Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - July/85

Contributor - Michael De Jong

Title - Sola Gratia: Conflicting Interpretations of Justification

Topic - Justification

Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (II Cor. 5:1 7-20)

Justification, " the main hinge on which religion turns", is constantly a topic for debate and has been a fundamental concern for Christians throughout history. The statements of opposing positions between the classical Roman Catholic conception and the Reformers are set down at the Council of Trent (1545-1563). Here the Council working with the Catholic perspective in theology, after opposing the Reformers, firmly stated its position.

Fundamentally, a discussion of the Roman Catholic view of justification centres around the act of cooperation. Man in his fallen state must cooperate with divine grace to bring himself to a status of "not guilty" before God. In the process of justification a Catholic view of original sin, anthropology, grace and Rome's theology of nature/supernature is presupposed. Once we understand what the Roman Catholics think about these fundamentals we will sooner grasp their emphasis upon man's good works.

Classical Roman Catholic anthropology describes man, in his fallen state, as incomplete and lacking. He is not a creature who's heart is turned from God in apostasy, but who lacks certain aspects of his creatureliness. Man, due to the effect of original sin, has lost the higher gifts of justification immortality and integrity. Yet having lost these gifts man is still not totally depraved because he still retains his rationality and his free will. Using these gifts man is to strive to regain his higher gifts and, in cooperating with God's grace, obtain justification.

Since it is the church through which God's grace is poured out, the sacraments of baptism and penance become of utmost importance to man. Man must baptize himself (Titus 3:5) and from that point on continue to earnestly repent and do penance for his sins (Ezech. 18:21; Joel 2:12; Rev. 3:20). Men must fear the Lord and out of love turn to almsgiving and other good acts. This mediating process on the part of the Church makes a man's relationship to his God very impersonal. The church must mediate between man and God. The only contact a man has with his Father's grace is through the church her sacraments and the rights she practices.

The Catholic conception of justification has good works as part of the definition of justification. Justification can not be thought of apart from either faith or good works. The Roman Catholics make no distinction between justification and sanctification. The latter is completely taken up in the understanding of the former. Thus it is that a man must continually turn to the church in acts of baptism, penance and almsgiving in order to once again embrace the grace of God. Justification does not just happen once in a person's life but it is a continual process of man's cooperation with God's grace and his church.

John Calvin, rather than speaking of an infused grace by the church, emphasizes a personal, direct communication with our Father that develops as a faith-righteousness upon which, because it embraces Christ, a man is justified. Neither the faith nor the works merit justification but it is the faith that accepts justification in Christ by God's grace. That is to say, it is God's grace which imparts the faith to men by which they embrace Christ and are reconciled unto God.

Our remission of sins is a matter of the "imputation of Christ's righteousness" on whose account we are "both reckoned righteous in God's judgement and are accepted". Calvin summarizes justification as follows:

Therefore, we explain justification simply as the acceptance with which God receives us into his favour as righteous men. And we say that it consists in the remission of sins and the imputation of Christ's righteousness.

Justification is our benefit when we, by the means of faith, completely embrace Christ God pours out his wrath upon us when we are disobedient but he also pours out the compassionate love of a Father for his children when we are obedient. In this love our Father reckons righteousness to us because of Christ's righteousness.

Calvin realizes that justification and sanctification can not be torn into parts because they are always perceived "conjointly and inseparable" in Christ, however, they can be referred to separately. Calvin emphasizes man's continual movement towards a final goal of full sanctification upon Christ's return. We are justified once, however, afterwards, because we are responsible to uphold God's law, we continue on in a process of sanctification. As a result of our fallen state our sanctification will never be complete yet simply because our justification is rooted in Christ' s mediatory work we can be assured of eternal life.

In contrast to this assurance a Catholic lives his life in doubt always wondering if he confessed all of his sins earnestly. A Catholic must continually return to the church and her sacraments in order to obtain God's justifying grace. A Catholic is never sure of his status before God and must continue to wait upon God's grace.

Since our justification lies infused in Christ's righteousness (sola gratia Christi), our zekerheid (surety) continues to lie in God. We recognize, along with the Reformers, that I our justification occurs sola gratia - by grace alone.

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