What is Sola Fide?
Sola Fide is the assertion that sanctification (the process of becoming spiritually purified) is predominantly the product of faith in Jesus. Of equal importance is that a person cannot brute force their way to righteousness by good works, sacraments, or rites, as it must be preceded and enabled by that faith in Jesus. In that regard, it is the Triune God (we’ll talk more about the foundation laid by God and the guidance provided by the Holy Spirit later on) that makes men righteous, not men themselves.
Why is Sola Fide Contentious? Is it Scripturally Sound?
Sola Fide, though alluded to and even blatantly stated throughout the scriptures, remains one of the most contested tenets of biblical Christianity. If through God’s grace, the Gospel is sufficient for salvation and men cannot credit themselves salvation through works and traditions, what power can any specific man or church denomination wield?
That is the larger point of Gospel and the New Covenant. The system of law and sacrifices the Israelites were given so they could reconcile their sins before God has long since ceased to be pleasing to Him. Why? Because matters of the heart were more important than rites or extrinsic propitiation for sin.
Isaiah 1:10: Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
Hosea 6:6: For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Sacrifices for sin were not enough. Both God and Jesus have already stated their desire for mercy over sacrifice in Hosea and Mark. There is a reason Jesus died as a sacrifice for sins once and for all (Hebrews 10). Once Jesus’ work was finished, there was no longer any need for any form of offering for sin. If that is so, how are people actually justified? Through faith in the Jesus, as is detailed by the Gospel.
Remember the passage in 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul preaches the Gospel? Here are the two verses preceding it:
1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
Men were not capable of justifying themselves before God through their own righteousness. Neither Jesus nor Paul count any man as good. This is why Jesus had to come in the first place. Jesus had to die to reconcile the sins of man in a way that men themselves could not. Righteousness is now not dependent on works and traditions, but faith in Jesus and His Gospel.
Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Look at that again, these verses are direct proof of both the sufficiency and definitiveness of the Gospel for salvation. Note how no mention is made of submission to a church or to a specific rite. There is no room for a system of sacrifices or deeds to continuously renew a man’s grace from God. Jesus is the beginning and end of salvation, all man needs to do is remain in Him.
Galatians 2:16: Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.
Romans 11:6: “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”
Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.”
Does Sola Fide Exclude Works from Sanctification?
So, let’s address the elephant in the room, the letter of James. James claims faith without works is dead.
James 2:17: So too, faith by itself, if it is not complemented by action, is dead.
James is right. Of course he is, divinely inspired scripture is perfect. That also means Paul is right when he says that men are justified by faith. By cherry picking scriptures, anyone can construct a narrative fitting to their preconceived notions. But, if the scriptures are divinely inspired, they all share the same greater author, the infallible God. In that regard, the only true interpretation is the one that is both cohesive and congruent with Scripture as a whole. With that in mind, we can look to Jesus for clarification.
During His ministry, Jesus certainly does outline a necessity of good works for salvation. James is clearly speaking truth when he states that “faith without works is dead.”
Matthew 7:16: By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.
So then, what about the words of John and Paul, who assert that faith in Jesus is what brings salvation? Well, Jesus goes on to explain that works are a byproduct and manifestation of faith. The Christian must be justified by faith to bear those good fruits:
Matthew 12:33: Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
Jesus talks about this in length in John, stating that He made people clean through the word He has spoken to them. Those who heard the truth and remained with Him can consequently bear good fruit, which is a way that people will show themselves to be His disciples:
John 15:1: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Notice how Jesus explicitly states people are already clean because of the words He had spoken to them. The functional agent of this spiritual cleansing is still the reception and belief in the Gospel (with the help of the Holy Spirit, of course). John and Paul are now justified as well. With that in mind, scroll back up to Romans 10:9, were Paul claims that righteousness is explicitly the product of believing in Jesus. So, where do works actually come in?
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
The fruits of “good works” are established in those who remain with Jesus, maintaining acceptance and submission to his Gospel. The works themselves did not make the man righteous, rather, the man did the works because he was being made righteous through his faith in Jesus. This is conceptually the exact same point Paul was making in Romans 10. This distinction by Jesus here is the rational basis of why Paul can attest that faith without works is dead, and why James can say works without faith are dead. Faith precedes works and will bear works, if it does not, then the faith was never valid in the place.
