Forbes on Article XIII: Of Works before Justification

of God in Christ Jesus,” i.e. to those who are in Christ. For first, the foundation of all is that we are in Christ, not our mere natural selves only ; eternal life is be stowed upon us because we are in Christ; then, the grace of God, whereby we do good works, is the free gift of God ; whence, as St. Augustine says, ” When God crowneth our merits, what else crowneth He but His own gifts ?” Besides, as Theodoret says, ” There is 110 proportion between temporal evils and those eternal goods.” St. Augustine strikingly sums up, “That to which eternal life is owed, is true righteousness. But, if it is true righteousness, it is not of thee ; for it cometh down from above, from the Father of Light. That thou mightest have it, if indeed thou hast it, thou hast in truth received it. For what hast thou which thou hast not received ? Wherefore, O man, if thou art to receive eternal life, it is, indeed, the wages of righteousness; but to thee it is grace, for to thee righteousness itself too is grace. For it would be given to thee as a debt, if thou hadst the righteous ness, to which it is owed, from thyself. But now from His fulness we have received not only the grace, whereby we now live righteously, in our labour, to the very end, but also grace for His grace, that we should live hereafter in rest without end c.”

c Kp:st. 194, ad Test., n. 21.

OPERA qua fiunt ante f/ratiam Christi, et Spiritus eju$ afflahim, rum ex fide Jem Christi non prodeant, mi- nfuie Deo grata sunt, neque gratiam (ut miilti rocanf) </c eongruo nurenfor. Immo cum non sunt facia, ut Dem iUa fieri rohiit et pr&cept’t, peccati rationem kaberc non dubitamm.

” Of Works before Justification.

<l WORKS done before the grace of Christ and the inspiration of His Spirit, are not pleasant to God, for asmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or (as the School-authors say) deserve grace of congruity : yea rather, for that they are not done as God hath v/illed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.”

THAT which tended to produce confusion concerning- the relation between faith and good works, was the explanation of several passages of St. Paul; e.g. Rom. iii. 28, where it is said, that not through works of the law, but through faith, a man is justified. St. Paul here contends against the Jews of his own epoch, who obstinately defended the eternal duration of the law of Moses, and asserted that not needing a Redeemer from

sin, they became righteous and acceptable before God by that law alone. In opposition to this, he lays down, the maxim that it is not by the works of the law, i.e. not by a life regulated merely by the Mosaic pre cepts, that man is able to obtain the favour of Heaven ; but only through faith in Christ, which has been im parted to us by God, for wisdom, for sanctification, for righteousness, and for redemption. On the one hand, an unbelief in the Redeemer, and confidence in the fulfilment of the law performed solely through the natural powers; on the other hand, a faith in the Redeemer and the righteousness to be conferred by God. This is the opposition described by the Apostle. He accurately distinguishes between the works of the law and good works ; the former are wrought without faith in Christ, and without His grace ; the latter, with the grace and in the spirit of Christ.

The Thirteenth Article is another instance where the title does not correspond with its contents. It would be correct if it were worded ” Of some works before Justification.” There are some works done before jus tification which arc not pleasant to God. There are others of which it would be the most extreme want 01 charity to predicate such a thing. Again, of works done before justification, some are done before the grace of Christ and the inspiration of His Spirit ; other works done before justification, are done by that grace and with that inspiration. Cornelius was not justified till the Holy Ghost fell on hirn and he was baptized, but no one can deny that, according to the

express words of the Angel, his prayers and alms went up as a memorial before God, and impetrated his justi fication.

It is very important to bear in mind, that the effect -of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ extends to all those for whom He died in the way of sufficient grace being freely imparted to all men. Beyond His cove nant, outside His Church, to Pagan and to Jew, to those who have heard of His Name, and to those who have never heard of Him, grace is given before faith. God wills that we should pray for all men, on the ground that He willeth that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of His truth a. Again, treating of the divine Word, St. John says : ” That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world ;” of which words St. Chrysostom asks : ” If It lighteth every man coming into the world, how do men remain without light ?” He answers, “It is true so far as It is concerned, but if any, wilfully shutting the eyes of their minds, refuse to recognise the rays of this light, it is not from the nature of the light that they remain in darkness, but from their own wickedness, who wilfully deprive them selves of this light. For grace is poured forth upon all men V Thus also St. Ambrose : ” That mystic Sun of Righteousness hath risen on all, hath come to all, hath suffered for all, and hath risen again for all c.”

a 1 Tim. ii. 4. b Homily on St. Jolm, vol. viii. p. 4-8. e Cf. In, Psalm cxviii. p. 1077, § viii. 57; p. 1220, § xix. 39. Ed. Paris, 1686.

