Podcast Summary: "Sola Gratia: Nature, Grace, Nominalism"

Podcast: Know What You Believe with Michael Horton
Host: Michael Horton
Guests: Jordan Cooper, Gavin Ortland
Date: December 19, 2025
Series: Defending the Protestant Apologetics for Today (Episode 3 of 6)

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode centers on the accusation often leveled at Protestantism—especially Martin Luther—that its doctrine of justification by faith alone ("sola gratia") was heavily influenced, even distorted, by the late medieval philosophical movement known as nominalism. The guests discuss the real historical and theological relationship between nature, grace, nominalism, and Reformation teaching. The conversation also touches on contemporary misunderstandings between Protestants, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox regarding grace, synergy, and virtue.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is Nominalism? Origin and Relevance to Luther

• Jordan Cooper opens by laying out the criticism: that Luther, as someone trained by nominalist teachers, ended up with a doctrine of justification that reflects nominalist, voluntarist tendencies—namely, that justification is a mere legal decree (a "legal fiction") not rooted in actual transformation.
  • Nominalism, explained simply, is the belief that moral laws are defined by God's will (decree), not by his eternal nature.

[02:15] Jordan Cooper:

“The argument here is that Luther essentially said God could decree that you're just or righteous even though you're not. And so then it just becomes a legal fiction... God is legally declaring something that's not actually true.”

2. Luther’s Relationship to Nominalism and Mysticism

• Michael Horton counters the charge by emphasizing Luther’s Augustinian background and attraction to Neoplatonic and mystical traditions (e.g., German mystics like Meister Eckhart and John Tauler), not nominalism.
  • [04:23] Michael Horton:

    “He was more Neoplatonic than anything else... If you look at Luther's early spiritual formation... it was largely German mystics that he was reading.”

• Jordan Cooper points out that when Luther criticizes "the Scholastics," he most frequently means the nominalists, not Thomas Aquinas.

“He’s heavily critical of Aristotle, but he’s critical of Aristotle because he’s not enough of a realist. And Luther praises Plato over Aristotle.”
— Jordan Cooper [06:23]

3. Union with Christ as the Real Framework for Justification

• Gavin Ortland suggests Luther should be understood more through the lens of "union with Christ" rather than nominalism.

"A better framework for Luther's understanding of justification than nominalism would be the doctrine of union with Christ... as a spiritual reality."
— Gavin Ortland [07:40]

• The panel references debates within Lutheran scholarship about the role of mystical or ontological union (e.g., the Finnish interpretation of Luther) versus Melanchthon's more forensic approach.
• Michael Horton and Jordan Cooper clarify: Reformation teaching on justification is consistently forensic (based on legal imputation), even as it recognizes transformative union as related but distinct.

“Calvin’s pretty clear that we are not justified by anything that happens within us or even in our relation to Christ, but strictly in his gift of righteousness...”
— Michael Horton [12:15]

4. Nature and Grace: Definitions and Distinctions

• The question of nature (how God created humanity, especially post-Fall) and grace (is it favor, transformative power, or both?) underlies differences between Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox theologies.
• Protestants hold that human faculties (will, reason) remain but are corrupted after the Fall—so nature is not destroyed but incapacitated morally.

“None of these things were destroyed by the Fall. They were corrupted. They were turned in a bad direction.”
— Michael Horton [17:41]

• The primary divergence: Whether something “extra” (donum superadditum—a superadded gift) was needed after creation for humans to love God properly.

5. What is Grace? Favor, Gift, Transformation

Gavin Ortland distinguishes the Protestant affirmation of sola gratia from the charge that this means no human response is needed; rather, it means our response contributes no merit.

“...But we would say that these responses do not contribute to merit. And so ultimately our salvation is fully of grace in that sense.”
— Gavin Ortland [16:31]

• Both Horton and Cooper emphasize that, while justification is “favor on account of Christ” (forensic), sanctification is truly transformative and synergistic (humans cooperating with God’s grace).

