Is Sola Fide unscriptural? {Open}

The act of accepting Christ is a good work done through grace.

A person is given the Faith to Believe as a GIFT! Rom 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by FAITH from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

First to last, from beginning to end, its faith, nothing else! Rom 4:5 "Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness."

3.Titus 3:5: "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. . . . "

4.Galatians 3:21-22: "For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe."

How can one be promised Salvation by belief if it is also by works?

James 2:14-16: "Faith without works is dead." This passage does not teach that salvation is accomplished by any human effort, but instead that no one can see one's faith without works. James uses Abraham as his example, just as Paul did in Romans 4. However, James discusses how one's actions "justify" him before other men, and Paul discusses justification before God (how one becomes saved).

Rom 9:16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.

John 6:28 Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

Where does scripture state we are saved by faith?

Rom. 3:28-30, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.”

Rom. 4:5, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,”

Rom. 5:1, “therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Rom. 9:30, “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith.”

Rom. 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Rom. 11:6, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”

Gal. 2:16, “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.”

Gal. 2:21, I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.

Gal.3:5-6, “Does He then, who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 6Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

Gal. 3:24, “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.”

Eph. 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. 9Not by works, lest any man should boast.”

Phil. 3:9, “and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”

And yet the same author who wrote Romans 4 also wrote Philippians 2:12 which says "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling"

Church teaching is that we can do nothing to merit the grace that comes to us in baptism, which is the normal beginning of the Christian life. In fact, the Council of Trent condemned anyone who taught that we can save ourselves or who taught even that God helps us do what we could do for ourselves. The Church teaches that we can be saved only by God’s grace. Following Paul, the Catholic Church teaches that justification comes by faith. Only it says that it doesn’t come through faith alone. If you look carefully at Paul’s writings, you will notice that he never says that our righteousness comes from faith alone—only that it comes from faith apart from works.

And more importantly to read the Bible as a whole we see James saying that "a man is justified by his works". Do James and Paul contradict each other? No. because Paul always talks about works through the law i.e. he always is talking about the OT law. In Galatians he is specifically talking against circumscion. Paul speaks about Christians fulfilling the law by following the command to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Gal. 5:14). He then explains that we must show the "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:16–26) and bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:1ff) as a way of fulfilling the "law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2). All Paul’s teaching comes down to this: Our own works can never justify us, but works that grow out of faith in Christ are part of our justification. That’s why Paul says in Philippians 2:12 you must "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." And that squares with James’s teaching that works that grow from faith justify

In Romans Paul said that Abraham was not justified by works but by faith. Paul means that Abraham was not justified by keeping the Old Testament law, while James means that Abraham was justified by doing a work that grew out of his faith in God (James 2:21 ""Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?" ")

Besides what is officially stated, that of salvation by grace through merit, that by God’s grace, received thru sacraments, man does works which merit salvation, what is effectually conveyed is that of confidence in one’s own merit and the power of the church to gain salvation by.

As said before, while we can state the theological distinction, man’s nature is one that resists the kind of abasement and surrender that results when man realizes that he is not worthy of eternal life, nor will he ever be, on the basis of any merit of his own work, or even the merit of his faith, but instead he is worthy of eternal damnation, and so must cast all his faith on the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. It is because of who Christ is and what He did that one is justified, which state is appropriated by God-given faith, one that results in works of faith, being led by the Spirit.

Salvific faith is an admission that only God is wholly holy and just, and that you are wicked and justly damned, and that the only way you can be saved is on His blood-expense, and on His righteousness. And repentance is implicit in believing, and believing in the Lord Jesus to save also implicitly attributes deity to Him.Thus God gets all the glory, and not man, and while he is saved by imputed righteousness, practical holiness will be the result.

(Rom 3:23-26) “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; {24} Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: {25} Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; {26} To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

(Titus 3:5) “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

(2 Cor 5:19-21) “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. {20} Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. {21} For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

(2 Cor 6:1) “We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.”

As documented above, the Reformationists did not teach that righteousness comes from faith which is alone, nor do the requirement of works as a resuit of faith teach justification is merited by them, while what Rome means by salvation by grace is that by God’s grace, dispense thru her sacraments, one does works by which they truly merit eternal life.

As regards Romans 4, this teaches imputed righteousness, not based upon a constitutional change in ones heart, while the negation of salvation by the merit of O.T. law-keeping is not limited to the Law, but that represented the standard, and negates all works are meriting salvation. (Titus 3:5) If this were not the case, imputed righteousness by faith would not be needed. “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. {6} Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,” (Rom 4:5-6)

To hold that one is justified by faith apart from works, but that works merit eternal life, is inconsistent and not Biblical.

