Part 15
break the gates of hell—is ours. Although we still bear mortal bodies, he is our life.
In short, all his blessings are ours: in him we possess everything; in ourselves, nothing. We must therefore be built upon this foundation if we wish to be temples consecrated to God.
But for a very long time the world has been taught quite differently. Men have invented certain moral works by which people supposedly make themselves acceptable to God before being incorporated into Christ—as though Scripture lied when it says:
"Whoever does not possess the Son remains in death."
—1 John 5:12
If they are in death, how could they produce anything belonging to life? Likewise, they act as though it had been said in vain:
"Whatever is not done from faith is sin,"
—Romans 14:23
and as though good fruit could proceed from a bad tree.
What have these wicked Sophists left to Christ in which he may display his power? They say that he merited the first grace for us— that is, the opportunity to merit—but that it is now our responsibility not to fail to make use of the opportunity given to us. What shamelessness! What unrestrained audacity! Who would have expected that men professing to be Christians would so strip Jesus Christ of his power and virtually trample him underfoot?
Scripture everywhere bears this testimony concerning him: all who believe in him are justified. Yet these scoundrels teach that we receive no other benefit from him except that he has opened the way for us to justify ourselves.
Oh, if only they could taste the meaning of these declarations: that whoever possesses the Son of God also possesses life; that whoever believes has passed from death to life; that he is justified by God's grace so that he may become an heir of eternal life; that Christ dwells within him so that through Christ he may be united to God; that he participates in Christ's life; that he is seated with him in heaven; that he has already been transferred into God's Kingdom and has obtained salvation—and countless other similar declarations.
For these do not merely signify that the ability to acquire righteousness or salvation comes to us through Jesus Christ, but that both righteousness and salvation are given to us in him. Therefore, as soon as we are incorporated into Christ by faith, we are made children of God, heirs of heaven, partakers of righteousness, and possessors of life. To refute their falsehoods: we have not merely obtained an opportunity to merit, but all the merits of Christ, for they are communicated to us.
Thus the Sophists of the Sorbonne schools, mothers of every error, have destroyed the whole doctrine of justification by faith, in which the substance of all godliness was contained. They verbally confess that man is justified by faith formed by love, but afterward explain that works derive from faith their value and power to justify. It therefore appears that they mention faith only in mockery, because
they could not remain entirely silent about it when it is so frequently repeated in Scripture.
Not content with this, they rob God of a portion of the praise belonging to good works and transfer it to man. They see that good works contribute little to man's exaltation and cannot properly be called merits if they are regarded as fruits of God's grace. They therefore derive them from the capacity of free will—as though oil could be drawn from a stone.
It is true that they do not deny that grace is the principal cause, but they refuse to exclude free will, from which, they say, all merit proceeds. This is not merely the doctrine of the later Sophists. Their great master Peter Lombard says the same, though compared with the others he is notably restrained.
It was certainly an astonishing blindness that, while reading Saint Augustine—whom he so frequently quotes—he failed to see how carefully that holy man guarded against assigning even a single drop of the praise for good works to man. When treating free will above, we cited some of Augustine's testimonies on this subject, and a thousand similar statements may be found throughout his writings. For example, he says that all our merit proceeds from grace, that it is entirely given to us by grace and not acquired by our own ability, and other such things.
It is less surprising that Peter Lombard was not enlightened by the light of Scripture, since he was scarcely acquainted with it. Nevertheless, no clearer sentence could be desired against him and all his followers than that of Saint Paul, when, after forbidding
Christians all boasting, he adds the reason why they are not permitted to glory:
"For we are God's workmanship, created for good works, which he prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them."
—Ephesians 2:10
Since no good proceeds from us except insofar as we have been regenerated, and since our regeneration is entirely from God without any exception, it is sacrilege to attribute to ourselves even a single grain of the praise for good works.
Finally, although these Sophists speak endlessly and incessantly about good works, they instruct consciences in such a manner that those consciences never dare trust that God regards their works with favor. We, by contrast, without making any mention of merit, nevertheless give believers exceptional consolation through our doctrine when we testify that both they and their works are pleasing and acceptable to God. Indeed, we require that no one attempt or undertake any work without faith—that is, without having settled it as certain in his heart that the work will please God.
Therefore, let us never allow ourselves to be moved away from this foundation, even by the point of a needle, for upon it must rest everything belonging to the edification of the Church.
Thus, after laying this foundation, all God's servants whom he has charged with building his Kingdom give instruction and exhortation as needed. They admonish us that the Son of God appeared to
destroy the works of the devil, so that those who are of God should no longer sin; that the time already past was more than sufficient for us to follow the desires of the world; and that God's elect are vessels of his mercy, set apart for honor, and must therefore be cleansed from every defilement.
But everything is comprehended in this one statement:
"Christ will have as his disciples those who deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him."
—Luke 9:23
The man who has denied himself has already cut off the root of every evil, for he no longer seeks what pleases himself. The man who has taken up his cross has prepared himself for every form of patience and gentleness.
Yet Christ's example comprehends not only these things but every other duty of godliness and holiness. He rendered himself obedient to his Father even unto death. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to completing God's works. He sought to exalt his Father's glory. He laid down his life for his brothers. He returned good for evil to his enemies.
If consolation is needed, these same servants of God provide exceptional comfort:
"We endure tribulations, but are not crushed by them; we are in need, but not utterly destitute; we undergo great assaults, but are not abandoned; we are cast down, but do
not perish. We bear the dying of Jesus Christ in our bodies so that his life may be manifested in us."
—2 Corinthians 4:8–10
And again:
"If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure with him, we shall likewise reign with him."
—2 Timothy 2:11–12
"We are conformed to his sufferings until we attain the likeness of his resurrection, since the Father has ordained that all whom he elected in Christ should be conformed to his image, so that he might be the firstborn among all his brothers. Therefore, neither adversity, nor death, nor things present, nor things to come can separate us from the love God bears toward us in Christ. Rather, everything that happens to us will work for our good and salvation."
—Philippians 3:10; Romans 8:28–29, 35, 38–39
Following this doctrine, we do not justify man before God by his works. Rather, we say that all who belong to God are regenerated and made new creatures, so that they pass from the dominion of sin into the Kingdom of righteousness. By such testimonies they make their calling certain, and, like trees, they are judged by their fruits.
This is sufficient to refute the impudence of certain wicked men who accuse us of abolishing good works and drawing men away from them when we teach that no one is justified by works or merits
salvation through them. They further accuse us of making the way to righteousness too easy by saying that it consists in the free forgiveness of our sins, and of enticing men by this flattery to do evil, to which they are already too inclined by nature.
