Green on Article XVIII: Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ

The Article is directed against the theory of certain Ana¬ baptists, that as long as people were conscientious in following out their own systems, it was a matter of no significance whether they accepted or rejected the Gospel of Christ. This error is re¬ ferred to in the Reformatio Legtjm, “ De Haeresibus,” Cap. 1 1 : —

“ Horribilis est et immanis illorum audacia qui contendunt in omni religione vel secta, quam homines professi fuerint, salutem illis esse sperandam, si tantum ad innocentiam et integritatem vitae pro viribus enitantur juxta lumen, quod illis praelucet a natura infusum. Auctoritate vero sacrarum literarum confixae sunt hujusmodi pestes. Solum enim et unicum ibi Jesu Christi nomen nobis commendatum est, ut omnis ex eo salus ad nos perveniat.”

§ 3.— EXPOSITION.

(1.) Latitudinarianism anathematised.

They also are to be had accursed (sunt anathematizandi), that presume to say, that every man shall be saved by the Law or

Sect which he professeth, so that he he diligent to frame his life according to that Law, and the Light of Nature.

The present Article alone of all the thirty-nine contains an anathema. The only error, therefore, expressly anathe¬ matised by our Church is the Latitudinarian spirit, which finds its logical basis in the denial of all objective truth, going upon the supposition either that there is no such thing as Revelation, or that all religions are equally accept¬ able to God ; the spirit which asks, ‘ What does it matter what a man believes, so long as he lives a good life accord¬ ing to his light ? ’ and to which Pope has given expression in the oft-quoted lines : —

“For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight ;

His can’t be wrong whose life is in the right.”

But all experience goes to show that conduct in the long- run corresponds with belief. Conduct depends upon Creed ; thought lies at the foundation of action, and no structure of just deeds can be safely built unless the underlying thought be sound and firm. Thus in the Church Catechism

, that which is to be believed is taught before anything is said of that which is to be done, and the Athanasian Creed plainly declares : —

“ Quicunque vult salvus esse :

Ante omnia opus est ut ten eat catholicam fidem.” 1

This brings us to the second part of our Article : —

(2.) There is only one True Religion, one Way of Salva¬ tion, VIZ., THAT EMBODIED IN THE NAME OF JESUS

Christ.

For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved. (See Acts iv. 12; S. John xiv. 6 ; 1 S. John v. 11, 12.)

Mankind falls into two great divisions : —

(a) Those who have the Gospel offered to them in this life.

(b) Those who have not this offer.

Taking (a) the case of those who have the offer of the Gospel,

1 Cf. the Avords which occur in the decree on Original Sin of the COUNCIL OF Trent (Session V.)

“Ut tides nostra catholica sine qua impossible est placere Deo … permaneat.”

we meet with no difficulty. Those who deliberately reject the one way of salvation do so at their peril (S. Mark xvi. 16).

When, however, we come to consider ( “b ) the case of those who have not the offer of the Gospel in this life, a difficulty arises, because the wording of the Article might seem to imply that all heathen, &c., must necessarily perish eternally, even though they had striven to live a good life according to their light. But there are several passages of Scripture — e.g., Rom. ii. 12—16; Acts x. 34, 35 — which show us that people who make the best use they can of the light given to them will be judged according to it ; that God will in no case require more than He has given (S. Luke xii. 48). What is most needful for us to keep in mind is that, whether in this life men hear of Christ or not, it is only through His meritorious work that they can be pardoned and saved ; His Sacrifice is the only Sacrifice for sin. We must recognise, then, the existence of objective truth ; that Christ’s work has an objective value for men, apart from our individual appreciation of it. His Sacrifice accomplished something for us before it was presented to us as an object of faith ; it effected something for mankind (1 S. John ii. 2) ; the subjective impression on man’s heart is an after-thing, following upon faith in that eternal work. Thus the Church believes that faithful Jews who lived under the Old Dispensation are saved, and that “ baptized infants dying before they commit actual sin are undoubtedly saved.” 1 Neither of these classes can in this life have had explicit know¬ ledge about Christ, yet His work avails for them. So, too, with the heathen, the good are saved, not by the Law or Sect which they profess, but by the work of Christ. The overlooking of the In¬ termediate State,2 which is only too common amongst us, tends very much to cripple our Theology when dealing with questions such as the present. May it not be that after death righteous heathen have opportunity of accepting what Christ hos done for them, and of coming to the knowledge of Him, Whose work had availed for them during their life on earth, while yet they knew Him not ?

