Posted on 06/08/2018 8:54:57 AM PDT by Salvation
There are a lot of “solos” sung by our Protestant brethren: sola fide (saved by faith alone), sola Scriptura (Scripture alone is the rule of faith), and sola gratia (grace alone). Generally, one ought to be leery of claims that things work “alone.” Typically, many things work together in harmony; things are interrelated. Very seldom is anyone or anything really “alone.”
The problem with “solos” emerges (it seems to me) in our mind, where it is possible to separate things out; but just because we can separate something out in our mind does not mean that we can do so in reality.
Consider, for a moment, a candle’s flame. In my mind, I can separate the heat of the flame from its light, but I could never put a knife into the flame and put the heat of the flame on one side of it and the light on the other. In reality, the heat and light are inseparable—so together as to be one.
I would like to argue that it is the same with things like faith and works, grace and transformation, Scripture and the Church. We can separate all these things out in our mind, but in reality, they are one. Attempting to separate them from what they belong to leads to grave distortions and to the thing in question no longer being what it is claimed to be. Rather, it becomes an abstraction that exists only on a blackboard or in the mind of a theologian.
Let’s look at the three main “solos” of Protestant theology. I am aware that there are non-Catholic readers of this blog, so please understand that my objections are made with respect. I am also aware that in a short blog I may oversimplify, and thus I welcome additions, clarifications, etc. in the comments section.
Solo 1: Faith alone (sola fide) – For 400 years, Catholics and Protestants have debated the question of faith and works. In this matter, we must each avoid caricaturing the other’s position. Catholics do not and never have taught that we are saved by works. For Heaven’s sake, we baptize infants! We fought off the Pelagians. But neither do Protestants mean by “faith” a purely intellectual acceptance of the existence of God, as many Catholics think that they do.
What concerns us here is the detachment of faith from works that the phrase “faith alone” implies. Let me ask, what is faith without works? Can you point to it? Is it visible? Introduce me to someone who has real faith but no works. I don’t think one can be found. About the only example I can think of is a baptized infant, but that’s a Catholic thing! Most Baptists and Evangelicals who sing the solos reject infant baptism.
Hence it seems that faith alone is something of an abstraction. Faith is something that can only be separated from works in our minds. If faith is a transformative relationship with Jesus Christ, we cannot enter into that relationship while remaining unchanged. This change affects our behavior, our works. Even in the case of infants, it is possible to argue that they are changed and do have “works”; it’s just that they are not easily observed.
Scripture affirms that faith is never alone, that such a concept is an abstraction. Faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Faith without works is not faith at all because faith does not exist by itself; it is always present with and causes works through love. Galatians 5:6 says, For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love. Hence faith works not alone but through love. Further, as Paul states in 1 Corinthians 13:2, if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
Hence faith alone is the null set. True faith is never alone; it bears the fruit of love and the works of holiness. Faith ignites love and works through it. Beware of the solo “faith alone” and ask where faith, all by itself, can be found.
Solo 2: Grace alone (sola gratia) – By its very nature grace changes us. Again, show me grace apart from works. Grace without works is an abstraction. It cannot be found apart from its effects. In our mind it may exist as an idea, but in reality, grace is never alone.
Grace builds on nature and transforms it. It engages the person who responds to its urges and gifts. If grace is real, it will have its effects and cannot be found alone or apart from works. It cannot be found apart from a real flesh-and-blood human who is manifesting its effects.
Solo 3: Scripture alone (sola Scriptura) – Beware those who say, “sola Scriptura!” This is the claim that Scripture alone is the measure of faith and the sole authority for the Christian, that there is no need for a Church and no authority in the Church, that there is only authority in the Scripture.
There are several problems with this.
First, Scripture as we know it (with the full New Testament) was not fully assembled and agreed upon until the 4th century.
It was Catholic bishops, in union with the Pope, who made the decision as to which books belonged in the Bible. The early Christians could not possibly have lived by sola scriptura because the Scriptures were not even fully written in the earliest years. And although collected and largely completed in written form by 100 AD, the set of books and letters that actually made up the New Testament was not agreed upon until the 4th century.
Second, until recently most people could not read.
