Lecture 12: The Doctrine of Grace
neighbor. This form of argument has been labeled lex orandi, lex credendi
(roughly, “the rule for how you pray is the rule for what you believe”).Augustine’s doctrine of “original sin” derives from a second argument he
made for the necessity of grace, based on the widespread practice of infant
baptism. He argued that since baptism bestows forgiveness of sins, infants
who are baptized must be guilty of some kind of sin, or they would not need
to be baptized. Since infants have not committed any “actual sins” (a phrase
which becomes a technical term), they must be guilty of Adam’s “original
sin.” Augustine’s doctrine of “original sin” means that every human being is
born not just with a corrupted and sinful nature, but guilty of “original sin”
and therefore deserving to be damned.A third argument Augustine makes for the necessity of grace is that Law
without grace cannot help us but only terrify us. Telling us what to do doesn’t
help us do it, if what we are to do is not some outward act but an inward love
of the heart. The grace we need is an inner gift of delight in God, “the love
of God poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us”
(Romans 5:5). Hence, Augustine argues in his treatise On the Spirit and the
Letter, the help we need is not the outward instruction of the letter but the
inward grace of the Spirit.Augustine’s doctrine of grace led to deep issues that are still a matter of
dispute in the Western Christian tradition. He insisted with Paul that we are
justi¿ ed by faith, but does not teach the Protestant doctrine of justi¿ cation
by faith alone. For Augustine, our journey to God, our salvation really is
like a journey along a road. When we’re converted to the faith, that’s like
getting on the right road. What moves us along the road is love for God. But
Christian faith is just the beginning of the journey, and is not suf¿ cient to
bring us home.Augustine insists on the necessity of grace if we are to do any good work,
but does not teach the Protestant doctrine that we are saved by grace alone,
because when our wills co-operate with grace our works of love have merit.
By grace we come to love God, though we never do so perfectly in this life.
Because believers pray for grace and forgiveness, their sins are not imputed
to them. Gifts of grace, called “co-operative grace” work together with our