Comparing Sola Fide and Sola Gratia
Sola Fide, or the salvation by faith alone, has become the basis for the Protestant faith. When Luther split from the Catholic Church in 1517, his new doctrine was based on five key principles: 1) grace and sovereignty of God, 2) faith, 3) scripture as the word of faith, 4) the church as the fellowship of saints and the priesthood of all believers, and 5) the fallibility of man and his institutions. As important as all five of these tenants are, the first two, and especially the belief in faith truly separate Protestantism from other branches of Christianity. This is how Protestantism separates from Catholicism, in the fact that Catholics believe in good works to obtain God's grace and that Protestants
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In these theses, Luther went on to denounce the act of Sola Gratia, claiming that selling of indulgencies to the Catholic Church was not a valid nor a moral way to gain salvation. Up until that time it was common practice for "religious" men to prove their holiness by giving good works to the church. A good work was an act done for the purpose of removing sin, for example donating money to the church, or the confessing of a sin. Luther claimed that The Creator disregarded good works, and that Christians needed to come up with a new form of achieving salvation. His suggestion was Sola Scriptura coupled with Sola Fide. The principle of Luther's proposal claims the Canonical Scriptures, especially the New Testament to be the only infallible source and rule of faith. Luther also felt that the teachers of the scripture were subordinate to the Bible and its lessons. In fact Phillip Schaff (see bibliography) claims that "The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, is the religion of Protestants. Protestantism, however, by no means despises or rejects church authority as such, but only claims of the Bibles superiority". This only confirms Luther's suspicion of a corrupt Catholic Church, as he felt that it was time for …show more content…
Sola Fide was a way for a Protestant to relate to God in a one on one relationship without the worry of having to deal with good works. It is the justification by faith that means a complete trust in the savior. It is in this justification that we transform from the complete sinner to a state of holiness and one of god's perfect imago dei. There are passages in the Bible that reaffirm this point, the story of Abraham being one such parable. In this lesson, God commanded Abraham to kill his son in order to prove his faith. Abraham, not wanting to doubt his savior, was ready to do such a deed. However, God interjected and said that He was only testing Abraham on his faith. Because Abraham had believed God gave His command in regards to Abraham's best interest, Abraham had faith in whatever decision he would make. That is the ultimate faith in ones savior, to sacrifice a child based on faith proved Abraham's holiness in God's eye. It is the purpose of the scriptures to promote faith in God, and to instill a sense of obedience to the
Back then, and sometimes today, people would pay the priest or pastor money to absolve them of their sins. The Catholics believed that you have to do good deeds or kind acts to go to Heaven, but Martin Luther studied the Bible and proved them wrong. Actually, Luther had once said “Faith cannot be inherited or gained by being baptized into a Church. Faith is a matter between the individual and God” (whatchristianswanttoknow.com). Martin Luther wanted all christians to know that it is a personal relationship with God that one should not have to do good deeds to earn a connection with
Born in Germany, in 1483, Martin Luther went on to become one of western history’s most significant figure. Luther spent his early life as a priest and a lawyer. He was also the professor of theology. Considering his background it was a total surprise that Luther protested and criticized the catholic church. Even more surprising since he was a priest. However, Martin Luther didn’t want to destroy the church after all he was a priest. He just wanted to reform some of the church’s perceived abuses. There are different reasons that sparked Martin Luther’s protestant reformation, namely. 1) salvation or getting to heaven, was won by faith alone, 2) the selling of indulgences, 3) the bible
Luther’s Church would later be called Lutheran and opposed the authority of the Roman Church. This brings up the meaning behind Luther’s sermon in 1512. Luther’s anger and bias enraged him so much that nothing that the Roman Church did was good and the Roman Church needed to be destroyed. This is a far cry from a controversy on indulgences. Luther’s intent is seen clearly in his sermon when he says, “You say your Psalter, you pray your rosary, , you pray all kinds of other prayers, and say a lot of words; you say Mass, you kneel before the alter, you read confessions, you go mumbling and maundering; and all the while you think you are free from sin.” (Discovering,
One difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is the question of adequacy and authorization of the Scripture. Protestants, being more traditional, focus on the Bible. They believe that it is the source of God’s revelation to man (“What”), and that “the whole of Christian truth is found within the Bible’s pages” (“Tracts”). Bible teaches one about their wrongs, and what actions they need to undertake in order to be saved from their sins. They see it as guidelines for Christian behavior. These guidelines are otherwise known as “sola scriptura” (“What”). Sola scriptura derives from “sola” meaning “alone” and “scriptura” meaning “writings.” “Sola scriptura” says that only the Scripture is responsible for the faith of Christians and their practices. The Scripture is the foundation of their religion. It tells one that their salvation is not obtained from random readings, but from the document itself. However, the Catholics rebuff the teachings of the Scripture. Many of their documents such as praying to saints, worship of Mary, etc. are focused only on the Roman Catholic traditions. They do not believe that the Bible alone will satisfy them. Instead, they believe that the Roman Catholic tradition alongside with the Bible are both mandatory for oneself. Both determine the sufficiency of the Bible as well as its authority and completeness (“What”).
