The Five Solas

[Yeshua1]

Not. You saying justification is by our faith alone when the scripture explicitly states justification is NOT by faith alone is a serious claim.

We are justified thru and by faith alone!

 

[Yeshua1]

You have lost sight of the meaning of Sola Fide and the error it was fighting to correct. At the core is the question “Does God MAKE you righteous or IMPUTE righteousness to you?” ...


Sola Fide

Often referred to as “the material cause” of the Reformation, the doctrine of justification sola fide (by faith alone) was a key point of debate between the Protestant Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century, and it has remained a point of disagreement ever since. Martin Luther and his followers expressed the importance of the doctrine of justification by faith alone by teaching that it is “the article by which the church stands or falls.” Was Luther correct in affirming the central importance of this doctrine? In order to answer this question, we must grasp the meaning of justification itself as well as the differences between the Protestant and Roman Catholic doctrines.

The Roman Catholic doctrine of justification is most clearly expressed in the Decree Concerning Justification produced in the Sixth Session of the Council of Trent in 1547. According to this Decree, fallen human beings are “made just” through the “laver of regeneration.” In short, the instrumental cause of justification (being made just) is baptism. Justification is said to involve remission of sins and “also the sanctification and renewal of the inward man.” Justification is not by faith alone, according to the Council of Trent, because hope and charity (i.e. love) must be added.

The Reformers rejected the ideas that justification means “making just” by a faith that is not alone and that it is accomplished through the instrument of baptism. But why? In order to answer that question, we must have some understanding of the basic issues underlying the debate. The first point to observe is that God is absolutely just and righteous, and He will judge the world in righteousness. So, what is the problem with this? The problem is that although God is perfectly just and righteous, we are not. We are fallen, sinful, unjust, and unrighteous creatures (Rom. 3:9–18). This raises an infinitely serious question for each of us: How can I, an unjust sinner, stand before our infinitely righteous and holy God at the final judgment?

Rome offered one answer. In order for a person to be declared righteous by God, he or she first has to be made righteous by God. As we saw above, justification for Rome means to be “made just.” The following is something of an oversimplification of a much more complicated doctrine, but at its heart, the Roman doctrine of justification includes the idea of sanctification and renewal. The grounds of justification, the basis upon which the declaration of righteousness is made, therefore, is an infused righteousness. It is a grace that is infused, or poured, into our souls. If a person cooperates with this infused grace, he or she is renewed and sanctified. The person cooperating with grace, therefore, has an inherent righteousness. One can lose this state of grace through mortal sin. However, if this happens, the sacrament of penance is a means by which a person can be restored to a state of justification.

According to the Reformers there were serious problems with the Roman doctrine. In the first place, the standard of God’s judgment is absolutely perfect righteousness (Matt. 5:48). He cannot require less without denying Himself and His own holiness. A person cannot be declared righteous and survive the judgment of God, therefore, on the grounds of anything less than perfection. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, however, only one man has ever lived a life of perfect righteousness, and that One is Jesus Christ (Heb. 4:15). The Reformers argued, therefore, in opposition to Rome’s idea of infusion for a doctrine of double imputation. To impute something means to reckon it legally. The doctrine of double imputation means that our sin is imputed to Christ and His righteousness is imputed to us (2 Cor. 5:21).

It is also important to note here that for Rome, justification is by faith, but it is not by faith alone. For Rome, faith is necessary, but faith is not sufficient. Recall that for Rome, the instrumental cause of justification is baptism. The Reformers argued, on the contrary, that the sole instrument of justification is faith, and that even this faith is a gift of God. It is by grace (Rom. 3:28; 5:1; Eph. 2:8).

The Reformed doctrine of justification is clearly expressed in the classic Reformed confessions and catechisms of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Westminster Larger Catechism, for example, provides a concise statement of the biblical doctrine:

Question 70: What is justification?
Answer: Justification is an act of God’s free grace unto sinners, in which he pardons all their sins, accepts and accounts their persons righteous in his sight; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but only for the perfect obedience and full satisfaction of Christ, by God imputed to them, and received by faith alone.

the big difference is that we Baptists and reformed hold with Imputed righteousness , while Catholics and others hold with Infused righteousness!

 

[kyredneck]

Saved judged by their good works for eternal rewards

WRONG:

but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
who will render to every man according to his works: to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: Ro 2:5-7

4 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;
36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Mt 25

The Bema seat judgment is not about 'rewards', it's about eternal destiny of the just and the unjust.

 

[Yeshua1]

WRONG:

but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
who will render to every man according to his works: to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: Ro 2:5-7

4 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;
36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Mt 25

The Bema seat judgment is not about 'rewards', it's about eternal destiny of the just and the unjust.

You are denying Pauline Justification now!

 

[kyredneck]

We are justified thru and by faith alone!

That's a corruption of the gospel, contradictory of scripture, and defies plain old common sense and the proper use of language.

 

[kyredneck]

You are denying Pauline Justification now!

ROFL!!! I just quoted Pauline theology!

 

[kyredneck]

You are denying Pauline Justification now!

Are you intentionally lying on me? You haven't changed a lick. You fly over a thread like a starling and take a splat never using scripture.

I am denying your manmade made up Pauline justification by faith alone because the scripture denies it.

 

[MB]

Are they considered to be reformed, are the Anglicans?

Well they certainly are not Catholic
MB

 

[Yeshua1]

That's a corruption of the gospel, contradictory of scripture, and defies plain old common sense and the proper use of language.

That is what the reformers, many of them, died for!

 

[Yeshua1]

ROFL!!! I just quoted Pauline theology!

Not the Romans nor Galatians!

 

[Yeshua1]

Are you intentionally lying on me? You haven't changed a lick. You fly over a thread like a starling and take a splat never using scripture.

I am denying your manmade made up Pauline justification by faith alone because the scripture denies it.

Paul was the One that explained it, and his take on salvation is saved by graced alone thru faith alone!

 

[MB]

Paul was the One that explained it, and his take on salvation is saved by graced alone thru faith alone!

But neither are alone they have each other to do the same Job. Where in scripture does it say saved by Grace alone through faith alone?
MB

 

[Yeshua1]

But neither are alone they have each other to do the same Job.
mb

True salvation will result in good works, but not needed to get saved!

 

[kyredneck]

saved by graced alone thru faith alone

Scripture. Please. Show me 'grace ALONE or faith ALONE. I already know you can't because it isn't there.

 

[kyredneck]

True salvation will result in good works,

The circumcised heart with the law written upon it is the source of good works and faith. Both are FRUITS of the Spirit.

 

[37818]

Scripture. Please. Show me 'grace ALONE or faith ALONE. I already know you can't because it isn't there.

It is an long standing understanding of meaning which I have heard you deny before. Ephesians 2:8-9. Titus 3:5. Romans 4:3-5.

 

[kyredneck]

It is an long standing understanding of meaning which I have heard you deny before. Ephesians 2:8-9. Titus 3:5. Romans 4:3-5.

None of those passages state faith ALONE. None.

 

[37818]

None of those passages state faith ALONE. None.

And there are zero references that say "Trinity" too. The references I gave gave faith and excluded works. Ephesians 2:8-9. Titus 3:5. Romans 4:3-5.

 

[utilyan]

Honoring God as God and not seeking to share in the GLORY that belongs to HIM alone. (see Proverbs 9:10, Proverbs 15:33, Proverbs 16:6, Isaiah 11:3)

That doesn't strike me as YOUR FAITH being more important.

 

[atpollard]

That doesn't strike me as YOUR FAITH being more important.

MY FAITH isn’t more important, but that is not the question that you asked or that I answered.