#34 Art. IV “Justification” of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession.Now no one by works can embrace Christ as Mediator; but only by believing the word which proclaims him a Mediator. Therefore, when our souls are comforted and lifted up by the divine promises made to us for Christ’s sake, we obtain the remission of sin by faith alone. For Paul says, Rom. 5:2, that through him we have access to the Father; and he adds expressly—by faith. In this way, and no other, are we reconciled to the Father, receiving the remission of our sins, when we are encouraged to hold fast to the promise, in which grace and mercy are held out to us through Christ.
Our opponents hold respecting Christ, the Mediator and Conciliator, that he earns love, or the habitum dilectionis†, for us. They do not say, that he must be our only Mediator, but rather bury him again, and pretend that we have access to God through our works, that through these works we merit the habitum, and can then come to God, by means of love. This is indeed burying Christ anew, and taking away the whole doctrine of faith. But Paul, on the contrary, clearly teaches that we have access, that is, are reconciled to God through Christ.
In order to show how this is effected, he adds that we have this access through faith, obtain remission of our sins by faith, through the merit of Christ, and cannot appease God’s anger, except through Christ. It is therefore very clear, that we do not merit forgiveness by our works of love. (Henkel Translation, p. 172, † literally “habit of love” toward God).
