Faithful Acres Farmhouse

Biblical Encouragement for the Vocation of Homemaking

Catholic Beliefs

Top 5 Questions Protestants Have for Catholics

Leave a Comment

Sharing is Caring!

Sola Scriptura? Prayers to saints and Mary? Extra books in the Bible? Confession to priests? And saved by work? Let’s dive into the top 5 questions Protestants commonly have for Catholics.

Message of Respect & Understanding

Before we begin, I wanted to share and express my love for my Protestant brothers and sisters, as well as my understanding for those who have genuine concerns and questions about Catholicism. I truly believe the majority of Christians have a heart and desire for the truth, and want to follow God’s call wherever that may lead. In my own journey, I have personally found the truth rooted in the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I pray that God will use me for His will, and help me share only His truth, and not my own understanding.

If you are someone in the Catholic Church or on the outside looking in, it may appear to be exclusive and unwelcoming, and I sincerely apologize for that. Catholic means universal, having one faith. This is extended to all, an invitation to all.

As a Catholic looking out, I want our Catholic faith and love of Jesus to extend far and wide, bringing people of all nations and all languages together; to celebrate both the Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist. May God bless our similarities and mend our differences.

Catholic Doctrine Resources Used

Each of my Catholic faith blog posts and video teachings will include resources from:

  1. Sacred Scripture
    • 73 books of the Bible comprised of Old and New Testament teachings
    • Translations I use: NRSVCE (1st and 2nd Editions), NAB, and NCB
  2. The Catechism of the Catholic Church
    • Book which presents essential doctrines of the Catholic Church. 2,865 numbered paragraphs of systematic summaries of the Catholic faith explained.
  3. Ecumenical Church Councils
    •  A meeting of bishops and other leaders to consider and rule on questions of doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters.
  4. Early Church Fathers
    • Writers, theologians, and often Bishops, who helped establish doctrinal foundations in Christianity based on Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

Along with sharing the Catholic faith from the pillars of our faith: Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and The Magisterium (Bishops); I will also be sharing resources from Catholic and Christian apologists, priests, and religious persons.

5 Common Questions About Catholicism

  1. Why do Catholics not believe in sola scriptura (Scripture alone)?
  2. Why does the Catholic Bible have more books? (73 vs 66) p.22
  3. Why do Catholics pray to saints and Mary?
  4. Why does a priest have to forgive a Catholic’s sins? Why not go directly to God?
  5. Do Catholics believe works save them?

Please note: These are very deep and heavy topics. Although wonderful and very important, there is still a lot of history and information that goes into fully answering each question. In this blog post and video, I will be answering each question fully but not in total depth. This means that I will be sharing truth about the teaching, but do not have time to fully answer every rabbit hole that commonly emerges from each question. My hope is to make a designated video and blog post diving more in depth on each topic individually.

Q1: Why do Catholics NOT believe in Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)?

This question alone is usually broken up into many “mini” questions:

  1. Why do Catholics give the Pope and bishops equal authority to Scripture?
  2. Why does the Catholic Church claim to have infallible teachings and interpretations?
  3. Why do Catholics believe things not mentioned in Scripture?

The question of Church authority is a very broad question in of itself, so I plan to go into each of these five specific questions (falling under the umbrella of Church Authority) in individual posts and videos. For this post, I am answering the question, “Why do Catholics not believe in Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura or Solo Scriptura)?

Catholic View of Tradition (“T” not “t”)

A common theme of today, which has dated back to anti-Catholic literature, is the belief that Catholic’s have an unbiblical belief of holding to “traditions of men”, whereas Protestants hold a Biblical belief of “Scripture alone” or Sola Scriptura.

Sola Scriptura is the belief that the Bible is the ultimate Christian authority. Some may say, it is the believer’s “sole, infallible rule of faith.” This would include the doctrine of private judgment. This means that each individual person would have full entitlement to decide for him or herself what is the correct interpretation of Scripture. Therefore, any authority, like Tradition or a Magisterium would prevent the believer the ability to create their own conclusions and thus not allowing Scripture alone to be the authority.

Errors of Sola Scriptura

  1. The teaching of Sola Scriptura is never found in the Bible.

According to Dave Armstrong, “…no biblical passage teaches that Scripture is the formal authority or rule of faith in isolation from the Church and Tradition. Sola scriptura can’t even be deduced from implicit passages.”