These slanders, I say, have been sufficiently refuted by what we have already said. Nevertheless, I shall answer each of them briefly.
They allege that good works are destroyed when justification by faith is preached. But what if they are instead upheld and established? For we do not imagine a faith empty of all good works or a justification that can exist without them.
The heart of the matter is this: although we confess that faith and good works are necessarily joined together, we nevertheless place righteousness in faith, not in works. The reason is easily explained, provided we look to Christ, toward whom faith is directed and from whom it derives all its power.
Why are we justified by faith? Because by faith we apprehend the righteousness of Christ, which alone reconciles us to God. Yet we cannot apprehend this righteousness without also receiving sanctification. For when it is said that Christ has been given to us as redemption, wisdom, and righteousness, it is likewise added that he has been given to us as sanctification.
It follows that Christ justifies no one whom he does not at the same time sanctify. These benefits are joined together by an everlasting bond: when he enlightens us by his wisdom, he redeems us; when he redeems us, he justifies us; and when he justifies us, he sanctifies us.
But since our present subject concerns only righteousness and sanctification, let us confine ourselves to these two.
Although they must be distinguished, Christ inseparably contains them both. Do we wish, then, to receive righteousness in Christ? We must first possess Christ himself. Yet we cannot possess him without participating in his sanctification, since he cannot be torn into pieces.
Since the Lord Jesus never grants anyone the enjoyment of his benefits without giving himself, he bestows both together and never one without the other. From this it is evident how true this statement is: we are not justified without works, although we are not justified by works, because participation in Christ, in whom our righteousness consists, contains sanctification no less than righteousness.
It is also a lie to say that we turn men's hearts away from the desire to do good when we remove from them the notion of merit. For when they say that no one will care about living well unless he hopes for some reward, they are grievously mistaken.
If the only object is to make men serve God for payment and behave like hired laborers selling him their service, very little has been accomplished. God desires to be honored and loved from a willing heart, and he approves the servant who would continue to serve him even if every hope of reward were removed.
If men need to be stirred up to do good, no better spurs can be used than to set before them the purpose of their redemption and calling. This is what the Word of God does when it says:
"Our consciences have been cleansed from dead works by the blood of Christ, so that we may serve the living God."
—Hebrews 9:14
And again:
"We have been delivered from the hand of our enemies so that we may walk before God in righteousness and holiness all the days of our lives."
—Luke 1:74–75
Likewise:
"The grace of God has appeared so that, renouncing all ungodliness and worldly desires, we may live soberly, holily, and devoutly in this present age, while awaiting the blessed hope and the revelation of the glory of our great God and Savior."
—Titus 2:11–13
We are not called to provoke God's wrath against us, but to obtain salvation in Christ. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, which it is not lawful to defile. We are not darkness but light in the Lord, and therefore must walk as children of light. We are not called to uncleanness but to holiness, and the will of God is our sanctification, so that we abstain from every perverse desire. Since our calling is holy, we cannot answer it except by purity of life. We have been delivered from sin so that we may obey righteousness.
Could there be a more powerful argument to stir us up to love than the one Saint John employs?
"We should love one another as God has loved us."
He also teaches that the children of God differ from the children of the devil, and the children of light from the children of darkness, because they abide in love.
—1 John 3:10, 14; 4:11
Or could there be a more powerful argument than that used by Saint Paul?
"If we are united to Christ, we are members of one body, and therefore we must devote ourselves to helping one another."
—Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12–27
Could we have a better exhortation to holiness than Saint John's declaration?
"Everyone who has the hope of life purifies himself, because his God is pure."
—1 John 3:3
Or than hearing from Christ's own mouth that he presents himself to us as an example so that we may follow in his steps?
"I have given you an example, so that you should do as I have done."
—John 13:15
I have briefly cited these passages merely as a sample.
For if I wished to collect all similar passages, I would have to produce a large volume. The Apostles are filled with exhortations, admonitions, and rebukes intended to instruct the man of God in every good work, yet they make no mention of merit.
On the contrary, they derive their principal exhortations from the fact that our salvation consists in God's mercy without our having merited anything. Saint Paul does this when, after teaching throughout the Epistle to the Romans that we possess no hope of salvation except in the grace of Christ, he begins his exhortation by grounding it upon the mercy he had proclaimed.
Indeed, this reason alone ought to move us sufficiently to live well: that God may be glorified in us. And if some are not so deeply moved by God's glory, the remembrance of his benefits ought to be sufficient to stir them up.
But because these Pharisees, by exalting merits, virtually force certain servile works from the people, they falsely accuse us of possessing no incentive to good works because we do not follow their method. It is as though God took great pleasure in such compulsory service, though he declares that he accepts no sacrifice except that which proceeds from a willing heart:
"Let no one give sorrowfully or under compulsion."
—2 Corinthians 9:7
I do not say this because I reject or despise the manner of exhortation Scripture frequently uses so as to leave no means unused for awakening our laziness—namely, setting before us the reward that God will render to each according to his works. But I deny that this is the only means of exhortation, or even the principal one. Moreover, I do not concede that we ought to begin there.
Finally, I maintain that this does nothing to establish the merits our adversaries invent, as we shall see hereafter. Furthermore, I say that such exhortations would profit nothing unless this doctrine had first been established: we are justified solely by the merit of Christ, in whom we participate by faith, and not by any merits of our works. For no one is disposed to live holily unless he has first received and rightly tasted this doctrine.
The Prophet teaches this very well when he says to God:
"There is mercy with you, O Lord, so that you may be feared."
—Psalm 130:4
He shows that no reverence for God exists among men until his mercy is known, for that mercy is its foundation.
It is an exceedingly frivolous slander to say that we invite men to sin by preaching the free forgiveness of sins, in which we place the whole of righteousness. For when we speak in this manner, we assign forgiveness such immense value that it cannot be compensated for by any good proceeding from us, and therefore could never be obtained unless it were free.
We say that it is free to us, but not to Christ, to whom it cost exceedingly dearly. For he purchased it with his most precious and sacred blood, because there was no other price by which the judgment of God could be satisfied.
By teaching men in this way, we admonish them that, as far as lies in their power, they shed this sacred blood whenever they sin. Moreover, we show them that the defilement of sin is such that it can be washed away only in this one fountain. When they hear this, should they not conceive a greater horror of sin than if they were told they could cleanse themselves by certain good works?
