the other. It could not, consequently, concede to any species of human agenc}*, however excellent, a piacu- lar and atoning efficacy. Hence we find none of that supplementary or perfecting of the worli of Christ by the work of the creature which is found in the papal soteriolog}'. And this applies to the highest of acts, the act of faith itself. Faith itself, though the gift and the work of God, does not justify, speaking accurateh', but merely accepts that which does justify" (Shedd, History of Doctrines, ii, 337-8). Luther was led to the true Piiuline doctrine of faith by his profound convic- tion of the desperate condition of humanity, not sim- ply from its sense of finitencss (which could only have led him to faith as a realization of the invisilde and eternal), but also and chiefly from the crushing sense of personal guilt on account of sin. He regards faith not merely as a mere attribute, but, " so to speak, as a substantial and divine thing, so far as it cleaves to God, and God is in it. Faith is in the state of the unio mystica, union with God ; and yet it is, at the same time, man's true existence." It is no mere intellect- ual act, but a giving up of the whole man to trust in Christ ; and conversely, a penetration of the whole man by the life of Christ. " Faith makes new crea- tures of us. My holiness and righteousness do not spring from myself; they arise alone out of Christ, in whom I am rooted bj' faith" (Dorner, Person of Christ, ii,58, 64). In the Preface to tJie Epistle to the Romans, Luther says : " Faith alone justifies, and it alone fulfils the law ; for faith, through the merits of Christ, olbiins the Holj' Spirit. And then, at length, from the faith thus efficaciously working and living in the heart, freely (fuunt) proceed those works which are trulj- good. . . . But faith is an energy in the lieart ; at once so effica- cious, lively, breathing, and powerful as to be incapa- ble of remaining inactive, but bursts forth into opera- tion. Neither does he who has faith (morafur') demur about the question whether good works have been com- manded or not ; but even though there were no law, feeling the motions of this living impulse putting forth and exerting itself in his heart, he is spontaneously borne onward to work, and at no time does he cease to perform such actions as are trul}' pious and Christian. Faith, then, is a constant, ^fZM««, a trust in the mercy of God toward us ; a trust living and efficaciously work- ing in the heart, by which we cast ourselves entirely on God, and commit ourselves to him ; by which, cer- ! tafreti, having an assured reliance, we feel no hesita- I tion about enduring death a thousand times." " Lu- I ther laid the greatest stress at all times on the assur- ance of salvation, and of the divine truth of Christian- ity. The ground certaintj', on which all other cer- j tainty depends, is with him the justification of the sin- ner for Christ's sake apprehended by fiiith ; of which I it is only the objective statement to say that to him the fundamental certainty is Christ as the Redeemer, j through surrender to whom faith has full satisfaction, ! and knows that it stands in the truth" (Dorner, Ge- I schichte d. Prat. Theol., jNIunchen, 18G7, p. 224). " To I believe those things to be true which are preached of : Ciirist is not sufficient to constitute thee a Christian ; liut thou must not doubt that thou art of the number of them unto whom all the benefits of Christ are given and exhibited, which he that believes must plainly confess, that he is holy, godly, righteous, the Son of God, and certain of salvation, and that by no merit of his own, but by the mere mercy of God poured forth upon him for Christ's sake" (Luther, Serm. on Gal. i, 4-7, in Fish, Masti rpieces of Pulpit Elquence, i, 4G2).
Zwingle held that faith, in the sense of the appro- priation hj' man, through grace, of the redemptive work of Christ, is the only means or instrument of salva- tion. It was one of his grounds of objection to the Roman and Lutheran doctrines of the Eucharist that these doctrines detract from the gloiy of faith hy rep- resenting it as insufficient for salvation (Dorner, Per- son of Christ, div. ii, vol. ii, p. 116). Melancthcn, in
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a letter to Brcntiui=, Maj', 1531, snys: "Faith alone (W/) justifies, not because it is tlie root (radix), as you vrrite, hut because it lays hold of Christ, on whose ac- count we are accepted. It is not love, the fullilling of the law, which justifies, but faith alone, not because it is a perfection in us, but only because it laj's hold on Clu-ist" (edit. Bretschncider, Hal. Sax. 1835, ii, 501). Calvin (Itis/itutes, bk. iii, chap, xi) treats of faith at large, aud distinguishes it from " a common assent to the evangelical history," and refutes the nugatorj' distinction made by the schools between j^ftoybrHta^a and fiilrs iii/ormis. " The disputes of the schools con- cerning faitli, by simply styling God the object of it, rather misleail miserable souls b}^ a vain speculation tlian direct them to the proper mark. For, since God, 'dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto,' there is a necessity for the interposition of Christ as the medium of access to him." "This evil, then, as well as innumerable others, must bo imputed to the sclioolmen, who have, as it were, concealed Christ by drawing a veil over him ; whereas, unless our views be immediately and steadily directed to him, we shall alwaj^s be wandering through labyrinths without end. They not only, by their obscure defini- tions, diminish, and almost anniliilate, all the impor- tance of faith, but hav'e fabricated the notion of im- plicit faith, a term with which they have honored the grossest ignorance, and most perniciously deluded the miserable nniltitude." "Is this faith — to understand nothing, but obedientlj'^ to submit our understanding to the Church .' Faith consists not in ignorance, but in knowledge ; and that not only of God, but also of the divine will. . . . For faith consists of a knowledge of God and of Christ, not in reverence to the Church. ... In slmrt, no m;in is truly a believer unless he be lirnily persuaded that God is a propitious and benevo- lent Father to him, and promise himself everything from liis goodness ; unless, he depend on the jiromises of divine benevolence to him, and feels an undoubted expectation of salvation. He is no believer, I say, who does not rely on the securit\' of his salvation, and confidently triumph over the devil and death" (Cal- vin, Instilutes, blv. iii, ch. ii).