(!tnurnrbiu
m~tnln!1kal AtutlJlg
Continuing
LEHRE UND ~EHRE
MAGAZIN PUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY
Vol. vm October, 1937 No. 10
CONTENTS
Pace
The Pastor and Synod. J. w. Behnken -__________ . __ ._._ .. _______ . _________________ .... 1!9
Schrift, Bekenntnis, Theologie, Plarramt und verwandte Geren-
staende. Th. Encelder ._._ ..... _. ___ ............... _ ............................ _. 736
The Doctrine 01 Justillation According to Bernard 01 Clairvaux
Theo. Dierks .... __ .. _. __ ... _ .. 748
nas Verhaeltnis der Schmalkaldischen Artikel zur Augsburgi-
schen Konlession. o. F. Hattstaedt ..... _ ..... _ ...... _ ... ___ .. _ ._._ ... .. __ .. _ .. 753
Study on Reb. 4, 9-13. Theo. Laetsch ..... _ ..... _ ........ __ ...... _ ...... __ .... _ ... __ 753
Outlines on the Eisenach Epistle Selections _ ........ _ .. _ ... _ ... ____ ....... _ ..... 774
Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitreschichtliches ._._ .... _.,_._ ... 788
Book Review. -Literatur . _ .. __ ._ ..... _. __ .. _ ..... _ .... _ .. _ ... __ ... ___ ..... _ .. 891
Ein Predlger muss nieht aDeln toei-
den, alao dass er die Schafe unter-
weise. wle ale reehte Christen sollen
seln. londem aueh daneben den Woel-
fen tDeht'eft, dUll ale die Schafe Dieht
angrelfen und mit falseher Lehre ver-
fuehren und Irrtum elntuehren.
Luther
Es ist keln Ding. das die Leute
mehr bel der KJrehe behaelt denn
die gute Predigt. - AJIOlogle, Arl. Z4.
If the trumpet give an uncertain
sound who lIbaD prepare hImaelf to
the battle? -1 Cor. 14, •.
Published for the
Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States
CONCORDIA PUBUSHING BOUSE, St. Louis, Mo.
748 Justification According to Bernard of Clairvaux
The Doctrine of Justification According to Bernard
of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was the most influential
man of his day. He was the counselor and adviser of Popes, princes,
and the common man; he was an eloquent preacher (his sermons
are strikingly Scriptural and remarkably free from quotations from
the Church Fathers); he was the composer of beautiful hymns (the
best-known hymns of his school are "0 Bleeding Head and
Wounded," "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee," and "0 Jesus, King
Most Wonderful"); but above all he was a sincerely pious and truly
humble Christian. Luther has well said: "If there ever lived a
God-fearing and holy monk, it was Bernard of Clairvaux." It is
true, Bernard championed the Papacy as the highest authority in
the Church, exalted monasticism as the highest ideal of Chris-
tianity, and often wandered into an enthusiastic mysticism; and yet,
he, as few others of his time, gloried in the crucified Christ. "This
is my philosophy, and it is the loftiest in the world-to know Jesus,
and Him crucified." 1) In another sermon we read: "Dry and taste-
less is every kind of spiritual food if this sweet oil be not poured
into it; and insipid, if it be not seasoned with this salt. A book or
writing has no single point of goodness for me if I do not read
therein the name of Jesus, nor has a conference any interest for me
unless the name of Jesus be heard in it. As honey to the mouth, as
melody in the ear, as a song of gladness to the heart, is the name of
Jesus." 2) Therefore Luther said: "When Bernard is speaking of
Christ, it is a great pleasure to listen to him; but when he leaves
that subject and discourses on rules and works, it is no longer
St. Bernard."
