Faith and Works:
Collected from Reformed Confessions
and Catechisms via John
Fonville
Westminster Confession of Faith: Chapter 14 OF SAVING FAITH
1. The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word, by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened.
2. By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein; and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage thereof containeth; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come. But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.
3. This faith is different in degrees, weak or strong; may be often and many ways assailed, and weakened, but gets the victory: growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance, through Christ, who is both the author and finisher of our faith.
Westminster Larger Catechism: Q. 72. What is justifying faith? A. Justifying faith is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God, whereby he, being convinced of his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself and all other creatures to recover him out of his lost condition, not only assenteth to the truth of the promise of the gospel, but receiveth and resteth upon Christ and his righteousness, therein held forth, for pardon of sin, and for the accepting and accounting of his person righteous in the sight of God for salvation.
Q. 73. How doth faith justify a sinner in the sight of God? A. Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works that are the fruits of it, nor as if the grace of faith, or any act thereof, were imputed to him for his justification; but only as it is an instrument by which he receiveth and applieth Christ and his righteousness.
Westminster Shorter Catechism:
Q. 30. How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ? A. The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.
Q. 33. What is justification? A. Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
Q. 86. What is faith in Jesus Christ? A. Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.
Heidelberg Catechism:
21. What is true faith? It is not only a certain knowledge, whereby I accept as true all that God has revealed to us in His Word;1 but also a deep-rooted assurance,2 created in me by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel,3 that not only to others, but to me also,4 forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness and salvation,5 are freely given by God, merely of grace, for the sake of Christ’s merits. 1 Jn 17:3, 17; Heb 11:1-3; Jas 2:19; 2 Rom 4:18-21, 5:1, 10:10; Heb 4:16; 3 Acts 16:14; Rom 1:16, 10:17; 1 Cor 1:21; 4 Gal 2:20; 5 Rom 1:17; Heb 10:10; 6 Rom 3:20-26; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-10
22. What,
then, is necessary for a Christian to believe? All that is promised us in the
Gospel,1 which the articles of our catholic, undoubted Christian faith teach us
in sum. 1 Mt 28:19; Jn 20:30-3160. How are you righteous before God? Only by true faith in Jesus Christ;1 that is, although my conscience accuses me that I
have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, have never kept any
of them,2 and that I am still inclined always to all evil,3 yet God, without
any merit of my own,4 out of mere grace,5 imputes to me the perfect
satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ,6 as if I had never had nor
committed any sin, and as if I had myself accomplished all the obedience which
Christ has fulfilled for me,7 if only I accept this gift with a believing
heart.8 1 Rom 3:21-28; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Php 3:8-11; 2 Rom 3:9-10; 3 Rom
7:23; 4 Deut 9:6; Ezek 36:22; Tit 3:4-5; 5 Rom 3:24; Eph 2:8; 6 Rom 4:3-5; 2
Cor 5:17-19; 1 Jn 2:1-2; 7 Rom 4:24-25; 2 Cor 5:21; 8 Jn 3:18; Acts 16:30-31;
Rom 3:22
61. Why do you say that you are righteous only by faith? Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith; for only the satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God,1 and I can receive this righteousness and make it my own only by faith.2 1 1 Cor 1:30-31, 2:2; 2 Rom 10:10; 1 Jn 5:10-12
61. Why do you say that you are righteous only by faith? Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith; for only the satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God,1 and I can receive this righteousness and make it my own only by faith.2 1 1 Cor 1:30-31, 2:2; 2 Rom 10:10; 1 Jn 5:10-12
62. But why cannot our good works
be the whole or part of our righteousness before God? Because the righteousness
which can stand before the judgment-seat of God must be perfect throughout and
wholly conformable to the Law of God;1 whereas even our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled
with sin.2 1 Deut 27:26; Gal 3:10; 2 Isa 64:6
63. How is it that our good works merit nothing, while yet it is God’s will to reward them in this life and in that which is to come? The reward comes not of merit,1 but of grace.2
1 Mt 5:12; Heb 11:6; 2 Lk 17:10; 2 Tim 4:7-8
64. But does not this doctrine make men careless and wicked? No, for it is impossible that those who are grafted into Christ by true faith should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness.1 1 Mt 7:18; Lk 6:43-45; Jn 15:5
65. Since then we are made partakers of Christ and all his benefits by faith only, where does this faith come from? The Holy Spirit creates it in our hearts1 by the preaching of the Gospel,2 and confirms it by the use of the Holy Sacraments.3 1 Jn 3:5; 1 Cor 2:10-14; Eph 2:8; Php 1:29; 2 Rom 10:17; 1 Pt 1:23-25; 3 Mt 28:19-20; 1 Cor 10:16
86. Since then we are redeemed from our misery by grace through Christ, without any merit of ours, why must we do good works? Because Christ, having redeemed us by His blood, renews us also by His Holy Spirit after His own image, that with our whole life we may show ourselves thankful to God for His blessings,1 and that He may be glorified through us;2 then also, that we ourselves may be assured of our faith by its fruits,3 and by our godly walk may win others also to Christ.4
1 Rom 6:13, 12:1-2; 1 Pt 2:5-10; 2 Mt 5:16; 1 Cor 6:19-20; 3 Mt 7:17-18; Gal 5:22-24; 2 Pt 1:10-11; 4 Mt 5:14-16; Rom 14:17-19; 1 Pt 2:12, 3:1-2
91. But what are good works? Only those which are done from true faith,1 according to the Law of God,2 for His glory;3 and not those based on our own opinion, or the commandments of men.4
1 Jn 15:5; Rom 14:23; Heb 11:6; 2 Lev 18:4; 1 Sam 15:22; Eph 2:10; 3 1 Cor 10:31; 4 Deut 12:32; Ezek 20:18-19; Mt 15:7-9
63. How is it that our good works merit nothing, while yet it is God’s will to reward them in this life and in that which is to come? The reward comes not of merit,1 but of grace.2
1 Mt 5:12; Heb 11:6; 2 Lk 17:10; 2 Tim 4:7-8
64. But does not this doctrine make men careless and wicked? No, for it is impossible that those who are grafted into Christ by true faith should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness.1 1 Mt 7:18; Lk 6:43-45; Jn 15:5
65. Since then we are made partakers of Christ and all his benefits by faith only, where does this faith come from? The Holy Spirit creates it in our hearts1 by the preaching of the Gospel,2 and confirms it by the use of the Holy Sacraments.3 1 Jn 3:5; 1 Cor 2:10-14; Eph 2:8; Php 1:29; 2 Rom 10:17; 1 Pt 1:23-25; 3 Mt 28:19-20; 1 Cor 10:16
86. Since then we are redeemed from our misery by grace through Christ, without any merit of ours, why must we do good works? Because Christ, having redeemed us by His blood, renews us also by His Holy Spirit after His own image, that with our whole life we may show ourselves thankful to God for His blessings,1 and that He may be glorified through us;2 then also, that we ourselves may be assured of our faith by its fruits,3 and by our godly walk may win others also to Christ.4
1 Rom 6:13, 12:1-2; 1 Pt 2:5-10; 2 Mt 5:16; 1 Cor 6:19-20; 3 Mt 7:17-18; Gal 5:22-24; 2 Pt 1:10-11; 4 Mt 5:14-16; Rom 14:17-19; 1 Pt 2:12, 3:1-2
91. But what are good works? Only those which are done from true faith,1 according to the Law of God,2 for His glory;3 and not those based on our own opinion, or the commandments of men.4
1 Jn 15:5; Rom 14:23; Heb 11:6; 2 Lev 18:4; 1 Sam 15:22; Eph 2:10; 3 1 Cor 10:31; 4 Deut 12:32; Ezek 20:18-19; Mt 15:7-9
Belgic Confession
Article 22 - Our Justification Through Faith in Christ We believe that, in order that we may obtain the true knowledge of this great mystery, the Holy Spirit kindles in our hearts a true faith.
1 This faith embraces Jesus Christ with all His merits, makes Him our own, and does not seek anything besides Him.
2 For it must necessarily follow, either that all we need for our salvation is not in Jesus Christ or, if it is all in Him, that one who has Jesus Christ through faith, has complete salvation.
3 It is, therefore, a terrible blasphemy to assert that Christ is not sufficient, but that something else is needed besides Him; for the conclusion would then be that Christ is only half a Savior. Therefore we rightly say with Paul that we are justified by faith alone, or by faith apart from works of law (Rom 3:28).
4 Meanwhile, strictly speaking, we do not mean that faith as such justifies us,
5 for faith is only the instrument by which we embrace Christ our righteousness; He imputes to us all His merits and as many holy works as He has done for us and in our place.
