“Sola Fide” Saved By Faith Alone…No Need For Baptism

An “elevator speech” in a stairwell

Many years ago I was walking up a stairwell in San Jose, Costa Rica with two of our missionaries when we met a young man coming down the stairs, who our mission brethren had met before. He was a missionary for a mainstream Protestant religion. When the brethren introduced me and told him I was from the Christadelphian Bible Mission committee it immediately became evident that our brethren had had some Biblical discussions with him in the recent past. After a brief hello he said: “Right…you believe you are saved by your works.” I told him: “No, I do not believe my works could save me, but I do believe a lack of works could condemn me.” He obviously believed in “Sola Fide”, salvation by faith alone. Taken to the extreme, and many who hold this doctrine do so, it even eliminates the need to submit to baptism because it is something one does, and is therefore a work.

The background for Sola Fide:

What was the impetus for the idea that we are saved by faith alone? Sola Fide, salvation by faith alone, was born in the Reformation. Martin Luther was the midwife. He was probably the single most important catalyst in the success of the Protestant reformation. Martin Luther was a Catholic priest who split with the Church. It was the Catholic Church’s extreme emphasis on salvation by works that was a prime factor in moving him to nail his 95 Theses to the door of the Witten berg Cathedral in 1517. He rightly observed that we are not saved by any works that we can do when they are not motivated by our faith. However he, and his followers down through the ages, have taken this correct concept to a wrong and dangerous extreme.

Interestingly, Jesus had the same complaint about the Jewish establishment that Luther had in his day. The Pharisees had put so much emphasis on the works of the Law of Moses, and superimposed so many of their definitions, qualifications and additional requirements, that they had lost sight of the intent of the Law and were leading the people astray. It is Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament against that error, although taken out of context, which are used to support the idea of salvation by faith alone today.

Catholicism and indulgences

It was the extremes to which the practice of “indulgences” were being used as a fund raiser that became Luther’s main point of focus. Indulgences were written letters guaranteeing forgiveness of any penalty for sins. At one point it was possible to buy an indulgence for future sins not yet committed. Indulgences are still practiced by the Catholic Church today, but not to such extremes. The explanation of “indulgences” that follows is a quotation from “Catholicism”, edited by George Brantl. It has the imprimatur from Francis Cardinal Spell man so it can be relied upon as accurately stating the Catholic position. This excerpt is taken from the section titled “Indulgences and Satisfaction”: by Jaques Benigne Bossuet:

“Now, when she (the Holy Roman Catholic church) imposes those penances on sinners, and when they humbly submit to them, that is what we call satisfaction. But when in the consideration of the fervor of penitents, or in consideration of other good works performed by them, she remits a part of that punishment to them, this is called indulgence.

“The Council of Trent proposes nothing more to our belief upon the subject of indulgences, than “that the power of granting them, hath been given by Jesus Christ to the church, and that the use of them is salutary”; adding “that it should be retained; with moderation however, lest ecclesiastical discipline come to be enervated by an excess of mildness,” which shows us that the manner of dispensing indulgences is an affair of mere discipline.” (Emphasis mine.)

It was the Catholic church’s belief that it had (and still has) the power to forgive sins that had degenerated into the practice of selling written letters of forgiveness (indulgences) that Martin Luther fought against. He rightly saw the practice as the defacto teaching that one could be saved by his “works”. In this case the work was the making of a donation to the church.

It was in this context of condemning the Catholic Church’s practice of selling forgiveness of sins (indulgences) that “salvation by faith alone” became a cornerstone in the reform movement. It is a commonly held doctrine in most of mainstream Protestant Christianity today. We will see how this plays out and how this idea works into the framework of Christian thinking today. It is even used as an argument against baptism. Because baptism is something one does, and is therefore a “work”: it is eschewed by some as a sign of slipping back into believing that one can be saved by one’s works.

Martin Luther

Luther was a prolific writer and much of his work is still available. The following is a brief excerpt from his writings on Sola Fide:

“…One thing and one thing alone, is necessary for life, justification, and Christian liberty: and that is the most holy word of God, the gospel of Christ, as he says: “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth on me shall not die eternally” (John 11:25): and also “If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36); and “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). Hence it is clear that, as the soul needs the word alone for life and justification, so it is justified by faith alone and not by any works. For if it could be justified by any other means, it would have no need of the word, nor consequently of faith.” (emphasis mine).

Salvation by faith alone taken to the extreme of virtually excluding any actions on the part of the recipient is worked into the Evangelical beliefs as follows. It should be noted that there are minor variations on some specific points between different branches of the evangelical community.

