"But when we are speaking of the subject itself, it is
certain that the doctrine of gracious reconciliation, of the remission of sins,
of righteousness, salvation, and eternal life through faith for the sake of the
Mediator is one and the same in the Old and in the New Testament. This is a
useful rule which we must retain at all costs: The doctrine, wherever we read
it, in either the Old or New Testament, which deals with the gracious
reconciliation and the remission of sins through faith for the sake of God's
mercy in Christ, is the Gospel." Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, 2
vols., trans. J. A. O. Preus, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989, II,
p. 459.
"If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else than
trust in divine mercy, which remits sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this
trust alone by which we are justified, let him be anathema [damned to
Hell]." [Session Six, Canon XII]
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the
Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1971, I, p. 460.
"The Scholastics philosophize all too crassly about man doing
what is in him, about adequate merit (de merito congrui), about grace which
makes acceptable, about deserving merit (de merito condigni). And concerning
justification they dispute without the Scripture in no other way than as if
they were philosophizing in the school of Aristotle about natural
impulses."
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans.,
Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 463. see Baker,
Fundamentals, III, p. 78
"For the papalists understand the word 'justify' according to
the manner of the Latin composition as meaning 'to make righteous' through a
donated or infused quality of inherent righteousness, from which works of
righteousness proceed. The Lutherans, however, accept the word 'justify' in the
Hebrew manner of speaking; therefore they define justification as the
absolution from sins, or the remission of sins, through imputation of the
righteousness of Christ, through adoption and inheritance of eternal life, and
that only for the sake of Christ, who is apprehended by faith." Martin
Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis:
Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 467.
"Therefore God, 'who is rich in mercy' [Ephesians 2:4], has had
mercy upon us and has set forth a propitiation through faith in the blood of
Christ, and those who flee as suppliants to this throne of grace He absolves
from the comprehensive sentence of condemnation, and by the imputation of the
righteousness of His Son, which they grasp in faith, He pronounces them
righteous, receives them into grace, and adjudges them to be heirs of eternal
life. This is certainly the judicial meaning of the word 'justification,' in
almost the same way that a guilty man who has been sentenced before the bar of
justice is acquitted."
Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, 2 vols., trans.
J. A. O. Preus, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989, II, p. 482.
Ephesians 2:4
"Yet these exercises of faith always presuppose, as their
foundation, that God is reconciled by faith, and to this they are always led
back, so that faith may be certain and the promise sure in regard to these
other objects. This explanation is confirmed by the brilliant statement of Paul
in 2 Corinthians 1:20: 'All the promises of God in Christ are yea and amen, to
the glory of God through us,' that is, the promises concerning other objects of
faith have only then been ratified for us when by faith in Christ we are
reconciled with God. The promises have been made valid on the condition that
they must give glory to God through us."
Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici,
2 vols., trans. J. A. O. Preus, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989,
II, p. 495. 2 Corinthians 1:20
"Therefore this apprehension or acceptance or application of
the promise of grace is the formal cause or principle of justifying faith,
according to the language of Scripture."
Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici,
2 vols., trans. J. A. O. Preus, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989,
II, p. 502.
"We must note the foundations. For we are justified by faith,
not because it is so firm, robust, and perfect a virtue, but because of the
object on which it lays hold, namely Christ, who is the Mediator in the promise
of grace. Therefore when faith does not err in its object, but lays hold on
that true object, although with a weak faith, or at least tries and wants to
lay hold on Christ, then there is true faith, and it justifies. The reason for
this is demonstrated in those lovely statements in Philippians 3:12: 'I
apprehend, or rather I am apprehended by Christ' and Galatians 4:9: 'You have
known God, or rather have been known by God.' Scripture shows a beautiful
example of this in Mark 9:24: 'I believe; help my unbelief.'"
Martin
Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, 2 vols., trans. J. A. O. Preus, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1989, II, p. 503. Philippians 3:12; Galatians 4:9; Mark
9:24
"For we are not justified because of our faith (propter
fidem), in the sense of faith being a virtue or good work on our part. Thus we
pray, as did the man in Mark 9:24: 'I believe, Lord; help my unbelief'; and
with the apostles: 'Lord, increase our faith,' Luke 17:5."
Martin
Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, 2 vols., trans. J. A. O. Preus, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1989, II, p. 506 Mark 9:24; Luke 17:5
"But because not doubt but faith justifies, and not he who
doubts but he who believes has eternal life, therefore faith teaches the free
promise, which relies on the mercy of God for the sake of the sacrifice of the
Son, the Mediator, and not on our works, as Paul says in Romans 4:16:
'Therefore it is of faith, that the promise might be sure according to
grace.'"
Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, 2 vols., trans. J. A. O. Preus,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989, II, p. 507. Romans 4:16
"And, in short, the meritum condigni is the Helen for which
the Tridentine chapter concerning the growth of justification contends. For
they imagine that the quality, or habit, of love is infused not that we may
possess salvation to life eternal through this first grace but that, assisted
by that grace, we may be able to merit eternal life for ourselves by our own
good works. For concerning the meritum condigni Gabriel speaks thus: 'The soul
shaped by grace worthily (de condigno) merits eternal life.'" [Kramer note
- Scholastics taught that the good works of the unregenerate had only meritum
congrui; the good works of the regenerate rewarded as meritum condigni, merit
worthy with being rewarded with eternal life.]
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of
the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 1971, I, p. 541. see Baker, Fundamentals, III, p. 78
"If anyone says that a man is absolved from sins and
justified because of this that he confidently believes that he is absolved and
justified, or that no one is truly justified except he who believes that he is
justified, and that through this faith alone absolution and justification is
effected, let him be anathema [damned to Hell]." [Sixth Session, Canon
XIV]
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer,
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 551.
"For we do not approve the
opinion of the Marcionite Apelles, who, in Eusebius, argues that it does no
harm if someone either simply does not believe or corruptly believes the other
parts of the Word of God which belong to the foundation, so long as he believes
in Christ crucified."
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of
Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p.
567.
"Faith means to give assent to the whole Word of God that is
set before us, and in it to the promise of the gratuitous reconciliation
bestowed for the sake of Christ the Mediator." Martin Chemnitz,
Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 567.
"If anyone says that Christ Jesus was given to men by God as
a redeemer in whom they should believe, and not also as a lawgiver whom they
should obey, let him be anathema [damned to Hell]."
Martin Chemnitz,
Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 617.
"Thus when we say that we are justified by faith, we are
saying nothing else than that for the sake of the Son of God we receive
remission of sins and are accounted as righteous. And because it is necessary
that this benefit be taken hold of, this is said to be done 'by faith,' that
is, by trust in the mercy promised us for the sake of Christ. Thus we must also
understand the correlative expression, 'We are righteous by faith,' that is,
through the mercy of God for the sake of His Son we are righteous or
accepted." [Melanchthon, Loci Communes, The Word Faith]
Martin Chemnitz,
Loci Theologici, 2 vols., trans. J. A. O. Preus, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1989, II, p. p. 489.
