Clement of Rome taught initial salvation was faith alone through praying to God, but ongoing salvation was works
Summary
In 1 Clement, initial salvation is by faith alone (sola fide). It rests on the blood of Christ and follows a two-step pattern: repenting, which Clement joins closely to believing, and then calling upon God for salvation. Ongoing salvation has to be maintained by works.
This explains how Clement can say that we are justified through faith and not by our works (1 Clement 32), and also say, two chapters earlier, that we are justified by works and not by words (1 Clement 30).
A note on terms: by "faith alone" I mean justification apart from works. I do not claim that "repentance" and "faith" are the same word to Clement. I argue that he joins them closely, as two parts of one response to the blood of Christ, and that this response, together with supplication to God, is how a person is first saved.
1 Clement 7: the blood, repentance, and the Ninevites
Verses 1 to 3: solidarity
1 Ταῦτα, ἀγαπητοί, οὐ μόνον ὑμᾶς νουθετοῦντες ἐπιστέλλομεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑαυτοὺς ὑπομιμνήσκοντες· ἐν γὰρ τῷ αὐτῷ ἐσμὲν σκάμματι, καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς ἡμῖν ἀγὼν ἐπίκειται. 2 διὸ ἀπολίπωμεν τὰς κενὰς καὶ ματαίας φροντίδας, καὶ ἔλθωμεν ἐπὶ τὸν εὐκλεῆ καὶ σεμνὸν τῆς παραδόσεως ἡμῶν κανόνα, 3 καὶ ἴδωμεν, τί καλὸν καὶ τί τερπνὸν καὶ τί προσδεκτὸν ἐνώπιον τοῦ ποιήσαντος ἡμᾶς.
We write these things, beloved ones, not only to admonish you, but also to remind ourselves. For we are in the same arena, and the same contest awaits us. Therefore let us forsake empty and vain thoughts; and let us conform to the glorious and honourable rule of our tradition; and let us see what is good and what is pleasant and what is acceptable before the one who made us.
Clement begins by standing beside the Corinthians, because both he and they struggle with sin (7:1-3). Then something interesting happens in verses 4 to 7. He uses salvation as a way to encourage them not to sin, and in doing so he reveals his own soteriology.
Verse 4: the blood won the grace of repentance
4 ἀτενίσωμεν εἰς τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ γνῶμεν, ὡς ἔστιν τίμιον τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν ἐκχυθὲν παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ μετανοίας χάριν ὑπήνεγκεν.
Let us look fixedly on the blood of Christ and understand how precious it is unto His Father, because being shed for our salvation it won for the whole world the grace of repentance.
Clement continues the theme of solidarity, but now he grounds it in their shared salvation. He says directly why the blood of Christ was shed: for our salvation, so that it would win for the whole world the grace of repentance.
Verses 5 and 6: repentance in every generation
5 διέλθωμεν εἰς τὰς γενεὰς πάσας, καὶ καταμάθωμεν ὅτι ἐν γενεᾷ καὶ γενεᾷ μετανοίας τόπον ἔδωκεν ὁ δεσπότης τοῖς βουλομένοις ἐπιστραφῆναι ἐπ' αὐτόν. 6 Νῶε ἐκήρυξεν μετάνοιαν, καὶ οἱ ὑπακούσαντες ἐσώθησαν.
Let us review all the generations in turn, and learn how from generation to generation the Master has given a place for repentance to those who desire to turn to Him. Noah preached repentance, and they who obeyed were saved.
Here is the important thing: Clement does not drop the motif of repentance. In verse 5 he turns to the Old Testament and says that in every generation the Master has given a place for repentance to those who wished to turn to Him (ἐπιστραφῆναι ἐπ' αὐτόν). In verse 6 he says that Noah preached repentance and that those who obeyed were saved.
Noah's example is vague, because Clement does not say here what obeying involved. He mentions Noah again in chapter 9:
9:4 Νῶε πιστὸς εὑρεθεὶς διὰ τῆς λειτουργίας αὐτοῦ παλιγγενεσίαν κόσμῳ ἐκήρυξεν, καὶ διέσωσεν δι' αὐτοῦ ὁ δεσπότης τὰ εἰσελθόντα ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ ζῶα εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν.
