What does the Bible say about faith without works as a means of justification? It says: "We conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the Law" (Rom. 3, 28); "To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Rom. 4, 5); "I rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the Law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the Church; touching the righteousness which is in the Law, blameless. [The speaker is the apostle Paul.] But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless; and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith" (Phil. 3, 3-9) ; "If by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace; otherwise work is no more work" (Rom. 11, 6). (The Catholic Bible omits the last half of this text.)
What does the Bible say about faith being assurance of pardon and everlasting life? It says: "If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord" (Rom. 8, 31-39); "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1, 12).
Here we rest our case. If Luther was wrong in teaching the justification of the sinner by faith, without the deeds of the Law, then Paul was wrong, Jesus Christ was wrong, the apostles and prophets were wrong, the whole Bible is wrong. Catholics must square themselves to these texts before they dare to open their mouths against Luther. If Luther was a heretic, the Lord Jesus made him one, and He is making a heretic of every reader of the texts aforecited. Rome will have to answer to Him.
But what about the answer of the Lord to the rich young man? What about the commandment to be perfect? Does not the doctrine of justification by faith alone, without the deeds of the Law, abolish the holy and good Law of God? Not at all. When Paul expounds to the Galatians the doctrine of justification by faith as compared with justification by works, he arrays the Law against the Gospel, and raises this question: "Is the Law, then, against the promises of God?" His answer reveals the whole difficulty that attends every effort to obtain righteousness by fulfilling the Law, he says: "God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily, righteousness should have been by the Law." (Gal. 3, 21.) Christ expressed the same truth when He said to the lawyer: "Do this, and thou shalt live." (Luke 10, 28.) The reason why the Law makes no person righteous is not because it is not a sufficient rule or norm of good works by which men could earn eternal life, but because it does not furnish man any ability to achieve that righteousness which it demands. No law does that. The law only creates duties, and insists on their fulfilment under threat of punishment. It is not the function of the law to make doers of the law. Originally the Law was issued to men who were able to fulfil it, because they were created after the image of God, in perfect holiness and righteousness. That they lost this concreate [tr. note: sic] ability through the fall is no reason why God should change or abrogate His Law. He purposes to help them in another way, by sending them His Son for a Redeemer, who fulfils the Law in their stead. But this wonderful plan of God for the rescue of lost man is not appreciated by any one who still believes, as the Catholics do, that he has some good powers in him left which he can develop with the help of God to such an extent that he can make himself righteous. To such a person Jesus says to-day as He said to the rich young man: "Keep the commandments!" That means, since you believe in your ability, proceed to employ it. Your reward is sure, provided only you do what the Law demands. But just as surely the curse of God rests on you if you do not do it. When you have become convinced that it is impossible to fulfil the Law, you may ask a different question, a question which the knowledge of your spiritual disability has wrested from you as it did from the jailer at Philippi: "What must I do to be saved?" and you will not receive the answer: "Keep the commandments!" but: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," (Acts 16, 29. 30.) Not a word will be said any more about anything that you must do. You will be told: All that you ought to have done has been accomplished by One who died with the exclamation: "It is finished!" (John 19, 30), and who now sends His messengers abroad inviting men to His free salvation: "Come, for all things are now ready!" (Luke 14, 17.) "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good" (Is. 55, 1. 2.) When you have wearied yourself to death by your efforts to achieve righteousness, as Paul did when he was still the Pharisee Saul of Tarsus, as Luther did while he was still in the bondage of popery, when you have become hot in your confused and despairing mind against God and the Law, which you cannot fulfil, you will appreciate the voice that calls to you as it has called to millions before you: "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11, 28.) And if you are wise, then, with the wisdom which the Spirit gives the children of God, you will not delay a minute, but come rejoicing that you need not get salvation by works, and will sing:
Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Rome has cursed Luther for teaching justification by faith, without the deeds of the Law. The principles which he had timidly uttered in the Theses led to bolder declarations later, when the full light of the blessed Gospel had come to him. It brought him the curse of the Pope in the bull Exsurge, Domine! of June 15, 1520. The following estimate by a recent Catholic writer is a fair sample of the sentiments cherished by official Rome for Luther: "From out the vast number whom the enemy of man raised up to invent heresies, which, St. Cyprian says, 'destroy faith and divide unity,' not one, or all together, ever equaled or surpassed Martin Luther in the wide range of his errors, the ferocity with which he promulgated them, and the harm he did in leading souls away from the Church, the fountain of everlasting truth. The heresies of Sabellius, Arius, Pelagius, and other rebellious men were insignificant as compared with those Luther formulated and proclaimed four hundred years ago, and which, unfortunately, have ever since done service against the Church of the living God. In Luther most, if not all, former heresies meet, and reach their climax. To enumerate fully all the wicked, false, and perverse teachings of the arch-heretic would require a volume many times larger than the Bible, and every one of the lies and falsehoods that have been used against the Catholic Church may be traced back to him as to their original formulator." The cause for this undisguised hatred of Luther is chiefly Luther's teaching of justification by faith, without works. In its Sixth Session the Council of Trent condemned the following doctrines:
On Free Will: Canon IV: "If any one says that the free will of man, when moved and stirred by God, cannot, by giving assent, cooperate with God, who is stirring and calling man, so that he disposes and prepares himself for obtaining the grace of justification, or that he cannot dissent if he wills, but, like some inanimate thing, does absolutely nothing and is purely passive,—let him be accursed."
On Justification: Canon IX: "If any one says that the ungodly are justified by faith alone, in the sense that nothing else is required on their part that might cooperate to the end of obtaining the grace of justification, and that it is in no wise necessary that they be prepared and disposed (for this grace) by a movement of the will,—let him be accursed."
Canon XI: "If any one says that man is justified either by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ alone or by the remission of his sins alone, without grace and love being diffused through his heart by the Holy Spirit and inhering therein, or that the grace whereby we are justified is merely the good will of God,—let him be accursed."
Canon XII: "If any one says that justifying faith is nothing else than trust in the divine mercy which forgives sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this trust alone by which we are justified,—let him be accursed."