Salvation by Faith Alone - (Sola Fide)

Protestant Christian Understanding:  A man is justified by "Faith" and his works are dirty rags to God (As the bible describes works) and a man cannot work his way into heaven.  Therefore all a Christian needs is to have "Faith" and accept Jesus Christ as his Savior, that Jesus died for all our sins and paid the price in full so that all who believe in Him are guaranteed to be saved.

Catholic Christian Understanding: Catholics completely agree with Protestants that you are saved by Faith, which is completely true and is repeated numerous times in books like Romans.  "Without Faith it is impossible to please God", Hebrews 11:6 says.  Everything a Catholic does whether is is obeying the commandments, being baptized by water or receiving Holy Communion are all motivated by Faith, or the works are not pleasing to God.  

The issue, however,  is not whether a Christian is saved by Faith.  The issue is whether or not the Christian is saved by Faith Alone. 

There is absolutely no where in the Bible where it says "salvation is by faith alone."  In fact the only place in the bible where the word "faith" and the word "alone" are together in the same sentence occurs in one place in the new testament in James 2:24, "So you see my brothers that a man is justified by works and NOT by faith alone."  YES, there are many passages in the Bible that say through faith we are saved, but never does it say faith alone saves.  More than that, the actual concept and word "faith" has to be described.  Faith is not just some arbitrary concept with no definite meaning or direction in how God intended us to love him.  There are specific instructions, given by Christ contained in the Bible on what "faith" is and how God intended us to KNOW, LOVE and SERVE (works) Him so we can be happy with Him forever in heaven.  

The idea we are saved simply by faith alone is a complete misunderstanding of the bible.  Where in the Bible does it actually teach that we are justified by Faith alone?  No where does it state that.  Yes, we are saved by faith, but NOT by faith alone.  "Saved by Faith Alone" is a human tradition that was invented by Martin Luther.  

The knee jerk reaction is to come back at this thought with all the bible verses that talk about faith like Ephesians 2:8-9 "By grace we are saved by Faith and that is apart from works."  However, if the believer takes a closer look at the bible as a whole and all the verses, like Ephesians 2:8-9, the believer will discover that these verses do not say what Protestants teach them to say.  One will discover that protestants have a "tradition" as much as Catholics have tradition. The Protestant tradition is not one single tradition that they all agree on, like the Catholic faith, moreover they have thousands of them such as the Lutheran tradition, the Pentecostal tradition, the Baptist tradition, all of which bring different assumptions to scripture, thus creating their own theological system.  If this wasn't the case, then all protestants would have the same theology and there would not be thousands of protestant denominations as we have today, who all disagree on MAJOR fundamental issues at some point.  A good example would be the debate between Calvinists and Arminians where one believes infant baptism is biblical and the other does not; one believes in speaking in tongues, the other does not; one believes in women ministers and the other does not and so on.  These are all clear examples of disputes on their own "traditions", which Catholics are criticized for having.  

St. Paul, the other Apostles, and Christ Himself NEVER say once in the bible that we are justified by Faith alone.   On the contrary, St. Paul does say repeatedly in Galatians 2:16, Romans 3:24 or Romans 3:26 that we are justified by Faith apart from the works of the law.  No question about that.  But Christians read into the phrase "the works of the law" and infuse meaning that is not intended to be there.  Christian Protestants mistakenly take these verses and interpret them to be a catch all that apart from any works, even baptism by water, we are justified in God's eyes.  Also that we are justified by faith apart from even the 10 commandments.  This is simply not what St. Paul is saying in these verses, nor any verses in Romans.  St. Paul is referring to the Old Law, the laws of kosher or circumcision which were thrown out.  He was not referring to every law or work.

A Protestant journal article called, Works of Law, by Joseph B. Tyson, who teaches at the Southern Methodist University, dissects the verses of Galatians and Romans very acurratly.  Protestant Tyson says look, "The phrase 'the works of the law' in the New Testament is a reference to Mosaic ceremonial observances that are now obsolete because of the coming of the New Covenant.  In other words, when St. Paul says we are justified by faith in Christ and we do not need the works of the law anymore, he is not talking about throwing out baptism and a life of morality.

