Both Catholics and Protestants agree with the bare assertion that justification is by faith. It's not the "fide" in Sola Fide that causes so many problems, it's the "sola." The disagreement, in other words, is over whether it is faith alone that justifies. Exchanges like this, therefore, are not uncommon:Protestant: "We are justified by faith."Catholic: "I agree, but not by faith alone."Protestant: "Why, then, does Paul always insist that we are justified by faith and not by works?"Catholic: "Well, in those passages Paul is not really contrasting faith and works, but faith and works of the ... [read more]

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Paul's argument in Romans 4 is especially germane to our discussion of the doctrine of Sola Fide in general, and of the relationship of faith to works in particular. Some relevant points include:1. "Works" and "faith" are set in antithesis to one another: "Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness" (vv. 4-5).2. The works that Abraham is said not to have done cannot be understood to be "works of the law," for Paul says explicitly that "the ... [read more]

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Some years ago while a missionary in Budapest, I was listening to a visiting pastor preaching to Hungarians through a translator. At one point in his sermon he used an illustration in which he mentioned a "disheveled man." The translator furrowed her brow and translated his phrase "lapát ember," which means "shovel man." Needless to say, it was all downhill from there.My point is that it was only those few of us who spoke both languages well who realized that we were watching a train wreck happening in slow motion. Everyone else was just confused.Now, I do speak Hungarian, but I don't spea... [read more]

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The second of the "Slogans of Protest" that Catholics re-ject is Sola Fide, the Protestant teaching that the believer is justified by faith alone apart from works. The way the Reformed tradition has expressed this doctrine con-fessionally is as follows:Those whom God effectually calleth, he also freely justifieth: not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone... by [God's] imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto th... [read more]

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I realize that I claimed to have wrapped up our Sola Scriptura discussion, but it's my blog and I can do whatever I want (so there). But in order to keep my word, immediately after I finish this final word on the subject I will move on to Sola Fide.One of the most significant ramifications of Galatians 1:8-9 is that there is not only authority that Paul demands, there is authority that makes demands upon him. Whether or not he could have ever preached another gospel, the fact remains that if he did he would have brought the curse he uttered down upon his own head. In other words, Paul was a... [read more]

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As we wrap up the Sola Scriptura installment of our ongoing discussion of Catholicism and Protestantism, I beg your indulgence (ahem) as I post something a bit longer than usual (my normal goal is for the entire text of each post to fit on your screen at once). That won’t happen with this one. Some of you have referred to my recent performance as devil’s advocate for Rome as being truly worthy of an Academy Award nomination (and you haven’t all meant it as a compliment either, but have half-convinced yourselves that I have taken up the rite of French-kissing my new statue of Joseph Ra... [read more]

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In our last post we looked at the Protestant doctrine of the Invisible Church, noting that the Reformed understanding of ecclesiastical authority either gives rise to, or emerges from, its view that the church is primarily invisible.Now if it is true of Geneva that church authority is bound up in whether that church is visible or invisible, it is even more profoundly true of Rome. You see, we Protestants could actually withstand a slight tweaking of our ecclesiology while still maintaining our view of authority, but the Catholic view of authority is so utterly and absolutely dependent on th... [read more]

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As I have been hinting at, whether one adopts a Catholic or Protestant view of ecclesiastical authority is largely contingent upon whether he sees the church as primarily visible or invisible. In other words, before you figure out what the church can say, you first must determine who she is."The idea of an infallible and hierarchical Church," writes Berkhof,"... found no favor with Luther. He regarded the Church as the spiritual communion of those who believe in Christ.... He maintained the unity of the Church, but distinguished two aspects of it, the one visible and the other invisible....... [read more]

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By the middle of the second cent-ury, each local Christian church was led by a single bishop whose ministry was considered to carry apostolic authority. On his way to martyrdom in Rome in 110, Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, wrote to the church in Tralles: "... when you obey the bishop as if he were Christ Jesus, you are (as I see it) living not in a merely human fashion, but in Jesus Christ's way.... It is essential, therefore, to act in no way without the bishop, just as you are doing."And to the church in Smyrna he wrote:"You should all follow the bishops as Jesus Christ did the Father....... [read more]

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The first step in understanding the Catholic view of authority focuses on Peter and his unique leadership role among Jesus' disciples, as we saw in Friday's post. But what comes next?In John 20:21-23 we read that Jesus said to his disciples, "Even as the Father sent me, so I send you." He then breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven. If you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld." As in all four gospels, Jesus here sends the apostles forth with his commission and the authority to carry it out.As time went on the pos... [read more]

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