  1. Every believer is capable of understanding the essential doctrines of the faith through their own reading and interpretation.
  • According to Barry Cooper, “So when we talk about the “perspicuity” of Scripture, we’re talking about the idea that God’s Word is clear about things that are necessary to be understood and obeyed in order for a person to be saved. The Bible’s teaching on salvation can be understood by anyone and everyone.”
  • Luther said, “they who deny the all-clearness and all-plainness of the scriptures, leave us nothing else but darkness.”
    • Luther, Marin. The Bondage of the Will, Sect. XXXVI.
  • The Westminster Confession also states, “All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.”
    • Westminster Confession 1.7

The main argument against this, is protestants disagree over what the “essential doctrines” are, and how they should be interpreted. For example, differences in baptismal regeneration, if baptism is even needed, what kind of faith saves, if there is the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, how one is justified, or if salvation can be lost.

Fortunately, the majority of Christians do agree upon our salvation being a free, undeserved gift from God. We are saved by our true belief in Jesus dying for our sins and rising again. (Salvation will be a separate topic I plan to cover.)

Food For Thought

  1. Think of how many Bible commentaries you have read and listened to. How many teachings of the Bible you have heard throughout your life. 
  2. Think about how being taught about the Bible (verses, passages, parables, historical context, etc.) has shaped WHAT YOU BELIEVE and YOUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIBLE.
  3. Do you think you could know and understand what you currently do about the Bible without having these teachings and commentaries? 
  4. Would you ever just hand someone a Bible, who has never read it, knows nothing about it, and walk away knowing the Bible is clear enough to provide enough knowledge for salvation and life without help?
    • You would probably say, no. I would tell them about Jesus and explain how they are saved. But why not let them interpret for themself?
    • What if you, Sammy, Joe, Burt, and Amy all sat down with this person and all tried to explain the important Christian doctrines: baptism, salvation, and repentance, solely from Scripture and each of your own interpretations of Scripture (which are different).
    • Who would be correct? How do you know? You all claim that your understanding has been derived from the same Spirit.
    • IF YOU BELIEVE IN SOLA SCRIPTURA, would you not agree, then, that this person could interpret for themself, what the essential doctrines are, therefore, simply just handing them the Bible is sufficient for the amount of evangelizing that needs done?

How many times does the Bible say to teach one another or preach the good news of the Gospel? God NEVER intended for one to read, understand, and interpret Scripture alone. Think of how difficult, let alone impossible it would be to know everything that we do about the Bible if we alone read it and tried to understand it. God created us to teach one another, to work together as one body of Christ, and to, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15. It makes less sense that Jesus, the disciples, and the early Church taught others orally, just for us to be confined strictly to writing alone.

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15

And if we could understand the “essential” teaching of the Bible on our own, why do we need to evangelize and teach others?

“Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, able to teach, patient, 25 correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, 26 and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:23-26

  1. Whose interpretation is correct?

When we “zoom” out from the word “belief” is when we start to see many different interpretations and understandings of what “needs” to be or at least “should be” believed. If we alone are all able to have the same wisdom from God, and the same ability to interpret Scripture with God’s help, then why do we have SO many different interpretations. Again, interpretations stretching in all areas of the faith, in singular Scripture verses, passages, and even relation from Old Testament to New. We need to really think about the amount of interpretations there are, especially on very important foundational doctrines of the Christian faith, and use logical reasoning that God has given us to see that they CAN’T all be right. And if they can’t all be right, and each person has their own authority in determining interpretation, how do you know who is right? This is why the Catholic Church has the Magisterium, guided by the Holy Spirit, to interpret hard Scripture passages and meanings.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not rely on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

If we believe these verses from Proverbs, then we know two things are clear: 1. Trust in the Lord. 2. Do not rely on your own understanding. If the Lord truly guided every person to the “correct” interpretation or at least in “ball park range”, the Christian faith wouldn’t be all over the place in theological disputes and essential doctrinal beliefs.

  1. Historical Accuracy – Sola Scriptura Presupposes

According to Jimmy Akin, “…sola scriptura presupposes (1) the existence of the printing press, (2) the universal distribution of Bibles, (3) universal literacy, (4) the universal possession of scholarly support materials, (5) the universal possession of adequate time for study, (6) universal nutrition, and (7) a universal education in a high level of critical thinking skills. Needless to say, this group of conditions was not true in the crucial early centuries of the Church, was not true through the main course of Church history, and is not even true today. The non-existence of the printing press alone means sola scriptura was totally unthinkable for almost three-quarters of Christian history!”