"The Works of the Law", as a phrase in Greek is a technical term in first century Rabbinic  disputes meaning Mosaic ceremonies like circumcision, the kosher laws and all the other Old Laws that were made obsolete with the coming of the New Covenant.  That is what St. Paul is referring to when he speaks of the law.  And when one looks at the scriptures in this way, only then will the true meaning be revealed.  Paul was not excluding all works of our Faith when he gave his messages in Galatians and Romans.  Paul was not intending to exclude baptism by water and keeping God's commandments and living a life of morality in order to be saved.  

Martin Luther pronounced a direct quote he said to his apprentice and close friend Philipp Melanchthon, "I could commit adultery and murder a hundred times a day and it would not affect my justification before God one whit."  This is exactly opposite of what St. Paul and the bible teaches.  What St. Paul says in Galatians 5:6, "In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision or uncirmucision matters.  What matters is faith that works by love and charity."   It is a faith that works Paul says.  And Charity is defined in the scriptures specifically.  It is not some arbitrary emotion left up to all of us to decide and interpret what it means to each of us.  The bible gives a clear understanding for all Christians to know what Charity is.  Our Lord explains love and charity when he says, "If a man loves Me, he will keep My Commandments."  Keeping something takes action or work.  No one is capable of doing this apart from the grace of God, that is not possible.  We cannot do it alone. But what the law in the old covenant was unable to do, which St. Paul says in Romans 8:4, God was able to do by sending us His Son and His Spirit so that we might walk in the spirit, "That the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit." - Romans 8:4.  This verse teaches the importance of keeping the righteous requirements of God's law.  We all know we will not do it perfectly and will stumble and sin.  But that perfection we are striving for is something we have to achieve before we can enter heaven, where there is no unclean.  "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Our Lord says in Matthew 5:43.  We have to be perfect by the time we get to heaven, by the grace of God, as we cannot do it alone.  There are no sinners or sin in heaven.

As Paul says in Hebrews 12:14 we have to "Follow after holiness without which no one will see the Lord."  This is a specific action or work that the bible is calling us to do.  So in summary Paul is simply arguing against the works of the law as it relates to the old law traditions which became obsolete because of the New Covenant.  Old Law ceremonies like circumcision and the kosher laws.  Paul did NOT mean all laws and all actions to be done away with.  The Christian who believes that is what is meant is reading into the scripture and infusing additional meaning that is not intended.  

In Galations 6:17, "Neither circumcision or uncircumcision matters in Christ, what matters is a new creation."  A whole new way of living.  In 1st Coronthians 7:14- "Neither circumcision or uncircumcision matters, what matters is keeping the Commandments of God."  Again, another call to works or action.  St. Paul is making it clear in all of these passages what he meant by works apart from the law.  St. Paul is not preaching this anti-nomian (don't have to keep God's law) ideal, as most protestant sects claim to be true today.  Of course we have to keep God's law but we also have to understand we cannot do it ourself, as John says in John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches.  Only if you remain united in me and I in you, apart from me you can do nothing."  All of these passages are calling for works, are calling for action and commanding us to live this "new life", a life of obedience to God.  Being obedient to God, no matter how you want to cut it, is a work and action on our part.  

Now, where did this idea of "we are saved by Faith alone" derive from, because there is NO WHERE in the bible where it states we are saved by Faith alone or by the bible alone for that matter.  The concept came from Martin Luther who added the word "alone" to his German translations of the bible.  When he did this, even his fellow protestants spoke up to him in protest telling Luther that he can't add to the bible.  In reply Martin Luther said to them, "If anyone objects tell them that Dr. Luther said it must be so," end of discussion.  Luther claimed he was making explicit what was implicit, but he was not doing that at all.  Luther was reading into what Paul meant and infused his own interpretation.  

A book I read on Protestantism called, The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism, by Louis Bouyer, gives a superb in depth account on Martin Luther. The historian said Luther was unfortunately born at a time when the teachings and writings of St. Thomas was in eclipse and another type of philosophy known as "Nominalism" by William of Ockham and others was on the rise.  During this confusion, Luther made radical disjunctions that the bible does not make.  Luther separated what God joined together with the whole ideal, "if it is by faith, then it is not by works" or "it is the baptism of spirit and not by the waters" or "If Christ is the head of the Church, then there is no need for a visible head on earth."  In other words, Luther made everything "either-or" when God intended it to be understood as "both-and".  Luther chopped apart the word faith and works, in the positive sense of the word works, that the bible teaches.   The idea there is nothing we can do to be saved, or have to do to be saved, and if we think we can work to get to heaven it minimizes or negates what Christ did on the cross is not taught by the bible.  

