Most of what I confer here is gleened from a paper provided by David J. Palm to the Midwest Baptist Conference Theological Workshop on Feb. 29th 1996. Having read this paper I think it most clearly express my thinking as well as the Catholic Point view regarding the topic of Sanctification and Justification. Interesting to note in providing the basis of seperation (and in certain area's there is agreement), Palm used John Murray's book "Redepmtion Accomplished and Applied". This being the case I will also quote from this book though I haven't read it entirely. G.E. Ladd from his book "A Theology of the New Testatment" states that
The idea expressed by dikaioo is "to declare righteous," not "to make righteous." As we shall see, the root idea in justification is the declaration of God, the righteous judge, that the man who believes in Christ, sinful though he may be, is righteous is viewed as being righteous, because in Christ he has come into a righteous relationship with God.
As David Palm indicates this particular view of Justification is forensic or "a once for all decree" soley resulting in a change of relationship. This occures at the point of reception of a "saving faith". In this view, there is no fundamental change in a person's nature which can be seened as the oft quoted analogy of Martin Luther's "snow covered dung hill". Thus there is no process. Thus it is imputed as you've mentioned several times. The problem with this view fundamentally as I see it is that ultimately, since by this Justification we are declaired righteous and we are garmented or clothed with "Christ's righteousness", we objectively remain sinners. So as Alister McGrath says in his "Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification, the beginings to the Reformation", 2 vol 1:182 via David Palm's Paper "Catholic Teachiing of Justificaiton and Sanctification p. 7
through his justification, man is intrinsically sinful yet extrinsically righteous.
David Palm further indicates that
Paul never expressly states that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to believers. His words are "And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, hisfaith is reckoned as righteousness" Rom 4:3 NAS
With this in mind it is important to note that
The official catholic position concerning justification is not in any way oppposed to the idea that justification consist of God's declaration of righteousness. Nor does the Church oppose the idea that justification is in some sense forensic. The Council of Trent can speak of justification as declaritive: Finally, the one formal cause [of justification] is the justness of God: not that by which he himself is just, but that by which he makes us just and endowed with which we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, and are not merely considered to be just but we are truly named and are just (Council of Trent, Decree on Justification
And here is the crux. Catholics believe that God's declarative word as effective and sees that is how scripture express it as well.
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not retun there without watering the earth, and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So shall my word be which goes forth from My mouth: It shall not return to me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter which I sent it - Is 55"10-11
Cardinal Newman expresses this view simply by stating
God's word, I say, effects what it announces.
Romans 4:17 further shows this characteristic
calls into being that which does not exist.
Thus Cardinal Newman says
He solemnly utters the command, Let the soul be just, it becomes inwardly just. - Lectures on the Doctrine of Justification
which seems to me to confer with 1 Pet 1:23
for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God
So David Palm can say
And so the Catholic exegete acknowledges that dikaioo in specific contexts often means " to declare righteous," but this does not settle the case...First, we should note that "verbs in -oo mean to make whatever the root indicates. Thus dikaioo should properly mean 'make just' And keeping in mind, the fact that it often means "declare righteous" in many 0o f the passages adduced as evidence for purely forensic righteiousness becomes somewhat less significant. For all of the secular uses and many of the OT uses have human agents as the subject o fhte verb. But since a human being is intrinsically unable to "make" anything by righteous by a verdict, in these context the verb takes on a nuance not native to its underlying formation, namely "to declare righteous." But as we have seen above the declaration of God has no such intrincic restrictions and thus we should allow the word to have is natural meaning of "making righteous."
As we can see in Paul's thought process in Romans 5:19
For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous
If declaration soley is what is meant then we have the added problem of this passage
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked
Where Palm notes
that God who has sworn that he "will not justify the wicked" is now said to justify men while leaving them sinners.
Now you may take the route saying that a man is righteous "who has fulfilled the demands laid upon him by the relationshiop in which he stands"; Yet this doesn't reflect the person's ethical character but a "faithfulness to a relationship". However, it is clear in scripture that men are capabable of doing things that are righteous:
Matt 6:1
Matt 24:31-40
Luke 1:6
Matt 5:20
Acts 10:35
and 1 John 2:29
If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
as well as 1 John 3:12
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous
Especially not what John says in 1 john 3:7
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous
where john says we can be righteous by acting righteous.
So with this in mind I view several things in Romans for (in my perspective a more full context). Note in Romans 1 the context and the foundation is laid with the introduction that is often over looked.
Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from[c] faith for his name’s sake.
Calling the Gentiles to specifically Obedience which comes from Faith, which Paul also book ends his entire epistle as we see in the last chapter as well
so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from[f] faith —
The call is to obedience upon reciept of faith Which is the greater context of the letter because it begins and ends with it. Look at Roman 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
So in summery it can be succinctly said of the Catholic view that
Justificatoin is both an even and a process, it is not suprising that it should be closely linked to sanctification...obedience to Christ."
I've run out of time. I'll have to get back latter but here is a starting point. I want to deal more with Romans at a later time.