Sola Fide and theevangelical formula for salvation

If the issue was simply “salvation by faith” alone the subject could be easily addressed. One would think that James 2:14-25 would provide all the Scripture needed to establish that faith and works are both required. In fact James states that faith without works does not really exist. It is dead! “What good is it my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?” He gives an illustration of someone failing to help someone in need and makes the point that: “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” In verse 20 he continues “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” He concludes his argument in verse 26: “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” One would think James’ writing on this matter would be sufficient to eliminate the idea of “salvation by faith alone” and set forth the need for our lives to be a balanced manifestation of faith and works.

However Sola Fide is not a stand-alone doctrine. It is combined with a number of other verses taken out of context that construct a formula for salvation:

• Faith is given to us by God by His Holy Spirit. “For by grace are ye saved, through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not by works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:8-9). It tends towards predestination because if salvation is entirely a gift from God that requires no “work” response from the recipient, there is nothing anyone can do to put themselves in the way of salvation.
• When we accept Jesus we are saved at that moment. “And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:11-12). This and similar verses are taken out of the context of Scriptures that state that salvation is neither a present possession or guaranteed in the future. Paul did not feel he was already “saved”. Writing to the Philippians Paul says: “that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christjesus has made me His own” (Phil 3:11-12 ESV).
• Once saved we are always saved and we cannot lose our salvation. The judgment seat of Christ as it relates to “saved” Christians is relegated to milder forms of punishment and is not a the matter of life or death.
• If someone who claimed to have received Christ subsequently falls away it is believed he must never have truly accepted Jesus in the first case. I’m not aware of any Scripture to support this idea. In fact Hebrews 10 states the opposite.

The problem with the above construct is that it takes Scriptural verses out of context and draws conclusion that are inconsistent with other Scriptures. We recommend “Wrested Scriptures” by Bro. Ron Abel as an excellent source for an in depth look at the arguments and passages in question.

The Scriptures actually present a different picture that is consistent with the overall Biblical teachings.

Faith and works in Scriptural context

The Word of God states that faith must be accompanied by works or it does not exist. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). James is not contradicting Paul’s statement in Ephesians 2 where Paul says that salvation is the gift of God. There are no works per se which we can do that can earn our salvation. However that does not mean that God does not expect a change in our actions. We are expected to respond with deeds, the first of which is obedience to the command to be baptized. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). Even brethren in the first century who had already received the Spirit gifts submitted to baptism. “For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?” (Acts 10:46-47).

We are expected to employ our minds and reasoning in reading and understanding God’s word. Salvation is the gift of God, but “faith cometh by hearing” (Rom 10:17). Luke praises the brethren in Berea because: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts17:11).

There is a sense in which we are saved when we believe in Jesus and obey His command to be baptized, but we can change our minds. “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment” (Heb 10:26-27).

Immortal life is not a present possession. It is the blessing we pray to receive when Christ returns. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor 15:52).

And we can lose our salvation. We are no better than Paul or the first century believers described in Hebrews 10: We can decide to reject the gospel at any point in our lives. And sadly some of us do.

Sola Fide is a wrong doctrine

“Once saved always saved” is wrong and human nature being what it is, it could result in a negation of the warnings in the New Testament about the dangers, and the consequences, of disobedience. In this day and age Bible talks emphasizing judgment are not politically acceptable…including in Christadelphia. But a balanced reading of the Scriptures does not support ignoring judgment and punishment. (Could it be that God knows a little more about how to reach us than we think?)

Conclusion

“Text out of context is pretext”. One can prove almost anything from the Bible by taking verses out of the context of the Bible as a whole. We are the readers. We are not the “editors in chief”. We cannot pick and choose. That is why we emphasize reading the whole Bible…not just the pleasant parts. A balanced reading of the Bible teaches that once we have faith, we must manifest our faith in our works. God does not do it all. He has provided us the way of salvation in His Son. That was entirely of His doing. But we must do our part in response. Faith without works is dead.

1. We use the word “faith” in two different ways. We might say that someone is “of the Catholic faith”. In that case we mean he subscribes to the Catholic system of beliefs. When we say a person “has faith” we mean he has firm beliefs and convictions that guide his thinking and his actions. (Or should). “Faith” in this sense does not exist in the absence of works. That is James point. “Faith without works is dead”. It does not exist. It would be clearer if we thought in terms of “belief without actions”.
2. I say “roughly” because I do not want to encourage the conclusion that this brief treatise on a complicated doctrinal thought process is an exhaustive treatment of Sola Fide and its related conclusions. It is also good to remember: “One has not really heard the other man’s argument until you have heard him make it.”
3. When I emphasized the Scriptural verses on judgment to come in a discussion on this subject with a Christian friend of mine who believed in “once saved always saved” he said: “I may be smelling of the smoke but I’ll be there.” He was taking 1 Cor. 3:15 out of the context of Hebrews 10.