Calvin Against Rome and Luther

Against Rome, Calvin insists that a justifying faith devoid of good works is inconceivable precisely because, just as one is united to the Christ who is Righteousness and Life, so one cannot receive Christ for justification without receiving him for sanctification. Against Westphal and Heshusius, Calvin similarly argues that his "spiritual" presence is not a presence without the Person but a true and real presence of Christ by his Spirit. He meets the accusation that the signa are but "empty signs" (note the parallel to justification by faith as a legal fiction) by demonstrating that they are inseparably "annexed" to the reality which is promised in them.

 

Mark Garcia, Life in Christ: Union with Christ and Twofold Grace in Calvin's Theology (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008), 169