And if they possess any fear of God, how could they not abhor wallowing once again in the mire after having been cleansed, thereby troubling and polluting, so far as they are able, that most pure fountain in which they have been washed? The faithful soul says in Solomon:
"I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them again?"
—Song of Solomon 5:3
It is now evident which of us cheapens the forgiveness of sins and does more to destroy the dignity of righteousness. Our adversaries babble that God may be appeased by certain frivolous satisfactions— that is, by smoke and dung. We say that the offense of sin is far too grievous to be compensated for by such rubbish, and that God's wrath is far too severe to be so lightly removed. Therefore, this honor and prerogative belong solely to the blood of Christ.
They say that righteousness, whenever it is deficient, may be repaired through works of satisfaction. We say that righteousness is too precious to be so easily acquired and that, to recover it, we must take refuge solely in the mercy of God.
Everything else pertaining to the forgiveness of sins has been sufficiently treated in the fifth chapter.
Let us now proceed to the other arguments by which Satan, through his agents, boasts that he can destroy or diminish justification by faith. I believe our slanderers have already been deprived of the ability to accuse us of being enemies of good works. For we deny that works justify, not so that no good works should be performed or that they should be held in no esteem, but so that we should not trust in them, glory in them, or attribute salvation to them.
For this is our confidence, our glory, and the only haven of our salvation: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is ours, and in him we are children of God and heirs of the heavenly Kingdom, called to the hope of eternal blessedness—not because of our worthiness, but because of God's goodness.
Nevertheless, since they attack us with other weapons, let us continue to repel their blows. First, they produce the legal promises God made to those who observe his Law. They ask whether we consider those promises vain or effective. Since it would be unreasonable to call them vain, they take it as settled that they possess some efficacy. From this they infer that we are not justified by faith alone, since the Lord speaks in this manner:
"If you listen to my commandments and keep them to perform them, the Lord will keep with you the promise he swore to your fathers. He will love you, multiply you, and bless you."
—Deuteronomy 7:12–13
And again:
"If you rightly order your ways, do not turn aside to foreign gods, and practice justice and uprightness without turning to evil, I will dwell with you."
—Jeremiah 7:5–7
I have no desire to recount a thousand similar promises, since they may all be answered by the same explanation, their meaning being no different from these.
The substance of their argument is that Moses testifies that blessing and cursing, life and death, are presented to us in the Law. Therefore, either we must render this blessing idle and fruitless or confess that justification is not by faith alone.
In answer, we have already shown that if we remain under the Law, we are excluded from every blessing and enclosed beneath the curse pronounced upon all transgressors. For God promises nothing except to the perfect observer of his Law, and no such person exists anywhere in the world.
It therefore remains permanently established that the Law binds the whole human race under the curse and wrath of God. If we wish to be
delivered from this, we must pass out from under the Law's dominion and be brought, as it were, from servitude into liberty.
This is not a fleshly liberty that withdraws us from obedience to the Law, invites us to dissoluteness and license, and loosens the reins upon our desires so that they may run wild. It is a spiritual liberty that comforts and strengthens the troubled and terrified conscience by showing it that it has been delivered from the curse and condemnation in which the Law held it confined.
We obtain this deliverance when by faith we apprehend the mercy of God in Christ, by which we are made certain and assured of the forgiveness of sins whose guilt the Law made us feel by stinging and biting our consciences.
For this reason, even the promises offered to us in the Law would be fruitless and powerless unless the goodness of God came to our aid through the Gospel. For the condition upon which they depend—that we fulfill the will of God—will never be accomplished.
The Lord does not come to our aid by leaving us some portion of righteousness in our works and supplying through his goodness whatever is lacking. Rather, he assigns Christ alone to us as the complete fulfillment of righteousness. For after the Apostle says that he and the other Jews, knowing that man cannot be justified by the works of the Law, had believed in Jesus Christ, he adds the reason— not that they might be assisted by faith in Christ to attain perfect righteousness, but that they might be justified without the works of the Law.
"We have believed in Jesus Christ so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law."
—Galatians 2:16
If believers depart from the Law and come to faith to obtain the righteousness they could not find in the Law, they certainly renounce the righteousness of works.
Let anyone, therefore, magnify as much as he wishes the rewards the Law declares to be prepared for its observers, provided he also considers that our perversity prevents us from receiving any fruit from them until we have obtained another righteousness.
Thus David, after speaking of the reward God has prepared for his servants, immediately turns to acknowledging the sins by which that reward is rendered inaccessible:
"In keeping your commandments there is great reward. But who can understand his faults?"
—Psalm 19:11–12
He clearly shows the blessings that ought to come to us from the Law, but when he immediately asks, "Who can understand his faults?" he identifies the obstacle that prevents our enjoyment of them from reaching us.
Likewise, elsewhere, after saying that all the Lord's ways are goodness and truth toward those who fear him, he adds:
"For your name's sake, O Lord, be merciful to my iniquity, for it is very great."
—Psalm 25:10–11
In this manner, we must acknowledge that God's favor is offered to us in the Law if we could acquire it by our works, but that we never obtain it through the merit of those works.
What then? someone will ask. Were the legal promises given in vain, only to disappear? I have already testified that this is not my position. I say, however, that their efficacy does not reach us so long as they are referred to the merit of works, and therefore that, considered in themselves, they are in some measure nullified.
Thus the Apostle says that this excellent promise—
"God has given us good commandments, which will give life to those who perform them,"
—Romans 10:5; Galatians 3:12
is of no benefit if we rest in it and profits us no more than if it had never been given. For what it requires is not found even in God's holiest servants, all of whom fall far short of fulfilling the Law and are surrounded by many transgressions.
But when the evangelical promises are set forth, proclaiming the free forgiveness of sins, they not only make us acceptable to God but also cause our works to be pleasing to him. And God not only accepts those works but rewards them with the blessings which, according to
the covenant he had made, were due to the complete observance of his Law.
I therefore confess that the reward promised by the Lord in his Law to all who observe righteousness and holiness is rendered to the works of believers. But in such a reward we must carefully consider the reasons why their works are received with favor.
There are three reasons. The first is that the Lord turns his eyes away from the works of his servants, which always deserve disgrace rather than praise, and receives and embraces them in Christ. Through faith alone, without any assistance from works, he reconciles them to himself.
The second is that, from his fatherly goodness and indulgence, he honors their works by regarding them as having some worth and value, without considering whether they are worthy of it.
The third is that he receives these works in mercy, not counting the imperfection within them, by which they are all so polluted that they deserve to be numbered among vices rather than virtues.