Matthew 27:21: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Our Good Works are Not Our Own, They are Planned and Owned by God
Do remember that even our own good works are preplanned and owned by God. I’ve even used a different verse to stress the scriptural congruence of this tenet:
John 15:16: You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
But, here is the original again for additional context:
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.
Jesus already knew who would remain in Him and bear good fruit and who wouldn’t. He knew this because He, as of the Triune God, already appointed them. Thus, nothing we do, not sacraments, self-sacrifice, or “good works” merit us any salvation that God has not already given us.
Jesus knew this, but we did not. In our own perspective, we are wholly autonomous. In some way, we do have a choice in how we conduct ourselves, but God ultimately establishes our paths. Thus, even though Jesus knows His flock, He still makes the call.
Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
Speaking of established paths, notice how in Ephesians 2 Paul asserts that we were already made to do these good works. We do them because the Lord has moved us to love Him, to love others, and to manifest His mercy and glory. Jesus already stated we were consecrated by His word, and all of our good works are already owned by Him. This is why justification cannot be founded on a basis of works, even though faith must be proven by them.
Hebrews 11:6: And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.
It is by Faith in Jesus That Our Good Works are Cultivated
So, faith in Jesus and the Gospel is what justifies men, and those who truly believe will perform works bearing good fruit. Both are required, but faith is pre-eminent. Why is this distinction important?
Romans 9:30: What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
This distinction is literally a deciding factor on righteousness and justification. Justification based on faith means that only God is attaining and meting out any form of goodness. Justification based on works means that man is in some part working for and earning that grace through their own good works. That is clearly not the case. According to Paul, belief in the former, and not the latter, was literally the bane of the Israelite’s attempts at securing righteousness.
Here is a second Parable from Jesus for emphasis:
Luke 18:9-14: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”
Both men believed in God, but only the one who placed his faith in the mercy of God went home justified. The righteousness of the Law-abiding Pharisee was not enough to please God. Listen to Paul tie my assertion together by stating that by his justification through faith, he is merited with the righteousness not of himself, but of God.
Philippians 3:8: Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Faith Facilitating Good Works Reconciles the False Conflict Between Paul and James
Keeping the prior mentioned verses in mind, listen as James goes on to profess:
James 2:18: But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
Works were the manifestation of faith, just as Jesus had said. By using the scriptures as a whole for the context, and not cherry-picking verses to fit a narrative, the false conflict between justification by faith vs. works is reconciled.
What about Abraham? Paul says Abraham was justified by faith; James says works. How can the same event be justified in two different ways? Easy, it’s not the same event.
Here’s Paul’s:
Romans 4: What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
Paul directly quotes Genesis 15, the beginning of Abraham’s relationship with God. Abraham established faith first and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Now here’s James:
James 2:21: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”
Abraham offered Isaac up on the alter far after the passage quoted by Paul, we’re looking at Genesis 22 now. Abraham’s faith was already established (he was already credited as righteous) but through faith he performed the good work of offering up his beloved son in obedience to the Lord. Those familiar with the history of Abraham know that he wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtue. The man struggled a lot during his life, but he always kept a steadfast obedience to God. He was certainly more faithful than he was righteous, but God loved Him dearly.
Through faith Abraham completed his good work. If Abraham simply professed to believe God, but did not have that transformative faith, he would have disobeyed God to protect his son and thus that faith would have never been true. Just as Paul and Jesus had asserted, Abraham’s faith preceded and enabled his good works.
James was not rebuking Paul or rewriting the Gospel; he was worried about the hypocrites who profess God in name only. People who thought believing in Jesus as Lord was enough to the extent that they did not love Him or repent. James compares them to demons, he tells them that their faith is not real if they do not live it:
James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
James closes with this:
James 2:26: For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
For those reading this who still don’t believe, let me provide you with the words of God, speaking not to, but through, Isaiah on the matter:
Isaiah 53: Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him, he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
God explicitly states that Jesus is the offering for the sins of God’s people. He then expatiates that with His knowledge, the righteous one (Jesus) will bear the inequities of His people so that they will be counted righteous. Notice there is no room for righteousness from works, traditions, or rites for reconciling sin. Pleasing to God or not, it was only by Jesus’ death and subsequent faith in the Gospel (His Knowledge) that men are justified. Here is how the passage ends.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
From God Himself, Jesus is the justifier. By this revelation, justification must be by faith in what Jesus has done, rather than by the works done by men. Thus, the true equation of salvation must be:
Faith = Works + Salvation (Faith precedes both)
Not:
Faith + Works = Salvation (ie, salvation is not given freely by grace, but as a payment for works)
Knowing people would struggle with this, Paul expatiates on the concept thoroughly:
Ephesians 1:5 In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.