Given this, it seems strange that God would make, as the sole rule of faith, a book that people had to read on their own. Even today, large numbers of people in the world cannot read well. Hence, Scripture was not necessarily a read text, but rather one that most people heard and experienced in and with the Church through her preaching, liturgy, art, architecture, stained glass, passion plays, and so forth.
Third, and most important, if all you have is a book, then that book needs to be interpreted accurately.
Without a valid and recognized interpreter, the book can serve to divide more than to unite. Is this not the experience of Protestantism, which now has tens of thousands of denominations all claiming to read the same Bible but interpreting it in rather different manners?
The problem is, if no one is Pope then everyone is Pope! Protestant “soloists” claim that anyone, alone with a Bible and the Holy Spirit, can authentically interpret Scripture. Well then, why does the Holy Spirit tell some people that baptism is necessary for salvation and others that it is not necessary? Why does the Holy Spirit tell some that the Eucharist really is Christ’s Body and Blood and others that it is only a symbol? Why does the Holy Spirit say to some Protestants, “Once saved, always saved” and to others, “No”?
So, it seems clear that Scripture is not meant to be alone. Scripture itself says this in 2 Peter 3:16: our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, also wrote to you, Our Brother Paul speaking of these things [the Last things] as he does in all his letters. In them there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures. Hence Scripture itself warns that it is quite possible to misinterpret Scripture.
Where is the truth to be found? The Scriptures once again answer this: you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Tim 3:15).
Hence Scripture is not to be read alone. It is a document of the Lord through the Church and must be read in the context of the Church and with the Church’s authoritative interpretation and Tradition. As this passage from Timothy says, the Church is the pillar and foundation of truth. The Bible is a Church book and thus is not meant to be read apart from the Church that received the authority to publish it from God Himself. Scripture is the most authoritative and precious document of the Church, but it emanates from the Church’s Tradition and must be understood in the light of it.
Thus, the problems of “singing solo” seem to boil down to the fact that if we separate what God has joined we end up with an abstraction, something that exists only in the mind but in reality, cannot be found alone.
Here is a brief video in which Fr. Robert Barron ponders the Protestant point of view that every baptized Christian has the right to authoritatively interpret the Word of God.sss
You don’t believe that, Priest. You teach people that YOU can absolve their sins through the ORG’s confessional. You teach that You have the authority. Has GOD spoken to you to give you even the authority He gave to Paul on the road to Damascus?
When I was an Episcopalian, I attended my granddaughter’s baptism. She was six. The recitations we adults were making were the key to this ritual, as we pledged to lead her in the Way that she should go as she grew up, so that when she reached maturity she would not depart from that Way. Was her sprinkling a regenerative act? For her, it was not required since she was still an innocent. The ritual was for we adults tomake our pledge before God on her behalf, so she would be well grounded in the need for her to have a personal relationship with The Lord and Savior SHE needs.
Thank you for sharing! I too spent many hours listening to radio broadcasts from men of God. My favorite while drinign distances was J. Vernon McGee. He was a man God appointed to teach. It was easy to absorb his teaching because God’s Spirit was in the transference from a man anointed to do The Hole Spirit’s work. But, by the same token, when Kenneth Copeland became established (wealthy through his ‘ministry’) there has been no presence of The Holy Spirit in his broadcasts. When Charles Stanley taught, the Spirit was in his messages. But when his son teaches there is no presence of The Holy Spirit in his messages. ... Just a personal observation.
Chuck Swindoll is also very good but you don’t hear so much about him these days.
No, I pledged to lead her in the knowledge of Jesus Chjrist and the way of Christian living, the right and wrong according to The Scriptures, which are The Word of God for our instruction. The Episcopalian denomination has strayed fro The Christian Living way of life. I left them because God’s Spirit is no longer in their way of living Truth.
The presence of your current pope should be screaming a warning to you as a Christian, that the Catholic denomination has strayed far from Christian Truth.
If what I hear listening to their one local station is what the organization as a whole believes, then there are several things I think the SDA gets wrong and several I think they get right... “as far as I know”.
As to which denomination is a cult or not, I find it’s like a friend of mine used to say about religions in general, “they all have a piece of the truth.” And, so far, that expression has held up pretty well for me in my seeking to understand things.