OF WORKS BEFORE JUSTIFICATION. 20->

This grace is termed medicinal grace, aided by which the heathen are able to fulfil the natural law, and to overcome the difficulties which stand in the way of its observance ; works done by the aid of such assist ance come within the order of moral rectitude. If the heathen correspond with these graces, greater helps are given them, until God of His free mercy calls them to the supernatural end of life by the be ginning of faith, either by missionaries sent for the purpose, or by the whispering of their good angel, or inwardly by Himself, or in such other way as seems good to Him.

Premising this, a sound theology will map out the acts of the unjustified man into several distinct di visions : —

1. Acts in which neither the grace of Christ nor the inspiration of the Spirit have aught to do, such as the good works of heathen men done from the tradition and custom of their race, from the fear of the public opinion of those by whom they are surrounded.

2. The sjrfendida ritia of the heathen, those acts of continence and generosity, performed from simple self- respect, and which may be referred for a motive to pride.

3. Those acts which may be said to be by the grace of Christ, who is the light of every man that cometh into the world ; as where a heathen follows his con science, does actions from a sense of duty, and gives free scope to the feelings of benevolence which survive in all men since the fall.

‘20G Aimn.E xiii.

4. Actions such as those of Cornelius, where a per son brought up and trained in an inferior system, lives up to his light, and by so doing draws down blessings upon himself.

It is with regard to the first class that we must understand the wording of the Article in its absolute literal sense.

AVith regard to the second, one must hesitate to say that such acts in a manner are not pleasant to God. Nay, St. Augustine would rather maintain that the just God would be bound to reward them with temporal advantages, just as He gave to the Ixomans the domi nation of the earth as a return for their early frugality, adding, however, the significant words, ” perceperunt mercedem suam d.” Still, so far as regards the super natural kingdom of Christ, these works are valueless, and therefore they also, in a less proper sense, come under the condemnation of the Article.

Touching the third, we are not called on to pass any judgment. How God will deal with the heathen who have never heard His name, is not for us to say. It opens up an immense question, on which there has been no decision by the Church. While chanty hopetli all things, no lax view should affect our sense of the duty •of missionary exertion, or diminish our value for those assertions which attach the attainment of everlasting life to such conditions as faith, baptism, and holiness.

The last class of actions of the unjustified man do noi •come under the condemnation of the Article ; for th<

d De Civ, Dei, lib. v. cap. 15.

proposition that grace does not act outside the Church has been justly condemned, and it is false to assert that the grace of Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost do not concur with the free-will of man before he is justified.

In fact, before justification, a mighty process goes on. The grace of Christ, and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, are not lacking. First of all, grace touches the sinner, for no sinner can of himself turn to God. The first movement towards justification is the free and gratuitous work of God. Christ speaks to the heart, as the abiding Teacher. He announces the Gospel by His Word and by His Church; God the Holy Ghost rouses the soul by preventing grace. If the free-will responds to this influence, a faith in God’s Word is the first result of this. He becomes convinced of the super natural order of things. He is touched with it, and especially with the thought of the love of God in Christ. He compares himself as he is with what he ought to be. He measures himself by the new standard, with which the Passion of Christ supplies him. He returns to himself and conceives the holy fear of God. Then turning to the thought of Jesus Christ dying for him, he begins to hope that God, for the Redeemer’s merits, will pardon him; he begins to love God and to hate- sin; he believed, he now repents. All this precedes justification.

2. The next question is, Do these works deserve grace de congnio ? ” Works of grace and special aid, which concur with faith, and dispose to regeneration and the

forgiveness of sins, are not excluded from justification : but though thej’ are said to concur with faith, they do not in any sense merit the first justification, for merit de cony mo is now almost excluded from Catholic Schools0.” This notion tallies with what the Holy Scripture says of our being justified freely, and by grace : also with, what is taught therefrom by St. Au gustine : but while we admit this, we must not assert that these disposing acts have no influence whatever in the process. Unless we distort the word of God f, we must concede that they are in some way efficient causes of justification ; not in the way of merit, but solely from the benignity and gratuitous promise of God s.

Sufficient weight, in the consideration of this Article, has not been given to the fact that the only works ex cluded from merit de conyruo by its terms are those