#31 Art. IV “Justification” of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession.Some earnestly contend against the word sola, alone; yet Paul clearly says Rom. 3:28: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Again, Ephes. 2:8: “It is the gift of God, not of yourselves, not of works, lest any man should boast;” and the same in Rom. 3:24. Now if this word, this exclusiva sola, (the expression alone, which excludes everything else,) is so objectionable to some, they may erase these words also, wherever found in the epistles of Paul: “through grace”—“not of works”—“the gift of God,” &c., “lest any man should boast,” and the like; for they are very decidedly exclusive (exclusivæ). The words, “through grace” exclude merit and all works whatsoever. And by the word sola, when we say that faith alone makes us righteous, we do not exclude the Gospel and the sacraments, and that by holding that faith alone accomplishes all, invalidate the word and the sacraments, as our opponents misinterpret our views on all subjects; but we exclude our own merit.
We have plainly stated above, that faith comes through the word. We therefore exalt the ministry of the word more highly than our adversaries do, and say, besides, that love and works must follow faith. We do not therefore, exclude works by the word sola, or hold that we should not follow; but it is the confidence in our own merit or works that we exclude; and say that they do not merit remission of sins. This we shall hereafter show more fully and clearly. (Henkel Translation, p. 170-171).