Thread: The tenses of justification

Theologia The Tenses of Justification

At the last day, God’s judgment will take into account our works, not because they are meritorious and not because they have justifying value on their own. Rather, they will be, as Calvin says, “inferior causes” of our salvation:

The fact that Scripture shows that the good works of believers are reasons why the Lord benefits them is to be so understood as to allow what we have set forth before to stand unshaken: that the efficient cause of our salvation consists in God the Father’s love; the material cause in God the Son’s obedience; the instrumental cause in the Spirit’s illumination, that is, faith; the final cause, in the glory of God’s great generosity. These do not prevent the Lord from embracing works as inferior causes. But how does this come about? Those whom the Lord has destined by his mercy for the inheritance of eternal life he leads into possession of it, according to his ordinary dispensation, by means of good works (III.14.21).

While I am no fan of the Aristotelian “causes” scheme as a theological tool, Calvin’s point is plain enough. Works of faith-filled obedience, in a secondary way, cause our final justification and salvation. Works are the means through which we come into possession of eternal life. The path of obedience is the way we must trod if we are be justified at the last day...They are not merely evidential (e.g., proof of our faith), but even causal or instrumental (“means”) in our final salvation...Calvin doesn’t explain exactly how this works, but we can be sure that he did not regard our works as meriting anything on their own or as having value outside of our union with Christ.

Is Calvin saying good works are "causal or instrumental" in our salvation?

Thank you,

jm

You cannot trust Rich Lusk on just about anything theological, but especially when he is attempting to undermine the entire Westminster Confession with one short, out-of-context Calvin quote.

Do yourself a favor and don't wast your time on Lusk.

Yeah, I agree with Pastor Greco - Lusk takes Calvin's passage entirely out of context. Calvin is not making the case that works justify at all, and takes great pains to make this point. Just after Lusk's quote he says this:

What goes before in the order of dispensation he call the cause of what comes after. In this way he sometimes derives eternal life from works, not intending it to be ascribed to them; but because he justifies those whom he has chosen in order at last to glorify them [Romans 8:30], he makes the prior grace, which is a step to that which follows, as it were the cause. But whenever the true cause is to be assigned, he does not enjoin us to take refuge in works but keeps us solely to the contemplation of his mercy.

Calvin makes the point that glorification is sometimes described in the NT as being "caused" by sanctification (or "good works") because sanctification precedes glorification in the process of salvation. But the ultimate cause of salvation is clearly God's grace, received by faith...

The quote from Lusk didn't make sense considering the previous 20 sections. Thank you.