In the sermons which he preached almost daily to his monks at
Clairvaux, Bernard often sang the praises of monastic life. He
warned the novice against returning to the worldly life. "Such a
person yields himself to the last degree of shamefulness; he makes
that leap which is rashness itself, that fall, most disgraceful, shame-
ful, and full of confusion and ignominy, from the sky into the abyss,
from the pavement of a palace into a dunghill, from a throne into
the gutter, from heaven into a swamp of mire, from the cloister
into the outer world, yes, from paradise into hell." 3)
Towards the end of his life Bernard traveled through France
and Germany in order to arouse the people to take part in the
Second Crusade. He addressed a letter to the German nation, and
with fiery language he appealed to the Christians to take up arms
1) In Cant., serm. XLIII, 4. 3) Op. cit., serm. LXm, 6.
2) Op. cit., serm. XV, 6.
Justification According to Bernard of Clairvaux 749
m order to wrest the Holy City from the Turks. In this appeal we
read: "God would be your debtor and give to His servants their
reward, the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. . .. Accept the
sign of the cross, and you will receive the forgiveness of all those
sins which you have confessed with a contrite heart. The cloth of
which it is made costs but little, but if worn on pious shoulders, it
is worthy of the kingdom of God." 4)
Bernard still labored under the Catholic idea of merit. Man must
make himself worthy of the merits of Christ and must add to these
merits. "Even infants, when regenerated in Baptism, are not wholly
wanting in merits, but have the merits of Christ, of which never-
theless they render themselves unworthy if not through inability
but through neglect they join to them no merits of their own; and
this is indeed the peril of those who have reached the age of dis-
cretion. Make it, then, your care to have merits; but, having them,
know that they have been given to you; hope for the fruit of them
from the mercy of God, and you will escape the danger whether of
poverty, of ingratitude, or of presumption. A total want of merits
is injurious poverty, but a mistaken belief in one's wealth of merits
is spiritual presumption." 5) As a good Roman Catholic, Bernard
recommends fasting as a means of averting eternal punishment.
"It not only obtains forgiveness, but also earns grace; it does not
only blot out sin which we have committed, but also repels future
sins, which we could commit." 6) Bernard also speaks of humility
as a merit. "Unwise and insane is he who relies on other merits
of life, whoever trusts in another religion or wisdom except that of
humility." 7) But when he thus speaks of merit, it is not the real
St. Bernard that is speaking.
The real Bernard says that man should in no wise trust in his
own merits or righteousness. "I believe that the Spirit testifies of
these three things: Above all, that it is necessary to believe that
you can have forgiveness of sins only by His pardon; secondly, that
you cannot at all do a good work except also this be given by Him;
finally, that you cannot earn eternal life by any work, but that also
this is given to you by grace." 8) "Even the saints need to entreat
pardon for their sins that they may be saved by the mercy of God
and must not trust in their own righteousness; for all have sinned,
and all need mercy." 9)
Man must humbly confess his sins and trust in the mercy of
God. "Be not afraid if you cannot reach that perfection which you
are desiring; but what your imperfect conduct is lacking a humble
confession may supply, and the eyes of God will graciously look
4) Ep., 363. 7) De Div., serm. XXVI, 1.
5) In Cant., serm. LXVm, 6. 8) In Fest. Annun. Mar., serm. 1,1.
6) In Quad., serm. IV. 9) In Cant., serm. LXXIII, 4.
750 Justification According to Bernard of Clairvaux
upon your imperfections. Because for this purpose He has severely
ordered His commands, that we, when we see that our perfection is
coming short and cannot fulfil what is due, we might seek refuge
in His mercy; and since we cannot appear in a dress of innocence
or righteousness, we may appear clothed in confession. For con-
fession is a beauty in the eyes of the Lord; only that it be not
merely of the mouth but also of the whole man, so that all our
bones may say, 'Lord, who is like unto Thee?' and that one may
look at the throne of peace with the desire to be reconciled to
God." 10) Man ought sincerely to repent of his sins, but he must
not despair. "Sorrow for sin is indeed necessary, but it ought not
to be continual; and there should be mingled with it the more joy-
ful remembrance of the divine goodness lest the heart be burdened
because of the sorrow it feels and despair bring about the actual
loss of it." 11) Confession should therefore be made "in faith, that
is to say, it must be filled with hope, free from distrust of obtain-
ing pardon for our offenses, or from fear, lest by making it, you
should be rather condemning than justifying yourself. Judas, who
betrayed our Lord, and Cain, who slew his brother, confessed their
crime, but each despaired of God's mercy." 12) The Christian has
nothing to fear at the coming of Christ. "What must I do when
I hear that the Lord is coming? Must I flee like Adam? Must
I not despair, hearing that He comes whose Law I have so greatly
transgressed, whose patience I have abused, for whose blessing
I have been found so ungrateful? But what greater consolation
could there be than that in the sweet Word, in the comforting
name! Therefore also He Himself says that the Son is not come
to judge the world, but that the world by Him might be saved.