From this it appears how greatly the Sophists of the Sorbonne have deceived themselves. They imagined that they had avoided every absurdity by saying that works are able to merit salvation, not because of their intrinsic goodness, but because God in his kindness chooses to value them so highly.
Meanwhile, they failed to observe how far the works they call meritorious fall short of the condition required by the legal promises, unless they are preceded by the free righteousness that rests upon
faith alone and by the forgiveness of sins through which even good works must be cleansed from their stains. Thus, of the three reasons we have given for God's accepting the works of believers, they have noted only one and remained silent about the other two—even the principal ones.
They allege the statement of Saint Peter recorded by Saint Luke in Acts:
"Truly, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation the one who practices righteousness is acceptable to him."
—Acts 10:34–35
From these words they think they can construct an unanswerable argument: if man obtains favor with God through good works, then his obtaining salvation does not proceed from God's grace alone. Rather, God assists the sinner by his mercy in such a way that he is moved to do so by the sinner's good works.
But we can never reconcile the many statements of Scripture unless we recognize a twofold acceptance of man before God. For in man's natural condition, God finds nothing that could move him to mercy except sheer misery. If it is evident that when man is first received by God, he is empty and destitute of all good, and conversely burdened and filled with every kind of evil, on account of what virtue shall we say that he is worthy of God's calling?
Let every vain imagination of merit therefore be rejected, since the Lord so openly demonstrates his free mercy toward us.
In the same passage, the angel tells Cornelius:
"Your prayers and alms have come before the face of God."
—Acts 10:4
They perversely twist this to prove that man is prepared by good works to receive the grace of God. Yet Cornelius must already have been enlightened by the Spirit of wisdom, since he was instructed in true wisdom—namely, the fear of God. Likewise, he must have been sanctified by the same Spirit, since he loved righteousness, which, as the Apostle says, is a fruit of the Spirit.
Therefore, everything in Cornelius that was pleasing to God had come from God's grace. So far was he from having prepared himself by his own effort to receive that grace.
Certainly, not a single syllable of Scripture can be produced which does not agree with this doctrine: God has no other reason for receiving man into his love than that he sees him to be utterly lost if abandoned to himself. Therefore, because he does not will to leave him in destruction, he exercises his mercy by delivering him.
We now see that this acceptance does not arise from man's righteousness, but is a pure testimony of God's goodness toward miserable sinners, who otherwise are altogether unworthy of such a benefit. But after God has drawn man out of such an abyss of destruction and sanctified him by the grace of adoption—because he has regenerated and reformed him to newness of life—he also receives and embraces him as a new creature, together with the gifts of his Spirit. This is the acceptance of which Saint Peter speaks. For
after their calling, believers are pleasing to God even with respect to their works, because God cannot but love the good things which he has conferred upon them by his Spirit.
Nevertheless, we must always maintain that they are pleasing to God on account of their works only because God, by reason of the free love he bears them, accepts their works. For whence do their good works come, except that the Lord, having chosen them as vessels of honor, also wills to adorn them with true purity? And whence are these works accounted good, as though there were nothing in them to condemn, except that this gracious Father pardons the stains and blemishes with which they are defiled?
In short, Saint Peter means nothing else in this passage than that God loves his children, in whom he sees the likeness of his own countenance impressed. For we taught above that our regeneration is, as it were, the restoration of his image in us. Since, therefore, the Lord rightly loves and honors his image wherever he beholds it, it is not without cause that the life of believers, when formed and ordered to holiness and righteousness, is said to be pleasing to him. But because believers, while surrounded by their mortal flesh, are still sinners, and their works are only begun and therefore contain many faults, God cannot be gracious either to his children or to their works unless he receives them in Christ rather than in themselves.
In this sense we must understand the passages which testify that God is gracious and kind toward those who live uprightly. Moses said to the Israelites:
"The Lord your God keeps his covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his
commandments."
—Deuteronomy 7:9
This saying was commonly repeated among the people, as we see in Solomon's solemn prayer:
"O Lord God of Israel, who keeps covenant and mercy with your servants who walk before you with all their heart."
—1 Kings 8:23
The same is said in Nehemiah's prayer. The reason is that, just as the Lord in making his covenant of grace requires holiness and integrity of life in return from his servants, so that his goodness may not be mocked and despised, and that no one may be puffed up with a vain confidence in his mercy so as to feel secure while walking perversely, so also, after receiving them into the fellowship of his covenant, he wills by this means to keep them in their duty. Nevertheless, the covenant does not cease to be freely made at the beginning and always to remain free.
It will be useful to note in passing the difference between such expressions and legal promises. By legal promises I do not mean all those scattered throughout the Law of Moses, since many evangelical promises are found there, but those which properly belong to the doctrine of the Law. Such promises, whatever name may be given them, promise recompense and reward on condition that we do what is commanded. But when it is said that the Lord keeps the promise of his mercy toward those who love him, this serves rather to show who the servants of God are who have embraced his covenant from the
heart than to express the cause for which God is gracious toward them.
The reason for this is that, just as the Lord in his kindness calls us to the hope of eternal life in order that he may be feared, loved, and honored by us, so all the promises of his mercy found in Scripture are rightly directed toward this end: that we should hold him in honor and reverence. Therefore, whenever we hear that the Lord does good to those who observe his Law, let us remember that Scripture is thereby identifying the children of God by the mark which ought continually to distinguish them. Let us consider that God has adopted us as his children so that we may honor him as our Father. Therefore, if we would not renounce the right of our adoption, we must strive to press toward the goal to which our calling leads us.
Nevertheless, on the other hand, let us hold this as certain: the fulfillment of God's mercy does not depend upon the works of believers. Rather, when the Lord fulfills the promise of salvation in those who answer their calling by uprightness of life, it is because he recognizes in them the true marks and tokens of his children— namely, the graces of his Spirit.
To this we must refer what is said concerning the citizens of Jerusalem in the fifteenth Psalm:
"Lord, who shall dwell in your tabernacle, and establish his dwelling upon your holy mountain? He who is innocent in his hands and pure in his heart."
—Psalm 15:1–2
Likewise, in Isaiah:
"Who shall dwell with the fire that consumes everything? He who practices righteousness and speaks the truth."
—Isaiah 33:14–15
The same applies to other similar passages. For these things are not said in order to describe the foundation upon which believers must stand before God, but only the manner by which he calls them into his fellowship and maintains and preserves them in it. Because he detests sin and loves righteousness, he purifies by his Spirit those whom he wills to unite to himself, so that he may make them conformable to his nature.
