A great correction of commonly held errors in the Catholic doctrine on justification, as well as a critique of the Reformed Protestant doctrine:
What is hereby underscored is the fact that Catholic and Reformed Christians understand the formal cause of justification in very different ways: Faith is reckoned to us for righteousness (Romans 4.3). If justifying faith is, by definition, faith formed by agape, then it is easy to understand justification in realist terms: God pours loving faith into our hearts, and on this basis (truly) declares us to be righteous. If, on the other hand, God’s declaration of righteousness is predicated upon faith that is, in this sense, exclusive of agape, then it is difficult to understand justification as other than nominalistic