Akin, Jimmy. The Practical Problems of Sola Scriptura. https://jimmyakin.com/library/practical-problems-of-sola-scriptura

  1. Convenience of Preaching

One could say, it is convenient that the Magisterium made an infallible interpretation for Matthew 16:18, declaring the start of papal authority with Peter, allowing them the ability to then declare infallible teachings. But in order for the Church to declare infallible statements, it had to be given the authority to declare infallible statements. Therefore, this verse wouldn’t be “convenient”, it would be expected for the argument of papal authority.

It is more convenient for men like Luther and Calvin, or anyone that preaches the doctrine of private judgement, which ensures their own right to be able to preach what they want.

But if God has given us His infallible word of God, why wouldn’t He also give us an infallible interpreter?

Catholic’s believe that God’s revelation is not confined to Sacred Scripture, but can be found in Sacred Tradition as well. The word “tradition”, means “to be handed on” (latin word tradere), and is part of the tradition that was handed down from the Apostles to the Church. According to the Second Vatican Council, “There exists a close connection and communication between sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine well-spring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end.” It is the same Holy Spirit that guided the Scriptures, and continues to guide the Church.

Dei Verbum (DV) 6

In short, Sacred Tradition includes the oral teachings, in which the early Church fathers are witnesses too, and examples for living out the truth from both written and oral teachings. “This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, ‘the Church, in her doctrine, life, and worship perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, and all she believes.'”

CCC 78

This would then lead us into the realm of Jesus establishing His Church, and the progression of the Papal office and Church history. Again, understanding Church authority and hierarchy is another deep dive topic that I plan to discuss in the future. Check the resources below if you would like to go into a deep dive now.

RESOURCES

Scripture

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15

Let’s look at the greek word, paradoseis. Used in both 2 Thessalonians 2:15 and 1 Corinthians 11:2, “I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you.” So regardless if you hold the view that Paul is speaking of tradition, like teachings, or specifically, “the gospel message”, which is a common Protestant argument, you have to account for the rest of the Scripture, “either by word of mouth or by our letter.“…”just as I handed them on to you.” Paul is saying to “hold fast” to the teachings and beliefs the Apostles and early Church have. This in no way supports sola scriptura, and through evidence of the growing Church and Christian faith, we can at minimum make the inference that the Thessalonians and Corinthians continued to spread that same tradition and it was able to be passed down.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 66 says, “‘The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.”

CCC quotes Dei Verbum 4 (Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation)

Second Vatican Council – Dei Verbum 7

“In His gracious goodness, God has seen to it that what He had revealed for the salvation of all nations would abide perpetually in its full integrity and be handed on to all generations. Therefore Christ the Lord in whom the full revelation of the supreme God is brought to completion (see 2 Cor. 1:20; 3:13; 4:6), commissioned the Apostles to preach to all men that Gospel which is the source of all saving truth and moral teaching, and to impart to them heavenly gifts. This Gospel had been promised in former times through the prophets, and Christ Himself had fulfilled it and promulgated it with His lips. This commission was faithfully fulfilled by the Apostles who, by their oral preaching, by example, and by observances handed on what they had received from the lips of Christ, from living with Him, and from what He did, or what they had learned through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The commission was fulfilled, too, by those Apostles and apostolic men who under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit committed the message of salvation to writing.”

Second Vatican Council – Die Verbum 8

“The apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved by an unending succession of preachers until the end of time.”

Church Fathers

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons said, “the Word of God who dwelt in man, and became the Son of man, that He might accustom man to receive God, and God to dwell in man, according to the good pleasure of the Father.”

Against Heresis III Chapter 20:2. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09328a.htm

Catholic Sources for You to “Deep Dive”

Q2: Why does the Catholic Bible have more books? (73 vs 66)

There are seven books in the Catholic Bible: Baruch, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Sirach also known as Ecclesiasticus or Ben Sira, Tobit and Wisdom, along with two longer versions of Ester and Daniel are not included in the Protestant version of the Old Testament. Protestants refer to this books as the, “apocrypha”, where the Council of Florence stated they were Deuterocanon.

