Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification

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In Faith Alone, a Gold Medallion finalist and Evangelical Book Club main selection, R.C. Sproul discerns a softening of the doctrine of justification and explains why Christians must return to the biblical, Reformation view. He provides biblical evidence and theological reasons why Protestantism and Roman Catholicism divided in the first place, and why that division remains an uncrossed chasm.

Now in paperback, Faith Alone offers a clear explanation of classic Protestant teaching on salvation, helping readers understand why this teaching is so important.

Sproul wrote this book in 1995 in large measure as a response to a specific event that occurred in 1994 - the publicizing of the ECT document. Sproul writes with great concern that this ecumenical document signed by a number of prominent evangelicals and Roman Catholics inappropriately dodges the central point of disagreement between the two camps (justification). I think Sproul is absolutely right in expressing this concern and believing that the document's effort to minimize and even not acknowledge such a fundamental disagreement is deceptive because the document ends up claiming a level of unity that does not exist. While some have criticized the book for dwelling too much on the ECT document, I thought Sproul's treatment was quite appropriate and necessary. It once again moves to central stage the issue of justification by faith, and what evangelicals and Roman Catholics believe about the doctrine and why it's important.

Sproul's brief summary of the history of justification in the church is very educational for the beginner. I also felt that Sproul nuanced the discussion very well by showing how important this issue was to Luther, Calvin, and the other reformers. By doing this, Sproul draws a clear distinction between the weight the original reformers gave to this issue versus the modern day tendency to downplay its importance within evangelicalism (and Roman Catholicism) in order to achieve a superficial unity. It is very insightful to see very clearly that the issue itself hasn't changed, the disagreements which led to the reformation haven't been resolved. All that's changed is the church's unwillingness to thoughtfully engage in the debate because many Christians believe that in the whole scheme of things, the doctrine of justification is no longer an issue worth debating and simply isn't a big priority anymore. I thought Sproul handled this attitudinal change well and effectively demonstrated that the doctrine of justification is not merely a dusty theological issue of no current importance, but remains a central part of the gospel that we dare not water down.

Sproul also does a good job here of contrasting the imputation of righteousness that undergirds the Reformed view, versus the infusion view that undergirds Roman Catholicism. I think a reader who is willing to seriously interact with this issue will get a great deal out of Sproul's discussion here and will see very clearly that Rome's view has been and continues to be antithetical in many ways to the Protestant view of justification.

The biggest negative of this book is the lack of Scriptural exegesis. I found this book to be an examination of justification not from a Biblical perspective, but from a church history and denominational perspective. This book is about what Reformed Protestants and Rome think about justification. It is not really a book that attempts to ground either side's views in the Bible. This is a disappointment. Sproul goes to great lengths in arguing that justification by faith alone is at the heart of the gospel message every bit as much as the deity of Christ is at the heart of the gospel message. Yet it was surprising to me that having argued for the centrality of justification to the gospel, Sproul doesn't spend much time actually interacting with the text of the gospel to solidify his point. Sproul unnecessarily leaves open the possibility that the reader may walk away from his book believing that the importance of justification is a matter of man's opinion rather than Scriptural reality.

So overall, this is a solid book that effectively contrasts the Protestant and Roman Catholic views on justification and why these views are important and should be central in any meaningful dialogue between Protestants and Roman Catholics (which the ECT did not do). But the lack of Scriptural grounding is a weakness that unnecessarily limits the scope of this book to human opinions, creeds, bulls, and councils - none of which are inerrant. The importance of the doctrine of justification should have first been established in the pages of inerrant Scripture, and it is here that Sproul's work comes up short.

Papists and their apologists will hate this book, for Rev. Sproul leaves no doubt that there cannot be "two Gospels." He masterfully shows how the signers of the ECT have been duped into thinking they have achieved some great milestone for "unity," when what they really have done is compromised on a key doctrine (justification)the loss of which threw Christendom into 1000 years of the Dark Ages.

A classic work to be read by all Christians in order to gain a foundational understanding of our faith. Far too many who profess Christ no so little about what His Word teaches. This book is an exhortation to all to "endure sound doctrine."