Justification by Faith Alone? A look at Scripture and how the Catholic view of Justification is proven. Part 2

In continuation for our most wonderful 450^th anniversary since the close of the 2 decade long Council of Trent, we continue in this post with further proofs that establish the Catholic view of justification by looking at the New Testament Scripture passages. Today, we will be looking at the Gospels of Mark and Luke collectively and see just how anti-biblical the Protestant concept of sola fide or faith alone is in light of some simple exegetical analysis.

As stated in the last post, ALL bible passages are taken from the King James Version (KJV), lest any Protestant think otherwise.

Mark 3:35 states:

For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

To be part of God’s family and be saved, one must DO the will of God and not just simply believe.

Mark 13:13 states:

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Wait a minute! According to sola fide, by simply believing you are saved! It would seem that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would beg to differ as he plainly states that those who endure to the end – through tribulation, temptation, sin, persecution, etc - will be saved. This indeed proves that works are necessary because in order to deny ourselves of sin and temptation, we must actively do what is right and refrain from doing what is wrong. And, when we are placed in persecution because of our faith it is up to us to stand up for and proclaim the truth of Christ with our though, action and words.

Mark 13:35-37 states:

Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

In continuation with the previous cited passage of Mark 13 from above, we see here that Jesus is instructing all to keep watch for the coming of the Son of Man, meaning that we are to be prepared for when He returns lest he finds us “asleep” in our faith. Why would Jesus even states this if all we need is to have faith in Him alone to be saved when He returns? According to Protestant theology, if faith alone saves you then how is it that we are supposed to “keep watch” and “be ready” if we are already saved? Indeed, why even be observant, vigilant and prepared for His Second Coming if your faith is sufficient in and of itself to save you? If all you need is faith and faith alone, then this passage, spoken by Christ Himself, makes no sense. The Gospel of Luke has this same parable and, in the Lucan version, the emphasis on works and doing things for salvation is even more prevailing:

Luke 12:38-43 states in part:

And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants…Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not…Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Interesting, how in this parable Jesus states that the faithful servant is not the one who has faith in his lord but the one who actually holds on to his faith AND DOES what his lord commands him to do!  Another very similar instance happens again in Luke Chapter 21:

Luke 21:34-36 states:

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

How truly interesting! In this passage we see that a failure to do things, that is, a failure to avoid sins, can cost one their salvation! This demonstrates just how foreign the Protestant belief in faith alone is to the true Gospel.

Unfortunately, way too many Christians actually believe this.

Luke 4:1-2 states:

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

What does this passage have to do with sola fide? Well, simply put, here we see that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was tempted by the devil. This is meant to show us as Christians that, if the devil will tempt the second person of the Holy Trinity, how much more easier is it for the devil to tempt us? Jesus here proves that he is much stronger than the devil and would not give Himself over to him. How many of us, on the other hand, do give into temptation? This concept of giving one’s self to temptation would have NO MEANING at all if all we need for salvation is “faith alone.” Think about it: if all you need is “faith alone” to be saved, why would the devil even tempt us if we believe in Jesus? After all, wouldn’t we technically already be saved? This passage has absolutely NO MEANING and NO APPLICATION if sola fide is in fact a part of the Christian faith!

Luke 9:24 states:

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Again we see here that what one DOES, in giving up sinful and worldly things, has a direct effect on whether or not one attains salvation.

Luke 9:62 states:

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

This passage shows that one who is justified can “look back,” and turn away from God and lose his salvation. Here, we see that attaining salvation is an ongoing effort, an ongoing work which one obtains by “plowing” through temptations and obstacles. Interestingly enough, this is Jesus’ response to a man who simply paid lip service to Him, one verse before in verse 61. The man tells Jesus that he too, much like the man in verse 59, is willing to follow Jesus as his Master, it is obvious that he has faith in Jesus BUT, before being able to follow Christ, he states that there’s one caveat: Jesus MUST let him go and bid farewell to his family. Here Christ is making it crystal clear that you have to do what the Master says and not find reasons not to do what is expected of you, lest you turn back after having “plowed” through all the sin and lose your salvation.

Luke 10:25-28 states:

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Notice that Jesus is asked what one MUST DO to be saved. He tells the lawyer that he MUST DO these things to be saved. It simply isn’t enough to believe and have faith alone. If the Protestant invention of sola fide were true, this would have been perfect opportunity for Jesus to expose it and yet, He didn’t.

Luke 14:27-33 states in part:

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple… So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

This shows us that salvation in NOT attained by faith alone but by faith AND the carrying of one’s cross AND making sure that possessions are not more important than Christ. The work done here is straightforward: make sure you bear your cross and make sure you prioritize your life so that the things you have do not come before God.

Yup, and neither did any of the writers of the New Testament,
Early Church Fathers, Jesus or any Christian for the first
1,500 years of Christianity.