Noah, being found faithful, preached regeneration to the world by his ministry, and through him the Master saved the living creatures that entered into the ark in harmony.
The word πιστός here means "faithful" or "trustworthy," so it does not by itself show that Noah was saved by believing. Chapter 7:6 says only that those who obeyed were saved.
Verse 7: the Ninevites
7 Ἰωνᾶς Νινευίταις καταστροφὴν ἐκήρυξεν· οἱ δὲ μετανοήσαντες ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν αὐτῶν ἐξιλάσαντο τὸν θεὸν ἱκετεύσαντες καὶ ἔλαβον σωτηρίαν, καίπερ ἀλλότριοι τοῦ θεοῦ ὄντες.
Jonah preached destruction to the men of Nineveh; but after repenting of their sins, they made atonement to God by their supplications and received salvation, even though they had been strangers from God.
Breaking down the verse: "Jonah preached destruction to the men of Nineveh" (Ἰωνᾶς Νινευίταις καταστροφὴν ἐκήρυξεν). This gave them a chance to repent. But look at what they did after repenting: "they made atonement to God by their supplications and received salvation, even though they had been strangers from God" (οἱ δὲ μετανοήσαντες ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν αὐτῶν ἐξιλάσαντο τὸν θεὸν ἱκετεύσαντες καὶ ἔλαβον σωτηρίαν, καίπερ ἀλλότριοι τοῦ θεοῦ ὄντες).
The rhetorical purpose of chapter 7 is to tell the Corinthians to repent of deposing their presbyters. That is not a salvific repentance (a first turning to God). But in the case of Jonah, Clement says directly that after the Ninevites repented, they made supplication to God and received salvation. So while he is exhorting the Corinthians, he also shows his own soteriology: the blood of Christ won repentance, and the pattern he describes is to repent, make supplication to God, and receive salvation.
The Greek for "by their supplications" is ἱκετεύσαντες, from ἱκετεύω, which means to supplicate or to beg earnestly. It corresponds to Jonah 3:8 in the Septuagint, where the Ninevites "cried out to God intensely" (ἀνεβόησαν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἐκτενῶς).
The echo of Ephesians 2:12-13
The last clause, καίπερ ἀλλότριοι τοῦ θεοῦ ὄντες, is translated above as "strangers from God." The Greek word is ἀλλότριοι, which shares its root with ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι ("aliens") in Ephesians 2:12. It is not the word ξένοι ("strangers") that appears later in that verse. On my reading, Clement is echoing Ephesians:
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
This fits the context, because the verses around 1 Clement 7:7 are premised on the blood of Christ (7:4), and Ephesians 2:13 says the blood is what brings the far off near. I make the full case, including the objection that such parallels are too commonplace to prove dependence, in my article "Did 1 Clement of Rome Echo Ephesians 2:12-13?" Here I treat the echo as plausible and ask what it adds. It adds the following:
- The blood of Christ was shed on purpose to win the grace of repentance (7:4).
- Noah's hearers were saved by obeying God after Noah preached repentance (7:6). Clement does not say here what that obedience involved.
- The Ninevites were saved by repenting, making supplication to God, and receiving salvation (7:7).
- If the echo is real, Clement is also saying that the Ninevites, though alien to God, were saved, and Ephesians 2:13 ties that nearness to the blood of Christ. That leads back to the first point.
How repentance and faith fit together
Clement does not use "repentance" and "faith" as synonyms. In chapter 7 he never uses πίστις at all, and near the end of the letter he treats "faith and repentance" as two topics (§ 62, in Lightfoot's summary). But he joins them closely, and the evidence points in three directions:
- The story he is summarizing. In the Septuagint, the Ninevites "believed God" (ἐνεπίστευσαν τῷ θεῷ) in Jonah 3:5 and then cried out to Him and turned from their evil ways (3:8). Clement's summary mentions only the repenting (μετανοήσαντες). So in Clement's retelling, repentance can cover the whole turning to God, including the believing that Jonah names.
