Institutes of the Christian Religion (Vol. 2 of 2)
CHAPTER XV.03
Boasting Of The Merit Of Works, Equally Subversive Of God’S Glory In The Gift Of Righteousness, And Of The Certainty Of Salvation - Reading 03
VII. Thus the Sorbonic schools, those sources of all kinds
of errors, have deprived us of justification by faith, which is
the substance of all piety. They grant, indeed, in words, that
a man is justified by faith formed; but this they afterwards
explain to be, because faith renders good works effectual to
justification; so that their mention of faith has almost the
appearance of mockery, since it could not be passed over in
silence, while the Scripture is so full of it, without exposing
them to great censure. And not content with this, they rob
God of part of the praise of good works, and transfer it to man.
Perceiving that good works avail but little to the exaltation of
man, and that they cannot properly be denominated merits if
they be considered as the effects of Divine grace, they derive
them from the power of free-will; which is like extracting oil
from a stone. They contend, that though grace be the principal
cause of them, yet that this is not to the exclusion of free-will,
from which all merit originates. And this is maintained
not only by the latter sophists, but likewise by their master,
Lombard, whom, when compared with them, we may pronounce
to be sound and sober. Truly wonderful was their
blindness, with Augustine so frequently in their mouths, not to
see how solicitously he endeavoured to prevent men from arrogating
the least degree of glory on account of good works.
Before, when we discussed the question of free-will, we cited
from him some testimonies to this purpose; and similar
ones frequently recur in his writings; as when he forbids us
ever to boast of our merits, since even they are the gifts of
God; and when he says, “that all our merit proceeds from
grace alone; that it is not obtained by our sufficiency, but is
produced entirely by grace,” &c. That Lombard was blind to
the light of Scripture, in which he appears not to have been
so well versed, need not excite so much surprise. Yet nothing
could be wished for more explicit, in opposition to him and
his disciples, than this passage of the apostle; who, having
interdicted Christians from all boasting, subjoins as a reason
why boasting is unlawful, that “we are his (God’s) workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.” [87]