{"id":86043,"date":"2024-08-29T09:11:20","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T13:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=86043"},"modified":"2024-09-05T12:48:36","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T16:48:36","slug":"reply-to-melanchthon-justification-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2024\/08\/reply-to-melanchthon-justification-1.html","title":{"rendered":"Reply to Melanchthon: Justification #1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Moral Assurance of Salvation \/ Examination of Conscience \/ Bible On Apostasy \/ Initial Justification & Faith Alone<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Photo credit: Loci praecipui theologici<\/em> (a.k.a. Loci communes rerum theologicarum<\/em>) 1552 edition, by Philip Melanchthon [public domain \/ Wikimedia Commons]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
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Philip Melanchthon<\/a> (1497-1560) was the founder of Protestantism: Martin Luther\u2019s best friend, co-reformer, and successor as the leader of Lutheranism. Encyclopaedia Britannica<\/em> (\u201cPhilipp Melanchthon<\/a>\u201c) states that \u201cMelanchthon . . . in 1521 published the <\/span>Loci communes rerum theologicarum<\/a><\/em> (\u2018Theological Commonplaces\u2019), the first systematic treatment of Reformation thought.\u201d It\u2019s considered the initiatory work in the Lutheran scholastic tradition<\/a>. Modified editions appeared in 1535, 1543 and 1559.<\/div>\n
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Martin Luther wrote, \u201cNo better book has been written after the Holy Scriptures than Philip\u2019s. He expresses himself more concisely than I do when he argues and instructs. I\u2019m garrulous and more rhetorical\u201d (Table-Talk<\/em>, 1543; in Luther\u2019s Works<\/em>, Vol. 54, 439-440). Many think that this volume was the reason why Luther never wrote his own work of systematic theology. Melanchthon at length departed from Luther in some ways; most notably, in his denial of the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, by the time of the 1543 edition, and on the question of free will.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In this series of replies, I will be utilizing the 1992 translation of the 1543 Latin version<\/a> (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House), by J. A. O. Preuss<\/a> (1920-1994), who was a pastor, theologian, and the president of the Lutheran Church\u2013Missouri Synod<\/a> (LCMS) from 1969 to 1981. He wrote in the Introduction:<\/div>\n
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Luther, who had some violent disagreements with him, never criticized him publicly and never really broke with him. In fact, the verdict of history is that Luther was kinder to Melanchthon than Melanchthon was to Luther. . . . Most Lutherans in America up to the present time have been critical of him, including Schmauck, Neve, Bente, Pelikan, and many others, although that attitude is changing somewhat. (p. 7)<\/div>\n
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Melanchthon was a prodigy. He entered Heidelberg University at twelve and received his bachelor\u2019s degree at 14. He moved on to Tubingen, where he earned the master\u2019s degree at 17, . . . He never received the doctorate and was never ordained into the ministry. He never preached from the pulpit, although he had much to do with the development of the study of oratory and homiletics. He received an appointment to teach at the newly established University of Wittenberg in 1518. . . . He remained at Wittenberg the rest of his life . . . differences [with Luther] appear as early as 1530, . . . and become more evident as the years roll on. (p. 8)<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u00a0See also my introductory post for this series<\/a> on Facebook, which highlights his historically brand-new position of imputed justification (sola fide<\/em>). For other installments of this series, see my Lutheranism web page<\/a>, second section: \u201cReplies to Philip Melanchthon\u2019s Loci Communes<\/em>.\u201d Melanchthon\u2019s words will be in blue<\/span>. I use RSV for biblical citations.<\/div>\n
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They (Catholics) want us always to be in doubt as to whether we are in grace.<\/span> . . . They add that the regenerate still must be in doubt as to whether they are in grace, and they must remain in this doubt.<\/span> This kind of doubt is plainly heathenish. Nor are these errors only minor matters, but rather they cast darkness over the Gospel, hide the benefits of Christ, take away true comfort of conscience, and destroy true <\/span>
\nprayer.<\/span> (p. 85)<\/span><\/div>\n
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This is a caricature: a thing that the earliest Protestants were very good at; and unfortunately it\u2019s a trait that has stubbornly persevered in their anti-\u201cRomanist\u201d polemics to this day. We don\u2019t believe that perpetual doubt and uncertainty is God\u2019s will for the Christian, but rather, in a sensible, reasonable moral assurance of being in a state of grace<\/a>: which will bring about final salvation, provided we persevere. We believe in a thorough self-examination of conscience<\/em>, which is quite biblical as well<\/a>. Paul wrote:<\/div>\n
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2 Corinthians 13:5<\/strong>\u00a0Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? \u2014 unless indeed you fail to meet the test!<\/div>\n
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1 Corinthians 11:28<\/strong>\u00a0Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.<\/div>\n
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Galatians 6:4<\/strong> But let each one test his own work, . . .<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The degree of moral assurance we can have is very high. The point is to examine ourselves to see if we are mired in serious sin, and to repent of it. If we do that, and know that we are not subjectively guilty of mortal sin, and relatively free from venial sin, then we can have a joyful assurance that we are on the right road.<\/div>\n
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\u201cPlease Hit \u2018Subscribe\u2019\u201d!<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0If you have received benefit from this or any of my other 4,800+ articles, please follow my blog by signing up (with your email address) on the sidebar to the right (you may have to scroll down a bit), above where there is an icon bar, \u201cSign Me Up!\u201d: to receive notice when I post a new blog article. This is the equivalent of subscribing to a\u00a0YouTube<\/em>\u00a0channel.\u00a0My blog was rated #1<\/a>\u00a0for Christian sites by leading AI tool, ChatGPT: endorsed by influential Protestant blogger Adrian Warnock. Please also consider following me on Twitter \/ X and purchasing\u00a0one or more of my 55 books<\/a>.\u00a0All of this helps me get more exposure, and (however little!) more income for my full-time apologetics work. Thanks so much and happy reading!<\/p>\n

