What other than Sola Fide

[Toten]

Greetings,

I am trying to do research on the Catholic Postion of Salvation. I have only heard little snit bits of it as a “it’s not Sola Fide”. While I know to a limited degree what the Catholic postion is not I am not entirely clear on what it is. Would anyone please expond on what is beleived on by the Catholic Church on this issue and why?

 

[mom2three]

Greetings,

I am trying to do research on the Catholic Postion of Salvation. I have only heard little snit bits of it as a “it’s not Sola Fide”. While I know to a limited degree what the Catholic postion is not I am not entirely clear on what it is. Would anyone please expond on what is beleived on by the Catholic Church on this issue and why?

Here are a few links:

thiscatholicjourney.com/2006/11/salvation-through-good-works.html

thiscatholicjourney.com/2006/10/faith-alone_06.html

thiscatholicjourney.com/2006/10/good-stuff-justification.html

In addition, the site has other posts on salvation. At the bottom of a post, if you click on the “salvation” label, those other posts will also come up.

 

[Joyousguard]

Catholics believe we are saved by the actions of Christ on the Cross and our original sin washed away through baptism. We have the faith in Christ that He has already saved us through His works.

“Faith alone” while a protestant belief is not very different than the Catholic understanding. While we are saved by our “faith” in Christ, or better put, we know that Christ died on the cross for our salvation, this is by no means complete. We do posses faith in the Love and Mercy of Christ but this faith is further reinforced by the “works” Christ performed and ultimately His sacrafice on the Cross, to say nbothing of His continued works. Faith and works hand in hand have led to our belief in our salvation.

Many non-believers continually ask for proof, even us who believe continually need our spirits and faith recharged by tangible evidence. This is human nature. While the apostles did have rock solid faith that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the works He performed furthered that faith and His ultimate work, His sacrafice on the cross and ressurection demonstrated that faith in salvation fully.

We as Christians spread the news of salvation through our own faith and works as well. Faith by itself naturally comes with works for it is the natural progression and compliment of works. We are asked by Christ to “love others as I have loved you”. We have faith that our parents love us by that faith is reinforced by works and actions that our parents perform. Our belief in salvation is reinforced by our faith, which is justified by works, which are in turn justified again by faith. If we did not need faith and works to know we are saved, then Christ need not have died on the cross.

 

[manualman]

Trying to summarize catholicism in a short paragraph is a task I will surely fail at. But what the heck:

1. Humanity was created by God and is basically good.
2. Although basically good, humanity sinned (see Adam & Eve) and suffers from the effects of that sin in an inherited inclination towards sinning and a host of side effects (namely death, suffering and disease).
3. The cumulative effects of our sins are such that we cannot naturally establish communities that consist of harmonious, loving and peaceful lives on our own willpower.
4. To illustrate both #3 above AND the amazing fact that He loves us ANYWAYS, Jesus (God the son) became a human, lived among us and accepted the inevitable fate of a perfect God living among sinful men: we killed him. Rather horribly, in fact.
5. To our further astonishment and joy, he ROSE from that death, forgave us AGAIN, and offered us the opportunity to be cleansed of our sinfulness and spend forever in heaven with him in perfect loving harmony.
6. To accept this incredible offer, we must confess our sinfulness, our NEED for forgiveness and our need for His GRACE to bolster our own feeble wills and overcome the tragic inclination towards sin which exists in each of us.
7. He offers us this Grace in abundance and established the sacraments as the ordinary means of transmitting this Grace to us.
8. By the time we enter heaven, we will have no vestiges of this inclination towards sin left in us. Some of us, however, have a long road ahead of us on THAT front.

 

[Melchior]

Greetings,

I am trying to do research on the Catholic Postion of Salvation. I have only heard little snit bits of it as a “it’s not Sola Fide”. While I know to a limited degree what the Catholic postion is not I am not entirely clear on what it is. Would anyone please expond on what is beleived on by the Catholic Church on this issue and why?

Let me try in protestant terms. Salvation is by grace alone through Crist alone. His death on the cross fully accomplished redemption. Works does not save, it is faith working through love. If you think of faith as a complete commitment to believe in, repent continually and obey, then in that sense it is sola fide. Works can’t save us, only Christ finished work. How that work is appropriated to the sinner is where the difference is which is not as big as people think. Faith without works, as James said, is dead. Therefore faith looks like something. It starts with baptism (which is a free gift of God that is received, not a work that we do). And we ratify (so to speak) the promise God made to us in baptism by faith. And that faith must work or it is not saving faith (“Can such a faith save?”).

Bottom line: Christ alone is our salvation and poor lost sinners can only be saved by throwing themselves at His mercy at the foot of the Cross. Thankfully, He left us a Church where we never have to guess whether we are saved, because he has given us sure means of grace which we can objectively receive by faith - the Sacraments - all of them gratuitous gifts that make the atoning work of Christ present and efficacious.

Mel