Justification by Faith Alone? A look at Scripture and how the Catholic view of Justification is proven. Part 3

In this third post on the biblical proofs for the Catholic view on justification, we will look at John’s Gospel and how the evangelist demonstrates that the Protestant fabrication of sola fide, as a general rule for all Christians, goes against the very essence of the true Gospel of Christ.

As always, all Scripture passages are taken from the King James Version (KJV).

Due to the thickly rich theological nature of the Gospel of John, the first several passages that will be examined are favored Protestant verses that, by themselves, give credence to the misguided idea that simply by believing in Jesus, you can attain salvation. As I will show, when we look at these “stand alone verses” within their proper context, the idea that a person is saved or justified by faith alone terminates.

John 3:16 states:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

This is one of the most quoted bible verses in all of Scripture and it is one that most Protestants use in order to validate the fact that only faith in Jesus Christ is what saves us. But, what most Protestants don’t mention or, they fail to see, is that in the verses immediately following John 3:16 we read the following in verses 19 and 20:

… And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Note how in the very context right after John 3:16 we see references to condemnation for EVIL DEEDS, to people who DO EVIL as well as DEEDS BEING JUDGED! This makes it totally clear that any faith in God’s only-begotten Son which will grant salvation, has to be a faith that involves doing GOOD DEEDS and doing GOOD WORKS. In other words, for us to believe in Jesus “unto salvation” we must not only have faith in Him but we must also have the accompanying works which will be judged.

John 5:24 states:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

This too is a favorite verse that sola fide Protestants like to use in order to legitimize their heresy but, just like John 3:16, if we continue to read a couple of verses down, we find that here too, works are needed in order to have the proper faith in Christ:

John 5:28-29 states:

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Proof positive that the faith that is talked about in John 5:24 will be judged not on merit of faith alone but, on what those who proclaim such a faith HAVE DONE!

John 6:47 states:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

If we were to take solely this one verse and present it as proof in sola fide, we would have to negate the entirety of the sixth chapter of John, for in it, John EXPLICITLY states that we HAVE TO eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ as we read in verses 50-51, 53-54 and, 56-57. Clearly, when read in context, faith alone in never even remotely stipulated in John’s sixth chapter due to the fact that Christ is commanding us to DO something, that being, to partake in His flesh and in His blood, i.e., the Eucharist.

John 3:3 states:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

This is a heavily favored quote that many Protestant use, for the concept of being “born again” is a very popular concept among our separated brothers and sisters-in-Christ. Protestants believe that one is “born again” once they accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. But, IN CONTEXT, we see that this is not the case. If we continue reading:

John 3:3-5 states:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Here we see that, when taken in its entirety, the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus isn’t stating that we go to heaven based on the acceptance, belief or faith that we have in Christ but, according to Christ Himself, it is based on the fact of being “born again” through water and the Spirit, that is, salvation lies in the action – or work – of being baptized!  And, in case you missed it, John reiterates the fact that water baptism is needed in order to be saved; near the end of the chapter we read in verses 22 and 23 that Jesus along with his cousin (who was a baptizer) stayed near a source of water precisely so they could baptize. Sola fide? Nope. Fide + Baptismus? Yes. (See also Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:27-29, Ephesians 4:5, Acts 2:38-47, 1 Peter 3:20-21)

Sorry Angry School Boy, but, when you do grow up and
become a Roman Catholic, you'll see just how wrong you are.

John 8:12 states:

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Notice that one MUST follow Jesus in order to have eternal life, not just faith.

John 8:51 states:

 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

Those who keep His word, not just believe, will never see death.

John 16:27 states:

For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

The Father loves them because they love Him? Well according to John chapter 14 we read the following:

John 14:15-16 states:

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

In other words, The Father loves those who love Him. But, the only way to love Him is to KEEP His commandments. Faith alone in is not enough, we must actively keep the commandments and believe in order to be saved. We also see this in John’s 15^th chapter, when he says:

John 15:10 states:

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Again, keeping and holding on to the commandments of Christ IN CONJUNCTION WITH faith is how we truly love God and Jesus and not by faith alone. 

Things Jesus never said but Protestants believe