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Horton continues:

How Is One Justified? Faith Alone or Faith And Works?

M. Horton: Our opponents will argue that there is no single text that explicitly bears the words, justification by faith alone. They are correct, but I am certain that they would regard as simplistic the suggestion that the Scriptures do not teach the doctrine of the Trinity simply because the term is not used. The Scriptures are hardly ambiguous in excluding all human activity from being the instrument of justification with the exception of faith. This is the same as saying "faith alone." Or, to put it another way, if the Scriptures teach that we are justified by faith and not by works, then they teach "faith alone."

12) As the reader will recognize, I previously extracted Dr. Horton's above comment for an earlier part of this rebuttal (answer #2). Notice that Dr. Horton starts from the unproven premise that "The Scriptures are hardly ambiguous in excluding all human activity from being the instrument of justification." If he can show us just one verse stating that "all human activity" is barred from being an instrument of justification, then he can make a case. We know that Paul says works of "debt" are barred from being an instrument of justification (Rom 4:3-4; 11:35; Eph 2:8-9) but not "all human activity." If not, then Paul's statement in Romans 2:13: "the doers of the law will be justified," would be an heretical statement, as would Jesus' statement in Matthew 12:36-37 or 16:27 about men being justified or judged for their works.

We should also point out that Dr. Horton's appeal to the word "Trinity" not being in Scripture to support his conclusion that Scripture doesn't have to use the words "faith alone" in order to teach the concept, is not going to help his case. The only thing it does show is that Dr. Horton is acutely aware that the absence of "faith alone" in Scripture has to be answered. Oh the poor Trinity! Its absence as a term in Scripture is even used by heretical groups such as Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons to support their aberrant beliefs. But here is the reality: The Trinity is a very complex concept -- one, in fact, that the mind of man cannot comprehend. It is impossible for Scripture to explain to us how "three are in one and one are in three," since it does not make any logical sense to our minds.

But Justification, especially if it were by faith alone, is not a complex concept at all. All Paul would have had to do is put one, just one, statement in Scripture which said man is justified by faith alone, and there would be no controversy. We are forced to reflect on this absence ever more seriously when we realize Scripture's insistence that its own words are chosen very carefully, and that it makes such choices precisely because it foresees the impact and implications of its teaching. For example, in Galatians 3:16 Paul makes quite an issue out of the fact that Scripture, in explaining redemptive truth, chose to use the singular "seed," not the plural "seeds" (a relatively imperceptible distinction for the uninformed reader). Paul writes: "The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed. The Scripture does not say 'and to seeds,' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one person, who is Christ." Scripture often appeals to its precise language, which many times goes unnoticed by the average reader, to settle disputes and uncover nuances to divine revelation that are not immediately obvious (cf., Matt. 12:3-5; 22:29-32; 22:41-46; 24: 15; Luke 20:37; John 7:41-43; 10:34-36; 19:36-37; Rom. 9:13; 10:8-11; 1 Cor. 9:9-10; 14:21; Gal. 4:30; Eph. 4:8-9; Heb. 4:2,6; 7:14; Num. 25:9/1 Cor. 10:8; Exo. 12:41/Gal. 3:17; Gen. 46:26-27/Acts 7:14; Luke 10:7/1 Tim. 5:18). Obviously, Paul, and the other inspired writers, treat Scripture as one cohesive whole wherein one book or testament anticipates and clarifies another.

Hence, it is not too much a stretch of the imagination to assume that the word "alone" was avoided by Paul, but added by James, in recognition and respect of the ubiquity of Scripture's teaching on justification. I can hasten to add that this argument should not be dismissed by claiming, for example, that if it is legitimate to use non-biblical words such as "Trinity" or "homousios" to explain theological truth, then it is acceptable to add such words as "alone" to Paul's writings for theological clarification. The reason: since "faith" and "alone" ARE words used by Scripture, we are required to follow Scriptural guidelines on their respective use.

The Gospel is announced first in Genesis, after the Fall, where God finds Adam and Eve in their guilt and self-righteousness. Their fig leaves cannot hide their shame from God, but the Redeemer God sacrifices an animal and clothes them in its skins, anticipating "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Already the Gospel is announced not as divine assistance in producing an inherent righteousness, but as God's covering of the believer with the righteousness of another. It is external to the believing sinner.

13) Since Dr. Horton brought up the issue of Adam and Eve, perhaps we should flesh-out this concept a bit. In doing so, we will see how the case of Adam and Eve actually disproves what Dr. Horton is attempting to teach. In Romans 5:19 Paul says, "For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One [Christ] the many will be made righteous." We are going to concentrate on the words "made sinners" and "made righteous." The Greek word "made" in both phrases is katestathesan.