6 Therefore Jesus Christ is our righteousness, and faith is the instrument that keeps us with Him in the communion of all His benefits. When those benefits have become ours, they are more than sufficient to acquit us of our sins.
1 Jn 16:14; 1 Cor 2:12; Eph 1:17-18 2 Jn 14:6; Acts 4:12; Gal 2:21 3 Ps 32:1; Mt 1:21; Lk 1:77; Acts 13:38-39; Rom 8:1 4 Rom 3:19-4:8, 10:4-11; Gal 2:16; Php 3:9; Tit 3:5 5 1 Cor 4:7 6 Jer 23:6; Mt 20:28; Rom 8:33; 1 Cor 1:30-31; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Jn 4:10
Article 24 - Our Sanctification and Good Works We believe that this true faith, worked in man by the hearing of God’s Word and by the operation of the Holy Spirit,
1 regenerates him and makes him a new man.
2 It makes him live a new life and frees him from the slavery of sin.
3 Therefore it is not true that this justifying faith makes man indifferent to living a good and holy life.
4 On the contrary, without it no one would ever do anything out of love for God,
5 but only out of self-love or fear of being condemned. It is therefore impossible for this holy faith to be inactive in man, for we do not speak of an empty faith but of what Scripture calls faith working through love (Gal 5:6). This faith induces man to apply himself to those works which God has commanded in His Word. These works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable in the sight of God, since they are all sanctified by His grace. Nevertheless, they do not count toward our justification. For through faith in Christ we are justified, even before we do any good works.
6 Otherwise they could not be good any more than the fruit of a tree can be good unless the tree itself is good.
7 Therefore we do good works, but not for merit. For what could we merit? We are indebted to God, rather than He to us, for the good works we do,
8 since it is He who is at work in us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Php 2:13). Let us keep in mind what is written: "So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’" (Lk 17:10). Meanwhile we do not deny that God rewards good works,
9 but it is by His grace that He crowns His gifts. Furthermore, although we do good works, we do not base our salvation on them. We cannot do a single work that is not defiled by our flesh and does not deserve punishment.
10 Even if we could show one good work, the remembrance of one sin is enough to make God reject it.
11 We would then always be in doubt, tossed to and fro without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be constantly tormented, if they did not rely on the merit of the death and passion of our Saviour.
1 Acts 16:14; Rom 10:17; 1 Cor 12:3 2 Ezek 36:26-27; Jn 1:12-13, 3:5; Eph 2:4-6; Tit 3:5; 1 Pt 1:23 3 Jn 5:24, 8:36; Rom 6:4-6; 1 Jn 3:9 4 Gal 5:22; Tit 2:12 5 Jn 15:5; Rom 14:23; 1 Tim 1:5; Heb 11:4, 6 6 Rom 4:5 7 Mt 7:17 8 1 Cor 1:30-31, 4:7; Eph 2:10 9 Rom 2:6-7; 1 Cor 3:14; 2 Jn 8; Rev 2:23 10 Rom 7:21 11 Jas 2:10
Article 29 Those who are of the church may be recognized by the marks of Christians. They believe in Jesus Christ the only Saviour,
9 flee from sin and pursue righteousness,
10 love the true God and their neighbor
11 without turning to the right or left, and crucify their flesh and its works.
12 Although great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their life.
13 They appeal constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of Jesus Christ, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins through faith in Him.14
39 Articles
Article 11- The Justification of Man
We are accounted righteous before God solely on account of the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through faith and not on account of our own good works or of what we deserve. Consequently the teaching that we are justified by faith alone is a most wholesome and comforting doctrine. This is taught more fully in the homily on Justification.
Article 12- Faith and Good Works
Although good works, which are the fruits of faith and follow on after justification, can never atone for our sins or face the strict justice of God's judgment, they are nevertheless pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ and necessarily spring from a true and living faith. Thus a living faith is as plainly known by its good works as a tree is known by its fruit.Article 13- Works before justification
Works done before receiving the grace of Christ and the inspiration of his Spirit are not pleasing to God. This is because they do not spring out of faith in Jesus Christ. Nor do they make people fit to receive grace or (as the schoolmen say) to deserve grace of congruity. On the contrary, because they are not done as God has willed and commanded that they should be done, it is undoubtedly the case that they have the nature of sin.
