St. Augustine against faith alone

Many Protestants today believe that St. Augustine held to their view of faith alone.  Luther in fact admited that his doctrine of sola fide was not found in St. Augustine but some Protestants, Calvinists in particular, claim that Luther misunderstood St. Augustine and that the saint does in fact teaches faith alone.  The main work where St. Augustine touches on this subject is called “On Faith and Works”. This work is not online so I typed out the statement from the Reconsiderations about his book “On Faith and Works”, a relevant bit from the introduction to the work by the translator and some relevant chapters from the work itself to show in full context how St. Augustine argues against the notion of faith alone:

Reconsiderations of St. Augustine, Book II:64, On Faith and Works
From The Fathers of the Church, St. Augustine – The Reconsiderations, pp. 198-199.

Meanwhile, certain brethren – laymen, in truth, but well versed in the Divine Scriptures – sent to me certain writings which separated Christian faith and good works so as to lead one to believe that it is impossible to attain eternal salvation without the former [faith], but that it is possible to do so without the latter. In response to them, I wrote a book whose title is On Faith and Works. In this book, I discussed not only how they who have been regenerated by the grace of Christ are to live, but also what kind of persons are to be admitted to “the bath of regeneration” (1 Titus 3:5).

This book begins as follows: “Certain persons are of the opinion…”.

On Faith and Works by St. Augustine
From On Christian Doctrine, The Works of St. Augustine – A Translation for the 21st Century, pp. 221-261.

From the introduction to the work by Ray Kearney

In Augustine’s view, the proponents of a justification by faith alone were mistaken in their interpretation of what the apostle said. When paul claimed that human beings were justified by faith and not by observance of the law, he was speaking of works that preceded justification, not of those that followed upon it. Therefore only those believers whose faith is alive in works of love can hope for eternal blessedness.

It is on the basis of this Pauline teaching that 1 Cor 3:11-15 is to be properly interpreted. When the apostle speaks of the various kinds of materials with which the faithful build on the foundation of Christ, his contrast between “wood” and “gold” does not refer to the alternative of “faith without works – faith with works.” He is speaking rather of the varying quality of the works themselves. “Wood” and “gold” symbolize the different kinds of intention – self-centered and pure – from which works flow.

Relevant chapters from the work itself

14,21. We must look now at what has to be expunged from the hearts of religious people, so that they will not forfeit salvation because of a false sense of security, thinking that all they need to do to obtain it is to have faith, while neglecting to live a good life and stay on God’s path by performing good works. Even in the time of the apostles there were some people who failed to understand certain rather obscure statements of the apostle Paul and thought that he said, Let us do evil, for good to come of it (Rom 3:8), because he had said, The law came into the world so that sin would be abundant, but where sin was abundant, grace was even more abundant (Rom 5:20). The explanation of this is that those who received the law and proudly relied on their own strength, and did not have the correct belief and did not pray for God’s help to conquer their evil inclinations, became burdened with additional and more serious sins in that they also violated the law. Driven by this great guilt they fled to faith, and with it they won merciful forgiveness and help from the Lord who made heaven and earth (Ps 120:2). Then, with love poured into their hearts through the Holy Spirit, they did with love the things that were commanded contrary to the desires of this world. This was in accordance with what was foretold in the Psalm: Their weaknesses increased, but afterwards they raced on (Ps 15:4). Therefore, when the apostle says that he considers we are made just through faith without the works of the law, he does not means that works of justice should be disdained once faith is accepted and professed but that everyone should know that he can be made just through faith even if he did not perform the works of the law before. They do not come beforehand, before the person is made just, but they follow afterwards, when the person has been made just.

There is no need to go into further explanation of this in the present work, especially as I have published a lengthy book on the subject entitled The Letter and the Spirit. Since this opinion had already sprung up at the time, other letters of the apostles – those of Peter, John, James and Jude – oppose it directly, strongly insisting that faith without works brings no benefit. Paul himself also stipulated that it had to be not just any faith whereby one beliefs in God but that full faith of the gospel that brings salvation, the one whose works com from love. And the faith that works through love (Gal 5:6), he said. Hence he asserts that that faith which some think is sufficient for salvation is entirely worthless, saying this: If I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing (1 Cor 13:2). When, however, believing love is at work, without doubt there is then a good life, for love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13:10).

22. Clearly this is why in his second letter Peter remarked that there were some passages in the letters of the apostle Paul that were difficult to understand, and people misinterpreted them, and others scriptures too, for their own destruction, although that apostle held the same views as the other apostles concerning eternal salvation, which is granted only to those who lead good lives. He was commending holiness of life and conduct and proclaiming that this world will pass away, but we look forward to new heavens and a new earth, which will be given to the good to inhabit. He wanted them to see from this how they ought to live in order to become worthy of that dwelling place, as he knew that some wicked persons had taken advantage of certain less clear passages of the apostle Paul in order to have no concern for living a good life, being assured from salvation because that comes from faith. So Peter says this: As all these things will pass away…. (passage from 2 Pt 3:11-18 follows).

