A Sermon of the Salvation of Mankind (Part 2)

First Book of Homilies · Homily 3 · Part 2

A Sermon of the Salvation of Mankind by Only Christ Our Saviour from Sin and Death Everlasting

The Second Part of the Sermon of Salvation.

YE have heard of whom all men ought to seek their justification and righteousness, and how also this righteousness cometh unto men by Christ’s death and merits. Ye heard also how that three things are required to the obtaining of our righteousness; that is, God’s mercy, Christ’s justice, and a true and a lively faith, out of the which faith springeth good works. Also before was declared at large that no man can be justified by his own good works, because that no man fulfilleth the law according to the full request of the law. And St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galathians proveth the same, saying thus: If there had been any law given which could have justified, verily righteousness should have been by the law.^[1] And again he saith, If righteousness be by the law, then Christ died in vain.^[2] And again he saith, You that are justified in the law are fallen away from grace.^[3] And furthermore he writeth to the Ephesians on this wise: By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God; and not of works, lest any man should glory.^[4] And, to be short, the sum of all Paul’s disputation is this: that, if justice come of works, then it cometh not of grace; and, if it come of grace, then it cometh not of works.^[5] And to this end tendeth all the Prophets, as St. Peter saith in the tenth of the Acts. Of Christ all the Prophets, saith St. Peter, do witness, that through his Name all they that believe in him shall receive the remission of sins.^[6]

And after this wise to be justified, only by this true and lively faith in Christ, speaketh all the old and ancient authors, both Greeks and Latins. Of whom I will specially rehearse three, Hilary, Basil, and Ambrose. St. Hilary saith these words plainly in the ninth Canon upon Matthew: “Faith only justifieth.” And St. Basil, a Greek author, writeth thus: “This is a perfect and a whole rejoicing in God, when a man avaunteth not himself for his own righteousness, but knowlegeth himself to lack true justice and righteousness, and to be justified by the only faith in Christ. And Paul,” saith he, “doth glory in the contempt of his own righteousness, and that he looketh for the righteousness of God by faith.”^[7] These be the very words of St. Basil. And St. Ambrose, a Latin author, saith these words: “This is the ordinance of God, that he which believeth in Christ should be saved without works, by faith only, freely receiving remission of his sins.” Consider diligently these words. Without works, by faith only, freely we receive remission of our sins. What can be spoken more plainly than to say that freely, without works, by faith only, we obtain remission of our sins?

These and other like sentences, that we be justified by faith only, freely, and without works, we do read ofttimes in the most best and ancient writers. As, beside Hilary, Basil, and St. Ambrose before rehearsed, we read the same in Origen, St. Chrysostom, St. Cyprian, St. Augustine, Prosper, Oecumenius, Photius, Bernardus, Anselm, and many other authors, Greek and Latin. Neverthless, this sentence, that we be justified by faith only, is not so meant of them, that the said justifying faith is alone in man, without true repentance, hope, charity, dread, and fear of God, at any time or season. Nor when they say that we be justified freely, they mean not that we should or might afterward be idle, and that nothing should be required on our parts afterward; neither they mean not so to be justified without our good works that we should do no good works at all, like as shall be more expressed at large hearafter. But this saying, that we be justified by faith only, freely, and without works, is spoken for us to take away clearly all merit of our works, as being unable to deserve our justification at God’s hands; and thereby most plainly to express the weakness of man and the goodness of God, the great infirmity of ourselves and the might and power of God, the imperfectness of our own works and the most abundant grace of our Saviour Christ; and thereby wholly for to ascribe the merit and deserving of our justification unto Christ only and his most precious bloodshedding.

This faith the holy Scripture teacheth: this is the strong rock and foundation of Christian religion: this doctrine all old and ancient authors of Christ’s Church do approve: this doctrine advanceth and setteth forth the true glory of Christ, and beateth down the vain glory of man: this whosoever denieth is not to be counted for a true Christian man, nor for a setter forth of Christ’s glory, but for an adversary of Christ and his Gospel, and for a setter forth of men’s vainglory.

And, although this doctrine be never so true, as it is most true indeed, that we be justified freely without all merit of our own good works (as St. Paul doth express it), and freely by this lively and perfect faith in Christ only (as the ancient authors use to speak it), yet this true doctrine must be also truly understand and most plainly declared; lest carnal men should take unjustly occasion thereby to live carnally after the appetite and will of the world, the flesh, and the devil. And, because no man should err by mistaking of this doctrine, I shall plainly and shortly so declare the right understanding of the same, that no man shall justly think that he may thereby take any occasion of carnal liberty to follow the desires of the flesh, or that thereby any kind of sin shall be committed, or any ungodly living the more used.

First, you shall understand that in our justification by Christ it is not all one thing, the office of God unto man, and the office of man unto God. Justification is not the office of man, but of God. For man cannot make himself righteous by his own works, neither in part, nor in the whole; for that were the greatest arrogancy and presumption of man that Antichrist could set up against God, to affirm that a man might by his own works take away and purge his own sins, and so justify himself. But justification is the office of God only; and is not a thing which we render unto him, but which we receive of him; not which we give to him, but which we take of him, by his free mercy, and by the only merits of his most dearly beloved Son, our only Redeemer, Saviour, and Justifier, Jesus Christ. So that the true understanding of this doctrine, We be justified freely by faith without works, or that we be justified by faith in Christ only, is not that this our own act, to believe in Christ, or this our faith in Christ, which is within us, doth justify us and deserve our justification unto us; for that were to count ourselves to be justified by some act or virtue that is within ourselves. But the true understanding and meaning thereof is, that, although we hear God’s word and believe it, although we have faith, hope, charity, repentance, dread, and fear of God within us, and do never so many good works thereunto, yet we must renounce the merit of all our said virtues of faith, hope, charity, and all our other virtues and good deeds, which we either have done, shall do, or can do, as things that be far too weak and insufficient and unperfect to deserve remission of our sins and our justification; and therefore we must trust only in God’s mercy, and in that sacrifice which our High Priest and Saviour Christ Jesus, the Son of God, once offered for us upon the cross, to obtain thereby God’s grace, and remission, as well of our original sin in baptism, as of all actual sin committed by us after our baptism, if we truly repent and turn unfeignedly to him again. So that, as St. John Baptist, although he were never so virtuous and godly a man, yet in this matter of forgiving of sin he did put the people from him, and appointed them unto Christ, saying thus unto them, Behold, yonder is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world;^[8] even so, as great and as godly a virtue as the lively faith is, yet it putteth us from itself, and remitteth or appointeth us unto Christ, for to have only by him remission of our sins or justification. So that our faith in Christ, as it were, saith unto us thus: It is not I that take away your sins, but it is Christ only; and to him only I send you for that purpose, forsaking therein all your good virtues, words, thoughts, and works, and only putting your trust in Christ.

Notes

1. Galatians 3:21 ↑
2. Galatians 2:21 ↑
3. Galatians 5:4 ↑
4. Ephesians 2:8-9 ↑
5. Romans 11:6 ↑
6. Acts 10:43 ↑
7. Philippians 3:9 ↑
8. John 1:29 ↑