CHAPTER SIX: Of Justification by Faith and by the Merits of Works (part 4 of 4)
For it is written:
“The son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
Therefore, let us not imagine that in the promises cited above the Holy Spirit intends to commend the worthiness of works, as though they merited such a reward. For Scripture leaves us nothing in which we may exalt ourselves before the face of God. On the contrary, its whole purpose is to confound our pride, humble us, cast us down, and bring us entirely to nothing.
Rather, through these promises the Holy Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness, which would otherwise immediately sink and fail if it were not thus sustained and comforted. First, let each person consider how difficult it is to renounce and forsake not only everything he loves, but also himself. Nevertheless, this is the first lesson Christ gives his disciples—that is, all believers. Throughout their lives he keeps them under the discipline of the cross so that they do not set their hearts upon the desire for or confidence in earthly goods. In short, he treats them in such a way that, wherever they turn their eyes throughout the whole extent of this world, they see nothing but cause for despair. Thus Saint Paul says:
“If we hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable of all men.”
Therefore, lest we lose heart amid such anguish, the Lord comes to our aid and warns us to lift our heads on high and look farther ahead, promising that in him we shall find the blessedness which we do not see in this world.
He calls it a reward, wages, and recompense, not because he is estimating the merit of our works, but because he signifies that it is a recompense for the miseries, tribulations, and reproaches which we endure on earth. Therefore, there is no harm in following Scripture by calling eternal life a reward, since by it the Lord transfers his servants from labor to rest, from affliction to consolation, from sorrow to joy, from poverty to abundance, and from disgrace to glory. In short, he transforms all the evils they have endured into far greater blessings.
Nor is there any difficulty in regarding holiness of life as the way—not the way that opens an entrance for us into heavenly glory, but the way by which God conducts his elect to its manifestation, since it is his good pleasure to glorify those whom he has sanctified. Only let us not imagine any correspondence between merit and reward. Here the Sophists perversely go astray because they do not consider the purpose we have explained. What mockery it is, when God calls us toward one goal, to turn our eyes in another direction!
Nothing is clearer than that reward is promised to good works, not to puff up our hearts with glory, but to support the weakness of our flesh. Anyone, therefore, who wishes to infer from this some merit in works turns aside from the true purpose.
Accordingly, when Scripture says that God, as a righteous judge, will give the crown of righteousness to his servants, I not only answer with Saint Augustine:
How could he give the crown as a righteous judge if he had not first given grace as a merciful Father? And how could there be any righteousness unless grace had first preceded it —the grace which justifies the ungodly? And how could this crown be rendered as something owed unless everything we possess had first been given to us when nothing was owed?
But I also add: How could God impute righteousness to our works unless by his indulgence he concealed the unrighteousness within them? How could he account them worthy of reward unless by his infinite goodness he blotted out whatever in them is worthy of punishment?
I add this to Saint Augustine’s statement because he customarily calls eternal life grace, since it is given to us on account of God’s free gifts when it is rendered to our works.
But Scripture humbles us still further. For besides forbidding us to glory in our works because they are God’s free gifts, it also shows us that they are always stained with defilement, so that they can neither satisfy nor please God if examined according to the strictness of his judgment.
There are other passages which have nearly the same meaning as those we have just explained. Thus it is said:
“Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous riches, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the kingdom of God.”
Again:
“Teach the rich of this world not to become proud, nor to place their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God. Exhort them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to lay up for themselves a good treasure for the future, so that they may lay hold of eternal life.”
We see that good works are compared to riches which, it is said, we shall enjoy in the blessedness to come.
I answer that we shall never rightly understand what is said in these passages unless we turn our eyes toward the end to which the Holy Spirit directs his words. If Christ’s statement is true—
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
—then, just as the children of this age occupy and devote themselves entirely to gathering the things which belong to the happiness of the present life, so believers, seeing that this life will vanish like a dream, must send ahead to the place where they shall live eternally those things which they desire to enjoy forever.
Therefore, we ought to follow the example of those who move from one place to another in order to dwell there permanently. They send all their possessions ahead of them and do not mind going without them for a short time. Rather, they consider themselves all the happier because they possess greater riches in the place where they are to spend the remainder of their lives.
If we believe that heaven is our country and our proper dwelling place, we ought to send our riches there rather than retain them here, only to abandon them when we are suddenly compelled to depart. And what is the manner of sending them ahead? It is to share them with the poor in their need, for the Lord acknowledges that whatever is bestowed upon them has been given to him.
“Whatever you have done to one of the least of these, you have done to me.”
From this arises that excellent promise:
“He who gives to the poor lends to the Lord at interest.”
Again:
“He who sows abundantly shall reap an abundant harvest.”
For every act of love we perform toward our brothers is, as it were, placed for safekeeping in God’s hands. Therefore, as a faithful guardian, he will one day restore it all to us with very generous interest.
What, then, someone will say? Are works of love held in such esteem by God that they are like riches entrusted to him? And who would shrink from speaking this way when Scripture testifies to it so plainly?
