On Justification

Faustus Socinus: On Justification - A Translation of De Iustificatione

How is sinful man justified before God? No question shaped the sixteenth century more profoundly. Luther's sola fide, Calvin's double predestination, Trent's synthesis of grace and merit - these answers are familiar to every student of the Reformation. The answer of Faustus Socinus is not. And that is a loss.

De Iustificatione stands among the most rigorous treatments of the doctrine of justification the sixteenth century produced. It now appears in English for the first time.

Socinus's argument is radical and uncompromising. He rejects the doctrine of satisfaction in every form. Christ is neither a vicarious sin-offering nor the bearer of imputed guilt. His death upon the cross does not procure divine grace but seals and proclaims it - it is the ratification of a will to forgive that God has held from eternity. In place of satisfaction Socinus sets forth a theology of divine decree and human repentance: God has resolved, "out of his highest and sole goodness," to forgive all who renounce worldly desires and walk in godliness. Christ is the herald of this way and its perfect exemplar; his resurrection is the surest pledge of the resurrection of all the faithful.

These theses struck at the very nerve of Reformation orthodoxy. The writings of Socinus were placed on the Index, and his congregations were at length driven into exile. Therein lies their enduring worth: they compel us to reconsider doctrines we have long taken for settled.

The translation follows the Latin original and aims at philological precision without sacrificing readability. A critical apparatus supplies historical and theological commentary throughout.

"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." - 1 Thessalonians 5:21

This book is addressed to readers willing to follow a rigorous argument to its conclusions - not to adopt the theses of Socinus, but to weigh them.