One of the greatest things that separates Christianity from all other world religions is the forgiveness of sins. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, and Rabbinic Judaism all teach that man must save himself by his good works. Also, despite the clear teaching of Scripture, many of the so-called ‘Christian’ groups such as Mormonism, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Roman Catholicism teach a mixture of the two beliefs, namely that God forgives sins and that man can do good works which also forgive sin. Evangelicals, on the other hand, teach that God imputes righteousness only through the believer’s repentant faith.
Sola Fide Defined
The doctrine of sola fide has often been misrepresented by its opponents, namely by the above mentioned groups.
Sola Fide is not:
1. The belief that one only needs to have an intellectual assent to revealed truths.
2. The belief that one does not need to repent.
3. The belief that one does not need to be fruitful in good works.
Sola Fide, simply stated, is the doctrine that God freely expiates (i.e. satisfies wrath) man’s sins by the blood of Jesus. This merit of the blood of Christ is only applied on the account of the individual’s faith, and it is never applied on account of an individual’s works. Thus, salvation is only by God’s grace and only through faith.
That having been said, this does not mean that the believer’s life does not have to produce good works. Good works are the fruit of justification. Therefore, let us compare the Evangelical doctrine with the Roman Catholic doctrine:
Protestant Evangelical:
Faith --------------------------> Justification + Works
Roman Catholic (Post-Baptism*):
Faith + Works ---------------> Justification
*Even though Roman Catholics would object, it could certainly be argued that baptism is a work, and thus, the above model would be accurate for the entirety of the Roman doctrine of justification. However, that will not be argued in this article.
So, which position do the Scriptures support? This article will establish that only the Protestant Evangelical position is the Biblical position.
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The Scriptures: Clearly Anti-Pelagian
It must be stated up front that the Scriptures are directly anti-Pelagian. That is, they are clearly set against the Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness’ doctrine of justification which states that one becomes one of God’s elect and receives the forgiveness of sins only after they are ‘good enough’.
Matthew 9:13; Mark
“But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those
who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous,
but sinners.”
Commentary:
Christ came to call sinners (i.e. those
who realize and admit their own sinfulness) to repentance and not the righteous (i.e. the self-righteous, see John
Matthew 20:11-16
“When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made
them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ But he answered and said to one of them,
‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to
this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because
I am generous?’ So the last shall be first, and the first last.”
Commentary:
This is the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. Jesus is telling us that God rewards every believer with eternal life independent
of how much they have worked.
Luke 15:29-32
“But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving
you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my
friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice,
for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ”
Commentary:
This is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus is telling us that God rewards every believer with eternal life independent of what they have done in the past.
Romans 4:5
But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his
faith is credited as righteousness…
Commentary:
Christ justifies
men entirely through repentant faith when they have no righteousness of their own. He justifies the ‘ungodly’. James White
notes the Mormon distortion of this verse:
“Modern religious movements have likewise faltered at this point. Joseph Smith,
the founder of Mormonism, was so scandalized by the idea of God justifying the ungodly that in his Inspired Translation he completely
rewrote the verse and inserted a negative so that for his followers the object of faith is the God who does not justify the ungodly!”
-James
R. White, The God Who Justifies (
Galatians 3:21
Is the
Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness
would indeed have been based on law.
Commentary:
No obedience to any law can ever expiate any man’s sin. Otherwise, ‘righteousness would indeed have been based on law’.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For
by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no
one may boast.
Commentary:
Salvation is not the result of works. This verse speaks for itself.
Titus 3:5
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according
to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
Commentary:
[Same as Ephesians 2:8-9]
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Only Faith Accepted
In the Scriptures, faith is the only thing explicitly stated that God will credit righteousness for.
Matthew 9:2
And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing
their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
Matthew 9:22
But Jesus turning and seeing her
said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.
Matthew 9:29
Then He touched their eyes,
saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.”
Matthew 15:28
Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall
be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.
Luke 7:48-50
Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He
said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke 18:42
And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made
you well.”
Commentary:
Even though these people did good deeds to
Jesus such as anointing his feet or touching his cloak, it was their faith through which they received blessings and the forgiveness
of sins.
John 3:16-18
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not
perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved
through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
John 5:24
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent
Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
John 6:40
“Truly, truly, I say to you,
he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death
into life.”
Commentary:
All of the so-called ‘Christian’ groups that
were mentioned above believe that God will judge all believers as to whether they are good enough to enter Heaven. Mormons believe
that the believer will be judged by a tribunal to see if they have fulfilled the commandments well enough to go to Heaven (or become
a god). Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that God will judge all believers to see which ones are good enough to become part of the
144,000 that will receive eternal life. Roman Catholics believe that after death, the soul is judged by God to see if it is
holy enough to enter Heaven, and if it is not, it will undergo the agony of satispassio (i.e. the suffering of atonement) in the flames
Purgatory. However, Jesus states that if one believes in Him, then they have passed out of judgment (i.e. they will not be judged
by God to see if they are good enough to enter Heaven).
Acts 11:17-18
“Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave
to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they
quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”
Acts 16:30-31
…and
after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will
be saved, you and your household.”
Commentary:
A repentant faith
is always the thing which brings about the forgiveness of sins.
The number of references in Paul’s epistles are so numerous (Romans
3:25-28, 4:3, 5, 5:1, Galatians 2:16, 3:14, Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 3:9, etc.) that I will not quote them all. The one
thing that God credits righteousness for is faith.
Sola Fide:
God Credits
Righteousness Only
Through Faith
(Part 1)