Maclear and Williams on Article XI: Of the Justification of Man

i. Connection. The Eleventh Article relates to a question, which the preceding one naturally suggests1. If the human will, in consequence of the fault and corruption of man’s nature, is so crippled that he cannot of his own strength do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, how is he accounted righteous in His sight, and on what grounds is he regarded by God with any degree of favour?

ii. Source and History. This question the present Article answers, and it is itself derived from the Fourth Article of the Augsburg Confession of 15302. As it stood in the original draft, it consisted of a single clause, and asserted that “Justification by onely faith in Jesus Christ” is “a most certaine and holesome doctrine for Christian

1 After the Tenth Article the Forty- Two of 1553 inserted one entitled ” Of Grace,” which was omitted in 1563.

2 With this Article of the Augsburg Confession should be compared the

language of the Fourth of the Thir- teen Articles of 1538. Both affirm that men are accepted by God “gratis propter Christum per fidem.”

menne”1. A new clause, now the first, was added in 1563, and was adopted from the corresponding Article of the Wurtemberg Confession.

iii. The Object of the Article is to confute the ideas of human merit, which had long been propagated, more or less distinctly, in the whole of Western Christendom during the Middle Ages. But it has been remarked that it may also have in view the kindred tenets of the Anabaptists, who boasted themselves “to be righteous and to please God, not purely and absolutely for Christ’s sake, but for their own mortification of themselves, for their own good works and persecution, if they suffer any2.

iv. Analysis. In its present shape the Article states (1) Positively, and (2) Negatively the grounds of our Justi- fication before God.

(1) We are justified only for the merits3 of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ;

(2) We are not justified before God for our own works or deservings ;

(3) And this ” is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.”

v. Justification. The word “Justification” comes from the Latin, in which language we have the verb ” Justifico,” which means, when used of a judge, to absolve

1 “In that sense,” it continues, 2 Hardwick, Hist. Articles, p. 99, n. “as is declared in the Homilie of 3 The Latin here is very noticeable. Justification.” There is no Homily It is not said that, we are accounted entitled “the Homily of Justification.” righteous “propter fidem,” but “prop- But “the Homily of Salvation” treats ter meritum…Christi/er fidem.” So expressly of Justification, and it has, in the Greek of the New Testament therefore, always been understood, we are said to be justified irlarti either that this Homily alone, or this Rom. if. 28, ck irldreas Rom. v. 1, conjoined with that which precedes, Gal. ii. 16 ; iii. 8, 24, 5ia wtarkm and that which follows it, is the Rom. iii. 22; Gal. ii. 16; Ephes. iii. Homily referred to in the Article. 1 2, but never Sta TriaTiv. bee Bp Browne, p. 291.

or acquit^, of God, as a sovereign, to pardon, forgive1. The substantive “justificatio,” which properly denotes a justifying, pardoning*, when applied to beings tainted, as we are, with sin, includes (1) forgiveness of sin4, (2) recon- ciliation to God, (3) the renovation of the inner man.

vi. The Moving Cause of our Justification. Now it is obvious that the original or moving cause of our Justification cannot be anything in ourselves. Man cannot forgive sins, or reconcile himself to God, or renew his moral nature. Sin taints his best and purest actions, and in the sight of a God of perfect holiness by the zvorks of law shall no flesh be justified (Rom. hi. 20)5. Justification must be due simply and solely to the free and undeserved Grace and goodness of God. It is God that justifieth (Rom. viii. 33)”.

1 Comp. Vulg. Prov. xvii. 15, “qui justificat impium, et qui condemnat justum, aboniinabilis est uterque apud Deum,” and Isai. v. 23, “qui justifi- catis impium pro muneribus.”

2 “Hxc est magnificentia Domini, justificatio peccatoris.” S. Ambros. Enarr. in Psalm, ex. 3.

3 Similarly in Greek Ai/caWis de- notes the establishment of man as just by acquittal from guilt. Thus in Rom. iv. 25 we read vyipO-q Sia ttjc SikoXuoiv Tjfiwv, and the verb SiKatovv, which literally means to make righteous, is used both in the LXX. and the N.T. with the meaning to acquit, absolve, or clear from guilt ; com]). Gen. xliv. 16; Exd. xxiii. 7; Ps. cxliii. 2 ; Acts xiii. 39. It is important to note that Justi- fication by Faith is not the Scripture phrase, but Justification by Faith in Jesus Christ, i.e. Justification by Faith and Grace.

