Not by Faith Alone: A Biblical Study of the Catholic Doctrine of Justification

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Summary: DON'T READ THIS BOOK...IF.....
Review: Don't read this book if you are looking for a simplistic "fluff" piece to make you feel comfortable that there are no definitive rebuttals to "Sola Fide" (We are saved by faith alone). Unlike so many Protestant apologists I have read who only attempt to attack and dismantle what they dislike, Sungenis not only refutes Sola Fide, but also presents a positive, lucid and thorough explanation of the Catholic doctrine of Justification and Salvation. He explains why the Catholic understanding is beautiful, simple AND SCRIPTURAL. While there were many excellent sections, I was most moved by his section on the faith/works dichotomy. I have come to understand that only the Catholic doctrine of Justification explains faith and works in such a way as to HARMONIZE Jesus, Paul and James, withouth twisting or distorting what they actually wrote (or relegating one to "an epistle of straw", a la Luther). It seems to me that it would be most accurate to describe this dichotomy as "faith and GRACED works" vs. "works of boasting" or "works of obligation". Paul condemns that latter as "filthy rags". However, he is in FULL agreement with Jesus and James as to the necessity of GRACED works. Paul makes it abundantly clear that faith alone does not save us. Romans 2:5-10, Galatians 5:2-3, 1 Cor 12:3-13, Romans 14:10-12, and 2Cor5:10 all clearly illustrate the REST of Paul's teaching that I never fully understood as a Baptist. These are interesting passages from the man I was told taught "faith alone"! Understanding that when we approach God in "faith, hope and love" (1Cor 12), we are His children, is the key. When we approach God legalistically, as many of the Jews of Christ's day did, we will be treated as defendants in a court of THE law and God is The Judge. And any breech of the law results in damnation. On the other hand, when we behave and believe as children, loving God, God is truly our Father. A new relationship is at work. What good father isn't patient and merciful with his child? How much more with God! Our Faith, hope and love are they key. If two people do the same exact work, but one does it with faith, hope and love, while the other does it WITHOUT them, God will be pleased by the former and not by the latter. It's that simple. When our actions (works) are under grace, they viewed completely differently than the strict legal standard of the old covenant. Any good father should be able to totally understand this. After receiving neat little "gifts" of rocks, messy kisses, and green scrambled eggs from my loving children and really and truly LOVING these "gifts", I can truly comprehend now. And these actions further solidify and deepen the bond between us. (BTW, Sungenis has an excellent section on understanding the difference between "strict merit" in which we try to take full "credit" for our good works and "condign merit" which simply recognizes that we cooperated with the grace God gave us to do good.....a VAST difference! All of our good works....even faith....are a gift from God. Any Catholic can say "AMEN!" to that!) Faith and Works are two sides of the same coin. While we can speak of them separately in theory, in practice, they are inseparable. While it is true that our faith affects our actions (works), it is also true that our actions (works) affect our faith. If they are truly "good", these works act to "perfect" our faith. Any Christian knows this is true. This is what James was saying in James 2:22! Of course, we also see the importance of our ACTION (works) to Justifation and Salvation in Christ's own words. They are all he talks about! (Matt 7:21, Matt 18:21-35, Matt 6:12, John 5:29, Matt 25:31-46). Sungenis helps us to see the harmony between Christ, Paul and James. We don't have to jump through any crazy hoops to get there, twisting Jesus and James. Sungenis provides an important reminder to all Christians. DON'T presume upon God's mercy. We must keep a Christian balance, recognizing God as perfect Justice AND perfect Mercy. When we Pharisaically presume upon God's mercy, acting as though we are "automatically saved" by going to Church, giving alms....or for that matter, saying the "sinner's prayer" one time in our life, without continuing to "persist in good work" and faith (as Paul says in Rom 2:5-10), we are in grave danger of placing ourselves under the standard of the law.....a standard none of us can bear. A wonderful, scholarly work. I HIGHLY recommend it!

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Summary: A thorough defense of Catholic doctrine
Review: Of all the works dealing with the subject of justification, Sungenis' work is by far the most thorough and comprehensive book available. Mr. Sungenis begins his defense of Catholic Tridentine soteriology by telling the reader what Catholic doctrine is not; This is accomplished by a devastating critique of Protestant sola fide theology. Sungenis devotes the first three chapters to an explanation of justification and salvation in the writings of Paul and James, and Jesus' views as derived from the gospels. Mr. Sungenis does an admirable job of dealing with the Pauline texts and is fair and accurate with the views of various Protestants, often commenting on the views of various famous Protestant scholars(Luther, Calvin, McGrath, Sproul, MacArthur, etc.). Sungenis' main point is that Paul is opposed to works of the Law, or works which attempt to put God in one's debt so that God must honor those efforts with salvation. Sungenis rightly points out that Paul's phraseology only disqualifies 'works of the Law' from salvation, and that Protestant arguments which somehow transform works of the Law into just works, are reading more into the text than is really there. Works of the Law are performed under the system of law which is unforgiving and permanent, one infraction will disqualify you from salvation. In contrast, works done under the auspices of grace are pleasing to God and God will reward those with eternal life.

