13. Modern protestant theology and good works.
Thieme reports,301) , that the Lutheran dogma that good works are not necessary for salvation has been mostly abandoned by the newer theology, even by the so-called positive trend. Rather, "the idea of moral religion that the fruit of faith is necessary for salvation" is almost universally accepted. This is unfortunately true. The newer Protestant theology deletes from its conceptual apparatus the satisfactio vicaria of Christ as too "juridical" and "material" and wants to "deepen" the "concept of atonement" so that "the transformation of the life of mankind into its God-appropriate form", i.e. sanctification and good works, are excluded from the atoning work of Christ as "co-founding for its value before God".302) But this is, in substance, the Roman doctrine of the merit of good works for the attainment of salvation, and this agrees with the Council of Trent when the latter rejects the doctrine "as if the
301) RE.3 XXI, 120.<w:t xml:space="preserve">302) Kirn, Dogmatik, p. 118.
84 > Sanctification and good works. [English ed. ~ 67-68]
Gospel is a mere and unconditional promise of eternal life, without the condition of keeping the commandments.303) But it is therefore also true that of the works which the newer Protestant theology teaches as necessary to salvation, the same is true what had to be said of the papist works: they do not belong to the category of good works, but they defile the perfect redemptive work of Christ and bring upon the teacher and doer God's condemnation judgment and curse.304) Very correctly Max Müller [sic: Monier Monier-Williams] said in a lecture to the British Bible Society that the works which are not merely thank-offerings of faith, but are done for the purchase of salvation, belong to the realm of paganism.305) One cannot teach both doctrines at the same time: good works and the necessity of good works for salvation. The latter cancels out the former. If a representative of the newer theology does good works, this can only be done in such a way that he first removes from his inner being his theory of the necessity of good works for salvation — modernly expressed: "the transformation of the life of mankind into its God-appropriate form" as Christ's work of reconciliation "co-establishing" its value before God — and lets the good works be only thank-offerings for the sola fide acquired grace and salvation.