The Just Shall Live By Faith: Resolving the Catholic-Protestant Debate on Justification from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans

by Erick Ybarra

St. Thomas Aquinas uses Rom. 4:25 to tie together Rom. 3-5 and 6-8 as a cumulative summary of everything this book has attempted to do in trying to explain the biblical and historic view of justification. He does this by recognizing that the death and resurrection of Christ correspond to the negative and positive aspects of the justification of the ungodly: Two things concur in the justification of souls, namely, forgiveness of sin and newness of life through grace. Consequently, as to efficacy, which comes of the Divine power, the Passion as well as the Resurrection of Christ is the cause of justification as to both the above. But as to exemplarity, properly speaking Christ's Passion and death are the cause of the forgiveness of guilt, by which forgiveness we die unto sin: whereas Christ's Resurrection is the cause of newness of life, which comes through grace or justice: consequently, the Apostle says (Romans 4:25) that "He was delivered up," i.e. to death, "for our sins," i.e. to take them away, "and rose again for our justification."[220]