Sacrosanct, Ecumenical and General Council of Trent

DECREE ON JUSTIFICATION

Having spread in these times, not without the loss of many souls, and serious detriment to the unity of the Church, certain erroneous doctrines about Justification;the sacrosanct, ecumenical and general Council of Trent, legitimately assembled in the Holy Spirit, and presided over in the name of our most holy Father and lord in Christ, Paul by the divine providence Pope III of this name, by the most reverend lords John Mary of Monte, Bishop of Palestine, and Marcellus, Priest of the title of holy Cross in Jerusalem, Cardinals of the holy Roman Church, and Apostolic Legates a latere, proposes to declare to allthe Christian faithful, to the honor and glory of Almighty God, the tranquility of the Church, and the salvation of souls, the true and sound doctrine of Justification, which the sun of justice Jesus Christ, author and perfecter of our faith, taught, his Apostles communicated, and the Catholic Church inspired by the Holy Spirit has perpetually retained;prohibiting with the greatest rigor that no one from now on dares to believe, preach or teach otherwise than that established and declared in this decree.

CHAP. I. That nature and the law cannot justify men.

Before all these things the holy Council declares that to understand well and sincerely the doctrine of Justification, it is necessary for all to know and confess that all men having lost their innocence in the prevarication of Adam, became unclean, and as the Apostle says, children of wrath by nature, as set forth in the decree of original sin;To such a degree were they slaves to sin, and were under the rule of the devil, and of death, that not only the Gentiles by the forces of nature, but not even the Jews by the very letter of the law of Moses, could rise up, or achieve their freedom;However, free will was not extinguished in them, although their strength was weakened, and they were inclined to evil.

CHAP. II. On the mission and mystery of the coming of Christ.

For this reason the heavenly Father, Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, sent to men, when that blessed fullness of time arrived, Jesus Christ, his son, manifested, and promised to many holy Fathers before the law, and in the time of it, so that he might redeem the Jews who lived in the law, and the Gentiles who did not aspire to holiness, achieve it, and all receive the adoption of children.This same God proposed to be the reconciler of our sins, through faith in his passion, and not only of our sins, but of those of the whole world.

CHAP. III. Who are justified through Jesus Christ.

However, although Jesus Christ died for everyone, not everyone participates in the benefit of his death, but only those to whom the merits of his passion are communicated.Because just as truly unjust men would not be born if they were not born propagated from Adam;for being conceived by himself, they contract by this propagation their own injustice;In the same way, if they were not reborn in Jesus Christ, they would never be justified;for in this regeneration the grace with which they become righteous is conferred upon them by the merit of the passion of Christ.For this benefit the Apostle exhorts us to always give thanks to the Eternal Father, who made us worthy to enter the lot of the saints in glory, brought us out of the power of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his much-beloved Son, in which we achieve redemption and the forgiveness of sins.

CHAP. IV. A description of the justification of the sinner and of the manner in which it takes place under the law of grace.

In the aforementioned words the description of the sinner’s justification is hinted at: so that it is a transition from the state in which man is born, the son of the first Adam, to the state of grace and adoption of the children of God by the second Adam, Jesus Christ our Savior.This translation, or transit, cannot be achieved, after the Gospel has been promulgated, without baptism, or without the desire for it;as it is written: No one can enter the kingdom of heaven except he who has been reborn of water and of the Holy Spirit.

CHAP. V. On the necessity for adults to prepare for justification, and whence it proceeds.

He further declares that the principle of the very justification of adults must be taken from the divine grace, which is anticipated to them by Jesus Christ: that is, from their calling, by which they are called without any merit of their own;so that those who were enemies of God by their sins, are disposed by his grace, which excites and helps them to convert to their own justification, freely assenting and cooperating to the same grace;so that God touching the heart of man through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, not even the man himself fails to act anything, admitting that inspiration, since he can reject it;nor yet can he move without divine grace to justification in the presence of God by his free will alone.Hence it is that when it is said in the sacred letters: Convert to me, and I will convert to you;we are warned of our freedom;and when we answer: Convert us to you, Lord, and we will be converted;We confess that we are prevented by divine grace.

CHAP. VI. The manner of this preparation.

Prepare yourselves, then, for justification, when moved and helped by divine grace, and conceiving faith by hearing, you freely bow to God, believing to be true what he has supernaturally revealed and promised;and firstly, that God justifies the sinner by his grace acquired in the redemption through Jesus Christ;and as soon as they recognize themselves as sinners, and pass from the fear of divine justice, which ultimately saddens them, to consider the mercy of God, they conceive hope that God will look upon them with mercy through the grace of Jesus Christ, and they begin to love him as the source of all justice;and for the same reason they move against their sins with a certain hatred and detestation;that is, with that repentance that they must have before baptism;and finally, when they propose to receive this sacrament, start a new life, and observe the commandments of God.This disposition is what the Scripture speaks of, when it says: He who approaches God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.Trust, son, your sins are forgiven.And, the fear of God drives away sin.And also: Do ​​penance, and each of you receive baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you will obtain the gift of the Holy Spirit.Likewise: Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have entrusted to you.In short: Prepare your hearts for the Lord.