Now let's ask the question: How was Adam "made a sinner," and how were his progeny "made sinners"? The answer is Original Sin, something to which Dr. Horton will have no disagreement. In fact, Dr. Horton would go on to explain that Original Sin refers to man's Total Depravity, which is a real, ontological, sinful state. But here's the difference: Adam's sin does not merely place him in the legal category of sin; rather, his soul is effected. It is in a state of sin. Adam wasn't "imputed" as a sinner; rather, Paul says he was "made a sinner." There is no use of "crediting" here to which the Protestant can appeal. All one has to do is read David's statement in Psalm 51:5: "Behold I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" to know the real effects of Original Sin on the soul.

This being true, it must be equally true that when Paul says ".even so through the obedience of the One [Christ] the many will be made righteous" he must also be referring to a real, ontological change in the soul from being in a state of sin to a state of righteousness, otherwise Romans 5:19 will not be in equilibrium.

By the way, how does one get rid of the sinful state of the soul? Paul answers that question forthwith, for immediately after his statements about Original Sin in Romans 5:19, he goes on to speak of Christian Baptism in Romans 6:1-4 as that which allows us to be "made righteous." And the reader is encouraged to remember that this is precisely what 1 Cor. 6:11 taught us as it coupled the "washing" (baptism) with being "justified" and "sanctified" (cf., Titus 3:5-7; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Peter 3:21).

In God's covenant with Abraham (Gen.15), we learn again that sinners can only be justified through faith in God's gracious promise: "Abram believed the LORD, and he credit it to him as righteousness." In Habakuk 2:4, we read that while the unbelievers are "puffed up" with their own righteousness, the believer "by his faith shall live." The impossibility of being justified by an inherent righteousness--that is, by works, runs throughout Scripture. As the writer to the Hebrews insists (Hebrews 11), all of the great Old Testament saints were justified by faith, not by their own deeds. But why is it impossible for works to play any part in justification? The Scriptures declare that it is because even our best works are sinful--in fact "as filthy rags" (Is. 64:6), and the Psalmist declares, "no one living is righteous before you" (Ps.143:2). Thus, our only hope is the good news that we find in Psalm 103:10: "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities." Isaiah foretold the day when the Messiah would "justify many and he shall bear their iniquities" (53:11).

14) So many Scriptures, so many misinterpretations. Of course Scripture says we are saved by faith, but in opposition to works of "debt," not in opposition to all kinds of works. Of course Scripture says that the works of sinners are as "filthy rags," but Isaiah specifies that they have "become" that way, not that they were that way all the time. In fact, in Isaiah 64:5 he acknowledges that God "meets him who rejoices in doing righteousness, who remembers Thee in Thy ways." If, as Dr. Horton contends, everything we do is a "filthy rag," then how can Isaiah say that men can do "righteousness" and "remember" God? The reason is that Dr. Horton has made the classic mistake of taking a verse out of context to use it as a proof text.

As for Psalm 145:2, the same thing holds. In fact, we will go beyond what Dr. Horton has used and add in all the Psalms that Paul references in Romans 3:9-18 ("there is none righteous, no not one"; "there is none who understands"; "there is none who seeks for God"; etc). Catholic theology has no problem with these passages, for they describe the condition of man prior to God's grace. Left on his own without God's grace to move him, man would be as unable to come to God as an amoeba. Under law and without God's grace all men are under the sentence of death and damnation, but that doesn't mean that after God gives us His grace that our works can't be used as an instrument of justification.

In fact, Dr. Horton can be trapped by his own logic. Since Dr. Horton holds that faith is the only instrument for justification, how is God going to judge the kind of faith that Dr. Horton aspires to? Dr. Horton has stated that God is not going to accept just any kind of faith. For example, Dr. Horton would agree that it can't be mere "intellectual" faith. It has to be a qualified faith, faith that is good. In fact, evangelicals have a phrase that describes this kind of faith. They call it "saving faith." Now, let's ask this question: Who is going to judge whether Dr. Horton has "saving faith," God or Dr. Horton? Of course, the answer must be God.

Second, by what standard will God judge Dr. Horton's faith to see if it qualifies as "saving faith"? There are only two choices: God will judge it either through grace or through law. If God measures Dr. Horton's faith through law, then, knowing that his faith has faltered on various occasions, Dr. Horton must admit that the law will condemn the least imperfection (James 2:10). So God must judge Dr. Horton's faith through His grace, for grace does not require perfection. It can pardon imperfections upon repentance. Now, if Dr. Horton agrees with the above description (and there is no reason why he shouldn't), then we will come back to tell him that works can be viewed in the exact same way that Dr. Horton allows God to view his faith -- by grace.

