Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Testimony of Holy Scripture on Justification by Implicit Faith: Part I

First, we shall consider the Scriptures, and see what they tell us concerning this doctrine. This is not an attempt to make a private interpretation of the Scriptures. The Church is the ultimate authority of the manner in which Scripture must be interpreted, and thus we cannot make the final determination as to the meaning of these many verses that speak about salvation. Instead, we must look to the Fathers of the Church and the Magisterium, in order to show that they support the conclusions which we shall reach.

“For we know that the judgment of God is, according to truth, against them that do such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them who do such things and dost the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and patience and longsuffering? Knowest thou not that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance? But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God: Who will render to every man according to his works. To them indeed who, according to patience in good work, seek glory and honour and incorruption, eternal life: But to them that are contentious and who obey not the truth but give credit to iniquity, wrath and indignation. Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil: of the Jew first, and also of the Greek. But glory and honour and peace to every one that worketh good: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For there is no respect of persons with God. For whosoever have sinned without the law shall perish without the law: and whosoever have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. For not the hearers of the law are just before God: but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law; these, having not the law, are a law to themselves. Who shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness to them: and their thoughts between themselves accusing or also defending one another, In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. But if thou art called a Jew and restest in the law and makest thy boast of God, And knowest his will and approvest the more profitable things, being instructed by the law: Art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, having the form of knowledge and of truth in the law. Thou therefore, that teachest another, teachest not thyself: thou, that preachest that men should not steal, stealest. Thou, that sayest men should not commit adultery, committest adultery: thou, that abhorrest idols, committest sacrilege: Thou, that makest thy boast of the law, by transgression of the law dishonourest God. (For the name of God through you is blasphemed among the Gentiles, as it is written.) Circumcision profiteth indeed, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. If then, the uncircumcised keep the justices of the law, shall not this uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not that which by nature is uncircumcision, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law? For it is not he is a Jew, who is so outwardly: nor is that circumcision which is outwardly in the flesh. But he is a Jew that is one inwardly and the circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter: whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2:2-29)

St. Paul makes a number of important claims here:

1.) God will render to every man according to his works. Good to those who do good, and evil to those who do evil.

2.) It is possible for men to do by nature those things that are of the law, and to act according to their conscience, and by fulfilling this law on their hearts, they may be justified.

3.) Being a true Jew is a matter of a circumcision “of the heart”, and is something within. In fact, since St. Paul is referring this to those who have not received the external law, but fulfill the law written on their hearts, this is akin to saying that they are “implicitly” Jews, on account of the interior circumcision of the heart and spirit.

Not only this, but St. Paul even implies that these gentiles have implicit faith in Christ. Why? Because he says that, for some of these men, their thoughts shall defend them, "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel."

Notice that he says these men shall be judged according to the Gospel. Yet these are gentiles who have not had the truth about God preached to them, but are following the natural law written on their hearts. Hence they do not know explicitly of Christ. Nevertheless, as is abundantly clear in the Scriptures and the Fathers, there is no salvation except through Christ. Hence they must believe in Christ in an implicit manner, since their conscience excuses them when they are judged according to the Gospel.

Also consistent with this explanation, we shall see later in the Fathers that many of them interpret this text as St. Paul explaining how the gentiles before Christ were able to be saved without explicit faith in Him. This reading is certainly consistent with the points made above. It should be noted, however, that St. Paul gives us no indication that his teaching here is limited to the time before Christ, rather the text seems precisely to be talking about a universal state. God will render to every man according to his works, regardless of whether he lived before or after Christ.

3 comments:

  1. Romans 2:15 states that when a person (even a pagan) performs a work that is in conformity to the natural law (written on the hearts of all men), his conscience approves of it, i.e. his thoughts defend the action, likewise if a person performs a work contrary to the law on his heart, then his thoughts accuse him, i.e. he knows he has sinned. It has nothing to do with baptism of desire, and neither does the remainder of Romans 2):

    St. Paul, in Romans 2, said:
    Circumcision profiteth indeed, if thou keep the law; but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.


    The symbolism of circumcision under the Old Law was to pledge oneself to bridling the passions, keeping them subject to the will, rather than following them. It by is living according to our passions rather than according to right reason that we sin (this is disorder).

    Circumcision takes place in the member of generation, because it is in this member that human beings are the most affected by the fall of our first parents, that is sins of the flesh which we commit due to concupiscence. Hence it is a fitting manner chosen by God to symbolize those who would be under the law, subject to the law, and therefore subordinating their passions to their will (this is right order).

    "...if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision". Here he is obviously referring to transgression of the law by one who is circumsized under the Old Law - which would not be transgressed if the passions did not usurp the leading role over the will - as "uncircumcision".

    "If, then, the uncircumcised keep the justices of the law, shall not this uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?"

    Now he is speaking of those who are not circumsized in actu, according to the Old Law. Remember that St. Paul was speaking after the fulfillment of the Old Law. At the time he said these words, circumcision, though no longer a law binding on those who professed the true Faith, still held the same symbolism for many living at the time of his preaching who would have been not only circumsized in their youths, but then later brought into the Faith of Jesus Christ by Baptism, thus "keeping the justices of the law" under both covenants.

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  2. "And shall not that which by nature is uncircumcision, if it fulfill the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law?

    "By nature uncircumcision", he can no longer talking about sin (since sin does NOT fulfill the law; sin destroys the law), but about Faith in Jesus Christ, which has "fulfilled the law" and abrogated the law of circumcision, replacing it with the law of Baptism.

    "shall not that which by nature is uncircumcision, if it fulfill the law, judge thee...?" He further suggests that it is those he is addressing - Jews who are transgressors of the law despite their claim to uphold it and despite their circumcision - who will be judged by the standard of the Faith revealed by Jesus Christ, who will judge them according to this standard.

    "For it is not he is a Jew, who is so outwardly; nor is that circumcision which is outwardly in the flesh: But he is a Jew, that is one inwardly; and the circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."

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  3. "Circumcision of the heart" for one uncircumcised but who firmly holds the Faith of Jesus Christ is manifested in the fact that such a one lives in a manner befitting one who has received the outward sign of circumcision in the Old Law, he lives according to the purpose of circumcision, which from the start was the ordering of the passions to the will unto obedience to the law. He is a "Jew inwardly" in that he is a perfect manifestation of the true Faith of the Old Law fulfilled in the New, the Faith of Jesus Christ. Though before Christ, he was not a child of God, yet now is a true child of Juda, a true child of Israel, living according to the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, which fulfillment is the Catholic Church.

    Osee 1:10-11: "And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, that is without measure, and shall not be numbered. And it shall be in the place where it shall be said to them: You are not my people: it shall be said to them: Ye are the sons of the living God. And the children of Juda, and the children of Israel shall be gathered together: and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall come up out of the land: for great is the day of Jezrahel."

    These verses have nothing to do with baptism of desire or implicit faith, but with the fulfillment of the Old Law in the New.

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