Maclear and Williams on Article XII: Of Good Works

i. Connection. But if we are justified by faith only, the question arises, Does not this do away with, or at least disparage, the necessity of good works? It was to answer this objection and to clear up the language of the last Article, that the present one was introduced in 1563.

ii. History and Object. The present Article, then, was entirely lacking in the original draft of 1553, and was drawn up by Archbishop Parker to a certain extent from the Wiirtemberg Confession1, to meet any charge that might be made against the Articles that they favoured the opinions of the Antinomians. These sectaries, in conjunc- tion with the Solifidians, caused great trouble in the reign of Elizabeth, as is testified by Parker’s own language2, and

2 “They say that the realm is full to fight in unity of doctrine.” Letter of Anabaptists, Arians, Libertines, of Parker, March 1, 1558 — 9. Free-will men, &c, against whom only

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they had probably learnt their peculiar tenets abroad1. They taught that faith and faith only, quite independently of good works, was sufficient for salvation.

iii. Analysis. In opposition to these doctrines the Article asserts three points :

(1) That good works are ” the fruits of Faith; ”

(2) That they “follow after Justification,” or more literally, “them that are justified2;”

(3) That though they “cannot put away our sins and endure the severity of God’s Judgement3; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring necessarily of a true and lively4 Faith ; insomuch that by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.”

iv. Good Works the fruits of Faith. Our Lord repeatedly demanded of men that their moral conduct5 shall be the test of true discipleship. Thus :

(a) In the Sermon on the Mount He requires of His followers not merely good works generally, but

1 One of Luther’s disciples, John Agricola, openly taught Antinomi- anism at Wiirtemberg, A.D. 1538, and though the doctrine was disclaimed by Luther, it tinged not a little the teach- ing of Munzer and John of Leyden.

2 The Latin expression “justificatos sequuntur” occurs in S. Augustine, “Sequuntur enim bona opera justifi- catum, non prrecedunt justificandum.” De Fide et Operibus, xiv.

3 This expression occurs in the Wiirtemberg Confession, “Omnia enim bona opera, quae nos facimus, sunt im- perfecta, nec possunt severitatemdivini judicii ferre.”

4 The word “lively” in the English translation of the Article means “liv-

ing,” “full of life,"" vigorous.” Comp. Ps. xxxviii. iq, “mine enemies are lively”; Acts vii. 38, A.V., “who re- ceived the lively oracles to give unto us”; 1 Pet. i. 3, A.V., “^lively hope”; 1 Pet. ii. 5, A. V., “lively stones.”

the obedience of the heart as well as of the hands, and eye, and tongue (Matt. v. 15 — 48);

(b) Again He said to His Apostles, Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be My disciples (John xv. 8);

(c) Moreover in His last solemn discourse on the Mount of Olives He makes charity and the exercise of the corporal works of mercy, the very condition of His approval at the judgment of the last day (Matt. xxv. 31 — 46).

Thus He makes it clear that faith being the beginning of the spiritual life, good works must of necessity spring out of it1. Faith is the root of good works, and where it is vital cannot but bring them forth2.

v. Good works follow after Justification. This is taught again and again by S. Paul. While he insists strongly on faith as being the hand wherewith men embrace the righteousness wrought out for them by Christ, He insists equally strongly on the necessity of good works as the evidence of a man’s continuance in a state of Justifica- tion, Thus he writes :

(a) To the Galatians, Let its not be weary in well- doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (Gal. vi. 9) ;

(b) And to the Ephesians, We are God’s workman-

1 “Faith is the root of good works, obedience. In proportion as a man in that the root and the rest of the tree believes, so he obeys; they come to- being of the same substance, these two gether, and grow together, and last are in fact one, different expressions of through life. Neither are perfect; the same habit of soul: the living faith both are on the same level of imper- is the good work still silently shut up section; they keep pace with each in the soul, and the good Christian other; in proportion to the imperfec- work is nothing other than the faith tion of one, so is the imperfection oi brought to light.” Bp Forbes, p. 188. the other; and as the one advances,

