The 39 Articles of Religion Part nine: Justification and Sanctification

Article XI. Of the Justification of Man We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deserving. Wherefore, that we are justified by Faith only, is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.

Imputation of righteousness Justification is more than mere forgiveness; it is a positive imputation of Christ’s righteousness “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 Rembrandt, Prodigal Son, 1669

…very full of comfort “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-9 Anton von Werner, Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, 1877

Article XII. Of Good Works Albeit that Good Works, which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith insomuch that by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.

Good works and merited grace “What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.” Romans 4:1-5 Jozsef Molnar, Abraham’s Journey, 1850

Sanctification and self-righteousness Jacob Jordaens, Jesus and the Pharisees, c. 1650s “When James says one is justified by what one does, not by faith alone, he means by ‘justified’ ‘proved genuine; vindicated from the suspicion of being a hypocrite and a fraud.’ James is making the point that dead orthodoxy saves no one.” J. I. Packer, Concise Theology, 160-1

Article XIII. Of Works before Justification Works done before the grace of Christ, and the Inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ; neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or (as the School-authors say) deserve grace of congruity: yea rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.

Congruous and condign merit Protestant Reformers viewed works done with the intention of gaining God’s favor as fundamentally different to works of gratitude after salvation Heinrich Hofmann, Christ and the rich young ruler, 1899

Article XIV. Of Works of Supererogation Voluntary Works besides, over and above, God's Commandments, which they call Works of Supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogance and impiety: for by them men do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required: whereas Christ saith plainly When ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable servants.

An excess of merit? Jacques-Louis David, St. Roch interceding to Mary for the plague stricken, 1781 The medieval church used the concept of excess merit to promote superstitious dependence on sacerdotal intercession Christ’s merit is infinite and cannot be added to; the righteousness he imputes to all believers is sufficient