Posted on 06/04/2017 12:29:15 PM PDT by ealgeone
Question: "Why is sola fide important?"
Answer: Sola fide which means "faith alone" is important because it is one of the distinguishing characteristics or key points that separate the true biblical Gospel from false gospels. At stake is the very Gospel itself and it is therefore a matter of eternal life or death. Getting the Gospel right is of such importance that the Apostle Paul would write in Galatians 1:9, “As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” Paul was addressing the same question that sola fide addresses—on what basis is man declared by God to be justified? Is it by faith alone or by faith combined with works? Paul makes it clear in Galatians and Romans that man is “justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law” (Galatians 2:16), and the rest of the Bible concurs.
Sola fide is one of the five solas that came to define and summarize the key issues of the Protestant Reformation. Each of these Latin phrases represents a key area of doctrine that was an issue of contention between the Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church, and today they still serve to summarize key doctrines essential to the Gospel and to Christian life and practice. The Latin word sola means “alone” or “only” and the essential Christian doctrines represented by these five Latin phrases accurately summarize the biblical teaching on these crucial subjects: sola scriptura—Scripture alone, sola fide—faith alone, sola gratia—grace alone, sola Christus—Christ alone, and sola Deo gloria—for the glory of God alone. Each one is vitally important, and they are all closely tied together. Deviation from one will lead to error in another essential doctrine, and the result will almost always be a false gospel which is powerless to save.
Sola fide or faith alone is a key point of difference between not only Protestants and Catholics but between biblical Christianity and almost all other religions and teachings. The teaching that we are declared righteous by God (justified) on the basis of our faith alone and not by works is a key doctrine of the Bible and a line that divides most cults from biblical Christianity. While most religions and cults teach men what works they must do to be saved, the Bible teaches that we are not saved by works, but by God’s grace through His gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Biblical Christianity is distinct from every other religion in that it is centered on what God has accomplished through Christ’s finished work, while all other religions are based on human achievement. If we abandon the doctrine of justification by faith, we abandon the only way of salvation. “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness" (Romans 4:4-5). The Bible teaches that those that trust Jesus Christ for justification by faith alone are imputed with His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21), while those who try to establish their own righteousness or mix faith with works will receive the punishment due to all who fall short of God’s perfect standard.
Sola fide—the doctrine of justification by faith alone apart from works—is simply recognizing what is taught over and over in Scripture—that at some point in time God declares ungodly sinners righteous by imputing Christ’s righteousness to them (Romans 4:5, 5:8, 5:19). This happens apart from any works and before the individual actually begins to become righteous. This is an important distinction between Catholic theology that teaches righteous works are meritorious towards salvation and Protestant theology that affirms the biblical teaching that righteous works are the result and evidence of a born-again person who has been justified by God and regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit.
How important is sola fide? It is so important to the Gospel message and a biblical understanding of salvation that Martin Luther described it as being “the article with and by which the church stands.” Those who reject sola fide reject the only Gospel that can save them and by necessity embrace a false gospel. That is why Paul so adamantly denounces those who taught law-keeping or other works of righteousness in Galatians 1:9 and other passages. Yet today this important biblical doctrine is once again under attack. Too often sola fide is relegated to secondary importance instead of being recognized as an essential doctrine of Christianity, which it certainly is.
“Consider Abraham: ‘He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’ Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Galatians 3:6-11).
If you’re wearing those idolatrous things you are not trusting in Christ for your salvation. You are trusting in a false apparition.
Arguing with the mod tends to reduce your electrical resistance by like 95 percent.
Peddle the catholiciism cult to unlearned, you will not fool Freepers who have been studying this issue for deacdes. Your cult chose to use the term 'rvolt' for apostasia when the Protestant uprising was blowing. Prior to that change by your cult the word was taken to mean falling away and depature, etc.
Maybe so, but this is the mod we’re talking about, and the argument was about violating the rules.
Not a good idea to try to get into the mod’s face.
Well, these doctrines are not Luther’s idea. They are Scripture and aside from the occasional Lutheran who posts on these threads, NOBODY CARES WHAT HE SAID.
***
Luther wrote some really good commentaries, and his Large Catechism is a wonderful handbook for the Christian faith and teaching the Christian life.
But he’s not the source of even Lutheran theology. Scripture is. Dr. Luther simply was a very good expositor of Scripture and a prolific writer.
Let's fix that problem sentence.
Why wouldn't I or any other Trinity loving and adoring Catholic want to trade in a two thousand year old, syncretic pagan, works-based, worldly religion for Jesus, for eternal life, for salvation by His complete payment for sin, for freedom from the Catholic Hamster Wheel of Guilt?
True that! Why wouldn't any soul want eternal life from the only source that can save.
No church saves. Only Christ saves.
Jerome translated apostasia into the Latin word meaning departure (discessio).
Who won't be in subjection to him themselves.
The present pope speaks for all Catholics, but NOT all Christians.
And again, many Catholics say that he doesn't speak for them and then try to claim that the Catholic church represents all Christianity and the pope speaks for the *Christian world*.
If he doesn't even speak for the Catholics, then why should non-Catholics accept him as speaking for them?
Well, no offense to Lutherans, but I don’t know anyhone who reads Luther’s writings or follows them because he wrote them.
Catholics are mostly the ones who have him living in their heads rent free 24/7.
Most Christians don’t even bother thinking about him.
A Christian is a follower of Christ, someone who is saved.
He does not have on again/off again salvation depending on his works.
That teaching makes salvation a works based merit system.
A Christian's salvation is secure because the Christian is in Christ, a new creature in Christ, born from above, transferred into the kingdom of the Son God loves, seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
Any sin that he has not repented of is covered anyway and will not cost him his salvation.
Any teaching that a Christian can go to hell for sin committed is wrong because Christian is saved.
It is hell they are saved from.
If they go to hell because of sin committed, then they are not saved from hell, therefore not Christians.
So this teaching that a Christian can go to hell is right from the pit of hell itself.
I have heard an expression that has stayed with me: "Its not how many times you go through the Scriptures, but how many times the Scriptures go though you." No matter how new I am to this website is of no importance, what is important is that it is apparent to me that so many people on this website have not really dug with a sincere heart for the Truth, no matter what. No one wins this way except the devil himself . I have no doubt he is loving this whole-heartedly. How can any one come closer to God with all the mud slinging.
Here's a bit of history: "The Douay-Rheims Bible is a scrupulously faithful translation into English of the Latin Vulgate Bible which St. Jerome (342-420) translated into Latin from the original languages. The Vulgate quickly became the Bible universally used in the Latin Rite (by far the largest rite of the Catholic Church).
St. Jerome, who was one of the four great Western Fathers of the Church, was a man raised up by God to translate the Holy Bible into the common Latin tongue of his day. He knew Latin and Greek perfectly; he also knew Hebrew and Aramaic nearly as well. He was 1500 years closer to the original languages than any other scholar today, which would make him a much better judge of the exact meaning of any Greek or Hebrew word in the Scriptures. Besides being a towering linguistic genius, he was also a great saint, and he had access to ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the 2nd and 3rd centuries which have since perished and are no longer available to scholars today. St. Jerome's translation, moreover, was a careful, word-for-word rendering of the original texts into Latin."
Preface for The Holy Bible
I have seen several people bring up what they call the "Luther card." If one would look up the history of Christianity and the numerous branches and sects and their inceptions and the authors of those sects, they all, at some point in time came from Luther, especially the new doctrine of 'faith alone'. So all those roads lead to Luther. There is only One Truth. There can't be as many truths as there are interpretations.
And how many times have we been told the Catholic adores those idols of Mary?
Here's a challenge.
If, as you claim, you don't believe wearing the scapular or medal does anything for you.....throw them away.
Throw them away with the idols of Mary.
Will you accept the challenge?
Well, no offense to Lutherans, but I don’t know anyhone who reads Luther’s writings or follows them because he wrote them.
Catholics are mostly the ones who have him living in their heads rent free 24/7.
Most Christians don’t even bother thinking about him.
***
Yeah, that’s pretty much what I see around my neck of the woods as well.
This is demonstrably false. Waldensians, for example. History records others that were also persecuted by Rome.
Most new churches today have nothing to do with Luther. He may live rent-free in the heads of Catholics, but I've yet to meet a single believer who ever brought up Luther. I've never heard a sermon about Luther.
especially the new doctrine of 'faith alone'.
This sends you to the back of Bible Class for extra assignments. Here is your first:
Romans 4:Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”[a]
Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. 14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. 15 For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)
16 So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. 17 That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.”[d] This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
Salvation is always by faith in God's Promises. It was before the church age and always will be by faith and not by works.
So all those roads lead to Luther.
Now demonstrated as false.
Betcha the reply won’t address the quoted verses at all!
So much gobbledygook, where do I begin to refute it all. I don't know a whole lot about Luther, but I am glad he lives rent free in your head. I didn't know he married a nun, but praise God for that. He and his wife got to enjoy marital bliss, just like Mary and Joseph did. Mary, you know, the one who gave birth to Jesus. After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph went on to have other children.
So you pray to Mary do you? Then you are into necromancy. I will certainly not join you in that sin. By the way, I have been to Worms, Germany, where Luther did his thing. I thought, so this is where Luther poked them in the eye. Good for him. So, I guess Luther was a former priest, that's a good thing. I have known a few ex priests and ex nuns, who are no longer part of your works based religion. I have also known a few ex Muslims. One was from Iran. He was the most Godly man I ever knew.
And we have one group of people who are responsible for interpreting that Gospel which is the teaching magisterium of the Church.
Let me see if I got this straight. You are saying the megesterium (whatever that is) is the one(s) who interpret scripture for you? Then my question would be, why are you interpreting scripture for me, without a priest doing it for you? I think you want to hold me to your rule, but not yourself. It appears to me, you are violating a rule, that you want me to adhere to, but you don't want to abide by it. Not bad I would say. It sounds like something other than the eye of the hurricane to me.
I would say there is not a snow balls chance of me ever going back to the "truth" as you call it. I don't consider it to be the truth, even if you think it is. look, if you want to remain in your chosen works based religion, that's on you. I will never again be in a works based religion. 😇 About all I can say, is that soon there will be a great white throne judgement. Some of us will be there as defendants. Some of us will be there as witnesses for the prosecution. I plan to sit next to the Queen of the South, and when she gives me the sign, I will rise with her in judgement over this generation, and condemn it. Which side do you plan on being? So, the next time you post scripture, make sure you have a magisterium interpret it for you. Otherwise, I can't take it seriously.
I noticed you haven't been around here long. So far, the only posting you have done, is in favor of your works based religion. I wonder if you have any opinions? Like, do you support Donald Trump, or do you have Trump derangement syndrome? What do you think about the chump that used to be in the White House? What do you think about the First Amendment? How about the Second? What do you think about dirt bags like John Kerry, the Hildebeast, Eric Holder, Lois Lerner? Inquiring minds want to know.
I also notice that you have ignored my post to you on the word 'apostasia' (in 2 Thess 2:3). Are you just a catholic scholar, so you don't touch anything which has potential to refute catholic dogma?
Magisterium (n): A group of Papists responsible for the task of ‘interpreting’ Scripture to mean the exact opposite of what Scripture actually says.
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