For many Protestant Christians, justification by faith is a central doctrine. Yet not all Christians have understood it as central and, even among those who do, not all agree on what it means. In this video, Sarah traces the development of the doctrine of justification by faith. She argues that is a biblical, but not the only biblical, theme related to salvation. She also contends that as the doctrine developed, particularly among Christians influenced by the theology of Augustine, the meaning of justification shifted.  Augustine had understood justification as demanding a real change in a person (a real change made by God in the person). Luther, and many Protestants, came to understand it as God’s declaration about a person’s status based only on Christ’s merit.

Discussion questions, video outline, and glossary available here.