23. James is so strongly opposed to those who hold that faith without works has any value for salvation that he even compares them to devils, saying, You believe there is one God? You do well. The devils believes this too, and are terrified (Jas 2:19). Could he have said anything more succinctly, with greater truth or more emphatically, since we read in the gospel that the devils said this when they acknowledged that Christ was the Son of God, and they were rebuked for the same thing as was praised in the case of Peter’s declaration of faith? What does anyone gain, my brothers, says James, if he says he has faith, but does not have works? Is it possible for faith to save him? (Jas 2:14) He also says, Faith without works is dead (Jas 2:20). So great, therefore, is the mistake of those who promise themselves everlasting life from a faith that is dead!.

15, 24. We should pay careful attention to the way that statement of the apostle Paul, certainly difficult to understand, should be interpreted. His words are: No one can lay… (passage from 1 Cor 3:11-15 follows). They take the interpretation of this to be that those who add good works to faith, which is faith in Christ, are seen as building on this foundation with gold, silver and precious stones; but those who perform evil works, even though they have the same faith, are seen as building with wood, grass and straw. As a consequence they think that through certain punishments with fire, they can be purified in order to receive salvation because of the merits of the foundation.

25. If this is so, we have to admit that they are acting with commendable charity in trying to have everyone admitted to baptism indiscriminately, not only adulterers and adulteresses who cling to their false marriages in defiance of the Lord but also public prostitutes who continue in their corrupt profession. In no church, not even the more lax, has it been the practice to admit these unless they are first freed from that past prostitution. By that reasoning, however, I cannot see at all why they are not accepted regardless. Who would not prefer that they be purified by fire, certainly one of some longer duration, because they laid the foundation even though they piled wood and grass and straw on it, rather than that they perish eternally?

In that case, however, those other texts, which are not obscure or ambiguous, will not be true, namely, If I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing (1 Cor 13:2), and, What does anyone gain, my brothers, if he says he has faith, but does not have works? Is it possible for faith to save him? (Jas 2:14). Also untrue will be that text: (1 Cor 6:9-11) and also that other (Gal 5:19-21). These texts would not be true, for, if they only believe and are baptized, even though they continue with those sins, they will be saved through fire, and so those who have been baptized in Christ, even those who do those things, will possess the kingdom of God.

But it is meaningless to say, Some of you were like this, but you have been washed clean (1 Cor 6:11), when they are still the same even after they have been washed. Peter’s words will also seem pointless: You too, in a similar state, are now saved by baptism, which is not the removal of physical dirt, but the questioning of a good conscience (1 Pt 3:21). There is no point to it, if in fact baptism also saves those who have evil consciences, filled with every crime and atrocity and not changing at all by repenting of those evils, if they too will be saved, even thought by passing through fire, because of the foundation that was set in place in that baptism. I do not see either why the Lord said, If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments (Mt 19:17), and listed those that related to good conduct, if even without keeping them one can enter into life merely through that faith that without works is dead (Jas 2:17). How then will those words be true that he will say to those he is going to put to his left: Go into eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 25:41)? He does not condemns them because they did not believe in him but because they did not perform good works. Without doubt the reason why he said he was going to separate out all the nations that mingles under the care of the same shepherds was to prevent anyone from promising himself eternal life from the faith that without works is dead. In this way it would be clear that those who would say to him, Lord, when did we see you suffering these things and fail to assist you? (Mt 25:44) were those who believed in him but were not concerned about performing good works, thinking that eternal life would be attained through a faith that was itself dead. On the other hand, might it be perhaps that those who will go into eternal fire are those who did not perform works of mercy, while those who robbed others or who were merciless towards themselves by desecrating the temple of God within themselves will not go there? As if works of compassion could be worth anything without love, when the apostle says, If I distribute everything I have to the poor, but do not have love, it does me no good (1 Cor 13:3), or anyone could love his neighbor as himself, if he did not love himself! He who loves sin, it says, hates his own soul (Ps 10:6).

One cannot say here, as some have deceived themselves by saying, that it is the fire that is said to be eternal, not the actual punishment. They think that those to whom they promise salvation through fire because of a faith that is dead will pass through a fire that last forever. In other words, the actual fire lasts forever, but the burning, that is, the action of the fire, does not lasts forever for them. The Lord, being Lord, foresaw this, and he concluded by saying: So they will go into everlasting burning, but the just will go into everlasting life (Mt 25:46). Therefore the burning will be everlasting, like the fire. The Truth has said that those who go there will be those he pronounces to have been lacking not in faith but in good works.

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There is more that is relevant and I encourage people to read the whole work itself. But I think this is sufficient to show that St. Augustine is explicit in denying the notion of faith alone and that Protestants who claim him as if he supported their view should pay closer attention to the writtings of the saint. I shall post additional quotes from his other works where he is explicit in denying faith alone.

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