When a Catholic says that his works are instrumental for justification, he does not mean works judged by law. He means works judged by grace. Under law, man's works will always be condemned, because the works are not perfect. But by the same token, under law man's faith will always be condemned, because faith is never perfect. Both faith and works must be judged by grace if they are to have any chance of being accepted by God. And we must also remember that if one has mere intellectual faith or works of debt, he will not be justified, for even grace cannot accept them.

In his earthly ministry, therefore, our Lord was regularly confronting the religious leaders with their confidence in their own works. While he offered the Gospel to the prostitutes who knew their sinfulness, he first offered the Law to those who did not. He came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it and he held up to the self-righteous Pharisees the standard of divine perfection: "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Now imagine the force of that. The Pharisees were so concerned to follow God's Law in every detail that they even set up elaborate rules to avoid the slightest transgression. Were Jesus to have said that our righteousness must surpass that of the prostitutes, we could have understood his point, but how could the common and rather vulgar fisherman like Peter attain a purity that exceeded that of the most righteous men in Israel? The Apostle Paul answered that question in Philippians 3. He says that if anyone had any reason to boast about his own inherent righteousness, it was he: circumcised on the 8th day, an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; "as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness of the Law, blameless." And what is Paul's response? "Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ...I regard these as dung, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith" (Phil.3:5-9). Notice the Apostle's placement of "the righteousness from God based on faith" and the "righteousness of my own" in opposition. Justification by an inherent, internal righteousness is deemed absolutely contrary to a justification that comes through faith.

15) When you're trapped in a system that cannot provide the answers, then you will have a very difficult time in seeing your errors. Notice that in attempting to answer the issue raised by Matthew 5:20 concerning the surpassing of the righteousness of the Pharisees, Dr. Horton immediately whisks us away from the context of Matthew 5 and propels us into Philippians 3. Why doesn't Dr. Horton deal with the context of Matthew 5? The answer is obvious. If he stuck with Matthew 5 it wouldn't prove his point. Why? Because the way Jesus goes on to explain HOW we are to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees is by not calling our brother a fool (5:21-26); by not lusting after a woman (5:27-30); by not divorcing a wife (5:31-32); by not making false vows (5:33-37); by not returning evil for evil (5:38-48). All these things the Pharisees did not do, but Jesus expects His followers to do in order "to enter the kingdom of heaven," and thus their obedience is a matter of salvation.

Now let's deal with Dr. Horton's appeal to Philippians 3:5-6. Notice Paul says that "as to the Law" he was "a Pharisee"; as to "the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless." So Paul, before his conversion, was of the same Pharisaical mentality that Jesus was condemning in Matthew 5:20. What was Jesus condemning in Matthew 5:20? He was condemning people such as the Pharisees who, perhaps: didn't murder anyone, but constantly called their brother a fool; who didn't lay with another man's wife, but constantly lusted after her in their hearts; who put away their wives for various reasons by following the Mosaic law, but never showed any pity toward them; who didn't make false vows, but lied about other things; who followed the Mosaic prescription of an eye for an eye, but never showed mercy for anyone who hurt them. Yes, they lived by the outward requirements of the law, but not the inward intent of the law, which was to show mercy and love to their fellow man. It is the mere outward obedience to the Law that Paul and Jesus condemned and which cannot gain anyone salvation. But neither condemned genuine, heartfelt good works that both Paul and Jesus say are necessary for salvation.

This is why Jesus threatened the religious leaders with the Law itself. Although they thought that their inherent righteousness--their obedience to God's commands, was justifying them before God, they could only maintain this charade so long as they did not really know what the Law required. Therefore, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells them what it really means to fulfill the Law, that is, to love God and neighbor perfectly. Anyone who hates his neighbor is a murderer; adultery is committed not only in the physical act, but in lust. The young Pharisee who thought he had fulfilled the Law since he was a child was told by Jesus to sell everything he had and to give it to the poor, but the man went away sad. He had not truly loved his neighbor as himself after all. When Jesus told his disciples how perfect their righteousness had to be in order to merit eternal life, they replied, "Who then can be saved"? "Jesus replied, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible'" (Mt.19:24).

16) Again, Dr. Horton misses what stares him in the face. Instead of answering the text for what it says, Dr. Horton creates another fallacious framework so that he can make the passage fit into his preconceived theology. What Dr. Horton is really saying in the above paragraph is that even though Jesus told his followers to make their righteousness surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20), in reality, this was an impossible task for them. Instead, Dr. Horton uses Jesus' specific requirements outlined in Matthew 5:21-48 as evidence why they must NOT seek to gain eternal life by showing the love and mercy engendered in those commands. Dr. Horton reasons that if its hard to get into heaven by obeying as the Pharisees obey, its doubly hard to enter if one is required to go beyond the Pharisees' obedience and actually love someone. But this is the exact opposite of what Jesus intended to teach. This is what happens when your theological system rules your exegesis of Scripture -- the plainest passages become the victim of total distortion.

