John Murray (1898–1975) was a Scottish Reformed theologian who taught at Princeton Seminary and then left to found Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. In other words, he was a Calvinist’s Calvinist. He influenced generations of conservative Presbyterian and Reformed pastors.

I found a helpful quote from him.

The issue is trying to reconcile two seemingly contradictory things: (1) that justification before God is by faith apart from works, and (2) that Christians will still appear before God to be judged according to their works. How do you harmonize those two doctrines without compromising the purity of the gospel and falling into the error of works salvation?

I think you’ll find Murray’s answer to be very familiar:

We must maintain…justification complete and irrevocable by grace through faith and apart from works, and at the same time, future reward according to works. In reference to these two doctrines it is important to observe the following: (i) This future reward is not justification and contributes nothing to that which constitutes justification. (ii) This future reward is not salvation. Salvation is by grace and it is not as a reward for works that we are saved (John Murray, “Justification,” Collected Writings, 2:221).

We are justified by faith. And we are rewarded according to our work. Justification and rewards are distinct.

I don’t have a copy of Murray’s book, so I can’t see the full context of the quote. I’m curious to know how consistently he distinguished between justification and rewards and how he incorporated that into his eschatology.

If I find out more, I’ll let you know. At the very least, this is an FG-friendly quote you can put in your toolbox to explain the difference between salvation and rewards to Calvinists.

Send your questions or comments to Shawn.