Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

To: af_vet_1981
But many of them don’t actually agree with him. Today, half of American Protestants say that both good deeds and faith in God are needed to get into heaven (52%); the same number believe that in addition to the Bible, Christians need guidance from church teachings and traditions, according to two studies released today by the Pew Research Center. The numbers don’t change in Western Europe. In Luther’s home country of Germany, 61 percent of Protestants believe good deeds are needed for salvation. In John Calvin’s Switzerland, 57 percent agree, as do 47 percent in Abraham Kuyper’s Holland. So what is the problem here?

While using whatever Catholics place under the big Unitarian/Scientology/Swedenborgian/Mormonic;Baptist/etc. tent called Protestantism in comparison with Catholicism with her various various flavors of Catholics is an invalid comparison, the fact is that both early historical Protestantism and evangelicalism overall preaches that "both good deeds and faith in God are needed to get into heaven" - meaning a living effectual faith is that which justifies. And evangelicals are the ones who must evidence that, as compared to Catholic s.

No less a historical document on SS and Sola fide than the Westminster confession states that faith,

yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but works by love. - Westminster Confession of Faith, CHAPTER XI. Of Justification

Luther himself in sermons rejected the idea that a faith which did not effect characteristic obedience was salvific, stating,


107 posted on 01/08/2019 4:51:17 AM PST by daniel1212 (Trust the risen Lord Jesus to save you as a damned and destitute sinner + be baptized + follow Him)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 84 | View Replies ]


To: daniel1212
Works are necessary for salvation, but they do not cause salvation...​

Okay, in which case we have,

The truth of the matter is that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone, but and saving faith always produces works.

which is may also be expressed as,

The truth of the matter is that we are saved by grace through faith, and to be in the Messiah explicitly requires one to walk in good works.
109 posted on 01/08/2019 5:14:35 AM PST by af_vet_1981 (The bus came by and I got on, That's when it all began.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 107 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson