itle of Cause

Summary

Causes Described

The Final Cause

Glory of God;

life everlasting

The glory of God and of Christ and life everlasting

The Efficient Cause

Mercy of God

The merciful God who washes and sanctifies gratuitously (1 Cor. 6:11; Eph 2:8-9), signing and anointing with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance (Eph. 1:13f.)

The Meritorious

Cause

Death and Blood

of Christ

His [God's] most beloved only begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when we were enemies, (Rom. 5:10) merited for us justification by His most holy passion on the wood of the cross and made satisfaction for us to God the Father. "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins" (Heb 9:22; Lev 17:11).

The Instrumental

Cause

Baptism, the

Sacrament of Faith

The sacrament of baptism, which is the sacrament of faith, without which no man was ever justified finally . . . (Jn 3:5; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 3:21) man is justified by faith, because faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation and root of all justification, without which it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6) and to come to fellowship of His sons; and we are therefore said to justified gratuitously, because none of those things that precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification. For, if by grace, it is not now by works, otherwise, as the Apostle says, grace is no more grace (Trent, Canon 6) (Rom. 11:2).

The Single Formal

Cause

Justice of God

The justice of God, not that by which He Himself is just, but that by which He makes us just, that, namely, with which we being endowed by Him, are renewed in the spirit of our mind, (Eph. 4:23 (Imputed vs. Infused). and not only are we reputed but we are truly called and are just, receiving justice within us. We must be holy. (Heb 12:14, 1 Cor 6:9ff.; Rev 21:8).