Sola Fide

[Bengalzona]

(04-26-2016, 01:04 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Faith alone, the concept that we cannot, through our actions, justify the grace of God that we receive. That the grace of God is given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus. What's your opinion on it? It's a concept that has been tossed around for centuries and there is a lot of back and forth between theologians. Plenty of Bible verses are used to support it and plenty to go against it. It's a new concept to me that I have been trying to learn more about through my readings of Luther's works and I figured we might have some people on here that would enjoy the discussion.

So, sola fide, what does it mean to you? Are you in agreement with it or not? And responses from non-Christians are just as welcome, just don't be mocking/derogatory.

It's core doctrine for Protestant Christianity. It is the belief that we are tainted by sin and, therefore, cannot receive God's grace unless we recognize the divine nature and sacrifice of Jesus.

Among most Protestant churches, it is the initial part of the process for salvation: 1) Justification - confessing that you have sinned and recognizing Jesus as divine frees you from the penalty of sin, 2) Sanctification - recognizing and heeding the Holy Spirit's guidance within you to free yourself from the power of sin, and 3) Glorification - being removed from the presence of sin during the Second Coming of Christ. Acts (generosity, kindness, mercy, etc.) are generally believed to be not recognized by God from someone who has not gone through Justification. Someone going through the second phase of Sanctification is expected to be moved to perform Acts by the working of the Holy Spirit within them (i.e. you still don't get any browny points for doing them).

Catholic and Orthodox theology differs, but I should let someone of those beliefs speak on that.

Do I believe this? Yes and no. I believe it applies to me. I'm not sure that it applies to everyone. As you noted above, some sections of the Bible go against this. If you go to just about any dyed-in-the-wool Baptist church and ask if there will be non-Christians in Heaven (i.e. people who have not recognized Christ as their savior), you will overwhelming get a response of "yes". This is what they have been taught, from the preachers on down. If you then ask them "What is the only way to get to Heaven?", you will inevitably receive a response about recognizing Jesus as your savior.

Why the contradictory beliefs? If you ask me (and even if you didn't), I believe it goes to the very root of the problem with how Christianity is practiced in modern times: it is meant to be a belief set adopted by an individual and applied to their own life, not everyone else around them. Why? Because if you are busy pointing out other people's failings, you aren't spending enough time recognizing and correcting your own failings.

I'll get off my soapbox now.