Justification by Faith Alone

qawe

I know we reject this, but how about these quotations, especially the first one:

Jerome, translator of the Latin Catholic Bible (347-420) on Romans 10:3: “God justifies by faith alone.” (Deus ex sola fide justificat).[Jerome. Epistolam Ad Romanos. Caput X, v. 3, PL 30:692D]

Chrysostom (349-407): For Scripture says that faith has saved us. Put better: Since God willed it, faith has saved us. Now in what case, tell me, does faith save without itself doing anything at all? Faith’s workings themselves are a gift of God, lest anyone should boast. What then is Paul saying? Not that God has forbidden works but that he has forbidden us to be justified by works. No one, Paul says, is justified by works, precisely in order that the grace and benevolence of God may become apparent.[Chrysostom. Homily on Ephesians. 4.2.9.]

Augustine (354-430): If Abraham was not justified by works, how was he justified? . . . Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness (Rom. 4:3; Gen. 15:6). Abraham, then, was justified by faith. Paul and James do not contradict each other: good works follow justification.

George_Mina_Awad

I think that God does not use works to justify man because \works do not reveal what is in the heart. But through a true, solid faith, the works will come as well - so the two should go hand-in-hand. Many Protestants acknowledge this as well. But if you look at the Pharisees, whom Christ condemned, they had the works, but not the faith (their hearts were not in the right place), and so they were not justified.

peterfarrington

But what else does Jerome say about salvation, outside of this one bare phrase so that his views are understood in context.

We don't have a problem saying that faith alone saves us, but we clearly understand that for faith to be real it must be active. Is Jerome talking about a generally held Protestant belief if things about Jesus, or the Orthodox trust in Jesus Christ himself?

geomike

I remember reading a while ago in the book of James chapter 2, that it was saying (paraphrased)"It's good to know you have faith, but even the demons have faith. Faith without works is dead, and works without love is dead."(paraphrased, not exact wording).

I agree with George_Mina_Awad and Father Peter in that if you have faith then the works will come with it. It's not just enough to believe, because if you believe then you will have to apply the Bible to your life therefore stimulating the action.

jerry

I've found that this is a misconception about most Protestants who do not believe that faith alone saives them, rather, faith through grace.  They do understand that nothing they do saves them and believe that the grace aspect is key in their salvation.  I hope that doesn't sound like I'm splitting hairs but just wanted to be accruate in case a protestant read this post.

Ioannes

I had someone recently quote Clement of Rome on this. What they did was the same thing they do with scripture, selectively embrace because had they read just a few lines after they would have seen a few paragraphs on works. St James says "faith without works is dead". This is not to say works of the old law, but works of the new covenant. Faith and works are inseparable, they compliment one another.

peterfarrington

As an ex-protestant I have to day that there are a lot of groups who do teach explicitly that saving faith just means believing things ABOUT Jesus. I recently produced a podcast and randomly chose a serious protestant website and it taught exactly that. Indeed it is what I believed when I was a teenage evangelical.

Not all of course. But a lot.

CopticSoldier

I stumbled upon a really good podcast given by an ex-protestant who is now an Orthodox Priest:

http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/illuminedheart/can_we_really_know_god

Its not on the faith/works issue per se but he does explain why we don't just require a personal relationship with Christ, we require a communion which can only come through Orthodox prayer, worship and participation in sacramental life.

imikhail

How can faith alone saves while the Lord on the Last Day says:

33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' 41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'

Mathew 25

jerry

I'm not saying that there aren't those who believe that way, but as a former evangelical pastor, our denomination di not believe that faith alone gets you salvation.  My point being that we shouldn't generalize all protestants.  I've seen some Coptic literature generalizing all protestants in certain beliefs that are simply not true.  If any of my protestant friends were seeking real truth and saw false statements about them, they would immediately through up a mental wall and not go any further.

qawe

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peterfarrington

I agree Jerry, and I do think that those communicating with Protestants need to be better informed and more nuanced.

But it does seem reasonable to me, as an ex-Protestant still dealing with Protestants, to say that many or most Protestants do believe in 'only Faith', and even more, that a great many consider Faith to be essentially believing things about Jesus and not having Faith in Jesus himself, even if that is considered positive and beneficial.

Here is a reasonable and serious instance of the sinner's prayer plucked at random from millions on the internet...

God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin. However, I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness. I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! Amen!

From an Orthodox point of view this is not how we are saved. It might be how we begin in a stumbling manner. But there is nore wrong with this prayer than right. It makes saying certain words, in the first part of the text, the means of being saved and forgiven, but this is not what it can effect. It is too close to the Muslim prayer of becoming a Muslim, especially when it is understood as saving a person for ever, as many websites do state that it does.

It is predicated too much on statements of facts about ourselves and Christ, but repeating facts does not save us. It is union with Christ in baptism, and the reception of the Holy Spirit in Chrismation, which is our life, which begin the journey of salvation.

Of course there are steps of faith we take before that. But it is when we have been baptised and received the Holy Spirit that we are presented to the congregation as a Christian for the first time. This is not to criticise the intent and desire of many people who first encounter Christ among Protestants. I was one. My first steps in faith were among the Plymouth Brethren until I was in my mid 20's. But I did not properly become a Christian until I was baptised into the Orthodox Church, in my own experience and according to my own understanding.

Before that I was like a catechumen all my life. Learning about the faith. Not unrelated to the Church. But not yet properly a member.

qawe

But this prayer is not merely believing things about Jesus, it includes accepting Jesus as a personal lord and saviour.

peterfarrington

But accepting Jesus as personal lord and saviour is not the subject of a very short prayer, nor is it scriptural or patristic.

Ioannes

I am not sure that protestantism is scriptural at all. Sola scriptura has no biblical foundation. Luther and the reformers asserted that the church had been overcome, yet Christ tells us in Mt 16:18 that this will never happen. (See "On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church" by Luther for more on that) Luther stating that we are all priests in the congregation of the Lord is eerily reminiscent of Korah in Num. 16. Since when did God sanction rebellion against Himself?

This rebellion started with Lucifer, who took it to the garden, then to Korah, then to many early heretics, and then Luther. What is this rebellion? Making ones self equal to God or God equal to them. You could even go as far as communism which seeks to destroy God and make all equal. Our adversary knows that he can deceive most anyone by inflating their sense of worth, he has continually done this with "good" results.

Joshuaa

      This rebellion started with Lucifer. Quite right. Those who seek rebellion also seek power and is so distant from the humble nature of the lineage of our church. Starting when Jesus was with the Apostles after the resurrection.

  What is this rebellion? Making ones self equal to God or God equal to them. Again right. The Catholic Church rebelled from the Orthodoxy by saying Saint Mary was equal to Jesus Christ. If they put Saint Mary as equal, then I feel they have also elevated the bride of Christ as well to a much higher position.
In turn, the protestants rebelled against this power and have made Jesus less than what Jesus had taught the Apostles after the resurrection. To the protestant, he is no longer consubstantial. The drift away from Orthodoxy has not been humble but rebellious, seeking emancipation because of power.

  I am not theirs or anyones judge but my thoughts are, that they are not as safe in direction. A judge condemns. But I would like to see the healing work that had been done by Pope Shenouda 111 continue.