However, regarding the Sabbath, I’ve come to agree with them that the Sabbath is Saturday and wonder if they’re also right about how and why the switch occurred.
The only explanation I’ve heard from them so far, as I’ve not looked into that part yet, is that Rome did it.
They certainty take their Bible seriously and, as near as I can tell, they blame Rome for any and all things they don’t agree with.
Blaming Rome is very common theme, I’ve come to learn.
None the less, I think they’re probably right about the Sabbath. I’ve always wondered why Saturday is Sabado in Spanish, for example, or is called something in other languages that sounds recognizably close to “Sabbath”.
I also tend to now believe that only the Orthodox celebrate Easter on the correct calendar day, due to the calendar they use to determine the day.
So, if either of those fundamentals of Christianity are correct, then most of us are perhaps, while not in spirit, are technically violating one of the Ten Big Ones by worshipping on the wrong day and working or whatever on the actual Sabbath instead.
That’s what the data seems to say, but I’m just a padawan learner observer data taker here and I personally don’t know.
My main battles have been in learning to be more careful with my criticisms and judgments, whether about others and their stuff or my own sinner self and mine. Honestly? That’s about all I can handle and even then, I’m struggling.
What is now obvious to me is the part of me where such things are stored is now totally infected and utterly saturated with the worst of Satan’s malware, definitions and subroutines.
^There^, there be dragons!
So, anywho, that’s the dark alley I’m learning not to turn into, as well as the door I’m learning not to open for anyone but Jesus, Himself.
Question: What "stage" of justification matters WRT our eternity? If it's only at the "initial" stage that our works do not justify but by faith only, then explain how our works suddenly DO matter when we die? Aren't you actually promoting the Pelagian (or semi-Pelagian) heresy that we must merit our salvation through our works? It really is a matter of faith OR works - it can't be both. The very concept of grace demands that the gift is underserved, unmerited, unearned. Catholicism's accursed doctrine of justification has been the error whereby they have perverted the Gospel.
In many verses we are told/warned about neither to the left nor to the right, as Satan’s a tricky fellow and he knows how to roll us at will if we drift off course even a tiny bit.
A teacher I used to know who had been a minister in WV spoke about how the more effective the preacher, the more cunningly vicious Satan would go after them.
place marker
Excellent question, LC!
Although it overlooks some nuances, calling the paedobaptism done in a Protestant church a "wet dedication" isn't far off.
And in that teaching, they are actually condemning souls to hell because they teach the accursed gospel of salvation by our works and not by grace through faith and not by works! Jesus' sacrifice, according to them, isn't sufficient to redeem us.
Lay off the insults, ebb.
What insults?
If you read the link, it tells that they deny the deity of Christ.
That’s more than just not having all the truth.
Now that's funny right there when you consider that Catholics don't even believe that the Holy spirit guides the college of cardinals in selecting the pope?
I sure don't see much evidence of the Catholic church being lead or protected by the Holy Spirit throughout most of its sordid and immoral history.
Matter of fact, the act of protecting sexual predators in the clergy sounds more like the work of the enemy and his not letting it come to light or dealing with it is him protecting the system, not the Holy Spirit.
Metmom,not sure what you are calling an error.
Rome, thanks to their teaching and practices, can be tested to show they changed what Paul called the first/chief importance of the gospel.
Amazing how sharp His Word is. It appears protesters of Rome may not like how sharp His Word cuts into Rome’s lies - maybe some of Rome’s lies are a little too close to home for some protesters of Rome.
That isn’t a Word/ Scripture problem.
That’s a Rome and protester of Rome’s problem.
And one only need to use what Rome’gave us’- His Word.
Not sure what questions you referring to as I literally stopped reading your defense of Rome when you mentioned ‘law’.
Has zero to do with law.
It does have to do with believing The Word Became Flesh.
And testing what rome teaches vs His Word.
Rome may say it but they don’t teach it. If they did, they would see the subtleness of why their version isn’t the Passover Lamb.
Amazingly, Rome gets the first/chief importance of the gospel,in accordance with the scriptures, wrong. Their lies don’t lead to Truth.
When will protesters of Rome see that?
Or will protesters of Rome give to some free passes to Rome on inherited lies?
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