CHAP. VII. What the justification of the sinner is, and what its causes are.

This disposition or preparation is followed by justification itself: which is not only the forgiveness of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the inner man by the voluntary admission of grace and gifts that follow it;from which it results that man from unjust becomes just, and from enemy to friend, to be heir in hope of eternal life.The causes of this justification are: the final, the glory of God, and of Jesus Christ, and eternal life.The efficient one is the merciful God, who freely cleanses and sanctifies us, sealed and anointed with the Holy Spirit, who is promised to us, and who is a pledge of the inheritance that we are to receive.The meritorious cause is his very beloved only begotten Jesus Christ, our Lord, who by the excessive charity with which he loved us, while we were enemies, deserved justification for us with his most holy passion on the tree of the cross, and satisfied God the Father for us.The instrumental, in addition to these, is the sacrament of baptism, which is a sacrament of faith, without which no one has ever achieved justification.Ultimately the only formal cause is the holiness of God, not that with which he himself is holy, but with that which makes us holy;That is to say, with that gifted by him, we are renewed in the interior of our souls, and not only are we considered righteous, but we are truly called so, and we are, each one of us participating in holiness according to the measure that the Holy Spirit distributes to him, as he wishes, and according to each one’s own disposition and cooperation.For although no one can be justified, except he to whom the merits of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ are communicated;This, however, is achieved in the justification of the sinner, when by the merit of the most holy passion itself the love of God is spread through the Holy Spirit in the hearts of those who are justified, and remains inherent in them.It follows from this that in the same justification, in addition to the remission of sins, faith, hope and charity are at the same time spread in man through Jesus Christ, with whom he is united;For faith, unless hope and charity are added, neither unites him perfectly with Christ, nor makes him a living member of his body.For this reason it is said with utmost truth: that faith without works is dead and idle;and also: that with Jesus Christ circumcision, nor the lack of it, is worth nothing, but faith that works through charity.This is that faith that, by tradition of the Apostles, the Catechumens ask of the Church before receiving the sacrament of baptism, when they ask for the faith that gives eternal life;which cannot come from faith alone, without hope or charity.Hence, they are immediately given the words of Jesus Christ in response: If you want to enter heaven, observe the commandments.As a consequence of this, when those reborn or baptized receive true and Christian holiness, they are immediately commanded to preserve it in all its purity and candor as the first stole, which in place of the one that Adam lost due to his inobedience, for himself and his children, Jesus Christ has given them in order that they may appear with it before his court, and achieve eternal salvation.

CHAP. VIII. How it is to be understood that the sinner is justified by faith and freely.

When the Apostle says that man is justified by faith, and freely;His words must be understood in that sense which he adopted, and has expressed the perpetual consent of the Catholic Church;namely, that insofar as it is said that we are justified by faith, insofar as this is the beginning of man’s salvation, the foundation and root of all justification, and without which it is impossible to become pleasing to God, nor to participate in the fate of his children.Meanwhile it is also said that we are justified freely, inasmuch as none of the things that precede justification, be it faith or works, deserve the grace of justification: for if it is grace, it no longer comes from works: otherwise, as the Apostle says, grace would not be grace.

CHAP. IX. Against the vain confidence of heretics.

But although it is necessary to believe that sins are not forgiven, nor have they ever been forgiven, except freely through the divine mercy and merits of Jesus Christ;However, it cannot be said that they are forgiven, or have been forgiven, to anyone who displays his confidence, and the certainty that his sins are forgiven, and trusts only in this: since it can be found among heretics and schismatics, or rather, it is found in our times, and is advocated with great effort against the Catholic Church, this vain confidence, and very foreign to all piety.Nor can it be said that those who are truly justified must have it within themselves, without the slightest doubt, that they are justified;nor that no one is absolved of his sins, and is justified, except he who believes with certainty that he is absolved and justified;nor that with this belief alone forgiveness and justification achieves all its perfection;as if implying that anyone who did not believe this would doubt the promises of God, and the effectiveness of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.For just as no pious person should doubt the divine mercy, the merits of Jesus Christ, nor the virtue and efficacy of the sacraments: in the same way all may be suspicious and fearful regarding their state in grace, if they turn their consideration to themselves, and to their own weakness and indisposition;for no one can know with the certainty of his faith, in which there is no room for deception, that he has obtained the grace of God.

CHAP. X. On the increase of justification already received.

