Sola Fide –
Faith Alone
Nothing you earn – so stop striving!
At the center of this Christian faith is the
understanding that a sinner is justified by grace alone (sola gratia) through
faith alone (sola fide) for the sake of Christ alone (solus Christus), a truth
revealed to us in Scripture alone (sola Scriptura).
Faith comes from God through work of the Holy Spirit
as He reveals Himself through His Word. “Faith
come by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” – Romans 10:17. Sometimes,
you might feel Christ’s presence within your soul and life, and that is always
a great blessing. Sometimes you feel nothing. Sometimes your faith is
passionate and fervent. At other times you are full of doubts and fears.
Independent of what you feel and think, Christ is always with you, and his
promise of forgiveness and salvation is for you.
Sola fide the Latin phrase “by faith alone,” also known as
justification by faith alone, is the single most Christian theological doctrine
that distinguishes Lutheran Christianity.
The doctrine of faith alone affirms God's pardon for
guilty sinners. God’s forgiveness is granted and received through faith alone,
excluding all "works". All mankind is fallen and sinful, under the
curse of God, and incapable of saving himself from God's wrath and curse. But
God our heavenly Father, on the basis of the life, death, and resurrection of
His Son, Jesus Christ alone, grants sinners a full judicial pardon, which is
received solely through faith.
Faith is passive. Merely receiving Christ and all His
benefits, among which benefits are the forgiveness of sins, and peace with God.
Christ's active obedience - doing what God's law required – means that every
event of Jesus’ life was a part of His payment of the penalty of sin. Every event of His life was a part of His
keeping of the law of God by which He earned for His people the reward of
eternal life.
This righteousness is a righteousness that we receive
from God. A person is righteous, that is, he is in a right relationship with
God, when he simply receives the imputed obedience of Christ and the
forgiveness of sins through faith. This righteousness is passive and comes
apart from the Law.
Christ's righteousness, is imputed (or attributed) by
God to the believing sinner (as opposed to infused or imparted), so that the
divine verdict and pardon of the believing sinner is based not upon anything in
you; a sinner, but upon Jesus Christ and His righteousness alone, which are
received through faith alone.
Augsburg Confession, 1530 sums this up with the
following words, “Our churches by common
consent...teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength,
merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith,
when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are
forgiven for Christ's sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our
sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight.” – Article IV
In his Introduction to the book Romans, Luther stated
that saving faith is, “a living,
creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good
works constantly. It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but
before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without
ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an
unbeliever...Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it
is to separate heat and light from fire!
- Luther, An Introduction to St. Paul's Letter to the Romans
Martin Luther is recorded as stating, “Works are necessary for salvation but they
do not cause salvation; for faith alone gives life.” – [Ewald M. Plass,
“What Luther says,” page 1509] Remember, works are necessary. But they do not
cause salvation. Thus Luther could offer two seemingly contradictory truths:
The Christian is an utterly free man, lord of all,
subject to none. –In Christ all sin is
covered period. He gave His all for you.
The Christian is an utterly dutiful man, servant of
all, subject to all. –In love I serve my neighbor giving my all.
Our farmers plant their fields in anticipation
of a bountiful harvest. There is also a
harvest of souls. Christ has won for you full salvation. You receive this
freedom as a gift. No strings attached. You are now free to love and serve your
neighbor. Every. Single. Day. You are compelled to do so. You can do no
other. Love God. Serve your neighbor.
That’s what it means to be a person of faith – a sermon in shoes.
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