Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On Justification · Book I: On Justifying Faith
Chapter 18: That faith does not justify alone is proved from the formal cause of justification and the necessity of good works
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. VI, De Justificatione, Book I. The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
There remains the last argument, which here is only to be indicated, but must be perfected elsewhere. For it is taken from two principles which are demonstrated in the following books. The one principle is that the formal cause of justification is not the justice which is in Christ, nor the remission of sins alone, but a justice really inhering in us — to which justice the Scriptures and the Fathers teach that charity especially pertains. From this principle, which will be treated in the following book, it evidently follows that faith alone does not justify by way of disposition. For that real and inhering justice ought not to be apprehended by faith, but infused by grace. But toward this infusion the act of faith indeed disposes, but there dispose also the acts of fear, of penance, and of the other virtues; and beyond the rest, the act of love without doubt disposes. For by those acts men are disposed to receive grace of this kind, which acts God in the sacred Scriptures signifies to be pre-exacted and pre-required. But that, according to the Scriptures, the act of faith, of fear, of hope, of penance, and of love is pre-required, has been proved above. Nor do the adversaries — especially the somewhat saner — deny it; but they interpret that those acts, faith excepted, are pre-required as to presence, not as to the apprehension of justification. Wherefore, if such a justification be posited as is obtained not by apprehension but by infusion, there will be no cause why the disposition of justification should be attributed to faith alone.
Add that nature herself also teaches us that matter is disposed to receive a form by those acts which are like to those that follow the form. For wood is disposed by heat to conceive the form of fire, since from fire heat proceeds. And so, toward formal justification, which is placed chiefly in the infusion of charity, nothing disposes more than love, or penance out of love. Nor would the adversaries ever have denied this, or made any controversy about justifying faith, unless they had first devised a new doctrine about formal justification itself.
A like argument is drawn from the necessity of good works unto salvation, which is the other principle to be proved in its place. For if faith alone justified the impious, certainly it alone also would save; for justice could not be lost by any evil works whatsoever, unless faith were lost; and accordingly, faith remaining, justice would remain; and justice remaining, salvation too would be in safety. Nor can the adversaries deny these consequences, nor do they deny them. For Luther, in the book On the Babylonian Captivity, in the chapter on Baptism, writes in express words that a Christian man is so rich that by no works whatsoever can he lose salvation, unless he will not to believe. And in the Colloquy of Altenburg the Saxon Ministers reprehend the Electoral Ministers — that is, the Illyricians the Majorists, or the rigid Lutherans the soft Lutherans — because they distinguish between justice and salvation, as though good works do not justify, but faith alone; yet faith alone does not save, but works also. But those answer that good works are indeed necessary unto salvation, but by a necessity of presence, or a necessity of sign — namely, that faith be present; yet that salvation, no less than justice, is attributed to faith alone. And so all the arguments drawn from the Scriptures and the Fathers, by which below in their place we shall prove that good works are so necessary unto salvation, even to justified men, that without them faith alone does not save, prove also that faith alone does not justify — which at present we had undertaken to prove.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPUT XVIII. Fidem non solam justificare , probatur ex cau¬ sa formali justificationis et necessitate ope¬ rum, bonorum. Restat argumentum postremum, quod hic solum indicandum, sed alibi perficiendum erit. Sumitur enim ex duobus principiis, qua; in libris sequentibus demonstrantur. Unum principium est, causam formalem justifica¬ tionis non esse justitiam, quae est in Christo, vel solam remissionem peccatorum; sed ju¬ stitiam in nobis realiter inhaerentem, ad quam justitiam Scripturae et Patres praecipue chari- tatem pertinere docent. Ex hoc principio, quod in sequenti libro tractabitur, evidenter sequitur, non solam fidem per modum dis¬ positionis justificare. Nam justitia ista realis etinha;rens non debet apprehendi per fidem, sed infundi per gratiam. Ad hanc autem infusionem, disponit qui¬ dem actus fidei, sed disponunt etiam actus timoris, poenitentia?, aliarumque virtutum, sed praeter caeteros, actus dilectionis sine dubitatione disponit. Illis enim actibus dis¬ ponuntur homines ad ejusmodi gratiam re¬ cipiendam, quos Deus in Scripturis sanctis praeexigi, ac praerequiri significat. Praere- quiri autem secundum Scripturas actum fidei, timoris, spei, poenitentiae et dilectio¬ nis, supra probatum est. Neque adversarii, praesertim paulo saniores, id negant ; sed interpretantur, eos actus, excepta fide, prae¬ requiri quoad praesentiam, non quoad ap¬ prehensionem justificationis. Quare si talis ponatur justificatio, quae non apprehensio¬ ne, sed infusione obtineatur, non erit ulla causa, cur soli fidei tribuatur dispositio ju¬ stificationis. Adde, qtfod ipsa etiam natura nos docet, iis actibus disponi materiam ad recipiendam formam, qui sunt eorum similes, qui conse- quentur formam. Ligna enim per calorem disponuntur ad formam ignis concipiendam, quoniam ex igne calor procedit. Itaque ad formalem justificationem, quae potissimum in infusione charitatis sita est, nihil magis quam dilectio, sive poenitentia ex dilectione disponit. Neque id adversarii unquam ne- gassent, aut de fide justificante controver¬ siam ullam fecissent, nisi de ipsa formali justificatione novam doctrinam prius cxco- gitassent. Simile argumentum ducitur ex necessita¬ te operum bonorum ad salutem; quod est alterum principium suo loco probandum. Nam si fides sola justificaret impium, certe ipsa etiam sola salvaret; non enim amitti posset justitia, quibuscumque malis operi¬ bus, nisi amitteretur fides ; proinde manen¬ te fide, maneret justitia; manente autem justitia, salus quoque esset in tuto. Neque istas consecutiones advergarii ne¬ gare possunt, aut negant. Lutherus enim in lib. de Captivit. Babylonica cap. de Baptis¬ mo, disertis verbis scribit, tam esse divitem hominem Christianum, ut quibuscumque operibus, amittere salutem non possit, nisi nolit credere. Et in Colloquio Altemburgensi Ministri Saxonici Ministros Electorales, id est, Illyriciani Majoristas, sive Lutherani ri¬ gidi Lutheranos molles reprehendunt, quod distinguant inter justitiam et salutem, quasi bona opera non justificent, sed sola fides; non salvet autem fides sola, sed etiam opera. Illi vero respondent, opera quidem bona ne¬ cessaria esse ad salutem, sed necessitate praesentiae, aut necessitate signi, quod vide¬ licet fides adsit : tamen non minus salutem, quam justitiam tribui soli fidei. Itaque argumenta omnia ex Scripturis et patribus deprompta, quibus infra suo loco probabimus, ita necessaria esse opera bona ad salutem, etiam hominibus justificatis, ut sine illis fides sola non salvet, probant etiam fidem solam non justificare, quod in praesen- tia susceperamus probandum.