Joint Declaration On The Doctrine Of Justification Essay

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The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in essence confirms that Lutherans and Catholics explain justification in different ways but share the same basic understanding. The fundamental passage reads, “Together we confess: by grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us and calling us to good works. (Church 1999) The Declaration recognizes that good works are a sincere reaction to God’s graces—not the cause of it. The declaration also rescinds the formal condemnations of both the Catholic and Lutheran Churches against one another.
The joint declaration should not be seen as a compromise document …show more content…

For Lutherans, justification involves the action of God wherein God accepts us and declares us to be his children, because Christ has laid down his life for us. Lutherans over the centuries have mostly accepted the gift of the Holy Spirit as the enablement to perform good works, as a consequence of justification. Therefore, in the declaration they distinguish between two phases: First comes justification – namely the action of God, whereby he declares sinners to be righteous in view of the saving work of Christ on their behalf – and then comes sanctification (a situation where God pours the Holy Spirit into the hearts of believers and transforms them). The Catholics on the other hand, have their emphasis on how much God has done for us. Catholics do not limit the term "justification" to God 's declaration, as though it was simply a judicial pronouncement of absolution. For them, justification includes the action which in this case, is God making the sinner …show more content…

This is true enough, but it is incomplete because it fails to say that the reward is a just one. Without reference to justice, the true notion of merit would be absent.
One of the first things that I notice about the Declaration is the realization that the Catholics and the Lutherans were finally able to overcome their age long dispute over the issue of justification and reach a consensus. According to Cassidy, “this should have a positive and real effect not only on the future theological dialogue but also on our communities at every level.” In this way, all Christians should be able to appreciate the important things that bind us together as children of God.
It is also mindful to note that the in the Joint Declaration, both Catholics and Lutherans agreed on the new life that we receive through justification. This new life is not by any merit of ours but it is the free gift given to us by Jesus Christ when he died for our sins on the cross. Cassidy went further to state that “it is good to remember also that what we have achieved in the joint declaration is not primarily the result of the efforts of those involved but of the grace that comes to us from the Holy

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