Could 'justification by faith alone' have a compatible Catholic understanding?

[jamil_joseph02]

PART 1

I recently talked to a Protestant, who puts “justification by faith alone” this way: that in order for you to become justified from unjustified at the beginning of your Christian life, all you need is faith in Jesus Christ.

She gave an analogy, let’s say you’re the only one in a room. We need not argue about whether we have to say “it’s just you alone” because obviously there’s no one else but you. Similarly, we need not argue about “faith alone” if obviously it’s just faith that you did when you initially came to God and were justified.

Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin also understands this Protestant position:

When Protestants use the phrase “faith alone,” they are describing how we are justified. The idea is that in order to come to God, be forgiven, and be declared righteous, you don’t need to do anything to earn your place before God except have faith in Jesus Christ. [END QUOTE]

https://www.catholic.com/ma…/print-edition/faith-and-works-0

Personally, I find this definition of “faith alone” to be agreeable to some extent (specially in the case of adults or those who are already at the age of reason).

A Catholic Answers article read:

We don’t disagree about the primary role that faith plays. 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.

"https://www.catholic.com/…/pr…/arent-we-saved-by-faith-alone

Catholic Answers may say that “it doesn’t come through faith alone,” but again, should we not say “faith alone” if there is nothing else that a person did to receive his justification?

In “countering” James 2:24, she said James is not talking about “not by faith alone” in the sense of the beginning of Christian life, but when you are already taking your journey as a Christian. If “by faith alone” one means you don’t need good works that flow from grace for your present and future salvation, then she admits she also has to reject this formulation of “by faith alone.”

 

[jamil_joseph02]

PART 2

On explaining Council of Trent’s Decree on Justification, this is what James Akin had to say:

After discussing the justification that occurs at the beginning of the Christian life, Trent quotes several passages from St. Paul on how Christians grow in virtue by yielding our bodies to righteousness for sanctification. It states that by good works we “increase in that justice received through the grace of Christ and are further justified” (DJ 10).

It is in the context of this growth in righteousness—and in this context only—that Trent quotes James 2:24: “Do you see that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only?”

Trent thus relates James’s statement not to the initial justification that occurs when we first come to God but to the growth in righteousness that occurs over the course of the Christian life.

Thus, a Protestant objecting that James is talking about a different kind of justification than the one the Protestant has in mind would be correct. James isn’t saying that you need to do good works in order to be forgiven. And neither is the Catholic Church.

Now, according to the Protestant, whether we further increase our justification by God is another issue. Bottomline is, having faith is all you did when you first come to God and are justified, nothing else. It’s by faith alone. Your increase in justification later on in your Christian life is just evidence that you already received your initial justification.

Quoting again Akin, he asked:

If Trent didn’t reject all uses of “faith alone,” could the formula have an acceptable use from a Catholic point of view?

It might come as a surprise, but quite a number of the Church Fathers used it (see Joseph Fitzmyer, Romans, 360). Even Thomas Aquinas used it(Commentary on 1 Timothy, ch. 1, lect. 3, Commentary on Galatians, ch. 2, lect. 4).

The fathers of the Council may have known that some Catholics sources used the formula, and this may have been one reason why they only rejected certain interpretations of it.

Since the time of the Council, Catholic theologians have explored the senses in which the formula might be compatible with Catholic teaching. Specifically, they have pointed out that the theological virtue of charity (the supernatural love of God) unites us to God, and so, if one has faith combined with charity, then one has “faith working through love,” which is what Paul says counts in Christ (Gal. 5:6).

That kind of faith, which Catholic theologians refer to as “faith formed by charity,” would—of itself—unite one to God spiritually.

https://www.catholic.com/ma…/print-edition/faith-and-works-0

You could read in the rest of his article that while the Catholic Church does not condemn all usages of “faith alone,” there are reasons why it is being prudent to not use it in common practice.

Thus, it came to my understanding that I don’t think I have to reject all senses of “faith alone” if it is used by Protestants in a correct way and is compatible with Catholic teaching. Is the Protestant I’ve talked to at least agreeable with her sense of “justification by faith alone”?

 

[Vico]

…

• the Catechumen must prepare for reception of justifying grace of baptism,
• saving faith is a gift from God, and not from ourselves, and that saving faith is not merited by works.

