Does Justification by Faith Still Matter?

The other day I came across a video of Pope Francis giving a sermon about justification by grace. It is quite good and surprisingly Protestantesque. You can watch it below.

The Pope sounds somewhat Protestant with his emphasis on grace, God’s justice effective in us, and the idea that we truly are saints because of justification.

One could also add to the picture how Roman Catholic commentators on Paul, like the late Joseph Fitzmyer, or the contemporary Scott Hahn, exegete key texts in Romans and they sound remarkably Protestant, indeed, frighteningly Protestant.

Added to that the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification by the Lutheran World Federal and by the Roman Catholic Church is a very, very positive achievement that brings the conversation forward … towards unity.

So what is the fuss about? Well, I’m still rather welded onto my Protestant view of justification by faith and am reticent to say that the whole “Luther thing” was just a phase that we have outgrown. So justification by faith really matters, and serious points of contention are still there.

There have been some great strides made toward bringing about a reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants on justification by faith. But, some big faultlines remain and we need to consider them.

First, the issue is whether justification is a declaration or a process! Does God declare us to be righteous on the basis of faith and union with Christ? Or is righteousness a process by which we are slowly conformed to God’s standard of righteousness and holiness? Well, both are true, but the former we call justification and the latter we call sanctification. The problem is that if you confuse justification with sanctification that justification comes on the basis of sanctification and you lose any sense of assurance of salvation. That was the real bee in the Protestant’s bonnet! If you listen again to Pope Francis’ words you get the impression that justification and sanctification are interchangeable, but that is precisely what Protestants were protesting about.

Second, remember too that when Paul wants to defend the gospel that he defends justification by faith (Galatians 1-3). Plus, justification can stand as a summary of the event of salvation (Rom 8:29). Now how justification relates to the gospel and the complexities of justification need to be teased out. But to guard the gospel we need to guard a forensic view of justification by faith.

Third, if you read the declarations of the Council of Trent, and the official Catechism of the Catholic Church which is resolutely Tridentine in what it says about justification, there are still some big differences between Protestants and Catholics that need to be worked out. If we are to move forward on this ecumenical topic then the Catholic Church needs a do-over on the Council of Trent.

Otherwise, check out two great episodes from John Dickson and the Undeceptions show on the Reformation.