My uncle is a devout Lutheran. He loves God deeply and is on
fire with the Holy Spirit. He does the good work of bringing men into a deeper
love for God and to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. He recently asked me
why I converted to Catholicism. The simple answer is that I came to believe
that the Catholic claims were truth.
Luther founded his church on three basic principles: sola fide, sola gratia, and sola scriptura. As a Catholic I believe
the first two although I understand them a bit differently. The big difference
between the two faiths is with sola
scriptura.
Sola Fide – By Faith
The doctrine of Sola Fide says that a person is saved
through faith. This is absolutely correct. One can only be saved if he or she has
faith in Jesus Christ, son of the living God. Luther changed the verse in Holy
Scripture that says this by adding the word “alone” to it because it was his
opinion that it should have been written that way. The Lutheran belief is that
one need to do nothing more than have faith and salvation will be granted. Luther
believed that no sin could separate man from God and that he could commit
murder or adultery a thousand times a day and that it wouldn’t matter. This has
led to the common belief that all sins are already forgiven so asking
forgiveness for sin is no longer necessary. It has also led to the belief that
one does not have to do any “works” to prove your faith.
Catholics agree that a person is saved through faith. Without
faith one cannot obtain salvation. But scripture is also very clear that sin
can still separate man from God and that sins committed after the crucifixion
still need to be forgiven apart from the crucifixion. For this Jesus gave us
the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He paid the price for sin but we still have to
ask for that to be applied to our debt.
Think of it like this – a rich man creates a fund to pay the
electric bills of everyone in his town. Catholics believe that you have to
apply, or ask for, this money to be applied to your bill. Lutherans believe
that your bill is automatically paid without you asking for it to be.
So, instead of believing that all we need is faith alone
Catholics believe that we are saved by faith through love. Jesus said that if
you love him you will follow his commands. Following his commands require works
of love and obedience. Are works required for salvation? If you love Jesus and
therefore are obedient to him they are.
Sola Gratia – By Grace
The doctrine of Sola Gratia says that a person is saved by
grace. Again, this is absolutely correct. All salvation is granted through the
grace of God and cannot be merited on our own accord. Here again Luther inserts
the word “alone” to break the tie between the works that we do and the grace
that we receive. No works are necessary. God will grant his grace to whoever
believes in him. In reality we do the good works we do because of the grace we
receive. One way to think of grace is like a supernatural glow our souls have
when our wills are aligned with God’s will. When we receive God’s grace we will
be doing the good works of love that he wants us to do. A good way to state the
Catholic belief is:
By the grace of God, we are saved through our
faith; this faith entails by its very nature, good works, always enabled by
prior grace, without which this faith is dead.
Sola
Scriptura – Scripture Alone
Thus
brings us to the probably the biggest issue that separated Catholics from
non-Catholic Christians. One of Luther’s doctrines is sola scriptura or scripture
alone. Catholics believe in the three legged stool of sacred Scripture, sacred
Tradition, and the Magisterium. Until Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing
press c. 1440 the Christian faith was passed on orally. The common people
generally did not know how to read and books were expensive. The faith was
passed on by the bishops who passed on faithfully that which they had received
from their bishops who received it from their bishops who received it, going
back to the beginning, from the mouth of Jesus. The Magisterium is made up of
the Pope (the head bishop) in union with all of the bishops. Through apostolic succession
the Magisterium is the sole authority of the Catholic faith.
Sacred
Tradition did not support Luther’s theology so one of the things he had to do
when he broke away was throw out 1500 years of Catholic teaching so he could
teach his opinion instead. He did this by instituting the doctrine of Sola
Scriptura. Sola Scriptura states that we do not need sacred Tradition, we only
need that which is written in the bible. So what does the bible have to say
about that?
“I
am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case
I am delayed, I write
so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God.
Follow what is written in Holy Scripture, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.”
1 Timothy 3: 14-15
Anyone familiar with this verse knows that is not what is says.
The actual scripture says –
“…you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the
household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.”
It is not scripture that is the pillar and bulwark
of the truth, it is the Church. Holy Scripture says that Holy Scripture is not
the pillar of God’s truth, the Church is. Luther threw out 1500 years of the
Church so he could interpret scripture to support his differing opinion. If the
Church is the pillar of truth and Luther disagrees with the Church…
This is where I started to believe the Catholic
claims.