“We do in some of our Reformed dogmatics... in the Canons of Dort, we don't deny sanctification. We don't deny that the Holy Spirit infuses new life into us...”
— Michael Horton [24:22]

6. Synergy, Cooperation, and the East

• Critics, especially from Eastern Orthodoxy, challenge the Reformation's "grace alone" as pitting grace against cooperation (human synergy). Protestants reply that this antithesis comes from Scripture itself (e.g., Romans 11:6), not from nominalist philosophy.

“If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works... Otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”
— Gavin Ortland [28:37]

• The panel notes that both Eastern and Roman Catholic traditions can be “reductionistic” by forcing Christians to choose between juridical/forensic and transformative models of salvation; biblically and confessionally, both are needed.

7. Do Protestants Care About Virtue?

• There's a popular myth that Protestantism, by focusing on justification, discourages moral formation or virtue.
• All agree this is historically false; Reformed and Lutheran traditions (especially their "scholastic" theologians) have a deep tradition of virtue ethics, influenced by Aristotle and Aquinas.

“Virtue ethics is all over... We really have got to recover a sense of the depth and richness of our traditions. It's no wonder people want to leave Protestantism... but you don't have to.”
— Michael Horton [36:33]

• Gavin Ortland points to C.S. Lewis and Jonathan Edwards as examples of Protestants who robustly discuss the virtues and vices.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If any, [Luther] was a medieval spiritualist early on... more Neoplatonic than anything else.”
  Michael Horton [04:30]

• "He’s heavily critical of Aristotle, but he’s critical of Aristotle because he’s not enough of a realist. And Luther praises Plato over Aristotle."
  Jordan Cooper [06:23]

• "It's Rome that is reductionistic... The Reformation says God's favor is because of Christ and the gift is because of Christ."
  Michael Horton [25:12]

• "Who wouldn't want to leave Protestantism if you don't know, you know, if there's nothing beyond the shallowness of online barking at each other and shallow sermons and moralizing... We need a Protestantism that is actually more Catholic in the best sense of the word."
  Michael Horton [37:06]

• "Go read our own traditions, go back and retrieve our own originating resources, and there's a lot of richness there to be recovered."
  Gavin Ortland [39:41]

Timestamps for Key Sections

• [01:20] Introduction & summary of nominalism's critique
• [04:23] Luther’s spiritual and philosophical influences
• [06:04] Who are “the Scholastics” in Luther’s polemics?
• [07:29] Union with Christ vs. nominalism in justification
• [11:28] Debates within Reformation on union and justification
• [15:59] Defining and clarifying sola gratia & cooperation
• [17:06] Nature after the Fall: Protestant vs Catholic views
• [24:02] What is grace? Favor vs. transformation
• [26:06] Protestant affirmation of infused/indwelling grace
• [28:37] Biblical basis for antithesis of grace and works
• [31:53] Forensic vs. participatory redemption: recovering the balance
• [34:54] Debunking the “nominalism is Protestant” thesis
• [35:09] Protestants and virtue: history and current retrieval

Tone & Structure

The discussion is scholarly but accessible, blending precise theological analysis with pastoral sensitivity (“a deep unsettledness and anxiety... is answered by the Protestant emphasis upon God's grace” — Gavin Ortland [22:49]). The panelists model respectful disagreement, careful engagement with sources, and a winsome encouragement to retrieve the riches of their own tradition.

Summary in Brief

• The charge that Protestantism’s doctrine of justification is a product of nominalism is historically and theologically unfounded. Luther’s background was more mystical and Augustinian, and his doctrine is about being united to Christ.
• Justification and sanctification go together: Protestants may emphasize justification as “forensic,” but also affirm genuinely transformative grace.
• Nature and grace must both be understood biblically: Human nature is deeply affected by the Fall, but not destroyed; grace is both God’s favor and his transformative work.
• Protestant traditions have a rich tradition of virtue ethics, contrary to popular myth. There is a renewed interest in retrieving these resources today.

For those who have not listened, this episode offers a robust response to the “nominalism” critique, a sympathetic bridge to those attracted to Roman and Eastern traditions, and a passionate call to reclaim the fullness of the Protestant heritage.