4 ” Remissio peccatorum est justi- ficatio,” S. Thorn. Aquin. , Quccst. Disput. xxviii. Art. i. : “Justificatio significat remissionem peccatorum, et reconciliationem seu acceptionem ad vitam aternam,” Melancthon De Grat.

et Justif. Loci Theologici; “Justi- fication signifieth remission of our sins, and our acceptance or recon- ciliation into the grace and favour of God,” Articles of 1536. See also the Homily of the Salvation of Man- kind.

5 “By whose merits shall I be delivered ? Not by my ow n, O Lord ; but in Thy righteousness deliver me. In Thy righteousness, I say, not mine. For I implore mercy; I do not offer my own righteousness… Thy grace is Thy righteousness, O Lord. And grace could not be grace if it were given for deserts ; therefore, not in my own righteousness, but in Thy righteousness deliver me from my sins.” Savonarola, Sorrow and Hope, A Meditation on the list Psalm, 1498.

6 6e6s 6 SikuQv. Comp. Isai. L 7 — 9, eyvwv on oi /xr) alaxwOw’ on iyyl$u 6 StKuwaas fie. This passage is evidently in the mind of the Apostle. “And seeing all that we of ourselves can do, is not only nothing, but naught; let Him alone have the glory, by whose only grace we have our whole ability and power

vii. The Meritorious Cause of our Justification.

But while the love of God is the moving cause, the Meritorious cause of our justification is the finished work of Christ. It is His merits, and His merits only, which have purchased for us this great boon. Living for us a life of perfect obedience, and dying for us on the Altar of His Cross, He has procured for us the forgiveness of our sins. Thus S. Paul writing to the Romans says that we are justified freely1 by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. iii. 24)”; and S. Peter writes Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the un- righteous, that He might bring us to God3 (1 Pet. iii. 18); and S. John writes Herein is love*, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John iv. 10).

viii. The Efficient Cause. Though, however, the love and mercy of God are infinite, and the merits of Christ are sufficient, yet all men do not benefit by this Grace. Something, therefore, internal is needed to connect them with the external work of our salvation, and this is the action of the Holy Spirit5 (Rom. viii. 14). It is His potent operation,

of well-doing.” Hooker, Eccl. Pol. v. The source of merit is the perfect

App. i. 14. obedience of the Human Will of the

1 AiKaiov/ie voi Swpeav = we are justi- Divine Person; any act of such an fied as (byway oj ) a gift, gratuitously. obedience is of infinite merit, yet, Compare the I.xx. of Gen. xxix. 15 ; seeing that Redemption was wrought 1 Chron. xxi. 24, and see Matt. x. cS, under the conditions of human history, Suiptav eXd/StTc, Suiptav Sore. the obedience finds its ultimate ex-

2 Comp. also Rom. iii. 21, 22, pression in the Cross and Passion. Xwpls vbp.ov SiKaicKTvvr) 6eou we>i- Comp. Thil. ii. 8; Heb. x. 5 — 10. pwTtxi…SiKawaiv-q Si Oeov 5ii Triareuis 4 “The source of love is the free- ‘lifoov XpiGTov = A righteousness of will of God Himself. He loved us, God, communicated in each individual because ‘He is love,’ and in virtue instance by means of faith of (in) of that love sent His Son. The origin Jesus Christ. Vaughan in loc. of love lies beyond humanity.” West-

3 “Non mors sed voluntas placuit cott in loc.

[…]

S. Bern. De Error. Abirl. iii. 21 ; Christ has wrought in essence and

S. Anselm, Cur Dens Homo i. 9. virtue. God the Son atoned ; God

which leads to Christ, moves the heart, and endows us with the ability ” to will and to work of God’s good pleasure.”

ix. The Instrumental Cause. The first instrument, by which God conveys Justification is, under ordinary circumstances, Baptism1. By this Sacrament He “doth work invisibly in us,” and translates us from a state of nature into a state of adoption and Grace. We thus become members of Christ, and being united to Him, we receive the forgiveness of our sins, and become partakers of His righteousness. The second instrument is the Sacra- ment of the Lord’s Supper. For by the devout reception of the Holy Eucharist the life of Justification begun in Baptism is nourished and supported, for feeding on Christ’s Body and Blood “we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us; we are one with Christ, and Christ with us2.”

