The guardians of ‘free-will’ have exemplified the saying: ‘out of the frying-pan, into the fire.’ In their zeal to disagree with the Pelagians they start denying condign merit, and by the very form of their denial they set it up more firmly! By word and pen they deny it, but really, in their hearts, they establish it, and are worse than the Pelagians upon two counts. In the first place, the Pelagians confess and assert condign merit straightforwardly, candidly and honestly, calling a spade a spade and teaching what they really hold. But our friends here, who hold and teach the same view, try to fool us with lying words and false appearances, giving out that they disagree with the Pelagians, when there is nothing that they are further from doing! ‘If you regard our pretences, we appear as the Pelagians’ bitterest foes; but if you regard the facts and our hearts, we are Pelagians double-dyed.’ (Luther, Bondage of the Will)
The doctrine of justification by faith was important to them because it safeguarded the principle of sovereign grace; but it actually expressed for them only one aspect of this principle, and that not its deepest aspect. The sovereignty of grace found expression in their thinking at a profounder level still, in the doctrine of monergistic regeneration—the doctrine, that is, that the faith which receives Christ for justification is itself the free gift of a sovereign God, bestowing by spiritual regeneration in the act of effectual calling. (“Historical and Theological Introduction” to Bondage of the Will)
The doctrine of justification by faith alone may indeed be the hinge on which the Gospel swings, but to the Reformers there were deeper reasons for teaching justification by faith alone. While these few BLOGS may be repetitive in some ways, there is a great need for this repetition. We have heard for so long that justification by faith alone is important, but we have not heard the real reason why it is important. The most important part of justification by faith alone is that when taught in its biblical context it safeguards the principle of sovereign grace. We need to hear that over and over in light of today’s focus on teaching justification by faith alone apart from the sovereign grace of God. Even more, the quote from Luther himself (top quote above) shows that he thought that those who denied certain truths and yet still taught them in different words were worse than those who actually taught great error openly and plainly.
In modern day teaching we have many people teaching something called “justification by faith alone,” yet they are not defending sovereign grace by that teaching. It is quite simple to see, then, that they are not teaching the same doctrine as the Reformers did though they are using the same words. What they are doing, then, is teaching some form of justification while at the same time denying the very heart of it by either holding to free-will (which is contrary to sovereign grace) or simply saying that the Arminian teaching of justification is still the same Gospel.
If the Gospel of justification by faith alone is meant to safeguard the teaching of sovereign grace, then apart from safeguarding the sovereign grace of God it is a completely different doctrine. Those who claim to be Reformed and yet do not safeguard the principle of sovereign grace by justification by faith alone are not children of the Reformers at all. Those who say that the Arminian view of justification is the same as the Reformed view of justification are simply mislead on what justification really is and what it is meant to do.
Galatians 1:6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! 10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
What Gospel is Paul defending here? He is defending the Gospel of the grace of Christ and the Gospel of Christ. Anything contrary to that Gospel is one that he said people were to be accursed for. Anyone, regardless of theological persuasion, academic qualifications, or of angelic origin was to be accursed if s/he taught a different gospel. A different gospel can be taught using the words “justification by faith alone” and not safeguarding grace alone and Christ alone. Any so-called gospel that is not of grace alone makes grace to be no longer grace at all. “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Rom 11:6). Anyone that teaches a so-called gospel that does not safe-guard sovereign grace (the only kind of grace there really is) does not teach a gospel of grace alone and Christ alone. We must beware as men who teach what sounds orthodox and yet denies the truth by it are worse than those who teach a false gospel openly.
God Loves... Himself 
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