It is not the case, then, that man is free to choose a religion for himself, as though all were equally true. There is only one true religion — that of Jesus Christ. It is the firm conviction of this that has made the Church from the very first a missionary institution, not content that Christianity should take a place as

1 See Rubric at the close of the Office for the Public Baptism of Infants.

one amongst many religions of the world, but seeking, according to her Lord’s command, to embrace within her fold “ every creature ” (S. Mark. xvi. 15). This action she takes because, as members of the Church, we are brought into Covenant with God, wherein His grace is pledged to us and His promises made ; of these, therefore, we may have the certainty upon our performing the conditions of the Covenant. Those outside the Covenant cannot have this same assurance.

It cannot, surely, be thought a matter of little importance whether men accept the Gospel and become members of the Church or not, when we remember what great pains God is re¬ presented in Scripture as taking in order to bring men into the Church, rather than save them outside it. See S. Matt. xi. 1 1 ; Acts ii. 47 ; and note especially the case of Cornelius, who, though accepted by God as a Gentile (Acts x. 34, 35), yet is brought into the Church (Acts xi. 13, 14).

[In the XLII. Articles of 1 5 5 3 here followed the Article on the binding force of the Moral Commandments : —

The Lawe, whiche was geuen of God by Moses, although it binde not Christian menne, as concerning the Ceremonies, and Rites of the same : Neither is it required, that the Ciuile Preceptes and Ordres of it shoulde of necessitie bee receiued in any commune weale : Yet no manne, (bee he neuer so perfeicte a Christian) is exempte and lose from the Obedience of those Com- maundementes, whiche are called Moral. Wherfore thei are not to be harkened vnto, who affirme that holie Scripture is geuen onlie to the weake, and do boaste theim- selues continually of the spirit, of whom (thei sai) thei haue learned soche things as thei teache, although the same be most euidently repug- naunt to the holie Scripture.

Lex a Deo data per Mosen, licet quoad caerimonias et ritus Chris- tianos non astringat, neque civilia ejus praecepta in aliqua republica necessario recipi debeant, nihilo- minus ab obedientia mandatorum quae Moralia vocantur nullus, quantumvis Christianus est solutus. Quare illi non sunt audiendi, qui sacras literas tantum infirmis datas esse perhibent, et spiritum perpetuo j actant, a quo sibi quae praedicanto suggeri asserunt, quanquam cum sacris literis apertissime pugnent.

The Article was struck out from this place in 1563, but the first part of it, down to the words “ which are called Moral,” was at the same time added to Article VII. (where see notes). That the second part, which condemns an error of the Anabaptists, was altogether omitted in 1563 may be taken as indicating that, during the ten years which had elapsed since the Article was originally framed, Anabaptist opinions had receded very much into the background, so that there was not the same necessity that the Church should expressly condemn them. Other changes made in 1563 point in the same direction : —

(i.) The words “ et hodie Anabaptistae repetunt ” were omitted from Article IX.

(ii.) The Article “ De Gratia” of 1553, which condemned ex¬ travagant Anabaptist opinions, was altogether omitted.

(iii.) The Article on “ Heretickes called Millenarii ” of 1553 was also omitted.]

Notes

• Of Art. XXYI. of the Second Helvetic Confession, quoted, p. 15 1.