After dealing with Paul, Sungenis delves into James' epistle and the gospels, and here is where his arguments seriously harm the Protestant viewpoint. Sungenis convincingly illustrates that the context in James 2 is completely salvation oriented, and Protestant attempts to place this chapter in a proof/vindication of righteousness framework do serious injustices to the context of the chapter. Sungenis' exegetical work dealing with Abraham's justification, his faith and obedience mentioned in Hebrews 11 referring to events in Genesis 12, and James' comparison between Rahab and Abraham all support the Catholic viewpoint and oppose the Protestant understanding. Sungenis deals another blow to the Protestant view when he discusses Romans 4 and shows that Abraham had to be a genuine believer before Genesis 15, or Hebrews 11 is nonsense. Finally, dealing with Jesus' teachings, again Sungenis convincingly argues that Jesus stressed the importance of works and that they would be the criterion upon which one's judgment was based. Sungenis has beautifully melded the seemingly contradictory teachings of Paul, James, and Jesus into one cohesive unit, something no Protestant work on the subject attempts to do.

This book really shines in chapters 5 and 6 where Sungenis deals with the questions of imputed vs. imparted righteousness and the nature of justification. He does tremendous damage to the Protestant idea of imputed righteousness by arguing that God cannot declare someone righteous who is not so because God only condemns on the basis of intrinsic quality. Justification is transformative and internal and this is something some Reformed Protestants even admit, which Sungenis later illustrates. Sungenis also notes that the Greek verb dikaioo although forensic in nature also carries with the connotation of making just, since verbs ending in oo mean to make whatever the action of the verb specifies. In chapter 6 Sungenis argues that justification is a familial restoration and not a courtroom decree. After being exposed to this view, I can't believe how thoroughly it permeates the Scriptures. We are all wayward sons and daughters of God in need of restoration and Jesus' sacrifice placates the Father allowing us to return. Nevertheless, if a child returns but becomes disobedient once again, he will turned over to the Law to be punished by it's exacting standards. I think this framework does more justice to the biblical texts since God is by nature a Father, but is only a judge in relation to His creation, which is finite and not eternal.

Nevertheless, from an Eastern Orthodox perspective I did have some disagreements with Mr. Sungenis' conclusions. First, the Orthodox understanding of justification is slightly different than the Catholic one, but the differences are minor. Also, the arguments for purgatory I found to be quite weak. The Orthodox have never insisted on the necessity of purgatory, but have always believed the doctrine was a thelogoumena of some theologians. Finally, the Catholic view of original sin is really a foundation upon which the arguments of the book are founded, so the Orthodox have a slightly altered view since our take on original sin differs. Overall, this is a well-researched and convincing book.

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Summary: Filling the Gap in Catholic Sorteriology
Review: Robert Sungenis goes beyond simple apologetics and does some serious exegesis- especially regarding the Jutification of Abraham. This book has been called exhaustive by many- I prefer the word energizing or thrilling. This book is valuable because of its strict biblicism and most especially for its interaction with the doctrines presented by the Reformers as well as modern day "Faith Alone" theologies- MacArthur and Ryrie etc... It is adressed to both Catholic and Protestant- whether scholar or layman. The book hits on key themes over and over again in order to try and cut through the fog. The book first covers the biblical testimoney from Paul and James (especially in regards Abraham) as well as the teaching of Jesus on Jutification. Then the book over several chapters covers the nature of Justification Whether it is a One time event or an Ongoing Process, Imputed or Infused Righteousness, Courtroom Decree or Familial Restoration. Soon we move on to the issue of Free Will and Predestination in a concentrated dose. The last full chapter deals with Protestant doctrines and theologians since the reformation and their critiques of the Catholic faith. This is perhaps the most caluable Chapter in the book. After reading other clear presentations from Scripture the reader sees with stuning clarity the differences within Protestantism itself as well as the chasm that exists between modern Protestants and the Reformers. The Apendixes are numerous and helpful. The footnotes throrough are invaluable. I only have a few shallow criticisms. First there is little ineraction with the 4th century fathers on this issue. Mostly because the Biblical testimoney is sufficient and because there is less written by the fathers on this issue than one might expect. Also as another reviewer commented there is not too much interaction with Arminian theology. The shape of the book is nice but someday a hardback edition should come. Because this is at once apologetics and hard biblical and historical theology this deserves a hardback- I've beaten my copy up already- the binding still holds. In short this is the most balanced, full throtled book on jutification written by a Catholic in some time. Bravo Sungenis.

