Catholics and Protestants disagree about the relationship between faith and works on salvation, however, both agree in two important facts: Faith is absolutely necessary for salvation and we are absolutely commanded by God to do good works. Both these two points are unmistakably clear in Scripture, and both Protestants and Catholics give to faith in Christ a unique rule on salvation, and both try and actually do good works of evangelization and missionary work, etc. Protestants and Catholics agree a sin can not be erased with good works, but it is forgiven by confessing the sin. One misunderstanding is that the word "faith" is used in different sense by Protestants and Catholics. For Protestants, saving faith is a faith which expresses itself through love and it is the same thing as when a Catholic says that we are saved by faith and works of charity. Luther used "faith" in the broad sense of the person’s acceptance of Jesus Christ. It includes grace, repentance, faith, hope and works of love. Catholics use "faith" in a more specific sense. Actually the word "faith" for a Protestant is like the words "faith", "hope" and "charity" put together for a Catholic. When Protestants and Catholics who know and believe the Bible discuss the issue sincerely, it is amazing how quickly and easily they come to understand and agree with each other! So why are we so divided over the faith alone issue?
Protestants need to understand that the Catholic formula "salvation by faith, hope, and charity" is equivalent to what they mean by "faith alone." And Catholics need to be understand that the Protestant formula "faith alone" is equivalent to what they mean by "faith, hope, and charity."
Otherwise, the formula itself is unbiblical. The phrase "faith alone" occurs exactly once in the Bible, and there it is rejected: "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." (James 2:24)
No comments:
Post a Comment