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I always use my own example, by noting that when I was an evangelical, I felt very assured of salvation, though I also believed (as an Arminian) that one could fall away if one rejected Jesus outright. Now as a Catholic I feel hardly any different than I did as an evangelical. I don\u2019t worry about salvation. I assume that I will go to heaven one day, if I keep serving God. I trust in God\u2019s mercy, and know that if I fall into deep sin, His grace will cause me to repent of it (and I will go along in my own free will) so that I can be restored to a relationship with Him.<\/div>\n
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We observe St. Paul being very confident and not prone to lack of trust in God at all. He had a robust faith and confidence, yet he still had a sense of the need to persevere and to be vigilant. He didn\u2019t write as if it were a done deal: that he got \u201csaved\u201d one night in Damascus and signed on the dotted line, made an altar call and gave his life to Jesus, saying the sinner\u2019s prayer or reciting John 3:16, never having to persevere in the slightest ever more. No. See my papers:
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Luther and the Origin & Nature of \u201cInstant\u201d Salvation<\/a>\u00a0[1991]<\/p>\n

Assurance of Instant Salvation? \/ Apostasy \/ Falling Away<\/a>\u00a0(Bible passages) [c. 2000]<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainty\u201d of Eternal Life? (1 Jn 5:13 & Jn 5:24)<\/a>\u00a0[5-8-02]<\/p>\n

St. Paul on Falling Away from Grace and Salvation<\/a>\u00a0[2004]<\/p>\n

Absolute Assurance of Salvation?: Debunking \u201cProoftexts\u201d<\/a>\u00a0[Oct. 2010]<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce Saved, Always Saved\u201d: Is it Biblical? Antinomian?<\/a>\u00a0[8-18-15]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reply to Protestant Challenges Re Eternal Security<\/a>\u00a0(vs. Jason Engwer)\u00a0[7-26-20]<\/p>\n