The first thing to look at is, “How many books were in the Bible at the time of the Protestant Reformation?” From here, we would go to The Council of Florence February 4, 1442. An ecumenical council is a gathering of all the bishops from around the world, where they meet to discuss important matters pertaining to the Church. In order for a gathering to be considered “ecumenical”, the pope must confirm its decrees.

The Church recognizes 21 ecumenical council, one of them being The Council of Florence from 1438-1445. One of the purposes of this council was to try to approve reunion of Churches in the East, which resulted in only a temporary reunion. In the “Bowl of Union with the Copts” of Session 11, the Council of Florence is declaring the Church’s beliefs, “It professes that one and the same God is the author of the old and the new Testament — that is, the law and the prophets, and the gospel — since the saints of both testaments spoke under the inspiration of the same Spirit. It accepts and venerates their books, whose titles are as follows.” Here it lists the entire 73 books of the Bible.

Florence (Basle-Ferrara-Florence), Ecumenical Council of Florence (1438-1445). https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/ecumenical-council-of-florence-1438-1445-1461

Whether you agree that the Council or Florence was wrong in naming all 73 books or not does not change the factual evidence that the 73 books were affirmed before the the Protestant Reformation.

Other councils that affirmed the canon include:

  • Council of Rome: AD 382
  • Synod of Hippo: AD 393
  • Councils of Carthage: AD 397 and 419
  • Council of Trent: AD 1545–1563

7 Deuteroncanonical books were universally found in the Bible during the Reformation. The Geneva Bible along with the King James version 1611, the first version. Methodist scholar, Ben Witherington III states, “In fact, none of the major Bible translations that emerged during the German, Swiss, or English reformations produced a Bible of simply 66 books.”

Again, if you want to do a “deep dive” into the argument of Jewish Old Testament canon, check out the resources below.

RESOURCES

Catholic Resources for You to “Deep Dive”

Q3: Why do Catholics pray to saints and Mary?

The reason why Catholics pray to saints and to Mary is because we believe they can intercede for our behalf to Jesus. We believe it is the same as asking a friend to pray for you.

If I was struggling with illness, and I asked you to pray for me, you would go to Jesus and on my behalf. If I was struggling with illness, and I asked Mary to pray for me, she would go to Jesus on my behalf. Yes, I COULD and always can pray directly to Jesus.

Why not pray directly to Jesus?

“…there is one God;
    there is also one mediator between God and humankind,
Christ Jesus, himself human,
     who gave himself a ransom for all.“ 1 Timothy 2:5-6

But if you ask another person to pray for you, you are not violating Christ’s authority as the one mediator. Because Christ was both man and God, He has a very unique role in our relationship directly with God. He is the mediator of the New Convenient, just as Moses was the mediator of the Old Convenient. Unlike in the Old Testament, we can now speak directly to God, yes, but whether it 1 or 1,000 people praying for you on Earth, or 1 or 1,000 people praying for you in Heaven, where are they going? To God.

Praying for others also doesn’t take away His purpose or His role of being the mediator between man and God, as we must also take a look at what was said right before in verses 1-4.

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Not only is Paul telling us to pray and intercede for others, but he urges us to do so. Why? As said in verse 3, “This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.”

Can the saints and Mary hear us?

“How, then, can a human being such as Mary hear the prayers of millions of Roman Catholics, in many different countries, praying in many different languages, all at the same time?” -Loraine Boettner

First, we must make the distinction between hearing many prayers and omnipotence. Omnipotence is having all-power, being all-powerful and all-knowing. Only God is omnipotent. We acknowledge that nothing is outside His ability of power or what He wants to accomplish. Having a heightened ability to hear multiple people at once would more or less just be gift directly stemming from God’s alone omnipotence. Why would we limit God’s power to give to those in Heaven heightened senses or abilities they would then use in order to do His will?

In fact, majority of survivors of near death experiences (NDE) have reported having heightened senses. According to Explanation of near-death experiences: a systematic analysis of case reports and qualitative research, “In NDEs, all the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell have been described. The heightened senses and the improved consciousness among these individuals even indicate that these experiences are to be very different from dreams and sleep, and at the moment it is difficult to find a recognized medical explanation for NDEs.”