But if anyone wishes to establish the worthiness of works in order to obscure God’s goodness, these testimonies will do nothing to confirm his error. For we can infer nothing from them except that God’s goodness and indulgence toward us are marvelous. In order to encourage us to do good, he promises that no good work we perform shall be lost, even though they are all unworthy not only of being rewarded, but even of being accepted by him.
But they press more strongly the words of the Apostle, who, while comforting the Thessalonians in their tribulations, says that these are sent to them so that they may be found worthy of God’s kingdom, for which they suffer:
“It is a righteous thing with God to repay affliction to those who afflict you, and to give you rest when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven.”
Likewise, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews says:
“God is not so unjust as to forget the labor you have undertaken and the love you have shown toward his name by sharing your goods with his people.”
I answer the first passage by saying that Saint Paul does not signify any worthiness of merit, but means only that, just as the heavenly Father has chosen us as his children, so he wills us to be made conformable to his firstborn Son. Therefore, as Christ first suffered before entering the glory appointed for him, so we also must enter the kingdom of heaven through many tribulations.
Accordingly, when we endure afflictions for Christ’s name, the marks by which our Lord customarily identifies the sheep of his flock are impressed upon us. In this sense, therefore, we are accounted worthy of God’s kingdom, because we bear in our bodies the marks of Jesus Christ, which are the tokens of God’s children.
To this also belong the following statements:
“We bear in our body the dying of Christ, so that his life may be manifested in us.”
And:
“We are conformed to his sufferings so that we may attain to the likeness of his resurrection.”
The reason Saint Paul adds—namely, that it is righteous with God to give rest to those who have suffered—is not intended to prove any worthiness in works, but only to confirm the hope of salvation. It is as though he had said: Just as it belongs to God’s righteous judgment to take vengeance upon your enemies for the outrages and injuries they have inflicted upon you, so it likewise belongs to him to grant you relief and rest from your miseries.
The other passage, which says that good works must not be forgotten by God, and almost suggests that God would be unjust if he forgot them, must be understood in this sense: to awaken us from our sluggishness, the Lord has given us the hope that nothing we do for his name shall be lost.
Let us remember that this promise, like all the others, would profit us nothing unless the free covenant of his mercy came first, upon which the entire certainty of our salvation rests. Having this foundation, we ought to possess a certain confidence that God in his goodness will not withhold recompense from our works, although they are altogether unworthy of it.
The Apostle, therefore, to confirm us in this expectation, says that God is not unjust, so that he should fail to keep his promise. Accordingly, this righteousness of God refers more to the faithfulness of his promise than to the justice of rendering to us what is owed.
In this sense Saint Augustine has a notable saying which, since that holy man did not hesitate to repeat it often, ought also to be deeply impressed upon our memory:
The Lord is faithful, having made himself our debtor—not by receiving anything from us, but by freely promising us everything.
Our Pharisees also allege these statements of Saint Paul:
“If I had all faith, so as to remove mountains, but did not have love, I would be nothing.”
Again:
“Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.”
Again:
“Above all, possess love among yourselves, which is the bond of perfection.”
From the first two they endeavor to prove that we are justified by love rather than by faith, since love is the more excellent virtue. But this subtlety is easily refuted. For we have already explained elsewhere that what is mentioned in the first passage has nothing to do with true faith.
We confess that the second passage must be understood of true faith, above which Saint Paul prefers love as the greater—not because love is more meritorious, but because it is more fruitful, extends farther, serves more people, and always retains its power, whereas the use of faith is only for a time.
If we consider excellence, love toward God would rightly hold the first place, though Saint Paul does not speak of it here. For his sole purpose is that through love we should mutually build one another up in God. But let us suppose that love is more excellent than faith in every respect. What man of sound judgment, or even of a settled mind, would infer from this that love justifies more than faith?
Faith’s power to justify does not lie in the worthiness of faith as a work, for our justification consists solely in God’s mercy and Christ’s merit. Faith is said to justify only because it apprehends the righteousness offered to it in Christ.
Now, if our adversaries are asked in what sense they assign to love the power of justifying, they will answer that, because love is a virtue pleasing to God, righteousness is imputed to us through its merit insofar as it is accepted by divine goodness. From this we see how soundly their argument proceeds.
We say that faith justifies, not because through its own worthiness it merits righteousness for us, but because it is the instrument by which we freely obtain the righteousness of Christ. But they leave God’s mercy behind and make no mention of Christ, in whom the whole substance of righteousness consists, and then argue that we are justified through love because love is more excellent. It is as though someone argued that a king is better suited to make a shoe than a shoemaker because he is far more worthy and noble.
This argument alone is sufficient to show us that all the schools of the Sorbonne have never understood what justification by faith is.
Now, if some contentious person objects that I take the word faith in different senses in Saint Paul, claiming that there is no justification for interpreting it differently within the same passage, I have very good reason for doing so. For since all the gifts he had mentioned may in some measure be reduced to faith and hope, because they belong to the knowledge of God, when he summarizes his argument at the end of the chapter, he comprehends them all under these two words.
