Was Luther Right All Along?

Q: It’s my understanding that the result of all the Catholic-Lutheran dialogues confirms that Martin Luther was right all along: Works play no part in salvation and we are saved by faith alone.

It seems that the only concession on the Lutheran side was that salvation could still be lost after it’s been received. Has the Catholic Church once again “developed” a doctrine to the point of reversing it?

A: I think you may have misunderstood the recent Lutheran-Catholic Joint Declaration on Justification, with its Common Statement and Annex. These were signed on October 31, 1999, in Augsburg, Germany, by Bishop Christian Krause (Lutheran World Federation) and Cardinal Edward Cassidy (Holy See’s Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity).

We are saved by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Faith, however, is more than an activity of the mind; it must express itself outwardly. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells a parable about the final judgment, saying that some people are saved because of their actions and other people are condemned for failing to act.

Those who are saved do not “earn” their salvation by good works. Their works of mercy simply reflect a cooperation with God’s sovereign, saving grace. Those who are condemned presumably failed to cooperate with that same grace.

The Joint Declaration does not mean that either side “won.” Both parties instead admitted that on this issue they had not listened to one another carefully enough almost 500 years ago. Saying that, both sides win!