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Summary: Good introduction but doesn't take the cake
Review: This is a good introduction to the Roman Catholic view of justification. Though I would seriously disagree with almost all of Sungenis' conclusions and interpretations, he does present the Roman Catholic view clearly and lucidly. However, there are certain doctrines that the author is clearly wrong on. Sungenis' view that justification is a process and/or a transformation (chapters 4-6) does not do justice to the ancient Hebrew (or OT) concept that justification is primarily legal and judicial. Sungenis fails to discuss this and he basically buries his own argument. His arguments that Paul (chapter 1), James (chapter 2), and Jesus (chapter 3) did not teach justification by faith ALONE are equally inconvincing (Sungenis' argument that the "works of the Law" refer to legalism is unsupportable. Many Protestant exegetes like A. A. Das, Douglas Moo, and Stephen Westerholm have disproven this theory). Sungenis resorts to proof-texting and clever deductive arguments to make the reader think he has the reasons why the Protestant understanding of justification is wrong without going into more detailed exegesis and Greek-Hebrew word study. His chapter on predestination, free will, and justification (chapter 7) clearly shows his semi-pelegian bent. He tries to cover this up by going into logical absurdities ("If we are faithful to Scripture, however, we must conclude that it teaches both predestination and free will" [pp. 472-3]). Wrong! The Bible teaches us that God is sovereign and man is RESPONSIBLE (not free). His chapter (8) on the final justification is no surprise. However, one must point out Sungenis' highly flawed "exegesis" of 1 Cor 3:10-15 as supporting purgatory. Nowhere in Scripture is this doctrine taught (except in one place in the uninspired Apocrypha). The correct view is that the worker whose works are burned up at the Judgment WILL be saved as through the flames (NOT will be saved after being punished in purgatory). This also shows that Sungenis (and Roman Catholics in general) do not believe that Christ paid the FULL penalty for our sins (I wonder what our Lord meant when he said in John 19:30 "It is finished!"?). However, one of the interesting discussions in the book is chapter 9 ("Will 'Faith Alone' Be All Alone?"). Sungenis is right when he states that "it seemed obvious to [Norman] Shepherd, and his growing supporters, that the works of an individual play an integral part in his justification and in determining whether God will save or damn him on judgment day" (p. 593). I believe Sungenis clears up the air on this issue: Norman Shepherd denies justification by faith alone (and the Gospel according to the Bible). In regards to James D. G. Dunn's (and other New Perspective scholars') view of justification, Sungenis calls it "a challange to classic and modern Protestant thinking" (p. 604). This clearly puts scholars like N. T. Wright and Hendrikus Boers outside of Protestant orthodoxy (and rightly so!). This book is a good introduction to the Roman Catholic view of justification. However, the polemical and triumphalistic tone may turn many people off (Sungenis often assumes he is right and Protestants wrong). Having said that, it is easy to read and understand for the layperson.

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Summary: Exhaustive and engaging...
Review: When I first cracked this book open, I was a Protestant who was skeptical about faith alone, but still thought it was the best explanation on what the Bible says on how to get to heaven. Afterwards, I can firmly say that faith alone is definitely a faulty interpretation of scripture.

The first three chapters attempt to harmonize the teachings of Paul, James and Jesus in the realm of Justification (this impressed me greatly, because The God Who Justifies virtually ignores Jesus' teaching on justification and does not give a satisfactory answer why, to its detriment). The next few discuss various distinctions between Protestant and Catholic views on justification and the book wraps up with a look at the historical development of sola fide from the Reformation to the present(which proved to be one of the most facinating aspects of the book).

Sungenis' writing style won't win him a Pulitzer anytime soon but that is neither here nor there. He sets out to state clearly and fairly the Protestant position(s) regarding every (and I mean every!) single key passage used to defend sola fide and shows that the best explanation of each text supports the Catholic view of justification. This systematic approach impressed me as well. No reference too obscure, no greek verb too confusing and no seeming contradiction too perplexing was left unexplained.

The one problem I had with Not By Faith Alone was that I don't know greek. So wading through a gaggle of references to tenses, nouns and verbs in a language I didn't understand was... well... greek to me(but facinating none the less).

Other than that single problem, if you want every aspect of the doctrine of justification explained from the Catholic viewpoint, pick this one up.