x. Faith. What, then, is the office of Faith in Justifi- cation ? It is the hand which grasps and appropriates the righteousness wrought out for us by Christ3. By faith the

the Holy Ghost justifies.” Newman, by the Bread and Wine.” ” This then

On Justification, pp. 204, 206. is one of the first elements of Christian

1 It was Christ who merited that knowledge and a Christian spirit, to the Sacraments should have the power refer all that is good in us, all that of uniting us to Him. Of His great we have of spiritual life and righteous- mercy He has freely appointed these ness to Christ our Saviour; to believe remedies for us, who could in no wise that He works in us, or to put the obtain them of ourselves. See Hooker same thing more pointedly, to believe Eccl. Pot. v. chap. lvii. 2 — 4. that saving truth, life, light, and holi-

and Blood of Christ, as our bodies are

3 In accordance with the above statements we may thus tabulate the

Causa Juslificationis Nostra: i. Causa Movens : The free, unmerited, mercy of God. ;: r-„… iur:i;. Ha) The Life of perfect obedience, and u. Causa Mcnto,, a. jj The Passion of our Blessed Lord, iii. Causa Efificiens : The Holy Spirit.

(a) Holy Baptism, which grafts us

Causa Instrumentalis : Grace in -I /0, SSf^^ff1’ , ■ . ,. , 1 (/3) 1 he Holy Eucharist, which maintains our union with Him.

Christian puts himself simply and loyally in God’s hands, and appropriates to Himself the Redemption, which the Precious Blood of His dear Son has purchased for the world. And as the faith of Abraham was reckoned to him for righteousness1 (Rom. iv. 3), so the faith of the humblest Christian is reckoned to him for that righteousness, which his purest and best actions could not offer to God, but which is made over to him by his Lord and Saviour2.

xi. The Life of Faith. Faith, moreover, teaches us to employ diligently all the means provided by Him, in Whom we believe. Faith brought us in infancy to Baptism, and by Baptism we were engrafted into Christ’s Church, and made partakers of His righteousness. Faith teaches us by prayer to plead the promise of the forgiveness of our sins then signed and sealed to us. Faith bids us claim the assistance of the Holy Spirit promised to every baptized Christian. Faith leads us to the reception of the Holy Eucharist, wherein we feed on Christ the living Bread3

(which (a) appropriates Christ’s perfect obe- v. Causa Recipiens : Faith ■< dience,

(and (/3) works by love.

[…]

Gen. xv. 6, LXX. = His faith was than any act ; the simple taking Ibm

reckoned unto him (put down in the at His word, and being fully per-

account for, counted as) righteousness. suaded that what He has promised, He

The passage is quoted also in Gal. is able to perform.‘1” Vaughan on

iii. 6, and James ii. 23. In the Rom. iv. 3.

Hebrew the active is used, And He 2 Remission of sins is Grace, “be-

(God) counted it to him for righteous- cause it is God’s own free gift; faith

ness. It is remarkable that this which qualifies our minds to receive

record is appended not to any act it, is also grace, because it is an effect

of obedience, such as leaving his of His gracious Spirit in us; we are

country or the offering up of Isaac, therefore justified by faith without

but to a process of faith in the mind works, by grace without merit.”

and heart alone. Compare the con- Hooker, Eccl. Pol. v. Append, i. 16. text apiQixTjaav to.% &<rT4pas…ovTu>s lu- 3 ‘0 opror o not merely the

rai t6 airipjia. aov 1 xal hrlarewrep Bread of life (John vi. 48), the life-

[…]

ei’s SiKatoa6vi]v. God, in His infinite having life in itself, which life is im-

love and hope for us, estimates us, parted to those who partake of the

not as we already are, but as we are Bread, on the way to become. ” He sees

(John vi. 51). Again faith it is that prompts us to charity and all good works. Thus faith is the living bond of union betwixt Christ and the soul, and God looks upon us not as we are seen in ourselves1, but as we are seen in Christ, who, by virtue of the completeness of the union effected by His Incarnation, brings it about that “all that is ours becomes His, and all that is His becomes ours — even that perfect righteousness, which swallowed up and expiated our sin2.”

xii. Patristic teaching. The statements of the early Fathers respecting Justification are rather practical than formal. What they do say, however, is explicit enough. Thus :

(a) Clement of Rome writing to the Corinthians says, “We, having been called through His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified through our- selves or through our own wisdom or under- standing or piety or works which we wrought in holiness of heart, but through faith, whereby the Almighty God justified all men that have been from the beginning; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen3;”

(b) S. Polycarp writing to the Philippians says, ” Let us, therefore, without ceasing hold fast by our hope and by the earnest of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ who took up our sins in His

[…]

mattes, p. 391. “Faith is like the dono, non quales sumus nostra me-

grain of mustard seed, a small insig- rito.” Prosper, Sentcnt. S. Aug. i. 56.