- One blood, one salvation. In 7:4 the blood of Christ won "the grace of repentance" for the whole world. In 12:7 the same blood brings redemption "for all who believe and hope in God." Repentance and believing are both tied to the same blood.
- The response is never works. In 7:7, 12:7, and 32:4, the response that receives salvation is described as repenting, supplicating, believing, and faith, and never as works.
So I argue that repentance and faith are two joined parts of one response to the blood of Christ: turning to God and trusting Him, followed by calling on Him in supplication. This is a claim about how closely Clement joins them, not a claim that the two words mean the same thing.
1 Clement 12: Rahab and the blood
12:1 διὰ πίστιν καὶ φιλοξενίαν ἐσώθη Ῥαὰβ ἡ πόρνη.
Because of her faith and hospitality Rahab the prostitute was saved.
This nearly sounds like a faith plus works soteriology, but keep reading and look at the application Clement draws from Rahab.
12:7 καὶ προσέθεντο αὐτῇ δοῦναι σημεῖον, ὅπως ἐκκρεμάσῃ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτῆς κόκκινον, πρόδηλον ποιοῦντες, ὅτι διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ κυρίου λύτρωσις ἔσται πᾶσιν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν καὶ ἐλπίζουσιν ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν. 8 ὁρᾶτε, ἀγαπητοί, ὅτι οὐ μόνον πίστις, ἀλλὰ καὶ προφητεία ἐν τῇ γυναικὶ γέγονεν.
And they added, they gave her a sign, that she should hang some scarlet from her house to make it obvious that through the blood of the Lord there will be redemption for all who believe and hope in God. You see, dearly beloved, not only faith, but also prophecy, is found in the woman.
Clement's own application is about believing, not about hospitality: through the blood of the Lord there is redemption for all who believe and hope in God. This is a direct callback to 7:4, where the blood of Christ was shed for our salvation. The blood was shed so that it could redeem those who repent and believe.
So the clearest example of repentance linked to salvation is the Ninevites (7:7), the clearest example of believing linked to redemption is Rahab (12:7), and both point to the blood of Christ (7:4). The Ninevites were saved by repenting and praying, and Rahab's story is applied to those who believe. Neither is applied to keeping commandments.
A person could object that Clement says Rahab was saved for "faith and hospitality" (12:1). That is true, and it shows why chapter 30 matters later. But the lesson Clement draws for Christians in 12:7-8 is the blood of the Lord and belief, not hospitality.
The tension: 1 Clement 32 and 1 Clement 30
Clement writes a whole chapter on being justified apart from works.
32:3 πάντες οὖν ἐδοξάσθησαν καὶ ἐμεγαλύνθησαν οὐ δι' αὐτῶν ἢ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν ἢ τῆς δικαιοπραγίας ἧς κατειργάσαντο, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ. 4 καὶ ἡμεῖς οὖν, διὰ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ κληθέντες, οὐ δι' ἑαυτῶν δικαιούμεθα, οὐδὲ διὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας σοφίας ἢ συνέσεως ἢ εὐσεβείας ἢ ἔργων ὧν κατειργασάμεθα ἐν ὁσιότητι καρδίας, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς πίστεως, δι' ἧς πάντας τοὺς ἀπ' αἰῶνος ὁ παντοκράτωρ θεὸς ἐδικαίωσεν· ᾧ ἔστω ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν.
Therefore they were all glorified and magnified, not through themselves or through their own works or through the righteous deeds which they did, but through His will. And so we, having been called through His will in Christ Jesus, aren't justified through ourselves or through our own wisdom or understanding or piety or works which we did in holiness of heart, but through faith, by which the Almighty God justified all who have existed from the beginning; to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The problem is that two chapters earlier, Clement says we are justified by works.
