The Keystone of Orthodox Anglican Belief

By Robin G. Jordan
(an excerpt from his blog, Anglicans Ablaze)

Full acceptance of the doctrine of salvation by grace and justification by faith, as set forth in Article XI and more fully expounded in the Homily of Salvation, is the sine qua non for orthodox Anglicans. Those who lack this indispensable qualification cannot be regarded as being genuinely Anglican. They may be Anglican in name but they are not Anglican in faith. It is a doctrine of such cardinal importance that even though an individual might hold to the other great doctrines of the Bible as enunciated in the Catholic Creeds, he is not an Anglican Christian. The doctrine of salvation by grace and justification by faith is the shibboleth by which the real Anglican may be recognized from the pretended Anglican.

The doctrine of salvation by grace and justification by faith lies at the heart of the English Reformers’ understanding of the New Testament gospel. It is the good news. We are saved by the grace of God. It is not because of any good works or deserving on our part, but only by faith that rests on the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we are accounted righteous before God. The faith by which we are justified is not a work but a gift from a merciful God. Our salvation is wholly God’s doing.