27. THE QUESTION WAS:  In 96 A.D., St. Clement of Rome, “We are justified by our ___________, not by our words.”

  1. faith
  2. works
  3. passion

 

 

 

THE ANSWER IS….. B….works.

St. Clement of Rome wrote “We are justified by our works, not by our words.” [First Epistle To The Corinthians” c. 96 A.D.]

 

Note: This statement by St. Clement is to no way be construed as advocating the earning of salvation any more than similar statements made by the Bible, the other Early Church Fathers, or the Catholic Church of today or yesteryear.

 

The context that must be understood before approaching statements like this one is that the early Christians, like most Christians in modern times, believed that justification was a life-long process (not a one-time event with a guarantee of final perseverance), with initial justification coming by God’s grace alone, preceded by no act of the individual.

 

Who was St. Clement? St. Clement is also known as the fourth pope, since he succeeded Anacletus, who succeeded Linus, who succeeded St. Peter as Bishop of the Church of Rome, which was the Church that served as the Chair of the many churches that together formed the Catholic Church.

 

 

Regarding Reward & Merit, see http://www.catholic.com/library/Reward_and_Merit.asp

http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/abraham.html (Romans 4)

http://www.chnetwork.org/journals/justification/justify_7.htm (Did Paul Teach Justification by Faith Alone?)

 

 

 

 

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Quick Links on the Early Church: Church Fathers, Life of St. Augustine, St. Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyons), Clement of Rome, Clement of Alexandria, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Pelagianism, The Confessions by St. Augustine, The City of God by St. Augustine, the Martyrdom of Polycarp, Epistle to St. Polycarp, St. Basil the Great, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Cyprian of Carthage, St. Jerome, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Barnabas, St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose, Eusebius, The Faith of the Early Church Fathers book, Did the Church Fathers Believe in Sola Scriptura? Foundations of Protestantism, Still Catholic