Paul explains that we are pre-destined for grace.
Romans 5:15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many! 16 Again, the gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment that followed one sin brought condemnation, but the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification.
17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
Not only grace, but righteousness is granted to these pre-destined Christians by Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
As he was pre-destined for good works by the grace of God, Paul did wonderful things in His name. As the works did not originate from his own righteousness, they were rightly credited as the grace of God. The works were not Paul’s, Paul knew that righteousness and grace were only from God.
Romans 10:1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
People who do not fully accept the Gospel, nor submit themselves to Jesus, believe that their own works credit themselves righteousness. In doing so, they reject God’s gift and Jesus’ sacrifice, though they profess to be Christians.
Summarizing the Role of Sola Fide, Election, and Works in the New Covenant
In summary, the Elect does good deeds because he has been born again by the gift of the Holy Spirit. The gift was provide by the grace of God, and this gift is cultivated in men by their faith. The consequent righteousness he exhibits is not of his own, but it is product of the Holy Spirit. This is an evolution of and a successor to the older sacrificial system, which allowed men to pronounce themselves righteous by paying for their sins, even though their heart was still impure.
God replaced this system with the New Covenant through Jesus, who died so that the Elect where no longer condemned by their sins and that the Holy Spirit would grant them a pure heart (once again, exogenously. Man is still impure, but the heart and spirit God put in them is righteous). Paul explains this at length:
Titus 3:5: He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 7:6 But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the Law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
Refusing to Treat Salvation as an Unmerited Gift From God is a Noted Spiritual Stumbling Block
Even though Paul is explicit in his explanations of how salvation is not ultimately attained by works, not every Christian denomination professes this. In fact, some actively and vehemently condemn it, such as the Roman Catholic church:
“If anyone says, that by faith alone the impious is justified; let him be anathema” (Council of Trent #9)
“If anyone says that the justice [or justification] received is not preserved and also not increased before God through good works but that those works are merely the fruits and signs of justification obtained, but not the cause of the increase, let him be anathema.” (Council of Trent, 24).
The assertion made by the Council of Trent, is scripturally and logically tenuous at best. Rejecting that faith precedes works and is the primary mechanism for sanctification also rejects the congruence and equilibrium of the teachings of Jesus, Paul, John, and James. Salvation cannot be given by grace and justified through faith, if it must be increased (ie. purchased) through good works. Grace, by definition, is not earned.
The idea that it must be earned is foolish and rejects God’s mercy. Righteousness was already merited to the man of faith prior to his works, just as men were cleansed by Jesus before they bore good fruit. Does God not say that He will remember the sins of His People no more? Did Jesus not die on the cross to pay for the sins of God’s people once and for all? Does Paul not clearly say that men are saved by faith apart from both the law and works?
The Council of Trent just damned the very apostle Jesus chose to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles and they’ve ignored the full role of Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s covenant to do so. This false message has now made grace a limited quantity that must be actively complied by the works of men instead of being graciously given by God without measure. They are tripping over the stumbling block of Zion:
Romans 9:30: What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
People weaker in faith need to believe that they are meriting themselves righteousness so that they have some modicum of control over their own salvation. Belief in justification by faith is difficult to reconcile because it requires complete humility of oneself and total submission to God. Don’t be swayed by pride or willful ignorance. Perform good works because Jesus is making you righteous, not because you yourself are seeking righteousness. Even if the physical outcome of the two perspectives are the same, the difference in in your intentions and faith are disastrous. The latter puts faith in yourself, so pursue the former and put all faith and exaltation toward God. Otherwise, you are tripping over the stumbling block of Zion, just like the Pharisees and the Israelites.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.
By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.