Now I come near confidently; now I pray full of confidence. For
what should I fear if the Savior enters my house? Against Him
alone have I sinned; it will be forgiven, whatever He forgives. It
is God who justifies; who is it that may condemn? Or who will
accuse God's elect? Therefore we ought to rejoice that He will
come to us; for now He will be inclined to pardon.13)
Since the days of Augustine it was universally taught that man
is justified by being made righteous. Grace is infused into the
heart of the sinner, and thereby his free will is drawn to God in
faith and drawn away from sin. When this is consummated, man
has the forgiveness of sins and is thus completely justified. Now,
after all these centuries Bernard was the first who clearly taught
that man is justified, i. e., declared righteous, by faith alone.
In his Tract against Abaelard, Bernard writes: "What could
10) In Vig. Nat. Dom., serm. II, 4. 12) In Cant., serm. XVI, 12.
11) In Cant., serm. XI, 2. 13) In Eph. Dom., serm. I, 1.
Justification According to Bernard of Clairvaux 751
man, the slave of sin, fast bound by the devil, do of himself to re-
cover that righteousness which he had formerly lost? Therefore
he who lacked righteousness had Another's imputed to him ....
It was man who owed the debt; it was Man who paid it. For if
One, says Paul, died for all, then were all dead, so that, as One bore
the sins of all, the satisfaction of One is imputed to all." 14) Ber-
nard continues: "Faithful is the saying and worthy of all accep-
tation that, while we were yet sinners, we were reconciled to God
by the death of His Son. Where there is reconciliation, there is
also remission of sins. For if, as the Scripture says, our sins sep-
arate between us and God, there is no reconciliation while sin
remains. In what, then, is remission of sins? This cup, He says,
is the New Testament in My blood, which shall be shed for you for
the remission of sins. Therefore, where there is reconciliation~
there is remission of sins. And what is that but justification?
Whether therefore we call it reconciliation, or remission of sins, or
justification, or again redemption, or liberation from the chains of
the devil, by whom we were taken captive at his will, at all events
by the death of the Only-begotten we obtain that we have been
justified freely by His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to
the riches of His grace." 15) Again we read in one of his sermons:
"Oh, truly blessed and indeed the only blessed one is he unto whom
the Lord will not impute iniquity. For there is none without sin,
no, not one; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
But who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is suf-
ficient for all righteousness to me to have Him upon my side
against whom alone I have offended. Everything which He de-
creed not to impute unto me is as though it had not been. Not to
sin is the righteousness of God, but the forgiveness of God is the
righteousness of man." 16) Here Bernard clearly teaches an ob-
jective justification, though, sorry to say, he, as an Augustinian,
denied universal grace.
Bernard also taught that the subjective justification was by
faith alone. "The great fragrance of Thy righteousness is spread
abroad upon every side, inasmuch as Thou art not only righteous,
but also Righteousness itself, - yes, a Righteousness which renders
righteous him who is unrighteous. And as powerful as Thou art
to justify, so bountiful art Thou also to forgive. Wherefore let
whosoever is touched with sincere sorrow for his sins, who hungers
and thirsts after righteousness, believe without hesitation in Thee,
who justifies the ungodly; and being justified by faith alone, he
shall have peace with God." 17)
14) Tract. de Err. Abael., VI, 15. 16) In Cant., serm. XXIII, 15.
15) Ibid., vm, 20. 17) In Cant., serm. XXII, 8.