Therefore, if the first cause is sought by which entrance into God's kingdom is opened to us and by which we are enabled to persevere there, the answer is ready: it is because the Lord once adopted us by his mercy and continually preserves us. But if the manner in which this is accomplished is asked, then we must turn to our regeneration and its fruits, of which this Psalm and other passages speak.
But it appears that there is much greater difficulty in answering those testimonies which honor good works with the title of righteousness and say that man is justified by them. As to the first kind, we see that the commandments of God are frequently called righteous ordinances and acts of righteousness. Of the second kind we have an example in Moses, when he says:
"This shall be our righteousness, if we observe all these commandments."
—Deuteronomy 6:25
If it is answered that this is a legal promise joined to an impossible condition, there are other passages of which the same cannot be said. For example:
"It shall be reckoned to you as righteousness if you return to the poor man the pledge he has given you."
—Deuteronomy 24:13
Likewise, the Prophet says that the zeal of Phinehas in avenging Israel's disgrace was reckoned to him as righteousness.
"And it was reckoned to him as righteousness."
—Psalm 106:31
Therefore, the Pharisees of our day think they have excellent grounds for crying out against us here. For when we say that, once the righteousness of faith is established, the righteousness of works must be overthrown, they argue in return that if righteousness comes through works, it cannot be true that we are justified by faith alone.
I answer that it is no wonder if the commandments of the Law are called righteousness, for they truly are righteousness. Nor do we deny this to God's Law, as though it did not contain perfect righteousness. For although, because we owe everything it requires, even if we had fulfilled it we would still be unprofitable servants, nevertheless, since the Lord has bestowed upon its observance the honor of calling it righteousness, it is not for us to take away what he has given it.
We therefore willingly confess that obedience to the Law is righteousness, and that the observance of each commandment is a part of righteousness—provided that none of the other parts is lacking. But we deny that such righteousness can be found anywhere in this world. For this reason we abolish the righteousness of the Law, not because it is insufficient in itself, but because, owing to the weakness of our flesh, it appears nowhere.
But someone may say that Scripture not only calls God's precepts righteousness, but also bestows this title upon the works of believers, as when it records that Zechariah and his wife observed the Lord's righteous ordinances.
"They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord."
—Luke 1:6
I answer that in speaking this way Scripture evaluates their works according to the nature of the Law rather than according to their own actual condition. It is true that the Lord, by the contents of his Law, has shown men what righteousness is. But we do not put that righteousness into effect unless we observe the whole Law, for it is corrupted by every transgression. Since, therefore, the Law teaches nothing but righteousness, if we consider the Law itself, all its commandments are righteousness. But if we consider men, they do not merit the praise of righteousness for observing one commandment while transgressing many others, especially since they perform no work in obedience to God which is not in some way defective because of its imperfection.
Our answer, therefore, is that when the works of the saints are called righteousness, this does not arise from their merit, but from the fact that they tend toward the righteousness which God has commanded us—a righteousness which is nothing unless it is perfect. But it is found perfect in no man in the world. We must therefore conclude that no good work in itself merits the name of righteousness.
I now come to the second kind, where the principal difficulty lies. Saint Paul has no stronger argument for proving the righteousness of faith than when he cites what Moses wrote:
"Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness."
—Genesis 15:6
Since, therefore, according to the Prophet, the zeal of Phinehas was likewise reckoned to him as righteousness, what Saint Paul argues concerning faith may also be concluded concerning works. Accordingly, our adversaries, as though they already held the victory in their hands, determine that although we are not justified without faith, we are nevertheless not justified by faith alone, but that works must be joined to it in order to complete our righteousness.
Here I solemnly appeal to all who fear God: since they know that the rule of righteousness must be taken from Scripture alone, let them also consider diligently and with humility of heart how Scripture may be reconciled with itself, without any sophistry. Saint Paul, knowing that the righteousness of faith is a refuge for those who are destitute of any righteousness of their own, boldly infers that whoever is justified by faith is excluded from the righteousness of works. Knowing, furthermore, that the righteousness of faith is common to
all God's servants, he again infers with the same confidence that no one is justified by works, but rather that we are justified without any assistance from our works.
But it is one thing to discuss what value works possess in themselves, and another to consider how God regards them after the righteousness of faith has been established. If works are to be valued according to their own worth, we say that they are unworthy to be presented before the face of God. Therefore, there is no man in the world who possesses anything in his works of which he may boast before God. It remains, then, that all men, being deprived of every assistance from their works, must be justified by faith alone.
We explain this righteousness in the following manner: the sinner, being received into communion with Christ, is reconciled to God by his grace, because, being purified by Christ's blood, he obtains forgiveness of his sins; and being clothed with Christ's righteousness as though it were his own, he is able to stand before God's judgment seat. Once the forgiveness of sins has been established, the works which follow are valued on a basis other than their own merit. For everything imperfect in them is covered by Christ's perfection, and everything defiled and stained in them is cleansed by his purity, so that it is not brought into account.
After the guilt of transgressions has thus been blotted out—which formerly prevented men from producing anything pleasing to God— and after the defects of imperfection, by which all good works are stained and blemished, have also been buried, then the good works performed by believers are accounted righteous, or, what amounts to the same thing, are imputed as righteousness.
If anyone should now raise this against me in order to overthrow the righteousness of faith, I will first ask him whether a man ought to be accounted righteous on account of two or three good works while transgressing the Law in all the others. That would be altogether unreasonable. I will then ask whether he is righteous even on account of many good works when he may still be found guilty in some respect. My adversary will not dare affirm this either, since God's sentence contradicts it, pronouncing accursed all who have not fulfilled every commandment.
I will proceed still further and ask whether there is a single good work in which no impurity or imperfection can be found. How could that be possible before the eyes of God, in whose sight the stars are neither pure nor bright, nor the angels righteous? He will therefore be compelled to confess that no good work can be found which is not polluted and corrupted, both by the transgressions a man has committed elsewhere and by its own imperfection, so that it is unworthy to bear the name of righteousness.
Now, if it is evident that it proceeds from justification by faith that works which were otherwise only partly good, impure, corrupted, and unworthy to appear before God—much less to please him—are imputed as righteousness, why should we allege the righteousness of works in order to destroy the righteousness of faith, by which that very righteousness is produced and in which it consists? Would we produce a serpent's brood, in which the children destroy their mother? Yet this is precisely where the argument of our adversaries leads. They cannot deny that justification by faith is the beginning, foundation, cause, matter, and substance of the righteousness of
works. Nevertheless, they conclude that man is not justified by faith because good works are imputed as righteousness.