nificant, but fructifying seed-corn, See a striking illustration of this in

which contains within it the fulness of one of F. W. Robertson’s Sermons,

a whole future. In His gracious con- series iii. p. 110.

templation God beholds in the seed- 2 Mason’s Faith of the Gospel, p.

corn the future fruit of blessedness; 208. Ed. 1.

in the pure will, the realized idea of 3 S. Clement, 1 ad Cor. xxxii. freedom.” Ibid. p. 392. ” Tales nos

1 6 <g

own body upon the tree, Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth (i Pet. ii. 22, 24), but for our sakes He endured all things, that we might live in Him1;”

(c) S. Barnabas writes, “To this end the Lord en- dured to deliver His flesh unto corruption, that by the remission of sins we might be cleansed, which cleansing is through the Blood of His sprinkling2;”

(d) Irenaeus says, “All men fall short of the glory of God, and are justified not by themselves, but by the coming of the Lord3; ”

(e) S. Ambrose says, ” I will not glory, because I am righteous, but because I am redeemed. I will glory, not because I am free from sins, but because my sins are forgiven me; not because I have profited, nor because any one hath profited me, but because Christ is my Advocate with the Father, and because Christ’s Blood hath been shed for me4.”

Passages to this effect might be multiplied, and though not couched in formal terms, yet they clearly bear out the language of the Article.

xiii. In Conclusion the doctrine of Justification by Faith only5 is declared in the Article to be ” a most whole- some Doctrine and very full of comfort.” It is a ” most

1 S. Polycarp, ad Philipp. viii. of good works, or, at least, of the

3 Ireiweus, Adv. Ihir. iv. xlii. 3. tence, that we be justified by faith

6 Ex sola fide. The word sola here dread, and the fear of God, at any (alone) isnot to be taken for “solitary,” time and season.” Homily of Sal- i.e. for a dead faith or a faith destitute vation.

wholesome ” doctrine, because it reminds us of our true condition, as we are in ourselves apart from the Grace of God, and thus it checks spiritual pride, and corrects any tendency to self-righteousness. It is ” very full of comfort,” because it assures those, who are conscious how imperfect are their best efforts after holiness, that He, Who “despises not the sighing of a contrite heart,” will for Christ’s sake and His all-sufficient merits accept their imperfect en- deavours and unite them to Christ’s all-perfect obedience. The doctrine of Justification by Faith recognises man’s absolute need of Divine Grace in every stage of His progress in the Christian life. It renders high praise to God the Father, from Whom cometh every perfect gift, as the moving cause of our reconciliation and forgiveness ; it glorifies the Son as the sole meritorious cause1; it honours the Holy Ghost, as the sole efficient cause, through whose potent operation alone we are enabled ” to will and to work of God’s good pleasure2.”

2 The reason why faith has a certain stress laid upon it over and above the other parts of a religious character in our justification is “because the Gos- pel being preeminently a covenant of grace, faith is so far of more excellence than other virtues, because it confesses this beyond all others. Works of obedience witness to God’s just claims upon us, not to His mercy: but faith comes empty-handed, hides even its own worth, and does but point at that precious scheme of redemption which God’s love has devised for sinners. Hence it is the frame of mind especi- ally suitable to us, and is said in a special way to justify us, because it glorifies God, witnessing that He ac- cepts those and those only, who con-

fess they are not worthy to be ac- cepted.” Newman’s Parochial Ser- mons, Vol. iii. p. 87. “The doctrine of justification by faith is implied in the old custom of the Roman Church, clearly symbolical, of holdingacrucifix before the dying. For what else could this custom mean, except that the man now in the solemn hour of death must rely, not upon his own merits, not upon the merits of the saints, but solely upon the Crucified Christ, as the only Medi- ator? The crucifix it was that Pius VII. pressed to his breast in his dying moments, while with strong words he refused the name ‘most holy Father,’ which some one addressed to him. ‘What,’ he exclaimed, ‘most holy Father! I am a poor sinner.’ ” Mar- tensen’s Christian Dogmatics, E. T. P- 394-

Notes

• Compare the words of the Church ness are not of us, though they must Catechism, “the strengthening and be in us.” Newman’s Parochial and refreshing of our souls by the Body Parish Sermons, v. p. 132.
• S. liarnab. Epist. cap. v. purpose of doing well. “This sen-
• S. Ambros. De Jacobo el Vita only, is not so meant, that the said Heat. i. 6, quoted by lip Browne On justifying faith is alone in man, with- tht Articles, p. 277. out true repentance, hope, charity,
• See Bp Forbes On the Articles, p. 186.