Pope Clement I on Salvation

November 22, 2018 · 161 words · 1 minute read Church History   Faith   Papacy   Salvation   Clement of Rome   Old Testament  

A quotation from a leader in the early church on faith and salvation.

Here is an excerpt from Pope Clement I in his First Epistle to the Corinthian Church:

“All these [referring to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob], therefore, were highly honoured, and made great, not for their own sake, or for their own works, or for the righteousness which they wrought, but through the operation of His will. And we, too, being called by His will in Christ Jesus, 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; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."1

Two things stood out to me:

  1. He affirms that we “are not justified by… works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by… faith.”
  2. He clearly articulates the theological truth that God has always been using faith to justify men (even in the Old Testament).2