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ship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, ■which God afore prepared that we should walk in them (Eph. ii. io)1;

(c) And to Titus, Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people for His own pos- session, zealous of good works (Titus ii. 14). And the other Apostles agree with His teaching. For

(«) S. James writes, As the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead (J as. ii. 26) ;

(b) S. Peter says to his converts, So is the will of God, that by well doing ye put to silence tlie ignorance of foolish men (1 Pet. ii. 15) ;

(c) And S. John affirms, Hereby we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and do His commandments (1 John v. 2).

We notice also that in the Eleventh Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, which professes to explain to us what faith is, the writer does so entirely by giving a list of the works which have sprung out of it, just as one, who wishes to describe the excellence of a fruit-tree, would dwell on the beauty and excellence, not of the roots and leaves, but of the fruit2.

1 Avtov ydp t<r/xev irolni/xa, kti- good works, which God before pre- vdivres & Xpiarw ‘IrjaoO ivl Ipyois pared for us as our appointed path to ayaBois. The expressions here are lead us to heaven.” Bp C. Words- very strong. “The power of working worth in loc. ” Debetur enim merces does not spring out of ourselves, but bonis operibus si fiant ; sed gratia, from God, and therefore cannot have qua; non debetur, praecedit ut fiant.” any intrinsic merit in it, for which we S. Aug. Op. Imp. contra Julianum, can claim salvation as a due… We are i. 133. “Gratia datur ante ullum created anew in Christ Jesus, and were laborem, unde quisque mercedem ac- admitted into a state of salvation not cipiet secundum laborem.” Prosper, because we have done good ‘works, which Sentent. S.Aug. merited salvation thereby; but we 2 See Bp Browne, On the Articles, were admitted into that state by God’s p. 322. Newman’s Parochial Ser- free grace, in order that we might do mons, vol. i. pp. 170 — 171.

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vi. Good Works Imperfect. But good works ” can- not put away our sins1, or endure the severity of God’s Judgement.” Many deeds, which pass for being just, good, and meritorious, would be seen to be quite the contrary, when brought to the standard of purity and sanctity which God requires, and might rightly exact from us. More- over the works of the most perfect fall very far short of that goodness, wherewith we ought to worship, praise, and honour God, and though of His exceeding long-suffering He does not reckon against us these defects and im- perfections, yet if He were extreme to mark what is done amiss (Ps. cxxx. 3), we could none of us stand in His sight. If we say we have 110 sin, writes S. John to those who had been long in a state of salvation, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John i. 8).

vii. We must take care, however, not so to depreciate the value of man’s part in the mighty cooperation due from him with the Grace of God as to represent great ventures of faith as less acceptable to God than they are. Our Lord Himself says Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit (John xv. 8), and again He says, There is 110 man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for My sake and the Gospel’s sake, but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time… and in the world to come eternal life (Mark x. 29, 30), and He warns all men that at the last day He will render to every man according to his deeds (Matt. xvi. 27). Hence S. Paul can assure (a) the Corinthians that their labour is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor. xv. 58), (b) the Romans that the sacrifice of their bodies is acceptable to God (Rom.

1 That is expiate (expiare) them. cannot keep a debtor and creditor

” Christ alone is the Lamb of God that account with God, and pay for the

taketh away the sins of the world, sins we love by certain acts, even the

and we cannot set so much good best.” Bp Forbes On the Articles, p.

work against so much past sin. We 189.

xii. i), (<:) the Ephesians that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. ii. 10), and S. James can declare that pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (J as. i. 27). We cannot elude the force of such passages as these. No man, indeed, can purchase heaven by his good works, for eternal life is the free gift of God in Christ Jesus (Rom. vi. 23)1, but good works done in the power of Christ and with the aid of His Spirit are pleasing and acceptable unto God. Their merit, whatever it be2 in its origin, is not theirs, but the merit of Him, of Whom by Grace we are made living members3. Thus God crowns His own gifts in us, so that to Him, and to Him alone belongs, the glory, and the Apostle Paul can say, I live ; and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me (Gal. ii. 20).

