In the first covenant [the Covenant of Works], faith was required as a work and a part of the inherent righteousness to which life was promised. But in the second [the Covenant of Grace], it is demanded―not as a work on account of which life is given, but as a mere instrument apprehending the righteousness of Christ (on account of which alone salvation is granted to us). In the one, faith was a theological virtue from the strength of nature, terminating on God, the Creator; in the other, faith is an evangelical condition after the manner of supernatural grace, terminating on God, the Redeemer. As to works, they were required in the first as an antecedent condition by way of a cause for acquiring life; but in the second, they are only the subsequent condition as the fruit and effect of the life already acquired.
Francis Turretin | Institutes of Elenctic Theology, ed. James T. Dennison Jr., trans. George Musgrave Giger, 3 vol. (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1992–1997), 2:291–92.
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- The Reformation On Law And Gospel Language
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- Vos: All Our Works Are Excluded From Justification
- Heidegger: Good Works Are Necessary As Fruit And Evidence Of Faith
- What Good Works Do: Show Thankfulness, Confirm Faith, Win Others To Christ
- Did Ursinus Teach Final Salvation Through Faith And Works?
- James Does Not Contradict Paul And Vindication Is Distinct From Justification
- Resources On The Doctrine Of Justification
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