Green on Article XI: Of the Justification of Man

The wording of this was slightly altered and the first part (printed in thick type in the Latin version) prefixed in 1563. The new part agrees with the Art. “ De J ustificatione ” of the Wurtemburg Confession, from which it was doubtless taken : —

“Homo enim fit Deo acceptus, et reputatur coram eo justus propter solum filium Dei Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum per fidem.”

We may compare the rather fuller statement in the fifth of the much earlier English formulary, the X. Articles : —

“ That sinners attain this justification by contrition and faith joined with charity, after such sort and manner as we before mentioned and declared ; not as though our contrition or faith, or any works proceeding thereof, can worthily merit or deserve to attain the said justification : for the only mercy and grace of the Father, promised freely unto us for His Son’s sake, Jesu Christ, and the merits of His Blood and Passion, be the only sufficient and worthy causes thereof.”

§ 2.— OBJECT.

The Article is directed against theories of human merit so prevalent in the Mediaeval Western Church, and so strongly protested against at the Reformation, especially by Luther. It may also be aimed at the tenets of the Anabaptists, whose error is thus alluded to in Archbishop Hermann’s Consultatio : —

“ They boste themselves to be ryghtuous and to please God, not purely and absolutely for Christes sake, but for theyr owne morti¬ fication of themselues, for theyr owne good workes and persecution, if they suffre any.”

§ 3 .—EXPOSITION.

(i.) What is meant by Justification?

We are accounted righteous before God,

e Justification ’ in the writings of S. Paul signifies the entering by man (who through sin, original and actual, is by nature in a condition of alienation from God) upon a state of diKaiocrvvti Geou (Rom. i. 17; iii. 22), i.e., upon a state of righteousness which God considers as such ; in other words, the entering into a right relation with God, which is the starting-point of the Christian life.

(2.) The Ground of our Justification.

only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings :

The state of Siicaiocrvvtj before God is not attained by any efforts or merits of our own (Rom. x. 3 ; Phil. iii. 9) ; nothing that man can do of himself can bring him into right relation with God, but the reconciliation comes from God Himself, Who gave His own Son (Rom. v. 8—10, viii. 32, 33 ; 2 Cor. v. 21).

(a) Objectively , therefore, the ground of our justification is the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Rom. iii. 24).

It is necessary for man on his part to accept what God has done for him — he must accept the Gospel message and receive Baptism (Tit. iii. 5) ; this he does by faith.

(1 b ) Thus, considering the matter subjectively , the sole requisite for entering upon a state of SiKcuoo-uvti before God is Faith (Rom. i. 17, iii. 22, 30, v. 1 ; cf. Acts xiii. 39, xvi. 31 ; Gal. v. 6 ; Eph. ii. 8).

On the subject of ‘Justification ’ the following extracts should be compared with our Article : —

The Council of Trent understands the term ‘ Justification ’ in a wider sense than that explained above, taking it to include ‘ Sanctification ’ ; thus the decree of the Council (Session VI.) differs from our Article in defining Justification as not merely the “ accounting ” but the “ making” of us righteous:

“ Justificatio non est sola peccatorum rcmissio, sed et sanctifi- catio et renovatio interioris hominis per voluntariani susceptionem gratiae et donorum, unde homo ex injusto fit jugfus. et ex inimico amicus, ut sit haeres secundum spem vitae acternae … justitia dei, qua nos justos facit, qua videlicet ab eo donati renovamur spiritu mentis nostrae et non modo reputamur, sed vere justi nominamur et sumus, justi tiam in nobis recipientes.”

Augsburg Confession, Art. IY. :

“ Item docent, quod homines non possint justificari coram Deo propriis viribus, meritis aut operibus, sed gratis justificentur propter Christum per fidem, cum credunt se in gratiam recipi, et pcccata remitti propter Christum, qui sua morte pro nostris peccatis satis- fecit. Hanc fidem imputat Deus pro justitia coram ipso (Rom. iii. et iv.).”

Confessio Variata, Art. “ De Fide ” :

“Cum igitur dicimus, Fide justificamur, non hoc intelligimus quod justi simus propter ipsius virtutis dignitatem. Sed haec est sententia, consequi nos remissionem peccatorum, et imputationem justitiae, per misericordiam propter Christum.”

