The historical Protestant and biblical teaching on justification by faith alone is that it is by grace and is not by faith. It is obvious from the previous sentence that I have either left my senses, have no grasp of logic, have no sense of word usage, or that the word “by” is being used in different ways. When a sentence is written like that, the equivocation is set out with clarity. Clearly one can believe and make a statement that one believes in justification by faith alone and believe something differently about it than others do. A lot of heretics agree that justification is by faith. In fact, Roman Catholicism believes that human beings are justified by faith. In history they were ready to put Luther to death because he declared that justification was by faith alone. The battle between Rome and Luther (in this sense and at this point) was over the word “alone.” It is also true, however, that in many ways the battle was also over the word “by”. If we use the word “by” in a certain way, it is a contradiction to what the Reformation battle “alone” was over. The battle was over the teaching of salvation by grace alone because it was by Christ alone and to the glory of God alone. The word “by” can mean either “on account of” or “through.” If it means on account of, then the word “alone” takes on a totally different meaning than if “by” means “through. In fact, the Pharisees might have agreed to justification by faith and perhaps to faith alone if we defined things in a way that many define them today. Justification by faith alone is only God-centered and to the glory of God alone to the degree that we show how the words “by” and “alone” are meant to protect grace alone.
The old Puritan Robert Trail set this out quite clearly:
“If we say that faith in Jesus Christ is neither work, nor condition, nor qualification, in justification; but is a mere instrument, receiving (as an empty hand receives the freely given alms) the righteousness of Christ; and that, in its very act, it is a renouncing of things but the gift of grace; the fire is kindled.”
The fire being kindled that he spoke of is the accusation of being an Antinomian (against Law). It drives people to calling others this name when the true Gospel is preached. There is utterly nothing a man can do to save himself and that includes coming up with faith itself. This shows that Trail did not believe that a person was saved because they came up with faith, but they were saved by the grace of God alone through faith. Saving faith is when the soul renounces all other things but grace and receives grace. If at any point an individual speaks about or believes that faith in Christ is a work, some condition that the sinner must come up with, or is a qualification for justification, that person demonstrates that he does not understand the biblical doctrine of grace alone through faith alone.
Romans 4:16 tells us this: “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace.” We must go over and over this verse and drill it into the depths of our hearts. Whatever faith is, it is only biblical faith if it is in accordance with grace. We know that whatever is of grace cannot be of works because a work would make grace to be no longer grace (Romans 11:6). Faith cannot be a work but can only operate in the sphere of grace alone. In a recent book on justification the author said that the real battle in the Reformation was over faith alone and not grace. The truth of the matter (in my opinion) is that the Reformation was over the glory of God in all things and in particular salvation. Since the battle was over the glory of God, it was over the doctrine of salvation by grace alone. The reason that there were so many words and ink spilled over faith alone was directly related to the tenacity of Luther over salvation to the glory of God alone by Christ who saves by grace alone.
Behind and underneath many battles over words and doctrines is a real cause that is hidden. While there has been a form of unity reached between Arminians and Reformed people in some circles over the Gospel, there is no real peace at that point unless the Arminians are no longer Arminians or the Reformed people are no longer Reformed. The Arminian will believe in justification by faith alone as long as he can keep faith as the act of his own will. That is in direct conflict with what the Reformers taught about salvation by grace alone. There are also many Reformed people in our day who seem to forget that the doctrine of justification by faith alone was meant to defend grace alone. When Reformed people defend justification by faith alone in words and yet do not defend grace alone, they have stopped defending the doctrine that Luther was willing to die for even though they use the same words. If we really believe in the doctrine of depravity, then we know that sinners are saved by grace alone and not by any work or condition fulfilled by men. While the noise of theological verbiage is shooting down any precise notions of justification in the interest of false unity in our day, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is by grace alone. There is no true unity apart from the Gospel of Christ alone who saves by grace alone under any name.
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