The Divinity of the Sophisters, Commonly Called the Schoolmen
Therefore the wicked and pernicious opinion of the Papists is utterly to be condemned, which attribute the merit of grace and remission of sins to the work wrought. For they say that a good work before grace is available to obtain grace of congruence, which they call meritum de Congruo, because it is meet and convenient that God should reward such a work. But when grace is obtained, the work following deserves everlasting life of due debt and worthiness, which they call meritum de Condigno. As for example: If a man being in deadly sin, without grace, does a good work of his own good natural inclination — that is, if he say or hear a Mass, or give alms, and such like — this man of congruence deserves grace. When he has thus obtained grace, he does a work which of worthiness deserves everlasting life. For the first, God is no debtor: but because he is just and good, it behooves him to approve such a good work though it be done in deadly sin, and to give grace for such a service. But when grace is obtained, God has become a debtor, and is constrained of right and duty to give eternal life. For now it is not only a work of free will done according to the substance, but also done in grace which makes gracious, that is to say, in love.
This is the Divinity of the Antichristian kingdom, which here I recite to the end that the disputation of Paul may be the better understood. (For two contrary things being set together are the better known): and moreover that all men may see how far from the truth these blind guides and leaders of the blind have strayed, and how by this wicked and blasphemous doctrine they have not only darkened, but taken away the Gospel, and buried Christ utterly. For if I being in deadly sin, can do any little work which is not only acceptable in God's sight according to the substance, but also is able to deserve grace of congruence: and when I have received this grace, I may do works according to grace, that is to say, according to love, and get of right and duty eternal life, what need have I now of the grace of God, forgiveness of sins, of the promise, and of the death and victory of Christ? Christ is now to me in vain and of none effect: For I have free will and power to do good works, whereby I deserve grace of congruence, and afterwards of duty, and by the worthiness of my work, eternal life.
Such monstrous and horrible blasphemies should be set forth rather to the Turks and Jews, than to the church of Christ. And this plainly declares that the Pope with his Bishops, Doctors, priests, and with all his religious rabble, had no knowledge or regard of holy matters: and that they were not careful for the health of the poor and miserably scattered flock. For if they had seen but through a cloud, what Paul calls sin and what he calls grace, they would never have compelled the people to believe such abominations and execrable lies as they have done. By deadly sin they understood only the external work committed against the law, as murder, theft, and such like. They could not see that ignorance, hatred, and contempt of God in the heart, ingratitude, murmuring against God, and resisting the will of God, are also deadly sin: and that the flesh can not think, speak, or do any thing, but that which is devilish and altogether against God. If they had seen these mischiefs fast rooted in the nature of man, they would never have devised such impudent and execrable dreams touching the desert of congruence and worthiness.
Therefore we must properly and plainly define what a wicked man or a deadly sinner is. He is such a holy and bloody hypocrite as Paul was when he went to Damascus to persecute Jesus of Nazareth, to abolish the doctrine of the gospel, to murder the faithful, and utterly to overthrow the church of Christ. And who will not say but that these were horrible sins? Yet could not Paul see them. For he was so blinded with a perverse zeal of God, that he thought these abominations to be perfect righteousness and high service to God: and shall we say that such as defend these horrible sins to be perfect righteousness, do deserve grace?
Therefore with Paul we utterly deny the merit of congruence and worthiness, and affirm that these speculations are nothing else but mere deceits of Satan, which were never done in deed, nor notified by any examples. For God never gave to any man grace and everlasting life for the merit of congruence or worthiness. These disputations therefore of the Schoolmen touching the merit of congruence and worthiness, are nothing else but vain toys and dreams of idle brains, to no other end and purpose but to draw men from the true worship of God. And hereupon is the whole papacy grounded. For there is no religious person, but he has this imagination: I am able by the observation of my holy order to deserve grace of congruence: and by the works which I do after that I have received this grace, I am able to heap up such treasure of merit, as shall not only be sufficient for me to obtain eternal life, but also to give or sell to others. Thus have all the religious orders taught, and thus have they lived. And to defend this horrible blasphemy against Christ, the Papists do at this day attempt against us what they can. And there is not one of them all, but the more holy hypocrite and merit-monger he is, the more cruel and deadly enemy he is to the Gospel of Christ.
