Sola Fide
May 9, 2004
Romans 3:28
5th Sunday of Easter
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
back to our church home page
For we maintain
that a man is justified by faith
apart from observing the law.
Romans 3:28
One of the distinctive doctrines
of Protestant Christianity
is Sola Fide, faith alone.
What does that mean?
Only faith, just faith, and nothing else,
is all you need to become a Christian.
Take a look at John 3:16.
For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 gives us the Gospel
in a few simple words.
If you believe in Jesus,
that’s all it takes to get eternal life.
That’s liberating!
All I need to become a Christian,
and all I need to stay a Christian,
is faith in Jesus.
Listen to what John 3:16 does NOT say,
For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
and goes to church every Sunday
and prays every day
and gives a 10% tithe
and reads their Bible every day
and takes at least one class on Christian basics
and is baptized in the Jordan river by a qualified minister
and takes communion once a year
and serves on the Administrative Board
and teaches the nursery class
shall not perish but have eternal life.
Aren’t you glad John 3:16 does not say that?
That would be hard to memorize!
That would be really hard to explain.
If all those extras were in John 3:16,
faith would still be in the verse,
but it would not be important anymore.
People would focus on all the other stuff.
In fact,
that’s what we all tend to do!
Sometimes, we forget
how simple the Gospel is!
We forget
the blood of Jesus
paid for every sin we have ever committed
in the past, right now, or in the future.
We forget
that our ability to have faith
is itself a gift from God.
Without grace, we can’t believe.
We forget
that nobody can get right with God
except by the one and only way he offers.
And here is that way.
It’s found in Acts 16:31.
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”.
Sola Fide!
Godly women teach us a lot about faith.
Christian mothers, aunts, sisters,
women who know Jesus,
love us unconditionally.
They nurture,
encourage,
care deeply.
That’s what God created all of us to do.
Godly women do this in their own unique way.
One of the best things
that any woman or girl can do
is to have faith in Jesus Christ.
Faith alone. Sola Fide.
I like the story about the millionaire mom
who sent her daughter to an exclusive academy.
The girl was given a writing assignment
to describe what life was like for a poor family.
Her essay began:
"Once upon a time there was a poor family.
The mother was poor. The daddy was poor.
The children were poor.
The butler was poor. The chauffeur was poor.
The maid was poor. The gardener was poor.
Everybody was poor."
The child just didn’t get it.
She didn’t know what poverty was.
Unfortunately, lots of children
grow up in an environment
where there is no faith.
When asked to describe faith,
they don’t have a clue!
Where there are no adults
who love Jesus Christ,
who are growing in grace,
who are sharing their faith, THAT is poverty.
I want to say something to the women and girls
in this congregation.
Moms, Grandmothers, Sisters, Aunts, Nieces,
single women, married women,
here is something you can do
to significantly influence the people in your life:
acknowledge the beauty
of your faith in Jesus Christ.
Let that settle in.
Faith is the greatest gift
and the most wonderful present you can give.
There isn’t anything better you can do
for the people you love
than to show them by example
how a Christian woman lives by faith.
Sola Fide!
The United Methodist Church
is a thoroughly Protestant denomination.
We have embraced the concept of Sola Fide
and we have included that doctrine in our Book of Discipline:
I put this in the bulletin on page 3.
We believe we are never accounted righteous
before God through our works or merit,
but that penitent sinners are justified
or accounted righteous before God
only by faith
in our Lord Jesus Christ.
From the United Methodist Book of Discipline page 69
Sola Fide
is one of those basic concepts
that defines
who we are.
We are Protestants.
That’s what the Reformation in the 1500s was all about.
Martin Luther and John Calvin
embraced what Paul wrote
in Romans 3:28
"For we maintain that
a man is justified by faith
apart from observing the law."
The Roman Catholic Church responded to Luther and Calvin
with the Council of Trent.
Because of the Council of Trent,
the Roman Catholic Church now teaches
that faith is ONE of the conditions
necessary for a person to be made right with God.
Another necessary condition includes
"works of merit".
One theologian put it this way,
"It is not an exaggeration to say
that the eye of the Reformation tornado was this
one little word. The Reformers insisted that justification
is by grace alone (sola gratia), by faith alone (sola fide),
and through Christ alone (soli Christo)."
Grace Unknown: The Heart of Reformed Theology
by R.C. Sproul, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1997. Page 66
Does that mean that Protestants are right
and the Roman Catholics are wrong?
Well, it’s a pretty big disagreement.
But in the end, that’s all it is, a disagreement.
The Roman Catholic Church is right on target
when it says
that works are important too.
Faith and works go hand in hand.
You can’t have one without the other.
What good is your faith
if people can’t see it?
What good is your faith
if it doesn’t move you
to do something practical?
Protestants and Roman Catholics
disagree about the viewpoint,
but we agree on the subject matter!
The way we define these theological words
and the emphasis we put on them
is different,
but the content is essentially the same.
Along with millions of other United Methodists
I embrace the concept of Sola Fide.
I am comfortable being a Protestant.
And I also want to say
that I am a Christian first, and a Protestant second.
I want you to know
that Roman Catholics are
my brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
and I love them, and trust them, as I love and trust you.
As Protestant Christians
we have embraced,
and become defined by
the concepts of:
Sola Scriptura
Only the Bible
Sola Fide
By faith alone
Sola Gratia
By Grace alone
Soli Christo
By Christ alone
Soli Deo Gloria
to God alone be the glory
PRAYER
Thank you, Lord, for the faith of Godly women.
Thank you for people who have cared for us.
You touched our lives by using the hands of mothers, aunts, sisters, nieces,
grandmothers, god-mothers, and family friends.
So many people have prayed for our happiness, safety, and salvation.
Lord, help us to care for, and pray for others like that!
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.