Let us therefore leave such rubbish behind and confess the truth of the matter: if all the righteousness that can be found in our works proceeds from and depends upon justification by faith, then the latter is not diminished in the least by the former, but is rather confirmed, since its power is shown to be all the greater.
Furthermore, let us not imagine that works are so highly esteemed after free justification that they succeed faith in the office of justifying man, or that they justify him jointly with faith. For unless the righteousness of faith always remains entire, the uncleanness of works will be exposed, so that they will merit nothing but condemnation. Nor is there any absurdity in saying that man is so justified by faith that not only is he righteous in his person, but his works also are accounted righteous without having merited it.
In this manner, when Saint Paul wishes to prove that our blessedness consists in God's mercy and not in our works, he presses strongly the words of David:
"Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord has not imputed his faults."
—Psalm 32:1–2
If anyone should set against this the countless testimonies which appear to place blessedness in our works, as when it is said:
"Blessed is the man who fears God."
—Psalm 112:1
"Blessed is he who has compassion on the afflicted poor."
—Proverbs 14:21
"Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked."
—Psalm 1:1
"Blessed is the man who endures temptation."
—James 1:12
"Blessed are those who maintain righteousness and justice."
—Psalm 106:3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit."
—Matthew 5:3
None of this will make Saint Paul's statement any less true. For since these virtues are never all present in man in such a manner that they can be accepted by God in themselves, it follows that man is always miserable until he is delivered from misery through the forgiveness of his sins.
Since, therefore, every kind of blessedness mentioned in Scripture is nullified and lost, so that man receives the fruit of none of them
unless he first obtains blessedness in the forgiveness of his sins— which makes room for all the other blessings of God—it follows that this free blessedness is not merely the chief and highest, but the only blessedness, unless we would have it destroyed and abolished by the blessings which depend upon it alone.
There is therefore no good reason for us to be troubled or disturbed by the fact that believers are frequently called righteous in Scripture.
I confess that they bear this title on account of their holy life. But since they devote themselves more to pursuing righteousness than they actually fulfill it, it is only right that this imperfect righteousness of works should be subordinated to the righteousness of faith, upon which it is founded and from which it derives everything it possesses.
But our adversaries proceed further and say that Saint James contradicts us so plainly that it is impossible for us to escape him. For he teaches that Abraham was justified by works, and that we also are all justified by works and not by faith alone. But I ask whether they intend to set Saint James at war with Saint Paul. If they regard Saint James as a servant of Christ, his statement must be understood in such a way that it does not disagree with Christ, who spoke through the mouth of Saint Paul.
The Holy Spirit affirms through Saint Paul that Abraham obtained righteousness by faith and not by his works, and that we also must all be justified apart from the works of the Law. The same Spirit declares through Saint James that our righteousness consists in works and not in faith alone. It is certain that the Spirit does not contradict himself. What, then, is the reconciliation?
It is enough for our adversaries if they can uproot the righteousness of faith, which we desire to be planted deeply within the heart. They are not greatly concerned about giving rest to consciences. Thus we see how they endeavor to shake the righteousness of faith, yet provide no certain rule of righteousness to which consciences may submit. Let them therefore triumph as much as they please, provided they can boast of no other victory than having taken away every certainty of righteousness. They will indeed obtain this accursed victory wherever, having extinguished every light of truth, they have blinded the world with their darkness. But wherever God's truth remains firm, they will accomplish nothing.
I therefore deny that the statement of Saint James, which they continually have upon their lips and make their great shield, supports them in any way. To make this clear, we must first consider the purpose toward which he is directing his argument, and then observe where they go astray.
Because there were then many—as this evil is common in the Church —who demonstrated their unbelief by despising everything proper to believers, yet did not cease falsely boasting of the title of faith, Saint James mocks this foolish presumption. His intention, therefore, is not to detract in the least from true faith, but to show how absurd such babblers were in attributing so much to an empty appearance of faith that, contenting themselves with it, they meanwhile led dissolute lives.
Once this is understood, it is easy to see where our adversaries are mistaken, for they err in two respects: first, by misunderstanding the word faith; and then by misunderstanding the word justify. When
Saint James speaks of faith, he means nothing more than a frivolous opinion, which differs greatly from true faith. He does this by way of concession, as his opening words demonstrate:
"What does it profit, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works?"
—James 2:14
He does not say, "If someone has faith without works," but, "If he boasts that he has it."
He makes this still clearer afterward when, in mockery, he makes such faith inferior to the knowledge possessed by demons, and finally calls it dead. We may sufficiently understand what he means from the definition he gives:
"You believe that there is one God."
—James 2:19
Certainly, if the whole substance of this faith consists merely in believing that there is a God, it is no wonder that it cannot justify. Nor should we imagine that this detracts in any way from Christian faith, whose nature is altogether different. For how does true faith justify, except by uniting us to Jesus Christ, so that, being made one with him, we may partake of his righteousness? It does not therefore justify because it conceives some knowledge of the Deity, but because it causes man to rest in the certainty of God's mercy.
We have not yet reached the heart of the matter until we expose their other error. For Saint James appears to place a part of our
righteousness in works. But if we would have him agree both with the whole of Scripture and with himself, it is necessary to understand the word justify differently here from the way it is used by Saint Paul. For Saint Paul calls us justified when, all consideration of our own righteousness being set aside, we are accounted righteous.
If Saint James had intended this meaning, he would have cited Moses improperly when he said that Abraham believed God. For he adds that Abraham obtained righteousness through his works, in that he did not hesitate to sacrifice his son at God's command, and that in this manner the Scripture was fulfilled which says:
"Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him as righteousness."
—Genesis 15:6
If it is absurd for an effect to precede its cause, then either Moses falsely testifies in this passage that faith was imputed to Abraham as righteousness, or Abraham did not merit his righteousness by the obedience he rendered to God in being willing to sacrifice Isaac.
Abraham was justified by faith before Ishmael was conceived, and Ishmael had already grown up before Isaac was born. How, then, can we say that Abraham acquired righteousness through an act of obedience performed long afterward? Therefore, either Saint James has overturned the entire order—which it is not lawful even to imagine—or, in saying that Abraham was justified, he did not mean that Abraham had merited being accounted righteous.
What, then, did he mean? It is evident that he speaks of the demonstration of righteousness, not of its imputation. It is as though he had said: Those who are righteous by faith demonstrate their righteousness through obedience and good works, and not by a bare and imaginary profession of faith. In short, he is not disputing the means by which we are justified, but requires from believers a righteousness that manifests itself in works.