Amirhossein Hashemi, Ali Akbar Oroojan, Maryam Rassouli, and Hadis Ashrafizadeh. Explanation of near-death experiences: a systematic analysis of case reports and qualitative research. April 20, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10158795/

If people who have experienced the smallest amount of God and Heaven with heightened senses, why could we not believe those who are in full communion with God in Heaven could be equipped to hear multiple prayers? Even if not physically heard at once, “gathered” and brought to God.

What does Scripture say?

Hebrews 12:22-24

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels in joyful gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more powerfully than even the blood of Abel.”

The verses preceding the verses above, the author of Hebrews has made a comparison with the Israelites and their experience of God revealed at Mount Sinai (no one could touch it or approach it), to a new experience that a believer gets when being a part of the body of Christ (Mount Zion).

Notice in the first verses, the verb tense, “have come”. As believers in Christ, this is what we HAVE COME to, not what we will be coming to when we die. We HAVE COME TO:

  • Mount Zion (city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem)
  • Myriad of angels
  • Assembly (ekklēsia – frequently translated to “church”) of the firstborn (the elect both on earth and in heaven)
  • God (the judge of all)
  • Spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect (saints)
  • Jesus (the new mediator)
  • Jesus’s death and resurrection

This is what surrounds us. This is the body of Christ. Christ’s body is not divided, it is one. Heaven and earth are not cut off from one another. Christ’s body, His gathering in whole, still remains one, as it just has expanded from one another, not divided.

Revelation 5:7-9

“He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. 8 When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 They sing a new song:…”

Revelation 8:3-4

“Another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; he was given a great quantity of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.”

In Revelation 5 we see that the “bowls full of incense” are the prayers of saints, and then Revelation 8, “…the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God…”. In chapter 5 we see that the twenty-four elders (those who are human) offer to God our prayers. If the saints in Heaven are in communion with God, made perfect, they would not have prayers for themselves or anyone else they see in heaven, but prayers for us here on Earth. How could they pray for us, if they could not hear our prayers? At base line, even if they couldn’t physically hear all of our prayers, they have a way of getting our prayers from them to God.

Revelation 21:27

“But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Hebrews 12:23

“…and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect…”

RESOURCES

Catholic Resources for You to “Deep Dive”

Q4. Why does a priest have to forgive a Catholic’s sins? Why not go directly to God?

It is important to recognize first and foremost that Protestants and Catholics BELIEVE THE SAME THING: only God can forgive sins.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church Article 4 1441, “Only God forgives sins. Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, ‘The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins’ and exercises this divine power: ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name.”

Where Protestants and Catholics differ, is the belief that God have given the power of His forgiveness to men to exercise it in His name. Let’s take a look at what Scripture says.

Leviticus 19:22

“And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he committed; and the sin he committed shall be forgiven him.”

What does this mean and why is it important? In the Old Testament, if one commits a certain sin, they would take a particular sacrifice to the priest, and the priest would make atonement for that persons sin. With this, we see that God’s forgiveness is working through the priest, communicated through the priest. In other words, God is establishing His forgiveness of sins through the priesthood. This doesn’t take away the fact that God is the one who is forgiving.

Not only did God establish forgiveness through the priesthood in the Old Testament, Jesus then established the same reflection of the Old in the New Testament.

John 20:21-23

“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’”

Why not go directly to God?

Again, it is important to understand where Protestant and Catholic’s agree. You can absolutely, and should go directly to God often, asking for the forgiveness of your sins. However, as Catholics, we acknowledge the Sacrament of Reconciliation that Jesus not only established Himself, but continued in a new way from forgiveness in the Old Testament.

When we look at the Old Testament, and even centuries after Jesus’s ascension, we see that for one to confess their sins, they would do it aloud, and in front of others. In the Old Testament, they would lay their hands on their sacrifice and confess their sins. We see in the Didache 4:14, “Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life.” Didache 14:1 also says, “On the Lord’s Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure”. Majority of Protestants will agree that confession in church history has always been practiced by oral confession in front of others. In this regard, it is unlikely that God’s only (key word only) plan for confessing sin is privately to God.

James 5:14-16

“Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” 

RESOURCES

Catholic Resources for You to “Deep Dive”

Q5. Do Catholics believe works save them?

Worded beautifully by Catholic answers, “The Catholic Church has never taught such a doctrine and, in fact, has constantly condemned the notion that men can earn or merit salvation. Catholic soteriology (salvation theology) is rooted in apostolic Tradition and Scripture and says that it is only by God’s grace—completely unmerited by works—that one is saved.”

