Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification

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Summary: By grace alone...
Review: It often amazes me that there seems to be an inverse relationship to the importance of a document and the number of words contained therein. Think of how few words are in the Lord's Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, the Gettysburg Address. This book continues in that fashion. In a mere 38 pages of text, this small booklet represents a major move in ecumenical understanding between Catholic and Protestant churches.

For hundreds of years, the Lutheran church, the definitive church of the start of the Reformation, and the Roman Catholic church have looked suspiciously upon each other in political and theological circles. With the fall of markedly theocratic states in the West, the overt national/party political aspects of the division were able to be set aside, so that dialogue could be undertaken in earnest in theological matters.

The doctrine of Justification is important for Christians -- one of Luther's primary concerns against the institutional church was its practices with regard to justification; the Roman Catholic church in many ways tacitly agreed with many of Luther's criticisms in the developments of the Counter-Reformation. However, given the personalities and the politics involved (not the least of which involved the Lutherans and the Catholics describing each other's institution and leadership in terms of being the antichrist), dialogue and agreement was hardly possible.

The twentieth century may be remembered as the century in which ages-old attitudes began to change, and ecumenical action in earnest began to develop. As stated in the preamble, this document does not describe all that either the Lutheran or the Roman Catholic churches hold as part of their doctrines of justification; however, it does cover those areas of common accord. On the basis of these broad areas, both sides agree that the remaining differences are no longer grounds for doctrinal condemnations.

The common agreement comes down to this: that by grace alone, and not through any particular merit earned or created on our part, in faith in Christ's salvific work. It denies works righteousness without rendering irrelevant the good works people can and should do; it denies a monopoly on God's grace by any human being or institution, or the absence of grace from such.

While the document of the Joint Declaration is new, the sentiments are not; there is a brief section on sources that show how the principles contained here come from the longer traditions of the churches, and are not made up by committee.

This is an important work, worthy of study by Catholics and Protestants as a beacon of hope for reconciliation among Christians, that they truly may all be one body in Christ.