Thus justified, made friends and domestics of God, and walking from virtue to virtue, they are renewed, as the Apostle says, day by day;That is, by mortifying their flesh, and using it as an instrument to justify and sanctify themselves, through the observance of the commandments of God and the Church, they grow in the same holiness that they have received through the grace of Christ, and by cooperating faith with good works, they become more justified;as it is written: He who is righteous, let him continue to be justified.And elsewhere: Do not be afraid to justify yourself to the death.And further: You see well that man is justified by his works, and not by faith alone.This is the increase in holiness that the Church asks for when she prays: Give us, Lord, an increase in faith, hope and charity.

CHAP. XI. On the observance of the commandments, and how it is necessary and possible to observe them.

But no one, even if he is justified, should be persuaded that he is exempt from the observance of the commandments, nor should he avail himself of those reckless voices, and prohibited with anathema by the Fathers, namely: that the observance of the divine precepts is impossible for the justified man.Because God does not command impossible things;but by commanding, he admonishes you to do what you can, and to ask for what you cannot;helping at the same time with their aid so that you can;For the commandments of him are not heavy, whose yoke is easy, and his burden is light.Those who are children of God love Christ;and those who love him, as he himself testifies, observe his commandments.This, by the way, can be executed with divine grace;because although in this mortal life men may fall, no matter how holy and just they may be, at least in light and daily sins, which are also called venial;This does not mean they stop being fair;because of the righteous is that voice as humble as it is true: Forgive us our debts.Therefore, the righteous themselves should consider themselves obliged to walk in the path of holiness, as now free from sin, but enlisted among the servants of God, they can, living soberly, justly and piously, advance in their advantage with the grace of Jesus Christ, who was the one who opened the door for them to enter this grace.God certainly does not abandon those who once justified themselves with his grace, unless they abandon him first.Consequently, no one should be conceited because he possesses faith alone, persuading himself that through it alone he is destined to be an heir, and that he must obtain the inheritance, even if he does not share with Christ in his passion, to also be a participant in his glory;for even Christ himself, as the Apostle says: Being a son of God, he learned to be obedient in the same things that he suffered, and when his passion was consummated, he became the cause of the eternal salvation of all those who obey him.For this reason the same Apostle admonishes the justified, saying: Do you not know that those who run in the circus, although they all run, it is only one who receives the prize?Run, then, so that you overtake him.I indeed run, not as an uncertain object;and I fight, not as one who strikes in the air;but I mortify my body, and subject it;lest by preaching to others I condemn myself.In addition to this, the Prince of the Apostles Saint Peter says: Always desire to secure your vocation and election with your good works;because by proceeding like this, you will never sin.From this it is clear that those who say that the just sins in every good work, at least venially, or what is more intolerable, that he deserves the penalties of hell are opposed to the doctrine of the Catholic religion;Just as those who affirm that the just sin in all their works, if, encouraging their laziness in the execution of them, and exhorting themselves to run in the arena of this life, they propose blessedness as a reward, with the aim that God primarily may be glorified;for the Scripture says: For the sake of the reward I inclined my heart to fulfill your justifying commandments.And the Apostle says of Moses, that he had in mind, or aspired to, remuneration.

CHAP. XII. The rash presumption of one’s own predestination must be avoided.

Nor, while he remains in this mortal life, should he be so presumptuously persuaded of the profound mystery of divine predestination, which he believes to be surely of the number of the predestined;as if it were constant that the justified man either can no longer sin, or must promise himself, if he sins, certain repentance;Because without special revelation, it is not possible to know who God has chosen for himself.

CHAP. XIII. On the gift of perseverance.

The same must be believed about the gift of perseverance, of which the Scripture says: He who perseveres to the end will be saved: which cannot be obtained from any other hand than from that of him who has the power to secure the one who stands so that he may continue that way to the end, and to lift up the one who falls.No one promises anything certain with absolute certainty;However, everyone must place and ensure in divine aid the firmest hope of their salvation.God, of course, unless men fail to correspond to his grace, just as he began the good work, he will bring it to its perfection, since he is the one who causes in man the will to do it, and the execution and perfection of it.However, those who believe they are safe, take heed that they do not fall;and seek their salvation with fear and trembling, through labor, vigils, alms, prayers, oblations, fasting and chastity: for they must be possessed of fear, knowing that they have been reborn to the hope of glory, but they have not yet come into its possession leaving the battles that remain against the flesh, against the world and against the devil;in which they cannot remain victors except by obeying with the grace of God the Apostle Saint Paul, who says: We are debtors, not to the flesh so that we may live according to it: for if you live according to the flesh, you will die;But if you mortify the actions of the flesh with the spirit, you will live.

CHAP. XIV. On the just who fall into sin, and their restoration.

