Aquinas! Why i oughta...

This was so good, i just had to repost it!

"Thomas Aquinas, like all theologians between Paul and Luther, taught that all were “justified” before God by the good works of the new nature God’s grace works in us. The law helps to guide our good works (said Aquinas) the “old law” of Moses has permanent value to guide us in righteousness even though parts of it have been abolished. Thomas Aquinas had no idea of Paul’s teaching that Christ’s righteousness is “reckoned” ours when we believe in Jesus. His teaching became the basis of Roman Catholic doctrine...

The teaching of the gospel-preachers that we are justified only by faith scandalized the Catholics. “You are saying that we do not have to obey the law of God” they said. “Your so called gospel encourages sin”. Sound familiar?
The sixteenth century gospel-preachers replied, “Well, we are free from the law as a way of justification, but we still have the law (that is Aquinas’ moral law) as a way of sanctification.” This idea became dominant and Paul’s teaching that we have died to the law in order to bear fruit to God (that is in order to be sanctified!) was missed. It became the habit among Christians to talk about “the law” but mean only certain bits of the law of Moses (actually less than 1% of it!) and to say that this was a “rule of life” for the Christian.
We now need to ask the question, “How much of the traditional teachings of the churches grasped hold of Paul’s teachings?” And the answer is: Not much! Most of it is Aquinas more than Paul!"

Michael Eaton