Catholics believe in Sola Fide

[guanophore]

Let’s explore this idea.

Salvation is by grace.

Righteousness comes by faith.

Works are by grace. Not to our credit but because God chooses to give us credit. Thus, any works we do are because of righteousness that God gives us. And how does He give us that? By faith.

Any works a Catholic does is as a result of faith, not of themselves, but are a gift of God to them by His grace. God gives us merit. It is unearned. So works are not something a Catholic can take credit for. Credit is given, but all a Catholic really has is faith - until God gives merit.

So in the Catholic system one is saved by faith alone.

Interesting.

Comments?

I think you should do a search on the threads “works salvation”.

Merit is earned.

 

[Milliardo]

Well…

We are rewarded for our works. We are not saved by our works.

Works alone of course does not save; Catholics agree on that. However, works are the basis by which God will judge us by. So, does works save? That would be a big yes. Reading up on all the Judgment passages in the New Testament, it is hard to find any that denies this, or does not mention that God will not judge us by our works.

Faith by its nature will create works.

Knowing many Evangelicals, it does not. I know those who are philandering, womanizing people or those who gossip and badmouth people all day long. They profess to be Christians. They go to Evangelical churches. Where are the fruits of their faith? It cannot be seen. Faith by itself does not create works, or else everyone who believes will resist sin. That is not the case. It takes also a certain amount of will in order to obey and avoid sin. Faith is a starting point, but it’s not a be-all and end-all of our journey.

 

[MariaG]

Well…

We are rewarded for our works. We are not saved by our works.
Christ saves us. Faith by its nature will create works. Those works we do are only gratuitously rewarded, by grace, because they are still not good enough.

This is in contrast to the Catholic insistence that a man can actually perform a work that is good in itself.

Sort of parallel to the insistence among Calvinists that real sanctification is worked by God into the believer, yet his works will never be good enough on earth.

Sorry about the lateness in responding. Misplaced this thread somehow I would not respond except to address the above in bold.

Catholics do not believe we can actually perform a work that is good in and of itself, because Catholics believe that the only way the good work was possible in the first place was through grace.

From the Council of Trent on Justification

Canon 1. If anyone says that man can be justified before God by his own works, whether done by his own natural powers or through the teaching of the law, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.

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So while a man be able to perform a “good work” the good work is only possible through Christ in the first place. “Good” is only possible through grace.

 

[porthos11]

Actually, for Catholics faith means one that is proved in action. It’s actually the other way around: Protestant definition of faith seems to be one only of intellectual assent. This can be seen in how both see faith: for Catholics, faith and works go hand in hand. For Protestants in general, faith and works seem to be separate. So, faith for Catholics isn’t mere intellectual assent, but one that must be lived and obeyed.

Clearly, Truthstalker’s definition is more than just assent; it appears to be closer to Calvin’s definition, and so, by extension, closer to ours. Truthstalker obviously has a more developed justification theology that your run-of-the-mill Evangelical.

 

[bejonama]

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