Is the idea of salvation as a’ free gift’ a Protestant tenet of was it a Catholic belief prior to Martin Luther’s assertion on the matter.
I’m not a theologian but my understanding is that Catholic doctrine says there are certain acts a person must perform in order to be saved. I believe this is generally expressed as Catholics believing in faith and works while Protestants believe in faith alone.
Thanks Little_Nemo. I believe you are correct. Do you happen to know where Martin Luther got this idea of salvation being free, something that cannot be earned ?
Here is the first article of the Smalcald Articles (a summary of Lutheran doctrine written by Luther):
The first and chief article is this: Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification (Romans 3:24–25). He alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), and God has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). All have sinned and are justified freely, without their own works and merits, by His grace (Eph 2:8-9), through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood (Romans 3:23–28). This is necessary to believe. This cannot be otherwise acquired or grasped by any work, law, or merit. Therefore, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us… Nothing of this article can be yielded or surrendered, even though heaven and earth and everything else falls (Mark 13:31)
Luther focuses a lot on Romans as to where he has his epiphany on sola gratia.
Arguably this goes back to the debate recorded in Acts over whether Christians ought to be required to be circumcised. The whole faith versus works thing is a profound subject that’s hard to summarize in a few paragraphs. But no, Luther was not the first person to expound this.
Thanks Lumpy. So the later Catholic Church rejected the early doctrine of free salvation discussed by Paul. Was it ever firmly established in the very beginning or simply a talking point?
Not trying to be difficult, but isn’t the salvation contingent on actually believing in Christian doctrine? If so, it’s not really “free”, and if not, what’s the point of Christianity?
That’s the Protestant view.
The Catholic view is that faith and works is the true doctrine and the Protestants are the ones who rejected the biblical truth.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 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? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
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. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 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. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 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? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
James 2:14-26
How could/did Luther reconcile sola gratia with the above quote from James, and how do modern Protestants?
For one thing, Martin Luther was not a fan of the epistle of James (he called it an “epistle of straw,” IIRC).
I think many modern Protestants would explain it by saying that the works that James is talking about are not the way that Christians earn salvation, but rather are evidence that their faith is real. Salvation is by faith, not works; but faith that doesn’t result in changes in behavior isn’t genuine faith.
And I think some would say that the kind of “works” James is talking about, things like giving food and clothing to the poor, are not the same kind of “works” that Paul was talking about in his epistles that influenced Luther. To Paul and his Jewish audience, “works of the law” would have been things like circumcision and following the Jewish dietary regulations. To later Christians, they might be things like going to mass, fasting for Lent, or saying a dozen Hail Marys.
Salvation is a blessing, as exhibited by our actions. In fact, our actions demonstrate what our beliefs are or are not. Doctrine plays no part in God’s judgements.
31 “When[a] the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All[b] the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He[c] will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him,[d] ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When[e] did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When[f] did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the king will answer them,[g] ‘I tell you the truth,[h] just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters[i] of mine, you did it for me.’
41 “Then he will say[j] to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. 43 I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they too will answer,[k] ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’ 45 Then he will answer them,[l] ‘I tell you the truth,[m] just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ 46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”[n]
They have other sections of the Bible which appear to contradict what James seems to be saying.
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Romans 3:20-28
What Christian doctrine you choose to believe is based on what passages of the Bible you call on for support and how you interpret those passages.
In context you have to remember that Luther was rebelling against corruption in the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the granting of “indulgences” which Luther felt was the equivalent of the Church charging a price for salvation (40 of Luther’s 95 Theses specifically mention indulgences.)
The broad argument is that Salvation is a gift, and like any gift it must be accepted. There is a wide range of viewpoints over what entails acceptance, ranging from simply living a good life as Jesus taught, to making an affirmative statement of faith (i.e., accepting Jesus as one’s savior,) to strictly following a set of written rules.
[Moderating]
Strictly speaking, the question as posed is factual, specifically, what do and did various churches say about this matter. But it’s a lot easier to discuss questions like this absent that restriction, and so I think this thread would be much better served in Great Debates (which does also allow factual discussion).
I believe his main argument was that if salvation was something that people could earn (ie achieve by performing certain actions) than it would create situations where people were controlling God. For example, suppose that people could be guaranteed salvation by being baptized and then following the ten commandments. That would mean that a human being could do those things and God would have no choice; this person would have to be admitted into Heaven. Luther felt it was ridiculous to suggest that anything people could do could bind God in any way. Only God decides who is saved and nothing humans do can influence the decision.
I feel this argument is flawed. It ignores the source of a path to salvation. If God decides that everyone who gets baptized and follows the ten commandments gets saved, then it’s God, not men, who made the decision. All men can do is choose whether or not to follow the path that God created for them. They are not compelling God to give them salvation by their acts; they are receiving salvation from God because they obeyed his instructions for doing so.
I reverse the causality: God grants salvation, which causes those who accept the gift to do good.
That sounds like it’s getting into free will, which is a whole other debate.
Thankls Nemo. Nice summary!
There are plenty of passages in the New Testament to support either view of faith vs. works. Here’s one from Ephesians.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Thanks Kent_Clark.