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Simul Justus et Peccator: Both Saint and Sinner at the Same Time - The Touchstone of the Reformation
One of the most important Reformation doctrines is that of simul justus et peccator: the truth that we are indeed sinners, and yet we are declared righteous (saints) by God. While we do not find this actual phrase in Scripture, there are multiple passages in the Bible which present this truth and press it upon God’s people.1 As I begin writing, I first of all call upon the Holy Spirit to bless my thought and writing so that nothing I write contradicts God’s Word, even as I ask the Lord to bless those who read this presentation and that it helps them to correctly explain the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15b, NLT).
All Are Sinners – No One Does Good
One of those passages that demonstrates this truth is Psalm 14:2-3, “The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt, not one does good, not a single one!” A very similar passage quoting nearly the same words can be found in Psalm 53:2-3, “God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”
In Romans 3:9b-12, Paul quotes these verses when he is writing about us as sinful human beings, “For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
And finally let me quote from the First Letter of John 1: 8-10: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
From these verses, and many others, we see that there is ample evidence in God’s word that all of us human beings are sinful from the fall of Adam. There is simply no way at all that we can ever completely resist sin and live a life that is good, perfect, and acceptable before God. We are indeed sinners and so we shall remain without the forgiveness that is given to us by God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
For me, the evidence of this terrible problem is made most clearly in Paul’s lament in Romans 7: 1425. This is what I struggle with in my own life as a believer.
So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life — that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (NLT)
Paul’s answer to this problem of sin is found only in Jesus who gave himself up for us all, taking our sin upon himself and making us saints in God’s eyes. In Luther ’s lectures on Romans, commenting on Chapter 7 verse 16, he makes the point that: “I am at the same time a sinner and a righteous man for I do evil and hate the evil which I do.2 A few other passages that demonstrate this truth follow...
“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins — and not only our sins but the sins of all the world” John 2: 1-2 (NLT).
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34.
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” Titus 3: 3-7.
St. Augustine
These citations demonstrate that we are sinners who should be condemned by God, and who are unable to do anything on our own to make ourselves right before Him. Indeed, we are always sinners. At the same time, as we have shown, again from the Word, that those who have been brought to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit are indeed saints, made holy and acceptable to God through the sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. We are always sinners and yet always saints.
It was this truth made plain to Luther through the Word, and also from the writings of St. Augustine,3 that would free people from the false teaching under which they were living and allow them to live with joy before God. Luther took this scriptural principle much further than St. Augustine, declaring powerfully that as Christians we are at once both righteous and sinners. We are sinners, and we are saints. For the one who imagines himself only a saint, Luther ’s claim instills humility. For the one who imagines himself only a sinner, Luther ’s claim offers hope. And while the principle of simul justus et peccator can be found in many of Luther ’s writings, he specifically uses the term in his commentaries on the Book of Romans, specifically chapters four and seven.
Reformation
The corruptions of the sixteenth century were enabled through the penance system which had evolved over the centuries within the Church. This system was based on the belief that a stain remains on the sinner ’s soul even after he has been forgiven. Now even with this stain the sinner is redeemed and headed for heaven, but these stains necessitated a purging process that could only be removed by performing penances, like prayers, pilgrimages, or acts of charity here on earth, or after death in the torments of purgatory. This system gave rise to the purchase of indulgences which, granted under the pope’s discretion, usually for a contribution, could remove the stain and consequently lessen the time required for cleansing in purgatory. A recent innovation before the Reformation allowed one to buy an indulgence for a loved one, and this fueled indulgences sales across Europe, including Johann Tetzel’s sale just across the border from Luther ’s principality of Electoral Saxony.
It was this false and destructive teaching that led Luther to protest and so begin the Reformation. At the beginning, Luther believed that bringing the Word of God to the attention of the Pope and other church leaders would lead to a change in teaching which would destroy any idea that one needed to “work off” the stain of his own sin. However, the Church leadership was unable or unwilling to see the truth of the Word, or, perhaps, unwilling to give up the “cash cows” which brought revenue to the church coffers from saying special masses for those in purgatory or through the sale of indulgences.
Luther was adamant in his teaching that we are not righteous before God because of anything we do, but are forgiven and made righteous before God by the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, which we receive through faith. The Augsburg Confession makes this very plain in Article IV: Concerning Justification, "Furthermore, it is taught that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God through our own merit, work, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God out of grace for Christ’s sake through faith when we believe that Christ has suffered for us and for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us. For God will regard and reckon this faith as righteousness in his sight, as Paul says in Romans 3[:21-26] and 4[:5]."4
Johann Tetzel
The scriptures make it plain that you and I are always sinners, that sin dwells in us and that of ourselves we have no power to change our hearts and lives and become totally obedient to God. Paul writes in Romans 3:10 “None is righteous, no, not one.” Or as he confesses about himself in Romans 7:18-19 (as I noted above), “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway” (NLT).
