There is no doubt that whoever of these are saved are saved because of justice. For eternal life is promised to the just, because “the just shall live forever, and their reward is with the Lord.”[1] Now, Sacred Authority often teaches that justice is uprightness-of-will. It suffices to cite one example of this fact. David said: “The Lord will not cast off His people or forsake His inheritance until justice is turned into judgment.”[2] And after he had said this, then in order to teach us what justice is, he asked: “And who is conformed to justice?” To this he replies, answering himself: “All. who are upright in heart” —i.e., all who are upright in will. For although we both believe and understand in our heart, even as we will in our heart, nevertheless the Holy Spirit does not deem to have an upright heart a man who believes rightly or understands rightly but does not will rightly. For this man does not use the uprightness of faith and of understanding for rightly willing; and rightly believing and rightly understanding are given to a rational creature for the sake of rightly willing. For he who does not rightly will in accordance with right understanding ought not to be said to have right understanding. And he who does not rightly will to act in accordance with faith —for this is the reason for which faith is given— is not said to have any faith except a dead faith. Therefore, we correctly understand David to have meant by “the upright in heart” the upright in will. But lest someone think that Divine Authority calls just or upright a man who keeps uprightness-of-will only for the sake of something else, we say that justice is uprightness-of-will kept for its own sake. For he who keeps uprightness only for the sake of something else does not cherish uprightness but cherishes that thing for whose sake he keeps uprightness. And so he must not be called just, and such uprightness must not be called justice. —The Harmony of the Foreknowledge, the Predestination, and the Grace of God with Free Choice; AD 1107-1108 [1] Wisdom of Solomon 5:16 [2] Psalms 94:14-15 III. Grace and Free Choice, 2
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 09:27:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015