance Jesus does
he's the victor over sin and death and
anything in the world therefore submit
to his lordship and get in his army I
would say that's an implication of the
early care of man in preaching there's a
new king a new Lord get into his army we
read that as Catholics as the church
join the church which is now this army
this band this this body which is now
gathered under the lordship of a new
kurios a new king I think that's a very
important dimension of the good news
that we have a victor in Jesus and that
we can get into his victorious army okay
I draw a further implication throughout
his public life Jesus spoke and acted in
the very person of God not just one more
prophet he's called a prophet but he's
more than a prophet because no prophet
would ever have said in reference to
himself you have a greater than the
temple here
no private would submit they wanted to
cleanse the temple and purify it they've
never claimed that there are greater
than the temple no prophet of Israel
would ever have said unless you love me
more than your mother and father more
than your very life you're not worthy of
me that's language it applies to God no
prophet of Israel would ever say to
someone my son your sins are forgiven
that belongs to God alone no prophet of
Israel would ever have said in regard to
the Torah you've heard it said there but
I say see all these extraordinary claims
of Jesus these moves and words of Jesus
where he speaks and acts in the very
person of God well that's what caused so
much trouble for him as CS Lewis rightly
saw once he says and does things like
that either he's a liar a lunatic or he
is who he says he is that's exactly what
you see now in the new testament of
witness it's exactly why he was done to
death on the cross so what did the
resurrection prove that you on Gallion
it proved he is who he says he was he's
not a liar not a lunatic he is in fact
the Lord the divinity of Jesus follows
it seems to me from the resurrection of
Jesus now we can see something even more
powerful that the victory of Jesus takes
on infinitely greater dimensions Jesus
is the coming together of divinity and
humanity
he's the fulfillment of the deepest
longing of Israel the deepest longing of
a human race humanity and it's all as
compromised fallen quality has now been
taken up into the divine life humanity
in Jesus has been divinized now we
understand the church fathers who said
over and over again
Dave's fit homo which homo Fioretti
ellos God became man that man might
become God see if I were pressed and
this is exactly how I answered the
Protestant challenge that day if I
pressed what's the gospel I wouldn't say
justification by grace through faith I'd
say that I'd say Dave's fit homo and
homo Faraday's God became one of us that
we might become partakers in the divine
nature we are members of the victorious
army of Jesus risen from the dead and
now we are also
on into his divin izing power see that's
how we're saved by him
why how were saved through his cross and
resurrection okay
now with that in mind I want to go back
to the Protestant claim which as I say
has got a lot of virtue to it are we
helpless yeah Luther was right about
that and the Council of Trent confirms
it
we're helpless we can't save ourselves
we are in such a pickle such a fix with
human beings that we can't lift
ourselves up out of it the Catholic
Church stands a fort all forms of
Pelagianism the view that we can save
ourselves Auto salvation the church
stands athwart all forms of philosophies
of perfectibility either ancient or
modern no no we're broken in such a
fundamental way that we can't save
ourselves we are saved by accepting in
faith the grace offered in Jesus Jesus
comes as victorious King he comes as God
man when I accept him in faith I draw
his grace into my life Luther was right
about that too what was he wrong about
when he added those little qualifiers
Sola right fidei Sola gratia Sola by
faith alone by grace alone the Catholic
view is yes through faith alone we are
given access to God's house were given
access to the space opened up by Jesus
were given an invitation into his army
but now now God wants us fully to
participate in that life he wants us
living in that house all of our powers
and capacities awakened by grace so as
the quaintest says gratia saponin tat
perf h @ nitiram grace supposes and
perfects nature it raises nature up in
the language of the Council of Trent we
cooperate with grace so see my salvation
yes is a function of faith Trent says
faith is the in its IAM at Roddick's all
misused to vacaciones it's the big
and root of all justification but then
Trent talks about increase in
justification which is our ever
deepening participation in the life of
Jesus how does it happen the Saints the
artistic tradition of the church
apostolic governance and above all the
sacraments especially the Eucharist
that's how we continue to participate in
the life of Jesus we walk through the
door which is open by faith alone that's
quite right but then once we're in the
house we live there with ever deeper
participation so I mean are you saved
precedent and evangelical might say yep
I'm saved
I know exactly when I would say
Catholics are wary of that we would call
that the danger of presumption we'd say
no no I through faith have been given
access to the house I joined the army
but now I'm called to her ever richer
participation in that army in an in
house are you saved well I'll put in
terms of of Joan of Arc at her trial
they were trying to trip her up and they
asked her are you in the state of grace
and that might be our version of are you
saved you know are you in the state of
grace her great answer was if I am may
God keep me so if I'm not
may God put me so she didn't want to
fall in the trap of presumption I know
I'm the state agrees I know I'm saved
nor she's not in despair you know if I'm
not may God put me so if I am they got
to keep me so that's not a bad Catholic
answer I'd also say Davis fit homo with
homo Fuhrer Davis that's the gospel