Augustine of Hippo on Justification
Includes being made righteous, not only declared
THE POSITION
Justification makes the sinner actually righteous, not only declares them so — but Augustine's fuller argument is subtler than that headline. The good works that earn eternal life as a 'reward' are themselves gifts of grace, so calling eternal life a reward doesn't smuggle in merit: the whole causal chain back to the first stirring of good will is grace. He pairs an initial transformative act with ongoing sustaining grace, not a one-time forensic declaration.
WHY THERE IS NO QUOTATIONNo quotation was isolated for this cell. The summary rests on a reading pass whose material this repository does not retain — research/ carries no augustine directory — so the tier records that primary sources were read without being able to show which. The note below is a separate matter: it records a reference dropped as unconfirmed.
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6 This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life.
1 OTHER HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Bishop of Hippo. The single most influential theologian in Western Christianity; both Catholic and Reformed traditions claim him. Anti-Pelagian works, the Enchiridion, and On Baptism Against the Donatists.
Cite this page
"Augustine of Hippo on Justification", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/augustine/justification (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/augustine/justification).