Was sola fide a 16th-century innovation?

The scriptural case against the "innovation" charge rests on Paul's own letters. Romans 3:20 establishes that "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:28 draws the conclusion: "a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." Galatians 3:11 appeals to Habakkuk to show that the principle of living by faith predates the Mosaic law: "the just shall live by faith." Paul grounds justification by faith in a revealed principle older than the law, let alone older than any 16th-century formulation. The charge of novelty must answer Clement of Rome, writing in 96 AD, who stated the principle in unmistakable terms.

Clement of Rome wrote fifteen centuries before Luther and stated the doctrine with striking clarity: "We... are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men." Irenaeus affirmed that the church's faith has "clear proof from these Scriptures" and is transmitted without interpolation from the apostles. Tertullian located doctrinal authority in agreement with the apostolic churches: "all doctrine which agrees with the apostolic churches — those moulds and original sources of the faith — must be reckoned for truth." These witnesses stand behind the Reformation position, not against it.

The scholastic teaching that generated the controversy was Aquinas's claim that "the movement of faith is not perfect unless it is quickened by charity; hence in the justification of the ungodly, a movement of charity is infused together with the movement of faith." This fides formata caritate — faith formed by charity — made justifying faith a composite act requiring an additional infusion. Aquinas also required free will's active cooperation: "the human mind whilst it is being justified, must, by a movement of its free-will withdraw from sin and draw near to justice." Neither requirement appears in Clement, Irenaeus, or Paul. If any position deserves the label "innovation," it is the scholastic addition of charity and cooperative free will to the instrument of justification.

The Augsburg Confession (1530) framed its position as a restoration: men "cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith." Luther compressed the same principle from the extreme case: "By faith alone can we become righteous, for faith invests us with the sinlessness of Christ." The Formula of Concord (1577) defined justifying faith instrumentally — "the means and instrument whereby we lay hold of Christ, and thus in Christ of that righteousness which avails before God" — excluding all human contribution. Calvin's verdict was sharp: "the schools of Sorbonne, the parents of all heresies, have deprived us of justification by faith, which lies at the root of all godliness." The Reformers understood themselves as restorers of what Clement already knew.