Just as Saint Paul affirms that man is justified without the assistance of his works, so Saint James does not concede that anyone who claims to be righteous may be destitute of good works. This consideration will free us from every difficulty. For our adversaries chiefly err in imagining that Saint James is determining the manner in which we are justified, whereas he seeks no other end than to overthrow the vain confidence of those who falsely claim the title of faith in order to excuse their negligence in doing good. Therefore, however they twist and turn the words of Saint James, they can draw from them only these two conclusions: first, that an empty imagining of faith does not justify us; and second, that the believer, not content with such an imagining, demonstrates his righteousness by good works.
What they allege from Saint Paul in the same sense does not help them in the least:
"The doers of the Law shall be justified, not the hearers."
—Romans 2:13
I do not wish to evade the difficulty by using Saint Ambrose's answer, who explains that this was said because the fulfillment of the Law is
faith in Christ. For this seems to me a mere escape, which is altogether unnecessary when a clear path lies open before us.
In this passage Saint Paul casts down the pride of the Jews, who gloried in the mere knowledge of the Law even though they were great despisers of it. Therefore, lest they should take such pleasure in a bare knowledge of the Law, he warns them that if we seek our righteousness in the Law, we must come to its observance, not merely to an understanding of it.
Certainly, we do not call into question that the righteousness of the Law consists in good works. Nor do we deny that perfect righteousness is found in the complete observance of holiness and innocence. But it has not yet been proved that we are justified by works unless someone can be produced who has fulfilled the Law.
Saint Paul's line of argument demonstrates that he intended nothing else. After condemning both Jews and Gentiles alike as unrighteous, he proceeds to distinguish between them:
"Those who have sinned without the Law shall perish without the Law; and those who have sinned under the Law shall be judged by the Law."
—Romans 2:12
The first statement applies to the Gentiles, and the second particularly to the Jews. But because the Jews, closing their eyes to their transgressions, gloried in possessing the Law, he properly adds that the Law had not been given to them so that they might be made righteous merely by hearing its voice, but by obeying its
commandments. It is as though he had said: Do you seek righteousness in the Law? Do not appeal merely to hearing it, which in itself is of little value, but produce the works by which you may demonstrate that the Law was not given to you in vain.
Since they all failed in this respect, it followed that they were stripped of the glory to which they laid claim. Therefore, from Saint Paul's meaning we should form an argument contrary to that of our adversaries: if the righteousness of the Law consists in the perfection of good works, and no one can boast of having satisfied the Law by his works, then the righteousness of the Law does not exist among men.
Afterward our adversaries assail us with passages in which believers boldly offer their righteousness to God for examination and desire to receive judgment according to it. Thus David says:
"Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the innocence that is in me."
—Psalm 7:8
Again:
"Hear my righteous cause, O Lord. You have tested my heart and visited it by night, and no iniquity has been found in me."
—Psalm 17:1, 3
Again:
"The Lord will reward me according to my righteousness and repay me according to the purity of my hands, for I have kept the right way and have not turned away from my God."
—Psalm 18:20–21
Again:
"Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in innocence. I have not sat among liars, nor have I joined myself to the wicked. Therefore, do not destroy my soul with the ungodly."
—Psalm 26:1, 4, 9
I have already spoken above of the confidence which believers appear to derive from their works. The passages cited here will not trouble us greatly if we consider their context, which is twofold. For in speaking this way, believers do not ask that their whole life be examined so that they may be acquitted or condemned according to it, but present some particular cause to God for judgment. Secondly, they attribute righteousness to themselves not in relation to God's perfection, but in comparison with the wicked and ungodly.
First, when the justification of man is in question, it is not enough that he should have a good and righteous cause in some particular matter; he must possess complete righteousness throughout the whole course of his life. This no one has ever possessed or ever will.
Now, in those prayers in which the saints invoke God's judgment to vindicate their innocence, they do not mean to boast that they are
pure and free from every sin, or that nothing in their lives can be condemned. Rather, having placed all confidence of salvation in God's goodness, yet trusting that he is the protector of the afflicted, avenging the injuries done to them and defending them when they are unjustly oppressed, they commend to him the particular cause in which they suffer innocently.
Moreover, when they present themselves with their adversaries before God's throne, they do not allege an innocence capable of answering to his purity if it were strictly examined. But because they know that their sincerity, righteousness, and simplicity are pleasing and acceptable to God in comparison with the malice, wickedness, and deceit of their adversaries, they do not hesitate to call upon God as judge between themselves and those wicked men.
Thus, when David said to Saul:
"May the Lord repay every man according to the righteousness and faithfulness found in him."
—1 Samuel 26:23
He did not mean that God should examine each man individually and reward him according to his merits. Rather, he testified before God to his own innocence in comparison with Saul's wickedness.
Likewise, when Saint Paul glories in the good testimony of his conscience, that he has performed his office in simplicity and integrity, he does not mean to rely and rest upon this glory when he comes before God's judgment.
"Our glory is this: the testimony of our conscience, that we have conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity."
—2 Corinthians 1:12
Rather, being compelled by the accusations of the wicked, he defends his faithfulness and integrity against their slander—qualities which he knew to be known and pleasing to God. For we see what he says elsewhere:
"I am not conscious of anything against myself, yet I am not thereby justified."
—1 Corinthians 4:4
He certainly understood that God's judgment is very different from human estimation. Therefore, although believers call upon God as witness and judge of their innocence against the wickedness of hypocrites, whenever they have to deal with God alone, they all cry with one voice:
"O Lord, do not enter into judgment with your servants, for no one living shall be justified before you."
—Psalm 143:2
Distrusting their works, they willingly confess:
"Your goodness is better than life."
—Psalm 63:3
There are other, nearly similar passages which might cause someone difficulty. Solomon says:
"He who walks in integrity is righteous."
—Proverbs 10:9
Again:
"In the way of righteousness life is found, and in its pathway there is no death."
—Proverbs 12:28
For the same reason, Ezekiel declares:
"He who practices righteousness and justice shall surely live."
—Ezekiel 18:5, 9
I answer that we have no desire to deny, conceal, or obscure any of these things. But let one man come forward who possesses such integrity. If no mortal man can be found who does, then either all must perish under God's judgment or they must take refuge in his mercy.
Meanwhile, we do not deny that the integrity possessed by believers, although imperfect and containing much that may be condemned, serves them as a step toward immortality. But whence does this arise, except that when the Lord has received a man into the covenant of his grace, he does not examine his works according to
their merits, but accepts them with fatherly kindness, though they are unworthy of it?