It is as though he had said: Prophecy, tongues, the gift of interpretation, and knowledge all tend toward this end—to lead us to the knowledge of God. Now, in this mortal life we know God only by faith and hope. Therefore, when I name faith and hope, I comprehend all these gifts together. These three, then, remain: faith, hope, and love. That is, however varied the gifts may be, they are all related to these three, among which love is the chief.
From the third passage they infer that if love is the bond of perfection, it is also the bond of righteousness, since righteousness is nothing other than perfection. First, even if we leave aside the fact that Saint Paul calls it perfection when the members of a wellordered church are joined together, and even if we concede that man is made perfect before God through love, what new conclusion will they draw from this? For I will always reply that we never attain this perfection unless we perfectly fulfill love. From this I may infer that, since all men in the world fall far short of fulfilling love, every hope of perfection is taken from them.
I do not intend to pursue every testimony which these obstinate Sorbonists thoughtlessly gather here and there from Scripture in order to fight against us. For some of their allegations are so ridiculous that I cannot touch upon them without becoming as foolish as they are.
I will therefore conclude this subject after explaining one statement of Christ in which they take extraordinary delight. It is his answer to the doctor of the Law who asked him what was necessary for salvation:
“If you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
“What more do we need?” they say. “The Author of grace himself commands us to acquire God’s kingdom by observing the commandments.”
As though it were not evident that Christ always adapted his answers to those with whom he was dealing. In this passage he had been asked by a doctor of the Law about the means of obtaining eternal blessedness, and not simply, but in this form: What must men do to attain life? Both the character of the speaker and the nature of the question led the Lord to answer as he did.
For this doctor, being puffed up with a false opinion of legal righteousness, was blinded by confidence in his works. Moreover, he asked nothing except what works of righteousness a person must perform to acquire salvation. He was therefore rightly referred to the Law, in which we possess a perfect mirror of righteousness.
We also proclaim loudly and clearly that the commandments must be kept if righteousness is sought in works, and this is a doctrine which all Christians need to know. For how would they flee to Christ unless they knew that they had fallen into the ruin of death? And how would they know how far they had wandered from the path of life unless they understood what that path is?
Therefore, they are not properly instructed to flee to Christ in order to recover salvation until they understand the opposition between their lives and God’s righteousness, which is contained in the Law.
The sum is this: if we seek salvation in our works, we must keep the commandments, which instruct us in perfect righteousness. But we must not stop here unless we desire to fail halfway along the road, for none of us is capable of keeping them. Since, therefore, we are all excluded from the righteousness of the Law, we need another refuge and help—namely, faith in Christ.
Therefore, just as the Lord Jesus in this passage referred the doctor of the Law—whom he knew to be puffed up with vain confidence in his works—to the Law, so that he might recognize himself as a poor sinner subject to condemnation, so elsewhere he comforts by the promise of his grace those who have been humbled by such knowledge, without making any mention of the Law:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Finally, after our adversaries have wearied themselves by perverting Scripture, they attempt to ensnare us with fallacies and empty sophistries. First, they quibble that faith is called a work, and therefore that we are wrong to oppose it to works as something distinct from them. As though faith, insofar as it is an act of obedience to God’s will, acquired righteousness for us by its merit, rather than insofar as, by receiving God’s mercy, it assures us of the righteousness of Christ, which is offered to us in the gospel through the free goodness of our heavenly Father.
Readers will pardon me if I do not waste time refuting such foolishness, for these objections are so slight and frivolous that they collapse of themselves. Nevertheless, I think it proper to answer one objection they make which, because it possesses some appearance and color of reason, might cause difficulty for the simple.
They say that since contrary things are governed by the same rule, and since every sin is imputed to us as unrighteousness, it is fitting that every good work should likewise be imputed as righteousness.
Those who answer that the condemnation of men proceeds properly from unbelief alone and not from particular sins do not satisfy me. I readily grant them that unbelief is the fountain and root of every evil, for it is the beginning of forsaking and virtually renouncing God, from which follow all transgressions of his will. But insofar as they appear to place good and evil works in the same balance when estimating man’s righteousness or unrighteousness, I am compelled to oppose them.
For the righteousness of works is perfect obedience to the Law. Therefore, no one can be righteous by works unless throughout the whole course of his life he follows God’s Law, as it were, in a perfectly straight line. The moment he turns aside in any direction, he falls into unrighteousness. From this it is evident that righteousness does not consist in a few good works, but in the complete and perfect observance of God’s will.
The rule for judging unrighteousness is altogether different. For whoever commits fornication or theft is guilty of death by that single offense, since he has violated the majesty of God. This is where our Sophists go astray: they fail to consider what Saint James says:
“Whoever transgresses one commandment is guilty of all, because the God who forbade murder also forbade theft.”
Therefore, it should not appear absurd when we say that death is the just reward of every sin, since all sins deserve God’s wrath and vengeance. But it would be faulty reasoning to reverse this and argue that man can acquire God’s favor through a single good work while provoking his wrath by many offenses.