30:3 κολληθῶμεν οὖν ἐκείνοις, οἷς ἡ χάρις ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ δέδοται· ἐνδυσώμεθα τὴν ὁμόνοιαν ταπεινοφρονοῦντες, ἐγκρατευόμενοι, ἀπὸ παντὸς ψιθυρισμοῦ καὶ καταλαλιᾶς πόρρω ἑαυτοὺς ποιοῦντες, ἔργοις δικαιούμενοι, μὴ λόγοις.
Let's cling to those to whom grace has been given from God. Let's clothe ourselves in harmony, being humble, self-controlled, keeping ourselves away from all backbiting and slander, being justified by works and not by words.
We have to harmonize these two passages, which means using one as the lens for reading the other. There are two ways to view δικαιόω ("to justify"): as forensic justification (Romans 3:28, 5:1), or as James 2:24 uses it: "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." The wording of 1 Clement 30:3 is close to James 2:24, and Lightfoot notes that Clement combines the teaching of Paul and James (vol. 1, p. 96). He also says Paul himself would not have written a sentence like 30:3 (p. 397).
If 30:3 is read as initial salvation, it contradicts chapter 32. So which chapter takes priority? The passages where Clement speaks directly about how sinners come to be saved are chapters 7, 12, and 32. They describe repenting, supplicating, believing, and faith, and never works. Chapter 30:3 speaks to people who are already "those to whom grace has been given from God," and it tells them how to live in harmony. So 30:3 should be read in light of 32:4, and not the reverse. Chapter 30 is about maintaining salvation, not obtaining it.
I am not saying that Clement's use of James is unimportant. I am saying that we should read his use of James in light of his overall message, and his overall message is salvation through faith and supplication, not works.
Initial and ongoing salvation: 1 Clement 50 and 1 Clement 7
One of the clearest contrasts between initial and ongoing salvation is 1 Clement 50, set against 1 Clement 7.
50:5 μακάριοί ἐσμεν, ἀγαπητοί, εἰ τὰ προστάγματα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐποιοῦμεν ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ ἀγάπης, εἰς τὸ ἀφεθῆναι ἡμῖν δι' ἀγάπης τὰς ἁμαρτίας. 6 γέγραπται γάρ· Μακάριοι, ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι· μακάριος ἀνήρ, οὗ οὐ μὴ λογίσηται κύριος ἁμαρτίαν, οὐδέ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ δόλος· 7 οὗτος ὁ μακαρισμὸς ἐγένετο ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐκλελεγμένους ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν.
We are blessed, dear friends, if we perform the commands of God in harmony of love, so that our sins may be forgiven us through love. For it is written, "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will impute no sin, nor is there deceit in his mouth" (Ps. 32:1-2). This declaration of blessedness was pronounced upon those who have been chosen by God through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Read alone, 50:5 sounds like forgiveness through works. But look at who Clement is addressing and what he cites. He says "we," meaning believers, and in 50:3 he speaks of those "perfected in love" by God's grace. He then quotes Psalm 32:1-2, the same Psalm Paul uses in Romans 4, and applies it in 50:7 to those "chosen by God through Jesus Christ." The 1905 Oxford committee judged that the words οὗτος ὁ μακαρισμός ("this declaration of blessedness") show Clement recalling Romans 4 (The New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers, p. 39). So 50:5 describes the continuing forgiveness of people who are already chosen through Christ, while 7:7 describes how sinners are first saved.
Conclusion
Overall, Clement of Rome in 1 Clement teaches a salvation based on the blood of Christ and received through repentance and faith, which he joins closely, together with supplication to God. It is not received through works. 1 Clement 30:3 refers only to ongoing salvation.
Sources and notes
Greek and English text of 1 Clement: greekdoc.com (https://greekdoc.com/DOCUMENTS/early/1clem01.html). Jonah: Greek from the Septuagint, English of Jonah 3 by John Barach. J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, Part I: S. Clement of Rome, vol. 1 (London: Macmillan, 1890), pp. 96-97, 378-381, 397-398. Oxford Society of Historical Theology, The New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905), p. 39.
I treat only 1 Clement as a genuine epistle of Clement of Rome.
