Another plausible attack on the centrality of justification by faith simply says that the central theme in the Bible is the incarnation, the work of Christ, or His vicarious atonement on the cross. What is affirmed in this argument is quite true. But we must question what is denied-that justification by faith is central. At present, however, we are simply seeking to understand these arguments, not to answer them. The Reformed and Arminian streams of theological thought have always had more difficulty maintaining the centrality of justification than the Lutheran stream has had.
Justification becomes like a filling station that is passed but once.
On the other hand, the Arminian scheme tends to reduce justification to a provision for past sins only. This is followed by sanctification, which often appears like a higher stage in the soteriological process. Final justification on the day of judgment tends to rest on sanctification. This represents a kind of evangelical Romanism which has grown up within the Protestant movement. If Protestantism stands on the centrality of justification by faith, then Tillich had grounds for saying that the Protestant era is at an end.