The wicked and dangerous teaching of the papists must be utterly rejected — the teaching that credits the merit of grace and forgiveness of sins to the work performed. They say that a good work done before receiving grace can earn grace by a kind of fittingness — what they call meritum de Congruo, meaning that God, being just, would fittingly reward such a work. Then, once grace is obtained, the subsequent works are said to deserve eternal life by right and by merit — what they call meritum de Condigno. Here is their example: if a man in a state of mortal sin, without grace, performs a good work from his own natural inclination — say, hearing a Mass, giving alms, or something similar — he earns grace by fittingness. Once he has that grace, he can perform works that deserve eternal life by right. For the first type of work, God owes him nothing — but because God is just and good, He is supposed to approve such a work even if done in mortal sin, and reward it with grace. Once grace is obtained, God becomes a debtor, obligated by justice to grant eternal life. For now the work is not merely a natural work, but one performed in grace — that is, in love — and therefore meritorious in the highest degree.
This is the theology of the Antichristian kingdom, which I am reciting here so that Paul's argument can be better understood. Contrasting two opposites makes each one clearer. But beyond that, I want everyone to see how far these blind guides and leaders of the blind have strayed from the truth, and how through this wicked and blasphemous doctrine they have not only obscured the Gospel but destroyed it entirely, burying Christ without a trace. For if I — in a state of mortal sin — can do some small work that is not only acceptable to God as a natural act but can even merit grace by fittingness, and once I have received this grace I can perform works according to love and earn eternal life by right — then what need do I have for God's grace, forgiveness of sins, the promise, and the death and victory of Christ? Christ becomes useless and empty to me. I have free will and the power to do good works, by which I merit grace by fittingness first, then by right, and by the worthiness of my works — eternal life.
Such monstrous and horrible blasphemies should be preached to the Turks and Jews, not to the church of Christ. This plainly shows that the pope with his bishops, doctors, priests, and his whole religious establishment had no understanding or regard for holy things — and no concern for the health of the poor and scattered flock. If they had seen even dimly what Paul means by sin and by grace, they would never have required the people to believe such abominations and damnable lies. By mortal sin they understood only outward acts committed against the law — murder, theft, and the like. They could not see that ignorance of God, hatred of God, contempt of God in the heart, ingratitude, complaining against God, and resisting God's will are also mortal sins. They could not see that the flesh cannot think, speak, or do anything that is not devilish and entirely opposed to God. If they had seen these evils deeply rooted in human nature, they would never have invented such shameless and abominable fantasies about merit by fittingness and merit by worthiness.
We must therefore define plainly and precisely what a wicked person and a mortal sinner actually is. He is such a holy and bloodthirsty hypocrite as Paul himself was when he went to Damascus to persecute Jesus of Nazareth, to destroy the doctrine of the Gospel, to murder the faithful, and to utterly overthrow the church of Christ. Who would deny that these were horrible sins? Yet Paul himself could not see them. He was so blinded by a misguided zeal for God that he thought these abominations were perfect righteousness and the highest service to God. And shall we say that those who defend such horrible sins as perfect righteousness deserve grace?
We therefore reject with Paul all merit of fittingness and merit of worthiness, and affirm that these theories are nothing but the deceits of Satan — never actually accomplished, never proven by any example. God has never given any person grace or eternal life on account of such merit. The Scholastic debates about merit of fittingness and merit of worthiness are nothing but empty fantasies of idle minds, designed for no other purpose than to draw people away from the true worship of God. The entire papal system is built on this foundation. Every religious person in that system carries this thought: by observing the rules of my holy order I can merit grace by fittingness; and by the works I do after receiving this grace, I can accumulate such a treasury of merit that it not only secures my own eternal life but can be given or sold to others. This is what all the religious orders have taught and how they have lived. And to defend this horrible blasphemy against Christ, the papists today do everything in their power against us. Among them, the holier the hypocrite and the greater the merit-monger, the more cruel and deadly an enemy he is to the Gospel of Christ.