By these words we do not mean merely what the Scholastics teach— that works derive their value from the grace of God which accepts them. For they mean that works which would otherwise be insufficient to acquire salvation are made sufficient because God esteems and accepts them. But I say, on the contrary, that all works, being polluted both by other transgressions and by their own blemishes, can have no value except insofar as our Lord does not impute the stains with which they are defiled, but pardons man all his faults. This is what is bestowed through free righteousness.
Nor is there any reason to allege here the prayers Saint Paul sometimes makes, in which he desires such perfection for believers that they may be found blameless and without fault at the Lord's judgment. The Caelestians, ancient heretics, used such statements to prove that man can possess perfect righteousness in the present life. Following Saint Augustine, we answer what we believe sufficient: all believers ought indeed to aspire toward this goal, that they may one day appear before God pure and without blemish. But because the best and most perfect state we can attain in the present life is nothing more than to make progress from day to day, we shall reach that goal only when, having been stripped of our sinful flesh, we shall cleave perfectly to our God.
Let us now proceed to explain the passages in which it is said that God will render to each person according to his works.
Such are the following passages:
"Each person shall receive according to what he has done in his body, whether good or evil."
—2 Corinthians 5:10
Again:
"Glory and honor to him who does good, but tribulation and anguish upon the soul of the wicked."
—Romans 2:9–10
Again:
"Those who have lived well shall go forth to the resurrection of life."
—John 5:29
Again:
"Come, you who are blessed by my Father; I was hungry, and you fed me; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink."
—Matthew 25:34–35
To these we should also join those passages in which eternal life is called a reward. Thus it is said:
"A man shall be recompensed according to the work of his hands."
—Proverbs 12:14
Again:
"He who obeys God's commandment shall be rewarded."
—Proverbs 13:13
Again:
"Rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven."
—Matthew 5:12; Luke 6:23
Again:
"Each person shall receive his reward according to his labor."
—1 Corinthians 3:8
As for the statement that God will render to each person according to his works, it may be resolved without great difficulty. For this expression indicates an order of consequence rather than the cause for which God rewards men. There is no doubt that our Lord proceeds by degrees in accomplishing our salvation:
"Those whom he predestined, he also called; those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified."
—Romans 8:30
Although, therefore, the Lord receives his people into life by his mercy alone, yet because he conducts them into it by the path of
good works, in order to accomplish his purpose in them according to the order he has appointed, it is no wonder if they are said to be crowned according to their works, by which they are prepared to receive the crown of immortality.
For this same reason they are even said to work out their salvation when, by applying themselves to good works, they meditate upon eternal life. Nevertheless, it does not follow from this either that they are the authors of their salvation or that their salvation proceeds from good works.
What, then? As soon as they have been called into the fellowship of Christ through the knowledge of the gospel and the illumination of the Holy Spirit, eternal life has begun in them. Afterward the Lord brings to completion the work which he has begun in them until the day of Jesus Christ. God's work is completed in them when, representing the image of their heavenly Father in righteousness and holiness, they demonstrate themselves to be his legitimate children.
As for the word reward, it must not lead us to make our works the cause of our salvation. First, let this be firmly settled in our hearts: the kingdom of heaven is not the wages of servants, but the inheritance of children. It will be enjoyed only by those whom God has adopted as his children, and they will enjoy it for no other reason than this adoption.
For it is written:
"The son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman."
—Galatians 4:30
Indeed, in the very passages where the Holy Spirit promises eternal life as the reward of works, by expressly calling it an inheritance he demonstrates that it comes from no other source. Thus, when Christ calls the elect of his Father to possess the heavenly kingdom, he certainly recounts the works which he wills to reward in them, but at the same time adds that they shall possess it by right of inheritance.
"Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you."
—Matthew 25:34
Saint Paul likewise exhorts servants who faithfully perform their duty to expect a reward from the Lord, but immediately adds that this reward is an inheritance.
"You shall receive from the Lord the reward of the inheritance."
—Colossians 3:24
We see how Christ and his apostles expressly guard against our attributing eternal blessedness to works rather than to God's adoption. Why, then, someone will ask, do they also mention works? This question may be resolved by a single example from Scripture.
Before Isaac was born, Abraham had been promised that he would have offspring in whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed, and that his descendants would be like the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea. Long afterward he prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac
according to God's command. After displaying such obedience, he received this promise:
"By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: because you have done this and have not withheld your own and only son in order to please me, I will bless you and multiply your offspring like the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea; and in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."
—Genesis 22:16–18
What do we hear here? Had Abraham merited by his obedience this blessing which had been promised to him before the command was ever given? Here, certainly, we see plainly and without ambiguity that the Lord rewards the works of believers with the same benefits which he had already given them before they had thought of doing anything, and at a time when he had no cause for doing them good except his mercy.
Nevertheless, it is neither deception nor mockery when God says that he rewards works with what he had freely given before those works existed. For because he wills us to exercise ourselves in good works as we contemplate the fulfillment of what he has promised, and by them to advance toward the blessed hope set before us in heaven, the fruit of the promises is rightly assigned to them, since they are, as it were, the means by which we are conducted into its enjoyment.
Both points were excellently expressed by the Apostle when he said that the Colossians devoted themselves to love because of the hope
laid up for them in heaven, of which they had heard through the true doctrine of the gospel.
"We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard through the word of truth, the gospel."
—Colossians 1:4–5
By saying that they had learned through the gospel that the heavenly inheritance was prepared for them, he indicates that their hope was founded in Christ alone and not in any works. When he says that for this reason they strive to do good, he shows that believers must run throughout the whole course of their lives in order to apprehend it.
Now, lest we should imagine that the reward promised by the Lord is to be measured according to our merits, he sets before us a parable in which he compares himself to a householder who sends into his vineyard everyone he encounters—some at the first hour of the day, others at the second, others at the third, and some at the eleventh— and at evening distributes equal wages to them all.
The meaning of this parable is explained very well and briefly in the book entitled The Calling of the Gentiles, which is attributed to Saint Ambrose. Since its author is an ancient teacher, I prefer to use his words rather than my own:
By this similitude the Lord intended to show that the calling of all believers, although there may be some outward difference among them, belongs to his grace alone. Those,
therefore, who after laboring for only one hour are made equal to those who have borne the labor of the whole day represent the condition of those whom God, in order to magnify the excellence of his grace, calls at the end of their lives. He rewards them according to his mercy—not by paying them wages for their labor, but by pouring out upon them the riches of his goodness, just as he chose them apart from their works—so that even those who have labored a long time and receive no more than the last may understand that they receive everything as the gift of his grace and not as wages for their labor.