viii. The Teaching of S. Paul and that of S. James have sometimes been supposed to be contrary the one to the other on the subject of faith and works. For

(a) S. Paul says, We reckon that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law* (Rom. iii. 28);

1 ” Sin gives wages ; the ruin which follows it is fairly earned; but the Christian’s reward is, after all, a. gift.” Vaughan in loc.

by Him, Who with His Son gives all that constitutes satisfying moral life.

3 Merit, in the theological sense of the term, is the fruit of Grace; God gives Sufficient Grace (Gratia sitffi- ciens), or, as it is sometimes called, First Grace. Upon the use made of Sufficient Grace depends (speaking humanly and without limiting the mercy of God) the gift of Efficaeious Grace (Gratia Efficax); the moral government of God, where good use is made, being the pledge of such a gift, o\i yap &8trcos 6 8e6s eirt\a$4<r6ai toO Ipyov i/iHr, ko.1 rrjs dydnrr]s (Heb. vi. 10).

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(b) While S. James writes, Faith apart from works is barren (Jas. ii. 20), and By works a man is justified and not only by faith (Jas. ii. 24). But the expressions ” faith ” and ” works,” as employed by the two Apostles, have not precisely the same meaning. By ” faith ” S. Paul means a living active faith, and by ” works ” he means the ritual observances and external ceremonies of the Levitical Law1. S. James, on the other hand, means by ” faith ” a barren belief, a mere notional assent, and by “works” he means works of love and mercy. There is, therefore, no real contradiction between the two. S. Paul says we are justified by faith, that is a living faith, which must accordingly show itself by good works. S. James denies that we are justified by mere faith, that is a dead faith2, which does not prove itself by works worthy of the Christian profession. Thus S. James regards the faith that justifies as including the works of faith. S. Paul regards the faith that justifies as excluding the works of the Jewish ceremonial Law.

(as the ground of acceptance) any that it is, in the context where it occurs,

works of {belonging to, prescribed by) applied to the works of the Levitical

any law.” Vaughan in loc. Law, which, as works belonging to a

1 See Bp C. Wordsworth on Jas. ii. defunctsystem,arethemselvesdefunct;

24, and Godet on Rom. iii. 28. to make more of the expression is to

a The expression “dead works” fall into the fallacy of arguing a ditto

(Heb. vi. 1 ; ix. 14) is so often used in secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter.

mistaken contempt of moral effort, Comp. Westcott in loc. that it is not superfluous to observe

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Notes

• See Hardwick, pp. 125 sqq. I thought ministers should have needed
• ” In His Miracles of mercy, faith was the condition our Lord exacted for the exertion of His powers of healing and restoration. On one occasion He says, ”All things are possible to Him that belu-vetk’ (Markix. 23). Yetafter- wards in His solemn account of the last judgment, He tells us it is obedience to His will which will then receive His blessing.” Newman’s Parochial Ser- mons, iii. p. 84.
• “Faith does not cease with the so does the other also.” Newman’s first act, but continues. It works with Parochial Sermons, iii. p. 86.
• “Even the most active faith con- tinues to confess, ‘Men turn meum misericordia Domini,’ and also ’ Sufhcit ad meritum scire, quod non sufficiant merita’.” Oostezee’s Christian Dog- matics, p. 654, quoting Bernard of Clairvaux. ” Deus quum coronat me- rita nostra, quid aliud coronat quam Sua dona?” Prosper Aquit. 309 c. Thus merit, like righteousness, though not “of us,” is yet very really “in us.” and is, no less than other fruits of Grace, our own, given to us as a possession