As for James, if he is indeed teaching that faith-works themselves justify, then he both contradicts both Paul and Genesis 15:6. However, if he is teaching, in reaction to antinomianism, that only a faith which is manifested in works is salvific, being not alone, then they both agree.

But such works are not the same as perfunctory professions or even good works which one rests upon for God to justify Him by. And if Rome pressed upon its people that they were in dire need of salvation due to their sins and utter inability to justify themselves and escape eternal damnation, and must cast all their faith upon the Lord Jesus for salvation and the new birth, rather than treating them as saved souls because of infant baptism thru proxy faith, then evangelicals and Catholics could have some fellowship in the Spirit.

More here: http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/sola-scriptura-earlychurch.html
http://www.christiantruth.com/solascriptura.html

But “unanimous consent of the fathers” is rare, and does not apply to all that Rome invokes it for: http://www.christiantruth.com/articles/livingtradition.html http://www.equip.org/articles/apostolic-tradition

Sola scriptura can have somewhat nuanced definitions (mainly as regards formally sufficiency), but most surely holds to the “supremacy of Scripture”, that while it materially provides for the teaching office of the church, and that God may “speak” to believers today (esp. during the offering), and that there is information that is not written in the Scriptures, (Jn. 21:25; Rev. 10:4) but that all such is subject to the Scriptures, this beng the only objective authority which is affirmed therein to be 100% inspired by God.

Do Catholics tell people they have to earn their way into heaven? No we do not. That grace is given by God alone.

Grace that is "merited" to perform good works is STILL WORKS.

The supposed "free grace" given by God, still requires the RC to perform the required works.

If cooperation is required to produce the works to attain heaven then its not REALLY a gift AND people CAN boast about their "grace" induced works!

Grace recieved to perform worthy Works is STILL WORKS!

The RC is then not saved by CHRIST's righteousness, but through his own achieved righteousness!

We do not merit grace but receive it as a gift. That is Church teaching. God gives us the grace to have faith. We respond to God’s grace by faith. Our faith, if it is genuine, is shown through works. Sounds like you might be a bit off. Council of Trent, Canon 24, 32

If any one saith, that the justice received is not preserved and also increased before God through good works; but that the said works are merely the fruits and signs of Justification obtained, but not a cause of the increase thereof: let him be anathema.

If any one saith, that the good works of one that is justified...does not truly merit increase of grace, eternal life, and the attainment of that eternal life— if so be, however, that he depart in grace,—and also an increase of glory: let him be anathema. The comments of John Gerstner are very pertinent here:

Some Romanists will say that they too teach justification by grace—by Christ’s righteousness, in fact. But the righteousness of Christ which they claim justifies is not Christ’s own personal righteousness reckoned or credited or given or imputed to believers. Romanists refer to the righteousness which Christ works into the life of the believer or infuses into him in his own living and behavior. It is not Christ’s personal righteousness but the believer’s personal righteousness, which he performs by the grace of God. It is Christ’s righteousness versus the believer’s own righteousness.

It is Christ’s achievement versus the Christian’s achievement. It is an imputed righteousness not an infused righteousness. It is a gift of God versus an accomplishment of man. These two righteousnesses are as different as righteousnesses could conceivable be. It does come down to the way it has been popularly stated for the last four and a half centuries: Protestantism’s salvation by faith versus Rome’s salvation by works...The Protestant trusts Christ to save him and the Catholic trusts Christ to help him save himself. It is faith versus works.

Council of Trent:

This teaching is further endorsed in harmony with Trent by the following Roman Catholic authorities:

The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism: 1074. What is habitual or sanctifying grace? Habitual or sanctifying grace is a supernatural quality that dwells in the human soul, by which a person shares in the divine nature, becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit, a friend of God, his adopted child, an heir to the glory of heaven, and able to perform actions meriting eternal life (emphasis added).

Ludwig Ott
As God’s grace is the presupposition and foundation of (supernatural) good works, by which man merits eternal life, so salutary works are, at the same time gifts of God and meritorious acts of man...By his good works the justified man really acquires a claim to supernatural reward from God...A just man merits for himself through each good work an increase in sanctifying grace, eternal life (if he dies in a state of grace) and an increase of heavenly glory (emphasis added).

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