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)
Justification by faith alone safeguards the principle of sovereign grace. This cannot be repeated strongly enough and should be repeated over and over. Apart from sovereign grace there is no true teaching of justification by faith alone. Justification by faith alone as it safeguards sovereign grace must then be a safeguard to the doctrine of monergistic (sole worker) regeneration or the Gospel of justification by grace alone through faith alone will not be taught. Justification by faith alone, then, in its proper context of sovereign grace which the two are to safeguard monergistic regeneration so that faith is itself the gift of God. If we boil that down, what we see is that the true doctrine of justification by faith alone will teach where faith comes from so that it will be clearly seen that it is sovereign grace in monergistic regeneration that gives faith to the soul so that faith itself is by grace alone.
Rom 4:16 plainly says that it is by faith so that it may be by grace. If we are not clear about that then we cannot be clear about justification by faith alone despite the fact that people use the words and are not clear. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that “by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” So we see again that for grace to save through faith the soul must see that the faith is the gift of God too. A true doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone can only stand if faith itself is a free gift of sovereign grace. Those who teach that the will is free to come up with its own faith cannot teach the true doctrine of justification by faith alone, and not only that but those who support such teachings are not supporting the true doctrine of justification by faith alone. Scripture does not give us the warrant to teach anything less than a doctrine of grace alone and it does not give us a warrant to do anything less than be strong for the Gospel. Those who want to be gracious and winsome rather than stand strong are not standing for the Gospel. They may extend their hands and build bridges to forms of Pelagianism in order to retain influence and power in denominations, but they do so at the expense of the Gospel. This shows the state of their hearts when they do so.
The Reformation teaching (and I would argue the biblical teaching) was that justification by grace alone through faith alone must teach that faith itself is a free gift of God who gives it by spiritual regeneration, and that He gives it by grace alone or it is not a true Gospel and is not justification by grace alone through faith alone. If one changes the meaning of justification from what it meant to the Reformers, then the whole doctrine has been changed from what the Reformers taught. If one changes the concept and nature of faith from what the Reformers taught, then one has also changed the whole doctrine from what the Reformers taught. If one changes what the Reformers taught about justification and faith and the Reformers taught what the Bible taught and teaches on those, then one is guilty of being different from what the Bible teaches. But again, as Luther so plainly taught, those who use the words of justification by faith alone and yet do not teach the biblical teaching on those (grace alone), they are worse than those who openly deny the Gospel. While many professing Reformed people today disdain Charles Finney for his open hostility to the Gospel of grace alone, Luther would say they are worse than Finney because Finney was open about it while they hide their dislike or shame of the Gospel of grace alone behind words.
God Loves... Himself 
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