Nathan Busenitz. Long Before Luther: Tracing the Heart of the Gospel from Christ to the Reformation. Moody Publishers, Master’s Seminary Press, 2017. See here to purchase the book.
Nathan Busenitz has a doctorate in church history from the Master’s
Seminary, with the focus of his doctorate being patristic theology.
In Long Before Luther, Busenitz argues against the view,
held among Catholic and even some Protestant scholars, that the
Protestant doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone
originated with the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant doctrine of
justification by grace through faith alone asserts that God forgives and
considers righteous those who place their faith in Jesus Christ; after
justification comes sanctification, which is living a holy life. Some
Reformers liken justification to being clothed with the righteousness of
Christ: Christ was punished as a sinner even though he was righteous,
so those who believe in Christ are reckoned by God as righteous, even
though they are sinners. When God looks at them them, God sees the
righteousness of Christ that covers them, not their sins. The
Protestant doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone is
often believed to differ from the Catholic doctrine of justification.
Whereas the Protestant doctrine states that sinners who believe in Jesus
are reckoned as righteous by God at justification, the Catholic
doctrine portrays justification more as God making people practically
righteous, infusing into them righteous desires such that they live a
holy life.
For Busenitz, the manner in which prominent Protestants have
conceptualized justification existed long before the Protestant
Reformation. Not only does it go back to the New Testament, Busenitz
argues, but prominent Christian thinkers from the second century C.E.
through Augustine and the medieval period made statements that resemble
what Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther, Phillip Melanchthon,
and John Calvin taught about justification.
The book is abundant in quotes. Busenitz not only quotes significant
Christian thinkers in the body of his text, but he has an appendix that
lists quotes. Among the people Busenitz quotes are Clement of Rome,
Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Hilary of Poitiers, Basil of
Caesarea, Ambrose, John Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine, Cyril of
Alexandria, Bede, Symeon the New Theologian, Anselm, Bernard of
Clairvaux, and more.
Occasionally in the body of the book, Busenitz provides indications
that the issue may be more complex. In discussing Augustine, Busenitz
lays out the arguments that Augustine conceived of justification as God
making people practically righteous rather than God declaring people
righteous. Busenitz even acknowledges that, on some level, that is
accurate, for Augustine interpreted the Latin term “iustificare” as
making righteous rather than declaring righteous. Still, Busenitz
argues, and demonstrates, that Augustine also portrays justification as
God forgiving people’s sins and declaring them righteous when they have
faith, apart from good works or merits on their part.
The endnotes are especially nuanced. Busenitz acknowledges that
there were patristic thinkers who focused more on good works in their
discussion of justification. He attempts to explain why patristic
thinkers focused so much on good works, or were not always precise or
crisp in their depiction of justification. Busenitz also points out
that the Reformers differed among themselves in how they conceptualized
justification.
One critique that can be made is that Busenitz could have been
clearer and more specific about what is at stake in terms of this
issue. He did try, but his explanation was brief and somewhat
nebulous. What does it matter if justification by grace through faith
alone was taught prior to the Reformation: if it is in the Bible, it is
in the Bible, and is not that what is important? Why bother with what
the church fathers taught, as if they are authoritative? So some
Christians may argue. Actually, though, it is important. Do we really
want to act as if the church lost something as serious as the Gospel for
over a thousand years, until the Protestants came along? Do we want to
assume that the Holy Spirit was inactive until the Protestant
Reformation? Busenitz leans towards these explanations about why the
issue is important, but he does not quite articulate them explicitly.
There were also significant issues that Busenitz should have
explored. It is not surprising that, prior to the Reformation, there
was a belief within Christianity that God acquitted believers of their
sins, even though they did not deserve it. Catholics today believe
that. But did the church fathers think, like Catholics, that believers
somehow needed to maintain or renew that acquittal, through sacraments
such as the Mass or acts of penitence? Did church fathers believe that a
Christian could lose his or her salvation through unatoned mortal sin?
These are issues to explore in trying to determine whether the church
fathers were more similar to the Protestants or the Catholics on
salvation. Busenitz briefly touched on penitence in an endnote, but,
overall, these issues were left untouched.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Moody Publishers. My review is honest.