It is undeniable that St. Augustine was a teacher for Martin Luther and his theology inspiration for his doctrine of salvation by “Sola Fide”[1]. Unfortunately, Luther misunderstood the writings of the Saint of Hippo, remaining only with the texts where he speaks of the preeminence of grace in fighting Pelagianism, but leaving aside others where he fought precisely the opposite error.
Then some texts of St. Augustine, which denounce already for that time, the deviations that would incur Luther:
On Grace and Free Will
Chapter 18.— Faith Without Good Works is Not Sufficient for Salvation.
Unintelligent persons, however, with regard to the apostle’s statement: We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law, [Romans 3,28] have thought him to mean that faith suffices to a man, even if he lead a bad life, and has no good works. Impossible is it that such a character should be deemed a vessel of election by the apostle, who, after declaring that in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, [Galatians 5,6] adds at once, but faith which works by love. It is such faith which severs God’s faithful from unclean demons—for even these believe and tremble, [James 2,19] as the Apostle James says; but they do not do well. Therefore they possess not the faith by which the just man lives—the faith which works by love in such wise, that God recompenses it according to its works with eternal life. But inasmuch as we have even our good works from God, from whom likewise comes our faith and our love, therefore the selfsame great teacher of the Gentiles has designated eternal life itself as His gracious gift. [Romans 6,23]
Chapter 19 [VIII.]— How is Eternal Life Both a Reward for Service and a Free Gift of Grace?
And hence there arises no small question, which must be solved by the Lord’s gift. If eternal life is rendered to good works, as the Scripture most openly declares: Then He shall reward every man according to his works: [Matthew 16,27] how can eternal life be a matter of grace, seeing that grace is not rendered to works, but is given gratuitously, as the apostle himself tells us: To him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt; [Romans 4,4] and again: There is a remnant saved according to the election of grace; with these words immediately subjoined: And if of grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace? [Romans 11,5-6] How, then, is eternal life by grace, when it is received from works? Does the apostle perchance not say that eternal life is a grace? Nay, he has so called it, with a clearness which none can possibly gainsay. It requires no acute intellect, but only an attentive reader, to discover this. For after saying, The wages of sin is death, he at once added, The grace of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. [Romans 6,23]
Chapter 20.— The Question Answered. Justification is Grace Simply and Entirely, Eternal Life is Reward and Grace.
This question, then, seems to me to be by no means capable of solution, unless we understand that even those good works of ours, which are recompensed with eternal life, belong to the grace of God, because of what is said by the Lord Jesus: Without me you can do nothing. [John 15,5] And the apostle himself, after saying, By grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast; [Ephesians 2,8-9] saw, of course, the possibility that men would think from this statement that good works are not necessary to those who believe, but that faith alone suffices for them; and again, the possibility of men’s boasting of their good works, as if they were of themselves capable of performing them. To meet, therefore, these opinions on both sides, he immediately added, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. [Ephesians 2,10] What is the purport of his saying, Not of works, lest any man should boast, while commending the grace of God? And then why does he afterwards, when giving a reason for using such words, say, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works? Why, therefore, does it run, Not of works, lest any man should boast? Now, hear and understand. Not of works is spoken of the works which you suppose have their origin in yourself alone; but you have to think of works for which God has moulded (that is, has formed and created) you. For of these he says, We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Now he does not here speak of that creation which made us human beings, but of that in reference to which one said who was already in full manhood, Create in me a clean heart, O God; concerning which also the apostle says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new. And all things are of God. [2 Corinthians 5,17-18] We are framed, therefore, that is, formed and created, in the good works which we have not ourselves prepared, but God has before ordained that we should walk in them. It follows, then, dearly beloved, beyond all doubt, that as your good life is nothing else than God’s grace, so also the eternal life which is the recompense of a good life is the grace of God; moreover it is given gratuitously, even as that is given gratuitously to which it is given. But that to which it is given is solely and simply grace; this therefore is also that which is given to it, because it is its reward—grace is for grace, as if remuneration for righteousness; in order that it may be true, because it is true, that God shall reward every man according to his works.[2]
Faith and Works
Faith without works is not enough for salvation.—Let us now enter into a question that religious men must hold very clearly, lest they lose their salvation through a false security, if they think that for salvation faith is enough for them, while they neglect to live well and to walk by good works in the way of God. For even in the time of the apostles, not understanding some difficult phrases of the apostle Paul, some interpreted thus: “Let us do evil that good may come,” since he had said: “The law entered in that sin might abound; but where sin abounded, grace did more abound.” And it is true, for the men who had received the law presumed upon their own strength with very great pride, and, not imploring with right faith the divine help to overcome evil concupiscences, they burdened themselves with many and grave sins, even breaking the law; and so, their grave guilt being imputed to them, they took refuge in faith in order to obtain the mercy of forgiveness and the help of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. So that, charity being poured out in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, they might fulfil with love what is commanded against the concupiscences of this world.