Law and Gospel
All of us need to keep this in mind when we think of ourselves, especially if we think we are pretty good and not at all like that person “over there.” Remember our Lord’s story of the two men who went up to the temple to pray, as recorded in Luke 18:9-14. In the end, it was not the boasting Pharisee who went home justified but the “despised tax collector” (the one who pleaded for mercy,
not even lifting his eyes to heaven) who went home forgiven. Thinking we are pretty good and not at all like that person “over there” can destroy us and lead us to false pride and eventually dependence on ourselves, which can only lead to death.
The dichotomy of the Christian person as both saint and sinner is mirrored in the distinction of Law and Gospel in Holy Scripture. The classic text on this truth is C.F.W. Walther ’s The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, published in 1897.5 Walther based his work on Luther ’s 1532 sermon of the same title, in which he wrote, “Distinguishing between Law and Gospel is the highest art in Christendom, one every person who values the name Christian ought to recognize, know and possess. Where this is lacking, it is not possible to tell who is Christian and who is pagan...”6
C.F.W. Walther
Further expounding on this distinction, Walther wrote, “You are not rightly distinguishing Law and Gospel in the Word of God if you use demands, threats, or promises of the Law to try and force the unregenerate to put away their sins and engage in good works and thus become godly; and then, on the other hand, if you use the commands of the Law – rather than the admonitions of the Gospel – to urge the regenerate to do good.”7
So often, even those who are considered to be good preachers mix up Law and Gospel, either by playing down the Law and its consequences or making a Law out of the Gospel. Whenever he watched such confused preaching, my sainted Professor of Homiletics (preaching), Dr. R.R. Caemmerer, would have a fit no matter how eloquent the sermon was, and the student would receive a big fat F. He constantly stressed the need to show the hearers that they needed to be forgiven and to be certain that they understood and believed that they were indeed forgiven in Christ. Using both the truths we are working with, we who belong to God in Christ Jesus are always both saint and sinner. Saint because we have been forgiven though the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and sinner because of our flesh and desire to either do what we want or save ourselves. Rightly dividing God’s Word brings us to a similar conclusion.
Council of Trent
Returning to Luther ’s teaching on simul justus et peccator, it became, along with the doctrine that we are saved by faith without the works of the Law, one of the major teachings of the Reformation. This truth was adopted and made part of the confession of the Reformed movement, the Anglican Church, Council of Trent the Methodist Churches and other Protestants who relied on faith and not works. On the other hand, the Council of Trent itself reveals that Rome considered Luther's simul justus et peccator be a most serious threat to the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church.
Council of Trent
When we look at the anathemas of the Council of Trent, we can see plainly how far apart their teaching and that of the Reformation are:
5 If any one saith, that, since Adam's sin, the free will of man is lost and extinguished; or, that it is a thing with only a name, yea a name without a reality, a figment, in fine, introduced into the Church by Satan; let him be anathema.
9 If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema.
21 If any one saith, that Christ Jesus was given of God to men, as a redeemer in whom to trust, and not also as a legislator whom to obey; let him be anathema.
30 If any one saith, that, after the grace of Justification has been received, to every penitent sinner the guilt is remitted, and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out in such wise, that there remains not any debt of temporal punishment to be discharged either in this world, or in the next in Purgatory, before the entrance to the kingdom of heaven can be opened (to him); let him be anathema.8
Let the above be more than enough to show how far apart those of the Reformation and the official teaching of the Roman Church are. While there has been some movement in the Roman Church to correct their understanding, it still emphasizes purgatory, masses as an aid to free people from purgatory and depends on works in addition to Christ, thereby preaching another Gospel. Paul refuted this threat to the gospel in his own day when he said,
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:6-9).
Conclusion
There is so much else that has been written concerning the truth that we are always, and at the same time, saint and sinner. Here is a quote from R.C. Sproul from 2019:
"Perhaps the formula that Luther used that is most famous and most telling at this point is his formula simul justus et peccator. And if any formula summarizes and captures the essence of the Reformation view, it is this little formula. Simul is the word from which we get the English word simultaneously. Or, it means ‘at the same time.’ Justus is the Latin word for just or righteous and Peccator means sinner.
