The central theological battle of the Reformation was the doctrine of justification. The question was basic: How are we saved? For the reformers, justification was an objective event: the sinner is declared righteous on account of Christ's work and stands righteous before God through Christ. The only subjective contribution is passive, receptive faith.
Christ's incarnation drives this extra nos (external, objective, “outside of us”) aspect of justification. Just as flesh avails God to us extra nos in the person of Christ—such that a leper who needed healing went to something outside himself contoured by a flesh and blood body (Christ)—so also in Christ's mystical body, the church, is salvation contoured in those extra nos gifts founding the church: the sacraments and preached word.
Read Full Article »