Therefore, when the Apostle says that he reckons a man to be justified by faith without the works of the law (Romans 3,28), he does not say it so that, faith being received and lived, the works of justice should be despised, but so that each one may know that he can be justified by faith, even if the works of the law have not gone before. For works follow, and do not precede, justification.
Consequently there is no need to discuss this further in this work, especially since I have already published an extensive book on this question, entitled “On the Spirit and the Letter.” Nevertheless, since this opinion has now arisen again, certain apostolic letters of Peter, John, James and Jude contradict it entirely, establishing with energy that faith does not profit without works. Paul himself defined the same: that it is not just any faith by which one believes in God, but that saving and evangelical faith whose works proceed from love: the faith that works through love (Galatians 5,6). It is clearly seen how he affirms that the faith which seems to some to be sufficient for salvation profits nothing, when he says: “If I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not charity, I am nothing.” But when charity works together with faith, without doubt one lives well. For the fulness of the law is love (Romans 13,10).
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Knowing therefore [St. Peter] that they had taken occasion, more than wickedly, from some difficult phrases of the apostle Paul not to trouble themselves about living well, as though very secure of the salvation that consists in faith, he recalled that in his letters there are some things hard to be understood, which men interpret wrongly, as also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3,16), the great Apostle saying the same as the other apostles about eternal salvation: that it is not granted save to those who live well.[3]
James, moreover, is so energetically opposed to those clever men who say that faith without works avails for salvation, that he compares them with the demons, saying: “Thou believest that there is one God. Thou dost well: the devils also believe and tremble” (James 2,19). What can be said more briefly, truly and forcefully, when we also read in the Gospel that the demons said this, confessing that Christ is the Son of God, and were rebuked by him, while Peter is praised in his confession? James says: “What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works? Shall faith be able to save him?” (James 2,14) And he adds: “So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself” (James 2,17). How far astray are those who promise themselves perpetual life by a dead faith?[4]
Avoid false security.—Let us diligently avoid, with the help of the Lord our God, giving men a false security by telling them that, if they have been baptized in Christ, in whatever manner they may live in that same faith, they will attain to eternal life. Let us not make Christians in the way the Jews made proselytes, to whom the Lord says: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, because you go round about the sea and the land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, you make him the child of hell twofold more than yourselves” (Matthew 23,15).
Let us rather keep the sound doctrine of God, who is master in both, so that the Christian life may accord with holy baptism, and let eternal life be promised to no man if either the one or the other be lacking. For he who said: “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3,5), also said: “Unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5,20). Of these without doubt he says: “The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses… do what they say; but according to their works do ye not: for they say, and do not” (Matthew 23,2-3). Their justice, then, is to say and not to do.[5]
- For Luther, man is justified by fiducial faith, which is the sole confidence that the divine mercy will remit sins for the merits of Jesus Christ. Today many evangelical Christians, without knowing it, do not share Luther's theses, and when they hold that man is justified by faith, they understand it to be the saving faith of which St. Augustine speaks when he says that it works through charity. ↩
- Augustine of Hippo, On Grace and Free Will, XVIII-XX (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5; New Advent, http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1510.htm). ↩
- St. Augustine, On Faith and Works 14,21. ↩
- St. Augustine, On Faith and Works 14,23. ↩
- St. Augustine, On Faith and Works 26,48. ↩
