Who is the Blessed Man?

Augustine, Scripture, and the Limits of Roman Authority

Augustine, who certainly had a very, very highly developed theology of revelation, which is more than just scripture for Augustine, Augustine also would be very comfortable in saying at another point, Roma lacuta est, causa finita est.

Rome has spoken and the case is closed.

And so Sir, could you tell me where that's found? No, again, I don't have my little Is it not true that that's found in Sermon 131? Have you ever looked at Sermon 131, sir? Yes, I have. I taught a course in Augustine.

Okay, and are you aware that that phrase that you just quoted never appears in any text of Sermon 131? I can provide you with the actual Latin text if you want me to look it up. That does not appear anywhere in Sermon 131.

Do you think I care about the number of it? It doesn't No, no, sir.

I'm sorry. The point I was making is you just made a quotation from Augustine and I'm challenging you that while that is said to appear in Sermon 131, that is one of the most common apologetic errors of Roman Catholic apologists.

And what manuscript are you using? The standard one used by actually anyone, in fact, but I would be glad to explicate on that and provide you with the actual Latin, but that is not the text of what he said.

Augustine on Scripture as the Rule for Doctrine

But going back to what he did say, so you said that the church cannot teach anything contrary to scripture. Would you say that that was Augustine's position, that the church then could teach something that the scriptures were silent about?

I would think he would be comfortable with that. So when he said, what more shall I teach you than what we read in the Apostle? For holy scripture fixes the rule for our doctrine, lest we dare to be wiser than we ought.

Therefore, I should not teach you anything else except to expound to you the words of the teacher. Would you find that to be consistent or inconsistent with what you just said?

I think the point he is making there is precisely the point I had just made, that scripture is a norma normans, it is a norm norming all others.

You don't hear him saying that I should not teach you anything else except to expound to you the words of the teacher?

Well, he would see that the church has an understanding of the words of the teacher, a deeper appreciation as time goes on.

Hebrews 10 and the Incarnational Work of Christ

Back to the scriptural text in the five minutes that we have left before our closing statements. When in the book of Hebrews, we are told that Jesus Christ, by his sacrifice, and specifically I'm looking here at Hebrews chapter 10, I'll give you a specific reference here, Hebrews chapter 10, verse 10.

When the scripture says, for by this will we have been made holy through the once for all offering of the body of Jesus Christ, would be one rendering of the Greek text here. What does it mean to you that we have been sanctified for by this one will?

Actually, I'm pleased that you brought up this idea about from Hebrews because one of the things that always concerns me in conversations like this is that there seems to be such a an emphasis on the redeeming element of Christ's death on Calvary that the total experience of the incarnation is lost sight of, so that one tends to focus on one particular moment and everything else of the mystery of the incarnation is cast into oblivion.

Hebrews 10 .5 talks about the fact that it is the body of Christ that he assumes in the mystery of the incarnation that saves the world, and therefore the entire mystery of Christ's life, which is embodied existence, which he has even now as the risen and ascended Lord, therefore the incarnational principle is incredibly important.

If we simply focus on the Lord's death, which is obviously critically important, but if that's the point of the redemption of the human race, then without sounding too blasphemous, we could say that God the Father wasted an awful lot of time by sending his son here for 33 years or 60 years, if you want to go with someone else's understanding, when all he had to do was send him down for three hours to die on a cross.

What does that have to do with the question that I asked? What does it mean that by this will we have been sanctified? Well, let me back up. Where in Hebrews 10 .5 does it say that his body saved the world, sir?

A body you have given me.

And where does that say it saved the world? That's the vehicle of the redemption of the world.

Is the salvation of the world not through the offering of that body on the tree?

It's the total Christ event.

In Hebrews chapter 10, can you find the phrase, the total Christ event? I think we're being silly. Well, I'm simply pointing out, sir.

He's quoting Psalm 40, you who wanted no sacrifice or oblation prepared a body for me. Right.

And where does it say then that, where does salvation come in here? Is it not verse 10? Is it not verse 14, for by one offering he is perfected for all time?

The offering is his entire life, death, and resurrection.

Imputed Righteousness, Purgatory, and Romans 4:8

So if it is in his entire life, and we believe that the positive righteousness that is imputed to us is the positive righteousness of Jesus Christ, if it is his entire life, then how then can you say that the righteousness that we have could in any way be incomplete, which would require us to go to a place called purgatory to suffer for the temporal punishments of our sins before we enter into the presence of God?

You're the one that's talking about imputed righteousness. I'm not.

You're not talking about imputed righteousness. Well, okay. So let me ask you one last question then. In Romans 4, 8, when Paul says, blesses the man to whom God will not impute sin, who's the blessed man?

First of all, it's Christ. So Christ is the blessed man to whom God will not impute sin. That's what he's talking about when in Romans 4, 6 he says Paul speaks about the blessedness upon the man that God, that all of a sudden he's now talking about Christ.

So that's the only fulfillment of Romans 4, 8. No. Who else then? Are you the blessed man? I hope so. You hope so. So if you're the blessed man, and your sins are not imputed to you, how can you suffer for their temporal punishments if they're not imputed to you?

No, I didn't say that the sins are not imputed. Okay. What does Romans 4, 8 mean then? You're talking about a righteousness being imputed.

That's 4, 6. 4, 8 says, blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not impute to him or take into account. Will the Lord take into your account your mortal sins? Of course. How about your venial sins?

Yes. Then you're not the blessed man, are you?

I will be. You will be when? If I go through the process of purification.

Can anyone know they're the blessed man of Romans 4, 8?

Paul says we're saved in hope, and we work out our salvation in fear and trembling.

So this is something that's offered for a hope in the future. No one can say that I'm the blessed man, my sins will not be imputed to me.

We have to be careful of the sin of presumption. Okay. Amen.