That idea is completely non-biblical based on what the bible says (as shown previously) and based on the twisting of scripture that Luther invented when he began the revolution.  Luther went so far as to add a word to the bible that wasn't there, "alone", and not only did he add that word, he also cut out from the bible the passages and message of James because James compeltely shatters Luther's principle that Faith alone saves.  There is only place in the bible where the words "faith" and "alone" appear in the same sentence.  James 2:24 "So you see brothers, that a man is justified by WORKS and NOT by faith alone."  It is interesting to note that the ONLY single verse in the bible that talks about justification by faith alone condemns it as a heresy.  

So what did Luther do?  Luther took it upon himself, since the letter of James completely condemned his position, and cut James out of the bible.  Luther's direct quote about James, "It is an Epistle of straw, I want nothing to do with it!"  Now even his own collogues in the Protestant reformation realized he had gone too far and put James back into the Cannon.  Luther always had nothing but distain for the teaching of St. James.  So we have to recognize that St. Paul's teaching and St. James' teachings are consistent with the Catholic teaching of the bible.  That we are saved by Faith, but not by Faith alone.  We are saved by God's grace which manifests itself in baptism of the water and in a life of obedience to God's law.  Without the action or work of obedience, no one would be able to see heaven, as Hebrews 12:14 clearly states.

In conclusion, the bible was not intended to be the whole story.  It is part of the story and wholeness of truth but no the entire story and the entire truth.  There are 3 parts to Christ's whole truth just as there are three persons in one God.  The bible shows all three 1) Scripture 2) Tradition 3) Majesterium.  

1) Scripture  - The bible teaches its scriptural passages as God's infallible Word as all Christians accept and believe.

2) Tradition - The bible teaches tradition and holding fast the the Traditions God has gifted us with to please Him through Paul and many scriptures.

3) Majesterium - the bible shows throughout history, since the beginning of time, God always chose a hierarchy and had favorites.  He always chose leaders and had Chief Stewards to lead his kingdom on earth and direct them with truth.   

When we read the early Church fathers, or the Apostolic fathers, like Ignatius of Antioch who was the successor to St. Peter and in his letters in the first century wrote, "Where the bishop is, THERE is the Catholic Church."  Ignatius wrote 7 letters on his way to be put to death.  He also wrote about the gnostics, who were a sect that broke away from Christianity at the time revolting against the Eucharist   Ignatius wrote, "The gnostics will not participate in our Eucharists because they refuse to admit the Eucharist is the actual body and blood of Christ, that which He suffered for our sins and which the Father raised by His glory."  This is ABSOLUTELY unambiguous testimony that the REAL faith of the early Christians before the Protestant reformation in 1500, and that of the early Church, was without a doubt Catholic.  This was the faith Christ Himself, through His Apostles, handed down to Ignatius.  It is undeniable that those chosen to carry on the Church as the Church Fathers held explicitly Catholic beliefs.  

They all believed the Eucharist was the literal body and blood of Christ, and when Christ said in John 6 "Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you cannot have everlasting life in you," they understood that as Christ meaning it literally.   Transubstantiation, or the turning if the communion host into the body and blood of Christ, is a Catholic belief straight from Jesus' selected individuals who passed on His Church.  The Catholic Church is the ONLY Church that believes that the communion becomes the actual Body and Blood of Christ, which Ignatius describes and concurs with in his letter.  These Church fathers give us the Apostolic faith, the faith that Christ preached and practiced and wanted us to preach and practice.  The Apostolic fathers and founders Christianity all believed in the actual Eucharist being the literal body and blood of Christ (A Catholic Belief Only).  They all believed and agreed on the power and headship of the Bishop of Rome (A Catholic Belief Only).  They all believed the importance and necessity of Baptism with water to be saved (A Catholic Belief Only).  All of these principals comply with the teachings of the bible and the Catholic Church.

Life is full of surprises and often the answers to some of the biggest questions we have are not at all what we thought they would be.  God's heart is so immense and His love embraces all of us.  It is truly catholic or universal.  Could it be possible that if a believer came to all of this with an open heart and mind that the Catholic faith might possibly hold a biblical basis that the non-Catholic had never suspected before?  When reading the bible, we always have to make sure we are understanding the messages it gives in the correct context and meaning.  An infallible book is useless when it is left to a fallible mind to freely interpret.