The Religious Foundations of Worldly Asceticism
highest good towards which this religion strove, the certainty of salvation.[58] That it was attainable was proved by 2 Cor. xiii. 5.[59] Thus, however useless good works might be as a means of attaining salvation, for even the elect remain beings of the flesh, and everything they do falls infinitely short of divine standards, nevertheless, they are indispensable as a sign of election.[60] They are the technical means, not of purchasing salvation, but of getting rid of the fear of damnation. In this sense they are occasionally referred to as directly necessary for salvation[61] or the possessio salutis is made conditional on them.[62]
In practice this means that God helps those who help themselves.[63] Thus the Calvinist, as it is sometimes put, himself creates[64] his own salvation, or, as would be more correct, the conviction of it. But this creation cannot, as in Catholicism, consist in a gradual accumulation of individual good works to one's credit, but rather in a systematic self-control which at every moment stands before the inexorable alternative, chosen or damned. This brings us to a very important point in our investigation.
It is common knowledge that Lutherans have again and again accused this line of thought, which was worked out in the Reformed Churches and sects with increasing clarity,[65] of reversion to the doctrine of salvation by works.[66] And however justified the protest of the accused against identification of their dogmatic position with the Catholic doctrine, this accusation has surely been made with reason if by it is meant the practical consequences for the everyday life of the average Christian of the Reformed Church.[67] For a
