My name is Martyn McGeown, I'm the missionary pastor of the Limerick Reformed Fellowship. I blog with the hope that God might use it to gather His elect & glorify Himself. Please feel free to comment and interact, no matter your religious position - as long as you do so respectfully and are genuinely interested.
I hope you will be blessed reading this blog!
The sensationalism of the press is sometimes amusing, especially when it comes to religion. On 22nd May 20i3 the Huffington Post announced, "Pope Francis Says Atheists Who Do Good Are Redeemed , Not Just Catholics." The Daily Mail's headline was this: "Pope Francis Says Atheists Who Do Good Are Saved."
Supposedly, this is something new and groundbreaking.
It is not.
Do James and Paul contradict one another on the subject of justification? Paul writes, “We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28). God justifies the believing sinner on the basis of “the righteousness of God without the law” (Rom. 3:21). In Galatians he is equally emphatic: “A man is not justified by the works of the law … by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal. 2:16). Moreover, Paul proves the doctrine of justification by appealing to the example of Abraham: “if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God” (Rom. 4:2). About Abraham Paul writes, “but to him that worketh not but believeth …” (Rom. 4:5) and points out that Abraham was justified by faith before he was circumcised! (Rom. 4:10).
If you know anything about the Reformation of the Church in the 16th Century you will have heard of "Justification by faith alone." The Reformers (Martin Luther, John Calvin and others) taught that we are justified before God by faith alone without works.
Justification depicts God as the Judge and sinners as defendants or the accused.
In Ireland many religious people are devoted to Mary. If you visit many homes you will see statues and pictures of Mary. The Rosary, a prayer to Mary, is very popular. In many villages and on country roads there are grottos and shrines dedicated to Mary. Reformed Christians do not have such devotion to Mary. Because of this, we are sometimes asked, "Do you hate Mary? Are you not devoted to Our Lady?"