And so with this formula, Luther was saying, in our justification we are one and the same time righteous or just, and sinners. Now if he would say that we are at the same time and in the same relationship just and sinners that would be a contradiction in terms. But that’s not what he was saying. He was saying from one perspective, in one sense, we are just. In another sense, from a different perspective, we are sinners; and how he defines that is simple. In and of ourselves, under the analysis of God’s scrutiny, we still have sin; we’re still sinners. But, by imputation and by faith in Jesus Christ, whose righteousness is now transferred to our account, then we are considered just or righteous. This is the very heart of the gospel.
Will I be judged in order to get into heaven by my righteousness or by the righteousness of Christ? If I had to trust in my righteousness to get into heaven, I would completely and utterly despair of any possibility of ever being redeemed. But when we see that the righteousness that is ours by faith is the perfect righteousness of Christ, then we see how glorious is the good news of the gospel. The good news is simply this, I can be reconciled to God, I can be justified by God not on the basis of what I did, but on the basis of what’s been accomplished for me by Christ.
But at the heart of the gospel is a double imputation. My sin is imputed to Jesus. His righteousness is imputed to me. And in this twofold transaction we see that God, Who does not negotiate sin, Who doesn’t compromise His own integrity with our salvation, but rather punishes sin fully and really after it has been imputed to Jesus, retains His own righteousness, and so He is both just and the justifier, as the apostle tells us here. So my sin goes to Jesus, His righteousness comes to me in the sight of God."9
R.C. Sproul
This truth has often been lost as “Christians” worried about their sanctification and tried to add works of the Law to the Gospel. So the Lutheran Pietists of the late 17th Century, buying into Calvinist teaching, wanted to make sure that Christians, relying on their baptism, were also engaged in living out their faith with good works. While what they were aiming at was good and helpful, it eventually fell into the error of depending on works again and seeing Jesus as a lawgiver rather than as Savior. One of the reasons the Lutherans from Saxony came to the USA was to ensure that the Law - Gospel teaching of the Scripture was not lost and that believers continued to realize that they were only saved by Grace, through Faith and not by any sort of works. Yes, good works should proceed from the saving Grace of the believer, but as a fruit and not as a new law.
Thus, Dear Reader, I am constrained. As Paul would say, by the Word and the Spirit, to once more emphasize that indeed we are sinners, and always will be in any effort of our own: “The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!” (Psalm 4:2-3 NLT)
He also wrote, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7: 18–19 NLT)
The Word keeps saying that we are sinners, unable in any way to save ourselves, and yet we are saved, we are forgiven. We are, because of Jesus, God’s own children, the redeemed of the Lord. As Paul again emphasizes,
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared - he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit - whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior - so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3: 3-7 NIV)
What more can we say, what more do we need? While there are pages and pages written both for and even against the truth that we are always both saint and sinner, the truth of God’s Word remains, for that is what we are, forgiven sinners whom God calls his own, saints because of Jesus who gave himself for us. And so it shall remain until by his mercy we are taken up into his glory, or when our Lord Jesus returns in triumph.
May God’s love and truth keep you all steadfast in the faith and in your full trust of our Lord Jesus Christ. All glory belongs to God alone now and forever.
Rev. Dr. Erwin L. Spruth is Pastor Emeritus, Faith Lutheran Church, Security, Colorado and Chairman of the Board, St. Paul Lutheran Seminary.
Endnotes
1All Bible verses are taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise stated. Scriptural quotations marked ESV are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright @2001 by Crossway Bible Publishing, a ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptural quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright @1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scriptural quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright @1973, 1978, and 1984 by the International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scriptural quotations marked MsgB are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright @1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPres Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
2Martin Luther, Luther’s Works v. 25 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1972), 63.
3“The teaching that a believer is at once justified and a sinner is hardly the creation de novo of Luther, having been articulated first by Augustine. In this regard Luther himself asserts, “I am neither the first nor the only man to say this [simul] since the Apostle. For St. Augustine, “All sin is forgiven in baptism, not so that it no longer exists, but so that it is no longer imputed.” Cited in Vitalis Mshanga, “Ecumenical Reflections on the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Simul Justus et Peccator Controversy,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 45 no. 4, (2010), accessed at https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ecumenical+reflections+on+the+LutheranRoman+Catholic+simul+justus+et...-a0246252773
4The Book of Concord, ed. by Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert (Chicago: Augsburg Fortress, 2000), 38.
5C.F.W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, translated from the 1897 edition by W. H.T. Dau. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, date not given).
6Martin Luther, quoted in John Pless, Handling the Word of Truth. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2015), 151.
7Walther, 5, 7.
8“Council of Trent,” accessed Dec. 12, 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/Council-of-Trent
9R. C. Sproul, “What Does “Simul Justus et Peccator” Mean?” Transcript of video presentation, October 17, 2019, accessed at https://www.ligonier.org/posts/simul-justus-et-Peccator