While numerous theological issues had been brewing for some time, the Reformation was officially began in 1517 by a man named Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a professor of biblical theology who had several issues with the Catholic Church. His complaints or disputes with the Catholic Church are known as his 95 Theses. In his 95 Theses, Martin Luther argued that God offers salvation through faith alone and that religious authority comes from the Bible alone which posed a challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church. After sparking the Reformation, Martin Luther made it his goal to incorporate the church congregation in the praise and worship part of church service. A detrimental and vital aspect of Christianity, Martin Luther believed this needed to be done. Along with his followers, Martin Luther made continuous...
The major divisions of the Protestantism are Baptist, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Methodist, Lutheranism, Unitarianism, and Quakers (www.encyclopedia.com). Even the very first Protestant Reformers were unable to maintain a unity of faith or purpose. The divisions of Protestantism are just an example of the continued fragmentation of the churches. The tendency towards this divineness is a strength to the Protestantism religion.
Martin Luther’s view on indulgences appears in many of his writings including Luther’s 95 Theses and The Statement of Grievances. Martin Luther believes that the Papacy should not have a role in collecting taxes, indulgences, or any ways of drawing income from the German nation. On number twenty-three in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther states “The brotherhoods, and for that matter, indulgences, letters of indulgences, and everything of that kind, should be snuffed out and brought to an end”. Martin Luther wants the German nation to get rid of indulgences since the indulgence sellings can harm the integrity of the church. Indulgences were not new to the German nation during the 16th century. Indulgences have been around for three centuries prior to 1520 even before Martin Luther’s Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation was published. With indulgences, the German nation pays for their sins to be forgiven. The church makes most of its profits from the public by selling these indulgences. In Carter Lindberg’s The European Reformation, Carter Lindberg states “An indulgence, then, drew on the treasure of the church to pay off the debt of the penitent sinner who would otherwise be obligated to pay off the penance by works of satisfaction either in life or in purgatory”. For example, in
Martin Luther was not fond of the practices the Roman Catholic church of indulgences. Indulgences are a practice where worshippers would pay their priest which granted remission for their sins (“Indulgences."). This practice became increasingly corrupt. In the 95 Theses, Luther, became prominent in the Protestant Reformation due to its humble and academic tone (A&E Television Networks, LLC.). For example, in the second theses he states, “The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.” This means that only god can give salvation, not a priest. He is questioning why we must pay to re...
The practice of selling indulgences became under attack from a monk named Martin Luther in the early 1500’s. Indulgences were used as a means by many church officials to add to their wealth and prestige. By buying an indulgence, one was released for all sin and acceptance into Heaven guaranteed. Luther argued that no one needed to buy admission into Heaven. He believed that people could obtain salvation thru their faith and actions alone. The authority of the Pope was also challenged by Luther believing that religious matters needed to be resolved through the words of the Bible and not an individual’s decision. All of this was set down in Luther’s 95 Thesis that he posted on the Church door in Wittenberg, Germany ("The Reformation Video").
This corruption took the forms of actions by the Catholic Church such as: the selling of Indulgences for money as a means of attaining salvation, the buying/selling of Church relics (Simony), and the placement of poorly trained people in positions because they knew employers (Nepotism). Luther had also come to believe that the Catholic Church was wrong in their ideas and beliefs. In 1517, Luther posted his 95 theses which expressed his beliefs and thoughts on the corruption of the church, demanding the Catholic Church to reform. He wrote about “sola gratia” as the justification of sinful humankind “by grace… (as) the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). He expressed his thoughts on “salvation through faith in Christ” (2 Timothy 3:14-4:2) as “sola fide”, opposed to the catholic belief of salvation through faith and good
As a narrative function, Abraham’s previously questionable acts such as removing Hagar and Ishmael from his household and giving up his wife have now been framed as tasks given by God, which he has successfully completed (J 17:17). The implication is that Abraham has been a devout follower of God and has been willing to make the sacrifices God has asked of him up until this point in the narrative. The sacrifice of his son then proves to be the ultimate test of Abraham’s loyalty. Abraham’s obedience is shown also when he does not question the contradiction in God’s request when God had previously said the progeny will be established through Isaac (Genesis 17:20). Because Abraham doesn’t question or hesitate, he shows immense trust in God and in his plans.
During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.
The most serious test of Abraham's conformity and faith to God is when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Without questioning God's direction, Abraham followed through. At a pressing moment, God interfered on behalf of Isaac (Genesis 22:11) and revoked the demand, stating that Abraham had passed a compelling test of submission and faith (Genesis 22:12). Abraham learned to trust God and looked forward to his own
... without the need for good works and definitely not by paying money to the Catholic Church. In Luther’s view one only needs to believe in Christ and his works to be justified. Christ is just and his works are perfect and Christ is the object of our faith. As long as Christ is present in our lives and we put our faith in him and simple believe the promises that come with the gospel, God imputes righteousness to sinners, righteousness that we sinners do not deserve (Peters 2005).
Luther preaches grace and in so free choice is abolished, suggesting that divine grace and human freedom are contradictory concepts. Because reconciliation between God and humans is made possible through the death of Jesus, God’s gift, it is foolish to assume that the exercise of freedom could have any relevance to salvation. Human freedom in Luther’s eyes is derived from the notion that individual’s are already saved through God’s righteousness and confirmed with the works of Christ, you are saved because of your possession of faith. "We reach the conclusion that faith alone justifies us and fulfils the laws; and this because faith brings us the spirit gained by the merits of Christ. The spirit, in turn, gives us the happiness and freedom at which the law aims.