Defense of Bible Passages vs. Eternal Security & Faith Alone<\/a>\u00a0(vs. Jason Engwer) [8-12-20]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Reply to Jason Engwer Re Eternal Security<\/a>\u00a0[9-26-23]<\/div>\n
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Grace is also not a static, unvarying condition. The Bible teaches that there are degrees of grace. In my article about this topic<\/a> I cite eleven Bible passages proving this, and also several citations of St. Augustine.<\/div>\n
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To be justified by works means to obtain forgiveness of sins and to be righteous or accepted before God by reason of our own virtues or deeds. . . . we are justified by faith, which is the voice of the Gospel, is used by Paul in opposition to the other concept, which is the voice of human reason or the Law, that we are justified by works. <\/span>(pp. 86-87)<\/span><\/div>\n
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That\u2019s Pelagianism, which the Catholic Church condemned no later than the time of St. Augustine (4th-5th centuries).<\/div>\n
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On the other hand, to be justified by faith in Christ means to obtain remission of sins, to be counted as righteous, that is, accepted by God, not because of our own virtues but for the sake of the Mediator, the Son of God. (p. 86)<\/span><\/div>\n
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We agree as to initial<\/em> justification. We just don\u2019t think the whole story of salvation ends there. See:<\/div>\n
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Trent Doesn\u2019t Utterly Exclude Imputation<\/a>\u00a0(Kenneth Howell) [July 1996]<\/div>\n
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Initial Justification & \u201cFaith Alone\u201d: Harmonious?<\/a>\u00a0[5-3-04]<\/div>\n
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Monergism in Initial Justification is Catholic Doctrine<\/a>\u00a0[1-7-10]<\/div>\n
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Catholics & Justification by Faith Alone<\/a>:\u00a0Is There a Sense in Which Catholics Can Accept \u201cFaith Alone\u201d and\/or Imputed Justification (with Proper Biblical Qualifications)?<\/a>\u00a0[9-28-10]<\/div>\n
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Salvation: By Grace Alone,\u00a0Not<\/em>\u00a0Faith Alone or Works<\/a>\u00a0[2013]<\/div>\n
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But there are those who reply to this discussion that it is absolutely ridiculous and meaningless to say that \u201chaving been justified by faith we have peace with God,\u201d Rom. 5:1. (p. 87)<\/span><\/div>\n
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Yes, we have peace (of course). But that\u2019s not the same as absolute assurance of salvation. St. Paul also<\/em> wrote:<\/div>\n
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1 Corinthians 9:27 <\/strong>I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 10:12 <\/b>Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.<\/p>\n

Philippians 3:11-14<\/strong> that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. [12]\u00a0Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.\u00a0[13] Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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And the author of Hebrews likewise asserted:<\/p>\n

Hebrews 3:12-14<\/strong>\u00a0Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day . . . that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.<\/p>\n

Hebrews 6:4-6<\/strong>\u00a0For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God, and the powers of the age to come, if they then commit apostasy . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And St. Peter agreed:<\/p>\n

2 Peter 2:15, 20-21<\/strong>\u00a0Forsaking the right way they have gone astray; they have followed the way of Balaam, . . . For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So did St. John, recording the words of our Lord Jesus:<\/p>\n

Revelation 2:4-5<\/strong>\u00a0But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.\u00a0[5] Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They all had peace (Jn 14:27; 16:33; Rom 8:6; 14:17; 1 Cor 14:33; Gal 5:22; Phil 4:7; Col 3:15). But they had no absolute assurance of final salvation, because they \u2014 like all of us \u2014 didn\u2019t know the future<\/em>, and they knew that it is possible to fall away from both grace and the salvation that is the end result of it.<\/p>\n