Saxon Confession, Art. III. :

“ Hac fide cum erigitur, certum est donari remissionem pecca¬ torum, reconciliationem et imputationem justitiae, propter ipsius Christi meritum.”

Formula of Concord (p. 685):

“Vocabulum justificationis in hoc negotio significat justum pronuntiare, a peccatis et aeternis peccatorum suppliers absolvere propter justi tiam Christi, quae a Deo fidei imputatur.”

It will be noticed that three of the formularies just quoted, which express the views of the Saxon, or Lutheran, school of Reformers, speak of the “ imputation ” of righteousness. Calvin also, in dealing with this subject, uses the term “ imputation.” See Institutes, III. xi. 2 : —

[…]

r

[…]

Cf. also the following quotations from Confessions belonging to the Swiss school : —

French Confession, Art. XVIII. :

“Credimus totam nostram justitiam positam esse in peccato¬ rum nostrorum remissione, quae sit etiam, ut testatur David, unica nostra felicitas. Itaque ceteras omnes rationes quibus homines existimant se coram Deo posse justificari, plane repudiamus : omnique virtutum et meritorum opinione abjecta, in sola Jesu Christi obedientia prorsus acquiescimus, quae quidem nobis impu- tatur, turn ut tegantur omnia nostra peccata, turn etiam ut gratiam coram Deo nanciscamur.”

Second Helvetic Confession, Art. XV. :

“ Proprie ergo loquendo, Deus solus nos justificat, et duntaxat propter Christum nos justificat, non imputans nobis peccata, sed imputans ejus nobis justitiam … ideo docemus et credimus cum apostolo, hominem peccatorem justificari sola fide in Christum, non lege, aut ullis operibus.”

The Westminster divines, in their revision of the eleventh of the XXXIX. Articles, inserted a clause : —

“ His (Christ’s) whole obedience and satisfaction being by God imputed unto us.” 1

Our Article differs from the great number of Continental Confessions, in that it does not discuss at length the meaning of ‘ Justification.’ The only approach to a definition of the term is that which is implied in the wording of the Article, “justi coram Deo reputamur.”

The fourth of the XIII. Articles, which were the outcome of an attempt to draw the English and German Reformers together, runs thus : —

“ Item de justificatione docemus, quod ea proprie significat remissionem peccatorum et acceptationem seu reconciliationem nostram in gratiam et favorem Dei, hoc est veram renovationem in Christo.”

It is somewhat remarkable that in subsequent English for¬ mularies this phraseology is altogether departed from.

1 See Appendix IV.

(3.) Having Special Regard to the Needs of the Time, the Article further emphasises the Doctrine of Justifica¬ tion by Faith only, and refers to the Homily on the Subject.

Wherefore, that we are justified hy Faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.

It is obvious that the best works of man are faulty and imperfect ; if, therefore, God were to enter into judgment with man, no one living would be able to stand before Him (Ps. cxliii. 2), and we might well despair if it were left to us to bring ourselves into right relation to God by our own merits. It is, therefore, most comforting to be assured that we enter into SiKouoavvri before God by accepting in faith what Christ has done for us.

There is no homily with the title “ Homily of J ustification,” but the “ Homily of Salvation/’ which deals with the subject, is evidently the one to which reference is made. In illustration of the statements of the Article we may quote a short passage from this homily : —

“And therefore St. Paul declare th here nothing upon the behalf of man concerning his justification, but only a true and lively faith : which nevertheless is the gift of God and not man’s only work without God. And yet that faith doth not shut out repentance, hope, love, dread, and the fear of God, to be joined with faith in every man that is justified ; but it shutteth them out from the office of justifying. So that although they be all present together in him that is justified, yet they justify not all together. Nor that faith also doth not shut out the justice of our good works, necessarily to be done afterward of duty towards God, (for we are most bounden to serve God in doing good deeds commanded by Him in His Holy Scripture, all the days of our life;) but it excludeth them so that we may not do them to this intent, to be made good by doing of them ” (pp. 22, 23 ; ed. S.P.C.K.).