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258 THE HISTORY OF HERESIES,
25. This leads us on to another point, following from the
former one that Faith alone is sufficient to save us, as Luther
and Calvin said, who, on this anchor alone, trusted their eternal
salvation, and therefore, despised all law and judgment, cared
nothing for righteousness, prayers, or sacraments, and considered
all things, no matter how wicked, lawful. They asserted that
the Faith by which we firmly believe that God will save us
by the merits of Jesus Christ, and the promises made by him, is
alone sufficient without works, to obtain salvation for us from God
and this Faith they called Fiducia, confidence, it being a hope
founded on the promise of Jesus Christ. They quote Scrip
"
ture, too, in favour of this : opinion Who believes in the Son,
hath eternal life" (John, iii, 36) ;
"
That he himself may be
just, and the justifier
Christ" (Romans, iii, 26) ;
justified" (Acts, xiii, 39) ;
be confounded" (Rom. x, 11) ;
of him who is of the Faith of Jesus
" Whoever
In him, every
believeth in him shall not
"
" The
one that believeth is
just man liveth by Faith"
(Gal. iii, 11); "The justice of God, by Faith of Jesus Christ,
unto all, and upon all them that believe in him" (Rom. iii, 22).
26. If Faith alone, however, justifies us, how is it, that the
very same Scriptures declare, that it is of no use without works ?
" What shall it profit my brethren, if a man say he hath faith
but hath not works ? Shall faith be able to save him ?"
ii, 14) ; and immediately after he says (ver. 17) :
"
(James^
So Faith also,
if it have not works is dead in itself." Luther, to be sure, says,
that this Epistle is not canonical, but we believe rather the
authority of the Church, which includes it in her Canon. But
there are numberless other passages to prove that Fakh alone is
not sufficient to save us, but that it is necessary also, that we
fulfil the commandments. St. Paul says :
"
If I should have all
faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity,
I
am nothing" (I. Cor. xiii. 2). Jesus Christ commanded his dis
ciples:
" Go teach all nations to observe all things whatever
I commanded you" (Mark, xxviii, 19, 20). And he said to the
man :
"
If thou wilt enter into eternal life, observe the
young
commandments" (Matt, xix, 17), and there are many other texts
of a like nature. The texts, therefore, adduced by our adver
saries, must be understood to refer to that Faith, which, as St.
Paul teaches, operates by charity :
" For
in Christ Jesus, neither