Pastor John Wright

Wesley's sermon on justification by faith emphasizes the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ as central to the Christian life. Where as God in creation and redemption through Christ is the ground of justification, faith is the gift of God given to us. Faith, for Wesley, is not a grounded in humanity, but in God -- "the very moment God gives faith (for it is the gift of God) to the 'ungodly' that 'works not' that 'faith is counted to him for righteousness. Justifying faith implies, not only a divine evidence or conviction that 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, but a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, that He loved me, and gave Himself for me." Faith there is the "only necessary condition" for justification.

What this means, then, is that without faith in Christ we "have no righteousness at all antecendent to this". This is the context of the extended quote from Wesley. What he rightfully states is that there is no good works outside of faith in Christ. This has profound implications for us in understanding that good works must rise out of faith in Christ, and be an expression of this justifying faith. Good works will flow from faith; but without faith, works that look good are in vain, even dangerous, for they can build pride and direct us away from God in Christ. Thus the call for us all must first and foremost be to faith in Christ, and then to good works arising out of the participation in God's pardoning Love by faith.

III. 4. the ungodly . . . work not, before we are justified, anything that is good, that is truly virtuous or holy, but [work] only evil continually. For his heart is necessarily, essentially evil, till the love of God is shed abroad therein. And while the tree is corrupt, so are the fruits; 'for an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit.'

5. If it be objected, 'No, but a person before one is justified, may feed the hungry, or clothe the naked; and these are good works' -- the answer is easy: One may do these, even before one is justified; and these are, in one sense, 'good works' -- they are 'good and profitable to men.' But it does not follow that they are, strictly speaking, good in themselves or good in the sight of God. All truly good works (to use the words of our Church) follow after justification; and they are therefore good and 'acceptable to God in Christ' because they 'spring out of a true and living faith.' By a parity of reason, all works done before justification are not good, in the Christian sense, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ (though [often] from some kind of faith in God they may spring); 'yea rather, for that they are not done as God has willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not' (how strange soever it may appear to some 'but they have the nature of sin.'

6. . . . God has willed and commanded that all our works should be done in charity, in love, in that love to God which produces love to all humanity. But none of our works can be done in this love, while the love of the Father (of God as our Father) is not in us; and this love cannot be in us till we receive the 'Spirit of adoption, praying in our hearts, Abba, Father.' If, therefore, God does not justify the ungodly and him that (in this sense) works not, then has Christ died in vain.