752 Justification According to Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard could well have sung "Rock of Ages, cleft for me";
for in a similar vein he says: "Another writer has thus expounded
this passage (Cant. 2, 14), interpreting the clefts of the rocks as the
wounds of Christ. And rightly so, for that rock was Christ. Pre-
cious are those clefts to us; for they establish the faith of the resur-
rection and the divinity of Christ. My Lord and my God, said the
apostle. Whence came that assured conviction if not from the
clefts of the Rock? In these the sparrow has found a house and
the turtle a nest for herself where she may lay her young; in these
the dove finds safety and regards without fear the hawk that flies
around. . .. And where, in truth, is there a firm and safe refuge
for us who are weak except in the wounds of our Savior? There
I dwell with safety so much the greater as He is so powerful to
save. The world rages around me, the body weighs upon me, the
devil lays snares for me; but I do not fall, for I am founded upon
a firm Rock. Perhaps I have committed some great sin, my con-
science is troubled; but I do not despair because I remember the
wounds of my Lord; for He was wounded for our iniquities. What
sin is there so deadly that it may not be remitted through the death
of Christ? If, then, I keep in remembrance a remedy so powerful
and efficacious, I cannot be terrified by any disease, however viru-
lent it be." 18) Christ's merits are imputed to the sinner. "The
pitying mercy of the Lord is, then, all my merit. I am not alto-
gether destitute of merits as long as He deigns to have compassion
upon me; and they will be increased just in proportion to the
greatness of His mercy. What if I feel myself guilty of many
offenses? Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
And if the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting,
I also will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. Shall it be my
own righteousness that I celebrate? Nay, of the Lord. I will make
mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only. For that is
mine also, since Thou Thyself hast become my Righteousness. . ..
Thy righteousness is eternal and so ample as amply to cover me
equally with Thyself. In me it shall cover a multitude of sins; but
in Thee, 0 Lord, what does it cover but the treasures of Thy loving-
kindness, the riches of Thy goodness to us? These are the treasures
which are laid up for me in the clefts of the Rock." 19)
Saving faith must be a personal faith. "If thou believest that
thy sins cannot be abolished except by Him, against whom alone
thou hast sinned and upon whom sin cannot fall, thou doest well;
but add to it also that thou shalt believe this, that thy sins have
been forgiven to thee through Him. This is the testimony which
18) In Cant., serm. LXI, 3.
19) In Cant., serm. LXI,5.
ISdJma{tafbifdJe SUttifel unb SUuggflUtgifdJe Ronfeffion 753
the Holy Spirit utters in thy heart, saying: Thy sins are forgiven
thee." 20)
Justification is to be followed by sanctification. "We may call
faith the root of the vine; the various virtues, the branches; good
works, the bunch, or cluster, of grapes which it bears; and devo-
tion, the wine they yield. For as there can be no branch without
the root, so without faith there is no virtue." 21) Such faith shows
itself by works. "As long as faith lives in us, Christ lives in us.
When faith dies, there is, as it were, a dead Christ in the soul. As
we discern the life of the body in its movements, so the life of faith
is shown by good works. As the soul is the life of the body, so love
is the life of faith; and as the body dies when the soul leaves it, so
faith expires when love grows cold." 22)
Bernard of Clairvaux at times reached truly evangelical
heights, and his sermons clearly show that even in the darkest
days of Popery there were still seven thousand who did not wor-
ship Baal. How different is his theology from that of the great
Thomas Aquinas, the "Prince of Scholastics," who lived a century
later. In Aquinas all emphasis is placed on what man must do in
order to merit eternal life; in Bernard it is to know Christ, and
Him crucified. Man must humbly confess his sin and trust solely
in the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Surely there can be no doubt
that Bernard of Clairvaux was, on the whole, an evangelical
Christian.
Morrison, Ill. THEO. DIERKS
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5Ut OCu!J~'6utgifdjeu S'ellufeffillu
m~ im iYelituar 1537 ber S'eontJent bon @ldjmaIfalben aufammen~
trat, fafj er fidj bor Me ~ufgalie geftelIt, ben 9tiimHngen gegeniilier ein
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