Regarding the Rich Man, in Mark 10:17-27, it says that when Jesus heard that the Rich Man had obeyed the commandments since his youth, "Jesus felt a love for him." Jesus knew that the man was close, but he wasn't there yet. Knowing the Rich Man's state, did Jesus tell him to drop all pretentions of obedience and merely have faith in God? No, faith was not the issue. The man already believed in God. Instead, Jesus gave him another work to do, the most important work of his life -- to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. If he did that, then according to Jesus' word, he would have entered the kingdom of heaven. If this wasn't the way to heaven, then Jesus was lying to the man about what was necessary for him, but that is exactly what Dr. Horton's theology ends up doing -- making Jesus a liar.

What is Dr. Horton angling for? The justification of the Rich Man by forensic imputation. How does he attempt to get there? It is difficult for Dr. Horton because the text simply doesn't say anything about forensic imputation. So what does Dr. Horton do? He quotes Matthew 19:24-26 ("Who then can be saved"? "Jesus replied, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible'"). What is Dr. Horton implying? That it was impossible for the Rich Man to perform any obedience to save himself, including selling his possessions and giving the money to the poor, but that God can come to the rescue with forensic imputation. Think long and hard about this passage, for it, unlike many others, unlocks the insidious nature of Dr. Horton's theology.

Echoing these words, St. Anselm in the 11th century wisely counseled, "You have not yet considered how great your sin is,"

17) This type of patronizing reference to Catholic saints is done by Dr. Horton to claim, between the lines, "See, even great Catholics have agreed with what I am saying." If Dr. Horton really knew what St. Anselm taught about Justification, he wouldn't make such glib comments about this loyal Catholic saint. St. Anselm did not believe in forensic justification. Anyone who reads just a small portion of his writings can glean that much from him. He believed in infused righteousness just like his mentor St. Augustine. St. Anselm believed in the Catholic Mass as a salvific sacrifice, Purgatory, the Communion of Saints, Baptismal Regeneration, Confession for mortal sin, the primacy of the Pope, the succession of bishops, and all the Catholic doctrines we believe today, and all of them Dr. Horton repudiates.

The only who has not considered the greatness of his sin is Dr. Horton. He has twisted Scripture to no end; making Paul and Jesus say things they don't mean, putting phrases in the Bible that the Bible specifically condemns (e.g., "faith alone"); make up definitions of words to suit his theology (e.g., dikaiow, logizomai); making wayward Catholic theologians be the mouthpiece for Catholic theology; and then Dr. Horton adds insult to injury by quoting Catholic saints and implying that they would have agreed with his theology about justification.

.and to those who trust in their own inherent righteousness, the realization of God's purity sends them away sad, angry, or more determined to try even harder to attain righteousness by their own works. Some, however, like the disciples, will relinquish their own works and, like Paul, place them in the "debit" rather than "credit" column and their despair will turn to joy in the all-sufficient merit of Christ.

18) Again, Dr. Horton's failure to distinguish between works of debt and works of grace is the cause for his continual distortion of Scripture. And my guess is that Dr. Horton will not admit to this distinction no matter how many times it is told to him, for to do so would mean that the entire edifice he has built for 20 years will come tumbling down. Right now it is Dr. Horton who is the Pharisee here; the one building artificial systems of theology for his own gain; circumscribed for 20 years by Evangelicalism, of the tribe of Geneva; a Calvinist of the Calvinists; as to the Law, a misrepresenter of facts; as to zeal, a persecutor of the Catholic Church; as to righteousness which is in good works, found totally blameworthy. .

Jesus taught justification by faith alone throughout his earthly ministry.

19) Once it starts, it never stops. Not only does Dr. Horton claim that Paul teaches faith alone, but now he claims that Jesus was his teacher, despite the fact that Jesus never says once in the gospels that man is justified by faith alone, but says numerous times that man is justified by his works (Matthew 12:36-39; 16:27; Revelation 22:12; John 5:28-29, et al).

First he would preach the Law so powerfully that his hearers despaired of being able to be saved by their own obedience. But then he offered the Gospel of free justification. When he healed the paralytic, for instance, forgiveness stand out as even greater than the healing itself. "When Jesus saw their faith," we read--not when he saw their love or their works or the direction of the hearts, but "when Jesus saw their faith, he said, 'Friend, your sins are forgiven.'" The Pharisees were incensed at Jesus for presuming to have the right to forgive sins. In the presence of the Pharisees, Jesus forgave a prostitute, telling her, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace" (Lk.7:50).

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