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Practical Matters<\/em><\/strong>:\u00a0 I run the most comprehensive \u201cone-stop\u201d Catholic apologetics site:\u00a0rated #1<\/a>\u00a0for Christian sites by leading AI tool, ChatGPT \u2014 endorsed by popular Protestant blogger Adrian Warnock. Perhaps some of my 4,800+ free online articles or\u00a0fifty-five books<\/a>\u00a0have helped you (by God\u2019s grace) to decide to\u00a0become Catholic<\/a>\u00a0or to\u00a0return to the Church<\/a>, or better understand some doctrines and\u00a0why<\/em>\u00a0we believe them<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Photo credit<\/strong><\/span>: Loci praecipui theologici<\/em> (a.k.a. Loci communes rerum theologicarum<\/em>) 1552 edition, by Philip Melanchthon<\/span> [public domain \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a>]<\/div>\n
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Summary<\/em>: Reply to Philip Melanchthon\u2019s Loci Communes<\/em> regarding justification, incl. moral assurance of salvation, examination of conscience, apostasy, and initial justification<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moral Assurance of Salvation \/ Examination of Conscience \/ Bible On Apostasy \/ Initial Justification & Faith Alone Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) was the founder of Protestantism: Martin Luther\u2019s best friend, co-reformer, and successor as the leader of Lutheranism. Encyclopaedia Britannica (\u201cPhilipp Melanchthon\u201c) states that \u201cMelanchthon . . . in 1521 published the Loci communes rerum […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":86058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[415,50],"tags":[6330,19308,19311,2003,19314,2779],"class_list":["post-86043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lutheranism","category-salvation-justification","tag-justification-by-faith","tag-loci-communes","tag-lutheran-scholasticism","tag-lutheran-theology","tag-melanchthon-justification","tag-philip-melanchthon"],"yoast_head":"\nReply to Melanchthon: Justification #1<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reply to Philip Melanchthon's Loci Communes regarding justification, incl. moral assurance of salvation, examination of conscience, apostasy, and initial justification\" \/>\n<meta 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1991 (full-time since December 2001). Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \\\"This Rock\\\" (now called \\\"Catholic Answers Magazine\\\"), \\\"Envoy Magazine\\\" (Patrick Madrid), \\\"The Catholic Answer,\\\" \\\"The Coming Home Journal,\\\" \\\"Gilbert Magazine\\\" (American Chesterton Society), and \\\"The Latin Mass.\\\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \\\"The Michigan Catholic\\\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \\\"Catholic Answers Live\\\" (twice), \\\"Faith and Family Live\\\" (Steve Wood), \\\"Kresta in the Afternoon,\\\" \\\"Son Rise Morning Show,\\\" \\\"Catholic Connection\\\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \\\"The Catholics Next Door.\\\" His large and popular website, \\\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\\\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \\\"index\\\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reply to Melanchthon: Justification #1","description":"Reply to Philip Melanchthon's Loci Communes regarding justification, incl. moral assurance of salvation, examination of conscience, apostasy, and initial justification","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2024\/08\/reply-to-melanchthon-justification-1.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reply to Melanchthon: Justification #1","og_description":"Reply to Philip Melanchthon's Loci Communes regarding justification, incl. moral assurance of salvation, examination of conscience, apostasy, and initial justification","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2024\/08\/reply-to-melanchthon-justification-1.html","og_site_name":"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","article_published_time":"2024-08-29T13:11:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-05T16:48:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":410,"height":599,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2024\/08\/Melanchthon-Loci-Communes.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dave Armstrong","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dave Armstrong","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2024\/08\/reply-to-melanchthon-justification-1.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2024\/08\/reply-to-melanchthon-justification-1.html","name":"Reply to Melanchthon: Justification #1","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-08-29T13:11:20+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-05T16:48:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e"},"description":"Reply to Philip Melanchthon's Loci Communes regarding justification, incl. moral assurance of salvation, examination of conscience, apostasy, and initial justification","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2024\/08\/reply-to-melanchthon-justification-1.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2024\/08\/reply-to-melanchthon-justification-1.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2024\/08\/reply-to-melanchthon-justification-1.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reply to Melanchthon: Justification #1"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/","name":"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism","description":"Catholic biblical apologetics","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/471eaa20e441eca4bb1ea50393cf632e","name":"Dave Armstrong","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/820e6db89734ae7a9e5dac8d498f5ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dave Armstrong"},"description":"Dave Armstrong is a Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981, and Catholicism in particular since 1991 (full-time since December 2001). Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}