Those who, having received the grace of justification, lost it through sin, will be able to justify themselves again by the merits of Jesus Christ, seeking, excited by divine help, to recover the lost grace, through the sacrament of Penance.This mode of justification, then, is the reparation or restoration of the one who has fallen into sin;the same one that the holy Fathers have very appropriately called the second table after the shipwreck of the grace that was lost.In fact, it is for those who fall into sin after baptism that Jesus Christ established the sacrament of Penance, when he said: Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven;and those of those you leave unforgiven are bound.For this reason it must be taught that there is a great difference between the penance of the Christian man after his fall, and that of baptism;for that not only includes separation from sin, and its detestation, or a contrite and humiliated heart;but also their sacramental confession, at least in the desire to make it in due time, and the absolution of the priest;and in addition to these, satisfaction through fasting, alms, prayers and other pious exercises of the spiritual life: not from eternal punishment, since this is forgiven together with the guilt or by the sacrament, or by the desire for it;but of temporal punishment, which, according to sacred Scripture, is not always, as happens in baptism, all forgiven to those who, being ungrateful for the divine grace they received, grieved the Holy Spirit, and were not ashamed of desecrating the temple of God.It is about this penance that the Scripture says: Keep in mind from what state you have fallen: do penance, and perform the works you previously did.And elsewhere: The sadness that is according to God, produces a permanent penance to achieve salvation.And furthermore: Do penance, and bear fruits worthy of penance.

CHAP. XV. Grace is lost by every mortal sin, but not faith.

It must also be held true, against the cunning wits of some who seduce innocent hearts with sweet words and blessings, that the grace that has been received in justification is lost not only with infidelity, by which faith itself perishes, but also with any other mortal sin, even if the faith is preserved: defending in this the doctrine of the divine law, which excludes from the kingdom of God, not only the unbelievers, but also the faithful who fall into fornication, theadulterers, effeminates, sodomites, thieves, covetous, greedy, revilers, raptors, and all others who fall into mortal sins;for they can abstain from them with the help of divine grace, and they remain separated from the grace of Christ.

CHAP. XVI. On the fruit of justification; that is, on the merit of good works, and on the nature of that merit.

To people who have justified themselves in this way, whether they perpetually preserve the grace they received, or recover that which they lost, the words of the Apostle Saint Paul must be made present: Abound in all kinds of good works;well understood that your work is not in vain with God;For God is not so unjust that he forgets your works, nor the love that you manifested in his name.And: Do not lose your confidence, it has a great reward.And this is the reason why eternal life must be proposed to those who do good until death, and hope in God, either as a grace mercifully promised by Jesus Christ to the children of God, or as a prize with which merits and good works are to be faithfully rewarded, according to God’s promise.This, then, is that crown of justice that the Apostle said was reserved for him to obtain after his struggle and career, the same one that the just Judge was to award, not only to him, but also to all those who desire his holy advent.For as Jesus Christ himself perennially spreads his virtue in the justified, as the head in the members, and the stump in the branches;and constant that its virtue always precedes, accompanies and follows good works, and without it they could not be in any way acceptable or meritorious before God;It must be taken for certain that nothing else is lacking for those justified in believing that they have fully satisfied the law of God with those same works that they have performed, according to God, in proportion to the state of the present life;nor so that they have truly merited eternal life (which they will obtain in due time, if they die in grace): for Christ our Savior says: If anyone drinks of the water that I will give him, he will not thirst for all eternity, but will obtain in himself a fountain of water that flows throughout eternal life.Consequently, our justification is neither established as taken from ourselves, nor is the holiness that comes from God ignored or rejected;For the holiness that we call ours, because it is inherent in us and justifies us, is from God: because God instills it in us through the merits of Christ.Nor should it be omitted, that although good works are given such esteem in sacred Scripture, that Jesus Christ promises that he who gives one of his little ones to drink cold water will not lack his reward;and the Apostle testifies that the weight of tribulation, which in this world is momentary and light, gives us in heaven an excessive and eternal weight of glory;However, God forbid that the Christian should trust or glory in himself, and not in the Lord;whose goodness is so great towards all men, that he wants their merits to be his gifts.And since we all fall into many offenses, each one must keep in view mercy and kindness, severity and judgment: without anyone being able to qualify himself, even if his conscience does not bother him at all;For the whole life of men is not to be examined or judged in a human court, but in that of God, who will illuminate the secrets of darkness, and will manifest the designs of the heart, and then each one will achieve the praise and reward of God, who, as it is written, will reward them according to their works.

After explaining this Catholic doctrine of justification, so necessary that if anyone does not faithfully and firmly admit it, he will not be able to be justified, the holy Council has decreed to add the following canons, so that everyone knows not only what they must adopt and follow, but also what they must avoid and shun.

Source: SESSION VI. Celebrated on January 13, 1547.