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Justification and Good Works: a Study of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification Justin Chay

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Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 2009 Justification and Good Works: A Study of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification Justin Chay Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Chay, J. (2009). Justification and Good Works: A Study of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/395 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JUSTIFICATION AND GOOD WORKS: A STUDY OF THE JOINT DECLARATION ON THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Justin In-Chul Chay December 2009 Copyright by Justin In-Chul Chay December 2009 JUSTIFICATION AND GOOD WORKS; A STUDY OF THE JOINT DECLARATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION By Justin In-Chul Chay Approved October 22, 2009 Gerald Boodoo, Ph.D. Radu Bordeianu, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Theology Assistant Professor of Theology (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) William M. Wright, Ph.D. George S. Worgul, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Theology Chair, Department of Theology (Committee Member) Professor of Theology Christopher M. Duncan, Ph.D. Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science iii ABSTRACT JUSTIFICATION AND GOOD WORKS; A STUDY OF THE JOINT DECLARATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION By Justin In-Chul Chay December 2009 Dissertation supervised by Professor Boodoo The doctrine of justification tells how the saving grace of God in Christ can be actualized in the believers. Because of the very importance of this doctrine, disputes broke out between Augustine and Pelagius, later in the medieval period, and most importantly during the Reformation period – which led to mutual condemnations and the division of the Western church. The church still does not have a unified voice in interpreting the doctrine despite recent ecumenical dialogues, which culminated in the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 1999. By analyzing the historical and ecumenical documents, two important “remaining problems” emerge: first, the place of good works in salvation; second, the Catholic doctrine of “inherent righteousness of the justified,” which contradicts the Lutheran teaching of simul iustus et peccator (“at the same time righteous and sinner”). Then, by appealing to an iv exegesis of the relevant biblical texts, the dissertation seeks to resolve the fundamental problems in order to advance the dialogue. The dissertation defines the justified Christians’ human condition: the human condition can be characterized neither by simul iustus et peccator nor by “inherent righteousness.” Rather, Christians are in an unstable state so that depending on whether they are controlled by the Holy Spirit or by their sinful desires, they live like Christians or like sinners. The dissertation also defines the nature of “Christian” works in contrast to the “works of law.” Christian works are “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22), and are not human achievements or “works of law” that Paul rejects (Rom 3:28). Therefore it is not that Christians do good works “through the grace of God,” but that the indwelling Spirit carries out good works through Christians, using them as “instruments.” If we thus understand Christian works, then, in light of the biblical texts that teach the final judgment based on deeds, Protestants may no longer reject such works for final justification, and the Catholic emphasis on good works will no longer be accused as semi-Pelagianism, thereby removing a big obstacle to further ecumenical agreement. In conclusion, the dissertation proposes a theology of justification. v ACKNOWLEDGMENT A number of years ago I was working as an engineer when I was called to a full- time ministry and entered a seminary. Throughout the M.Div. and STM years in seminary and the doctoral study at Duquesne University I have been trained to become a theologian and a better Christian as well. Now with this doctoral dissertation I am about to finish a formal education in theology, but I know that I must continue to learn and struggle to become a better theologian and Christian. For without becoming a good Christian, one cannot become a good theologian, either. I have always been interested in soteriology; because Jesus came to this world to save the lost ones, soteriology seemed to me the core doctrine of Christianity. In retrospect, I feel fortunate to have come to Duquesne University for doctoral study, for at Duquesne I learned Catholic theology (including soteriology), which complements the Reformed theologies that I had learned in seminary and without which this dissertation would not have been possible. Therefore I sincerely thank Dr. James Hanigan, who was the chairperson and director of graduate studies at Duquesne’s theology department, under whose direction the admissions committee offered me, a Presbyterian, a scholarship so that I could study at Duquesne. I think Dr. Hanigan will be happy to read my dissertation, which is an outcome of the admissions committee’s decision. For the past two-and-a half years my dissertation director, Professor Gerald Boodoo, has offered valuable comments on my writings, in a timely fashion, and also supported me in other ways, which I appreciate greatly. I also like to express my sincere thanks to Professors Radu Bordeianu and William Wright, who graciously accepted to be vi readers of my dissertation and helped make the dissertation more complete through valuable suggestions. The time and efforts my readers spent for me will have a lasting impact on me and on my future students when I teach them Christian theology. This dissertation represents a continuation and fruit of the research work that I did with Professor Dale C. Allison at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Dr. Allison has always supported me in various ways and encouraged me throughout the years since I met him in his Greek language class. Besides, the New Testament exegesis and theology that I employed for this study I learned at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, mainly from Professors Dale Allison and Robert Gagnon, without whose teaching I simply could not have written this dissertation. I also thank Ms. Anita Johnson, a very capable librarian at the Barbour Library of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, who helped me with reference work. I feel that all my past teachers are very special to me, for their teaching will always remain in me as part of who I am, and also in my students as I teach them what I have learned through my teachers. This is why I am willing to go into a teaching ministry, just as my late father, upon his nation’s calling, gave up a successful medical practice and taught at a medical school until he retired twenty-eight years later. During the past six months, both my father and mother passed away. Rather than becoming sad about the losses, I thank God for his blessings on them and celebrate their fruitful lives. They always encouraged their children to learn more and tried to instill in them values they need to live by – honesty, diligence, integrity, etc. – which I now try to pass on to my own children. I dedicate this dissertation to my parents and also to my vii wife, Ilyoung, and to our three sons, Edward, Andrew, and Daniel, who have endured many years with me as I have pursued a second career in theology. Soli Deo gloria. Justin In-Chul Chay Duquesne University June 15, 2009 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract iv Acknowledgment vi Introduction x 1. Historical Development of the Doctrine of Justification 1 1.1 Augustine and the Pelagian Controversy 1 1.2 Medieval Period Debates 15 1.3 The Reformation Period 38 1.4 The Council of Trent (1545-1563) on Justification 57 1.5 The Modern Period 65 2. Recent Ecumenical Dialogues on the Doctrine of Justification 75 2.1 The Gospel and the Church (1972) 76 2.2 The U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue VII (1983) 77 2.3 The Condemnations of the Reformation Era: Do They Still Divide? (1986) 105 2.4 Lutheran-Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999) 133 3. Importance of the Doctrine of Justification and Problems Still to Be Worked Out 156 3.1 Importance of the Doctrine of Justification 156 3.2 Problems Still to Be Worked Out 163 4. Bases for Resolving the Still-Existing Denominational Differences 176 4.1 Methodology 176 4.2 The Relationship between Christ and the Justified: The Vine and the Branches (Exegesis of John 15:1-10) 178 4.3 Justification and Good Works 204 4.4 Summary 218 Conclusion 222 Bibliography 227 ix Introduction One of the ultimate human questions of is, “How can I attain eternal life?” or “How can I be saved?” The Christian teaching that answers this question is called the doctrine of justification. The doctrine says that we are justified or saved by God’s grace in Christ through faith “apart from works of law” (Rom 3:28). Because of the very importance of this doctrine, disputes concerning the doctrine broke out between Augustine and Pelagius, in the medieval period, and in the sixteenth century as well between the Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church – which eventually divided the Western church into Catholics and Protestants. During the past fifty years, realizing the importance of the doctrine for the unity of the church, Catholics and Protestants have engaged in the ecumenical dialogues to resolve their differences in the understanding of the doctrine of justification.
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