Session 6 Canon 9

If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema.

 

[DIERM]

Yes, faith alone is sufficient justification for salvation.

However, without works, faith alone is presents a dichotomy.

You can’t say, “I have faith, so I have no obligation to live the Gospel message”.

So, to say you have faith, but do not live the Gospel, is not only not good enough, its a lie.

 

[fhansen]

One of the best ways to view this teaching is through the lens that a quote of St John of the Cross provides, which the Church uses in her teaching on our particular judgment:
"At the evening of life we shall be judged on our love."

Now, if the Protestant view can be aligned with that statement then it is consistent with the gospel. But there are different views on the doctrine of Sola Fide, and when participating on a non-Catholic Christian forum I hear the question raised frequently by Protestants as to whether or not one can continue to sin and not lose salvation, whether or not one is once saved always saved, whether God expects anything more of us than to believe and trust in Him. Some treat faith as if it, alone, constitutes justice or righteousness for man or stands in for it. They teach that the law has been done away with, so that we no longer have to face condemnation for sin past, present, and future.

The doctrine must at least be clarified better but of course there’s no unified body that can do that. In any case the Catholic position is complete and sound, balanced and consistent with the teachings of Jesus, Paul, James, et al, and doesn’t leave room for such confusion as the faith alone doctrine allows for.

 

[De_Maria]

PART 1

I recently talked to a Protestant, who puts “justification by faith alone” this way: that in order for you to become justified from unjustified at the beginning of your Christian life, all you need is faith in Jesus Christ.

She gave an analogy, let’s say you’re the only one in a room. We need not argue about whether we have to say “it’s just you alone” because obviously there’s no one else but you. Similarly, we need not argue about “faith alone” if obviously it’s just faith that you did when you initially came to God and were justified.

What about repentance? Is it something different and separate to faith?

Before one is justified in Baptism, one must repent of one’s sins.

TRENT VI
CHAPTER VI
THE MANNER OF PREPARATION

Now, they [the adults] are disposed to that justice when, aroused and aided by divine grace, receiving faith by hearing,[21] they are moved freely toward God, believing to be true what has been divinely revealed and promised, especially that the sinner is justified by God by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;[22] and when, understanding themselves to be sinners, they, by turning themselves from the fear of divine justice, by which they are salutarily aroused, to consider the mercy of God, are raised to hope, trusting that God will be propitious to them for Christ’s sake; and they begin to love Him as the fountain of all justice, and on that account are moved against sin by a certain hatred and detestation, that is, by that repentance that must be performed before baptism;[23] finally, when they resolve to receive baptism, to begin a new life and to keep the commandments of God.

Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin also understands this Protestant position:

When Protestants use the phrase “faith alone,” they are describing how we are justified. The idea is that in order to come to God, be forgiven, and be declared righteous, you don’t need to do anything to earn your place before God except have faith in Jesus Christ. [END QUOTE]
https://www.catholic.com/ma…/print-edition/faith-and-works-0

I disagree with Jimmy. The Council of Trent is clear that one must repent before Baptism.

Personally, I find this definition of “faith alone” to be agreeable to some extent (specially in the case of adults or those who are already at the age of reason).

The Council of Trent only addresses the case of adults. See
the Council of Trent, Chapter V:

CHAPTER V
THE NECESSITY OF PREPARATION FOR JUSTIFICATION IN ADULTS, AND WHENCE IT PROCEEDS

cont’d

 

[De_Maria]

cont’d

A Catholic Answers article read:

We don’t disagree about the primary role that faith plays. 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.

"https://www.catholic.com/…/pr…/arent-we-saved-by-faith-alone

Catholic Answers is misunderstanding the passage. It has to do with the Sacraments. The works of God. It is in the Sacraments that God makes us righteous “apart from our works”. In the Sacraments, we are justified by faith alone.

Let me explain.

Joe repents of his sins and does all good deeds and goes to be baptized. Has Joe washed himself of his sins because of his good deeds? Can Joe say, “Oh, look how holy I am now!” If he does, he commits the sin of presumption.

But, let’s say that Joe is humble. He proclaims his faith in Christ and is baptized. At this point, God sees his faithfulness, credits it to him as righteousness and washes him of all sins.

