4. Explicating the Common Understanding of Justification (#2)

22. We confess together that God forgives sin by grace and at the same time frees human beings from sin's enslaving power and imparts the gift of new life in Christ. When persons come by faith to share in Christ, God no longer imputes to them their sin and through the Holy Spirit effects in them an active love. These two aspects of God's gracious action are not to be separated, for persons are by faith united with Christ, who in his person is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30): both the forgiveness of sin and the saving presence of God himself. Because Catholics and Lutherans confess this together, it is true to say that:

23. When Lutherans emphasize that the righteousness of Christ is our righteousness, their intention is above all to insist that the sinner is granted righteousness before God in Christ through the declaration of forgiveness and that only in union with Christ is one's life renewed. When they stress that God's grace is forgiving love ("the favor of God"(12)), they do not thereby deny the renewal of the Christian's life. They intend rather to express that justification remains free from human cooperation and is not dependent on the life-renewing effects of grace in human beings.

24. When Catholics emphasize the renewal of the interior person through the reception of grace imparted as a gift to the believer,(13) they wish to insist that God's forgiving grace always brings with it a gift of new life, which in the Holy Spirit becomes effective in active love. They do not thereby deny that God's gift of grace in justification remains independent of human cooperation [cf. Sources, section 4.2] .

The key word here is emphasis. What aspect of our salvation is emphasized? What emphasis do the followers take home with them and live and breathe?

Again, does justification bring forth sanctification through the power of God (Lutheran view)? Or is sanctification a completion of justification (Roman view)?

Put another way: How many times has someone told you, "That wasn't very Christian" or "Is that how a Christian acts?" These statements bear with it a burden on us-you cannot possibly call yourself a Christian if you aren't living a "Christian" life.

Needless to say, Christians reflect perfection poorly. How can we? We are sinners, after all. Martin Luther used to say simul iustus et paccator--at the same time saint and sinner. Paul speaks of the "good that I would do, that I do not; the evil that I would not, that I do" (Romans 7). The Old Testament prophets also expressed this concept. Read through the prophets and note how often the prophets interchange "Jacob" and "Israel." These two names are names for the same person. Jacob means "heel" and was given to Jacob because he seized his brother's heel coming out of the womb (Genesis 25:26). Jacob's life was one of taking matters into his own hands and, as a result, suffering much misfortune. "Isreal" means "one who wrestles with God" and was given to Jacob after he wrestled with God all night at Peniel (Genesis 32:22-32). The Old Testament prophets used these names interchangeably to demonstrate to us that, while we are still sinners in our eyes and the eyes of the world, God sees us as saints, as righteous, as innocent, because of the blood of Christ.

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