5stringJeff
Senior Member
Hobbit already addressed the Evangelical/fundementalist differences. But let me address something else from the original post: the differences between salvation, justification, and sanctification.
Salvation is the process of being saved. There are two parts to salvation in life: justification and sanctification.
Justification is an instantaneous, one-time happening, which is the result of God's effort alone. It is a legal declaration that one is no longer guilty of wrongdoing. God can legally declare us innocent because the price for our sins has been paid already by Jesus Christ. Therefore, as the Bible mentions, we are justified freely, by faith. The work that has been done is 100% God's work; we only accept the justification by believing.
Sanctification is the process through which a believer, once justified, is made more and more like God in behavior and attitude. This is what we would refer to as "works." Sanctification is a process which involves both God's work (through the Holy Spirit, which indwells all Christians) and the believer, who chooses to modify his/her behavior, thoughts, etc. It is fully expected of every believer to travel down the road of sanctification, by ceasing to sin.
I would also like to point out the false dichotomy in the original article (Catholics vs. fundementalists). Catholicism is a denomination (or more appropriately, a branch) of Christianity. Fundamentalism is a school of thought, as is evangelicalism. There are fundemental Catholics in the world, just as there are fundamental Protestants and Orthodox. There are also Evangelical Catholics, Evangelical Protestants, etc.
Salvation is the process of being saved. There are two parts to salvation in life: justification and sanctification.
Justification is an instantaneous, one-time happening, which is the result of God's effort alone. It is a legal declaration that one is no longer guilty of wrongdoing. God can legally declare us innocent because the price for our sins has been paid already by Jesus Christ. Therefore, as the Bible mentions, we are justified freely, by faith. The work that has been done is 100% God's work; we only accept the justification by believing.
Sanctification is the process through which a believer, once justified, is made more and more like God in behavior and attitude. This is what we would refer to as "works." Sanctification is a process which involves both God's work (through the Holy Spirit, which indwells all Christians) and the believer, who chooses to modify his/her behavior, thoughts, etc. It is fully expected of every believer to travel down the road of sanctification, by ceasing to sin.
I would also like to point out the false dichotomy in the original article (Catholics vs. fundementalists). Catholicism is a denomination (or more appropriately, a branch) of Christianity. Fundamentalism is a school of thought, as is evangelicalism. There are fundemental Catholics in the world, just as there are fundamental Protestants and Orthodox. There are also Evangelical Catholics, Evangelical Protestants, etc.