Catholic Answers may say that “it doesn’t come through faith alone,” but again, should we not say “faith alone” if there is nothing else that a person did to receive his justification?

But he did. He repented and turned to God and began to keep the Commandments. If he didn’t, he won’t be justified. See Titus 3:clock5:

In “countering” James 2:24, she said James is not talking about “not by faith alone” in the sense of the beginning of Christian life, but when you are already taking your journey as a Christian. If “by faith alone” one means you don’t need good works that flow from grace for your present and future salvation, then she admits she also has to reject this formulation of “by faith alone.”

Good deeds are necessary before and after justification.

Before justification in order to be justified. After justification in order to be found righteous at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

 

[Wesrock]

It’s not about works, at least not on the surface. The dispute Catholics have with many Protestants boils down to beliefs about man role in cooperating with grace.

 

[Dovekin]

Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification is an agreed statement by the “Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church.”

It gives insight on the depth of our agreement with Lutherans on this, and into the different ways we present the idea.

Most Lutherans belong to groups that subscribe to this, though the Missouri Synod Lutherans do not.

 

[Doug23]

Just to clarify since I am here to learn, when we repent before baptism are we only forgiven of those sins at the point of baptism?

 

[Vico]

Just to clarify since I am here to learn, when we repent before baptism are we only forgiven of those sins at the point of baptism?

Catechism

1263 By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin.66 In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam’s sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God.

1364 Yet certain temporal consequences of sin remain in the baptized, such as suffering, illness, death, and such frailties inherent in life as weaknesses of character, and so on, as well as an inclination to sin that Tradition calls concupiscence , or metaphorically, “the tinder for sin” (fomes peccati) ; since concupiscence "is left for us to wrestle with, it cannot harm those who do not consent but manfully resist it by the grace of Jesus Christ."67 Indeed, "an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules."68

1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.

 

[Dovekin]

Just to clarify since I am here to learn, when we repent before baptism are we only forgiven of those sins at the point of baptism?

I would answer this using a different part of the Catechism:

1259 For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament.

1260 “Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery.” Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.

These describe “baptism of desire.” Since baptism is given by God for our salvation, repentance includes a desire for baptism. That is enough for the justification of a person, but it is not enough for that person who will also desire to be baptized. imo.

 

[De_Maria]

Just to clarify since I am here to learn, when we repent before baptism are we only forgiven of those sins at the point of baptism?

Yes.

Acts 2:38 Peter [said] to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.

 

[Doug23]

Doug23:

Just to clarify since I am here to learn, when we repent before baptism are we only forgiven of those sins at the point of baptism?

Yes.

Acts 2:38 Peter [said] to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.

In view of this I was just wondering, I always thought of the Sacrament of Penance as a lay person being there for post-baptismal sin, so I told this young man I was preparing for Baptism to wait after his Baptism for confession and instead to just examine his conscience and look over the Ten Commandments in preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism. However, the priest who was going to baptise him gave him the Sacrament of Confession before his baptism and said it was part of the diocesan guidelines to do so. Bearing in mind if I understood you correctly that you said we can repent and be forgiven before baptism, whether it is ok then to receive confession before baptism…

 

[De_Maria]

…However, the priest who was going to baptise him gave him the Sacrament of Confession before his baptism…

There’s a misunderstanding there. Whether it’s his or yours, I don’t know. But only one sacrament can be administered on an unbaptized person. Baptism.

It is possible that they may have gone through an informal rehearsal for the Sacrament of Confession or through some personal counseling. But it could not have been the Sacrament of Confession.

See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1213:

Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.”

and said it was part of the diocesan guidelines to do so.

Maybe you could get a copy of those guidelines.

Bearing in mind if I understood you correctly that you said we can repent and be forgiven before baptism,

Not really sure if I would phrase it that way. We can repent before baptism, whether we are forgiven of those sins before Baptism, only God knows.

whether it is ok then to receive confession before baptism…

Priests do not have the authority to offer absolution for sins before Baptism. Therefore, one may confess to anyone for anything they have on their conscience. They can confess directly to God. Whether they are forgiven, God alone knows. And I suppose they will find out, at the Judgment.