In other words, both Catholics and Protestants can agree with Ephesians 2:8,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.”

It is SO important to acknowledge that as both Catholics and Protestants we believe that our salvation is a gift, one we don’t earn, and frankly, don’t deserve. Our salvation is an unmerited gift of grace. Where some Protestants differ amongst themselves and Catholics, is more on the question of whether works are necessary.

Are works necessary for salvation? Faith AND Works?

To reiterate, our salvation is an unmerited gift of grace, from God, which allows us to enter into communion with Him in Heaven. “…by grace you have been saved through faith…” Through what? Faith.

Faith is the part that we respond. Faith is also the part, that is an umbrella for many definitions, ones in which we disagree upon as Christians. There are genuine disagrees on whether faith produces works or whether it is “just believing” (which would break down to just having an intellectual belief). So before we begin, let us remember 2 Timothy 2:14,

“Remind people of these things, and warn them before God that they must stop arguing over words. This does no good and only causes harm to those who are listening.”

Before we look at the word “believe”, pause and WRITE DOWN what you personally say it means to “believe”, to “have faith”?

*HISTORICAL NOTE: The English word, “faith”, comes from the Latin word “fides” (noun), from the Romance Language (groups of related languages derived from Vulgar Latin). The English word, “believe”, comes from the Germanic Language and is a verb. In the development of English, we accumulated multiple words (usually 2) for one thing (swine and pork). This affects our theological terminology as well. For example, we lost the verb form of faith from the Romance Language, but we can use “believe” interchangeably.

1. Believe is a verb

BELIEVE IS AN ACTION. To say that we have faith, that we believe, but then say that requires no action, directly contradicts that in order “to believe”, we have to have the action of accepting. Whether you believe, one truth or another, in order to believe it, you have to accept it.

2. Meaning of “faith” in the Bible

What is the opposite of believe? One may say to “disbelieve”, not believe, but let’s look at what John 3:36 says,

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.”

The Christian writer, Tony Payne, in his article, The opposite of faith, says, “The opposite of faith in this verse [John 3:36] is not doubt or even unbelief, but disobedience.” To have faith is to obey. Now, we understand that as sinners, we will never be able to fully obey God as He deserves. That is where repentance comes in.

3. Different kinds of faith?

In the Bible, faith can be referred to as having many meanings. For example, James 2:19 says,

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.”

This is having an intellectual belief that there is only one God. But this isn’t the faith that saves you, this faith isn’t sufficient for salvation. In the Hebrew and Greek word for faith, it involves more than an intellectual belief, it means trust.

The Hebrew word, “emunah”, is often understood in English as “faith” or “believe”, but is often translated as “faithfulness”. The meaning behind the word is far more than a believing statement, but means to trust God with your life, to the point of death, while working out your faith through love.

EXAMPLE:

According to Jeff A. Benner, “The Hebrew word for faith is אמונה (emunah – Strong’s #530) and is an action oriented word meaning “support”. This is important because the Western concept of faith places the action on the one you have faith in, such as “faith in God”. But, the Hebrew word אמונה places the action on the one who “supports God”. It is not a knowing that God will act, but rather I will do what I can to support God. This idea of support for the word emunah can be seen in Exodus 17:12.

But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady (emunah)until the going down of the sun.

It is the support/emunah of Aaron and Hur that held of Moses’ arms, not the support/emunah of Moses. When we say “I have faith in God”, we should be thinking “I will do what I can to support God”.

According to Catholic Answers, “Good works are required by God because he requires obedience to his commands (Mt 6:1-21, 1 Cor 3:8, 13-15) and promises to reward us with eternal life if we obey (Mt 25:34-40, Rom 2:6-7, Gal 6:6-10, Jas 1:12). But even our obedience is impossible without God’s grace; even our good works are God’s gift (Rom 5:5, Phil 2:13). This is the real biblical plan of salvation.”

RESOURCES

Resources for You to “Deep Dive”

My prayer and hope for each of my blogs posts and videos is that even if at the end you disagree with Catholic teaching, you are at least disagreeing with what the Catholic Church actually teaches. I also pray that if anything, the topics discussed would spark a fire of interest or additional questions in your own faith.

Sharing is Caring!

Leave a Reply

Discover more from Faithful Acres Farmhouse

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading