Church History: Examining the Creeds and Confessions of the Church Through the Ages and Why They Matter.
Today, we come to the first council we have studied so far with which we will have profound disagreements.
It is called the Council of Trent, and it described by the Catholic Church as the 19th Ecumenical Council. The Catholic Encyclopedia reads as follows:
“The nineteenth ecumenical council opened at Trent on 13 December, 1545, and closed there on 4 December, 1563. Its main object was the definitive determination of the doctrines of the Church in answer to the heresies of the Protestants; a further object was the execution of a thorough reform of the inner life of the Church by removing the numerous abuses that had developed in it.” (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15030c.htm)
The truth is that this was not an ecumenical council.
Ecumenical councils, you will remember, mean “world-wide” or “Universal”.
This Council did not take into consideration the Eastern Churches which had divided from Rome in 1054, nor did it have any representatives from the Protestant Churches which it sought to condemn.
This is also a good reminder to us that Rome considers us all to be heretics.
There have been times in my ministry where I have been accused of being quite hard on Roman Catholic doctrine, which I am because I believe it to be wrong.
Yet, we mustn’t consider the Roman Catholic Church to be a “whipping boy” in this debate, as they bear a rather large whip of their own.
In this Council, the Roman Catholic Church would condemn to eternal perdition all who teach the doctrines which we would affirm as Reformed Theology.
The History and Purpose of the Council
When Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, I do not believe he meant to set off the firestorm which it did.
It was intended to spawn intramural scholastic debate among his fellow Roman clergy.
But, instead, it became the match which would eventually set the whole of Christendom ablaze.
The Roman Catholic hierarchy was very aware of what was happening in regard to the Protestant movement.
And, as you can imagine, they were less than pleased with the growing dissension.
They had dissenters in the past, but this was different - the dissent was growing exponentially and entire regions were turning from Rome to Reformation teachings.
The reason for the Council could be defined as much political as it was doctrinal.
By condemning the Reformers, Rome was seeking to reaffirm her own authority over all of western Christendom.
There was a desire on behalf of the Emperor Charles V to see the council conveyed to bring peace in the empire.
He sought that the council would address the moral abuses of the church with the hope that suppressing them would bring the protestants back into the fold.
Pope Paul III did not want these things suppressed because it would have financially damaged him (http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/council-of-trent.htm).
As a result of this division between Emperor and Pope, the moral issues and doctrinal issues were dealt with simultaneously.
Rather than bringing peace, Trent would drive the wedge further between Rome and the Reformers.
The Council of Trent was the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.
The Council met in three sessions over a period of 18 years.
Though it would appear to have a rather long lifespan, the Sessions which occurred within the council only amount to about 4 1/2 years.
The Council met on different occasions between 1545 and 1563.
In addition to the Council, there was also a new catholic order established called The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits.
The Jesuits were very influential in the counter-reformation and encouraged people to continue their devotion to the Scripture as the Catholic Church had defined it.
This order was founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1540.
Loyola wrote, “I will believe that the white that I see is black if the hierarchical Church so defines it.” (Ignatius Loyola, The spiritual exercise, trans. Anthony Mottola. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964, pp. 140–141. Reference from William B. Ashworth Jr, "Catholicism and Early Modern Science" in David C. Lindberg, Ronald L. Numbers, God and Nature, p. 159, n. 91 (p. 166)
Ultimately, the purpose of the Jesuits is the propagation of the Catholic Church by any means possible.
The Decisions of the Council
There were many decisions handed down by the Council, and we will look at just a few which are directly related to the Reformation teachings.
(1) The council decided that the books of the apocrypha (sometimes called the deuterocanonical books) would be included in sacred scripture.
Session 4 But if any one receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire with all their parts, as they have been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin vulgate edition; and knowingly and deliberately contemn the traditions aforesaid; let him be anathema.
Anathema = under God’s curse.
(2) The council was very concerned with the Reformed doctrine of SOLA FIDE, and many of the canons dealt with the issue of how men are justified before God.
It is important that Rome does not deny the necessity of grace, as it noted in Canon I.
Session 6; Canon I. If any one saith, that man may be justified before God by his own works, whether done through the teaching of human nature, or that of the law, without the grace of God through Jesus Christ; let him be anathema.
However, grace is not enough; it must be cooperated with by human free will. Grace is necessary but not sufficient.
Canon IX. If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema.
Canon X. If any one saith, that men are just without the justice of Christ, whereby He merited for us to be justified; or that it is by that justice itself that they are formally just; let him be anathema.
(3) The Council also denied the possibility that a person can have assurance of eternal life in Christ.
Canon XV. If any one saith, that a man, who is born again and justified, is bound of faith to believe that he is assuredly in the number of the predestinate; let him be anathema.
Canon XVI. If any one saith, that he will for certain, of an absolute and infallible certainty, have that great gift of perseverance unto the end,-unless he have learned this by special revelation; let him be anathema.
(4) The Council additionally asserts that good words add to our grace of justification, essentially blurring the line between justification and sanctification.
Canon XXIV. If any one saith, that the justice received is not preserved and also increased before God through good works; but that the said works are merely the fruits and signs of Justification obtained, but not a cause of the increase thereof; let him be anathema.
(5) The Council also affirms the belief that men pay for their own sins, at least in some way, through their works.
Canon XXX. If any one saith, that, after the grace of Justification has been received, to every penitent sinner the guilt is remitted, and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out in such wise, that there remains not any debt of temporal punishment to be discharged either in this world, or in the next in Purgatory, before the entrance to the kingdom of heaven can be opened (to him); let him be anathema.
(6) This council also makes the declaration that teaching in opposition to it is an offense worthy of anathema.
Canon XXXIII. If any one saith,that,by the Catholic doctrine touching Justification, by this holy Synod inset forth in this present decree, the glory of God, or the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ are in any way derogated from, and not rather that the truth of our faith, and the glory in fine of God and of Jesus Christ are rendered (more) illustrious; let him be anathema.
(7) The council also confirmed that the church would have seven sacraments, each of which would have the power to confer grace on the person receiving them.
Protestants had declared that there were only two ordinances/sacraments in the church, Baptism and Communion.
Session 7, Canon I. If any one shall say, that the sacraments of the New Law were not all instituted by Jesus Christ, our Lord; or, that they are more, or less than seven, to wit, Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction Orders, and Matrimony; or even that any one of these seven is not truly and properly a sacrament; let him be anathema.
Canon IV. If any one shall say, that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary unto salvation, but superfluous, and that without them, and without the desire thereof, men, through faith alone, obtain of God the grace of justification; though all [the sacraments] be not necessary for every individual; let him be anathema.
Canon VI. If any one shall say, that the sacraments of the New Law do not contain the
grace which they signify; or, that they do not confer that grace on those who do not place
an obstacle in the way; as though they were merely outward signs of grace or righteousness received through faith, and certain marks of the Christian profession, by which the believers are distinguished amongst men from the unbelievers; let him be anathema.
(8) There is also a confirmation of the church’s teaching on Transubstantiation
Session 13, Chapter 3, Canon I. If any one shall deny, that, in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist, areerily, really, and substantially contained the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ; but shall say that He is only therein as in a sign, or in figure, or virtue; let him be anathema.
Canon II. If any one shall say, that, in the sacred and holy sacrament of the Eucharist,
the substance of the bread and wine remains conjointly with the body and blood of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and shall deny that wonderful and singular conversion of the whole
substance of the bread into the Body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the
Blood, the species only of the bread and wine remaining, which conversion indeed the
Catholic Church most aptly calls Transubstantiation; let him be anathema.
(9) In regard to the Sacraments, the Council affirms the teaching of Ex Opere Operato.
QUOTE: CatholicCulture.org “A term defined by the Council of Trent to describe how the sacraments confer the grace they signify. Trent condemned the following proposition: "That grace is not conferred 'ex opere operato' by the sacraments of the New Law" (Denzinger 1608). Literally the expression means "from the work performed," stating that grace is always conferred by a sacrament, in virtue of the rite performed and not as a mere sign that grace has already been given, or that the sacrament stimulates the faith of the recipient and thus occasions the obtaining of grace, or that what determines the grace is the virtue of either the minister or recipient of a sacrament. Provided no obstacle (obex) is placed in the way, every sacrament properly administered confers the grace intended by the sacrament. In a true sense the sacraments are instrumental causes of grace.” (http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=33474)
Thus, the Council declared that the grace of God comes through the sacraments themselves, and by declaring that these sacraments could only rightly be administered by the Church, demanded allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church from anyone who would desire God’s grace.
The Relationship of Trent to Orange
One of the issues which needs to be pointed out is that the Council of Trent could be seen to be at odds with the earlier Catholic Council of Orange.
We looked at Orange a few weeks ago, and we saw that it solidified Augustinian teaching above that of Semi-Pelagianism.
The Augustinian view of man reigned for a thousand years, Luther himself being a monk of the Augustinian Order.
However, Trent brings Semi-Pelagianism back into Catholicism, and it rebuffs the teachings of Augustine.
ORANGE: CANON VI. If anyone says that God has mercy upon us when, apart from his grace, we believe, will, desire, strive, labor, pray, watch, study, seek, ask, or knock, but does not confess that it is by the infusion and inspiration of the Holy Spirit within us that we have the faith, the will, or the strength to do all these things as we ought; or if anyone makes the assistance of grace depend on the humility or obedience of man and does not agree that it is a gift of grace itself that we are obedient and humble, he contradicts the Apostle who says, "What have you that you did not receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7), and, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10).
TRENT: CANON IV. If any one shall affirm, that man’s freewill, moved and excited by God, does not, by consenting, co-operate with God, the mover and exciter, so as to prepare and dispose itself for the attainment of justification; if moreover, anyone shall say, that the human will cannot refuse complying, if it pleases, but that it is inactive, and merely passive; let such an one be accursed"!
Further Compare with ORANGE CANON 5. - If anyone says that not only the increase of faith but also its beginning and the very desire for faith, by which we believe in Him who justifies the ungodly ... belongs to us by nature and not by a gift of grace, that is, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit amending our will and turning it from unbelief to faith and from godlessness to godliness, it is proof that he is opposed to the teaching of the Apostles, for blessed Paul says, "And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). And again, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8).
TRENT CANON V.- If anyone shall affirm, that since the fall of Adam, man’s freewill is lost and extinguished; or, that it is a thing titular, yea a name, without a thing, and a fiction introduced by Satan into the Church; let such an one be accursed"!
Compare with Orange CANON 8. - If anyone maintains that some are able to come to the grace of baptism by mercy but others through free will, which has manifestly been corrupted in all those who have been born after the transgression of the first man, it is proof that he has no place in the true faith. For he denies that the free will of all men has been weakened through the sin of the first man, or at least holds that it has been affected in such a way that they have still the ability to seek the mystery of eternal salvation by themselves without the revelation of God. The Lord himself shows how contradictory this is by declaring that no one is able to come to him "unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44), as he also says to Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 16:17), and as the Apostle says, "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3).
The Relationship of Trent to Galatia
In the first chapter of Galatians, Paul sets down an anathema of his own.
Galatians 1:6-9 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—[7] not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. [9] As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”
Notice the dividing line which Paul establishes.
He tells us that it is the Gospel which will divide the true church from the false church.
It is the Gospel which will provide Herald from Heretic.
And those which preach a “different gospel” or “contrary gospel” will be accursed.
This is why often in conversations about differences we have with other churches or denominations we will ask, “Is this a gospel issue”?
So, the question which must be asked is, “Are the differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants ‘Gospel Issues’?”
It seems obvious that the answer must be yes.
If I was standing next to Roman Catholic and we were both talking to someone about Christianity, and the person asked, “How can I be saved?” our answers would not only be slightly different, they would absolutely contradict one another.
We would declare that salvation is by grace alone, through faith in Christ alone and that our works are the fruit of our salvation and not the cause.
The Roman Catholic would deny every word, and as a result would be preaching another gospel.
The Council of Trent drew a line in the sand for Roman Catholics, and it is a line which has stood for 500 years, with Rome reaffirming the teachings of Trent in the later Vatican Councils.
CONCLUSION: Trent points out to us the sad state which the Roman Catholic Church was in during the Protestant Reformation.
In the beginning, I noted that in Trent Rome “Doubled Down” on heresy.
What I mean is that this was a time of great revival in the church.
Revival of scholarship.
Revival of biblical literacy.
Revival of concern for truth.
Yet, instead of seeing this revival as a blessing, Rome saw it as a movement which needed to be suppressed.
Thankfully, the suppressive attempts of Rome were not successful, and the revival of the Reformers went on to spawn a massive movement within Christendom which would be felt throughout the world.
In our next session, we are going to focus our attention on one particular area of the protestant movement that had great significance for future generations.
We are going to look an a Synod which was conveyed in the town of Dordrecht, out of which would come a list of teachings known as the Doctrines of Grace.
These Doctrines, which would be identified by the acronym TULIP, would become foundational for those who teach Reformed Theology.
