Sola Fide

[Didacus]

This is a pretty old thread, but I find it contains a lot of information... actually too much information.

I am now thoroughly confused in more ways than I can enumerate, nonetheless I think this thread is worthy of a bump.

I am still struggling with the notion of sola fide. I think what confuese me the most when reading threads like this one is the endless appeal to scriptures and quotes to which I am not entirely familiar and thus have trouble grasping its full worth (sorry, I am a bit of a rookie in all this).

What I understand thus far - this won't take too long and feel free to correct me:

sola fide is the notion that faith alone is required to save one's soul?

Now I understand the scriptures have countless references that can be made towards this, but I would like to take a look at it from a purely logical point of view:

1. I can agree that faith is the first step towards salvation.

How can we love, trust in, follow Jesus Christ unless we know He and believe He is there? Surely one must come to the realization that Jesus is God, is the Savior prior to loving Him fully?


2. I can agree that salvation is IMPOSSIBLE, along with faith itself impossible, unless it is granted by God, jesus Christ Himself.

How could we possibly know Jesus unless He Himself reveals His being to us? Had He not walked the earth and fulfilled the new testament, we would have never know Him, nor the salvation He has to offer. And thus, as well for all who believe wtihout seeing, without proof, what else could command one's life in such fulness unless god Himself reveals his self to us, and invites us to follow him - and that regardless of readings, of what people tell us, or the chucrh we attend. To accept faith wihtout proof CANNOT be a simple function of being convinced by a borther or sister, since there is no evidence to support any convincing argument. No, faith is something that is willingly given to us from the Lord as we willingly progress towards Him through life.


Nowe here is when things start falling apart for me. to some extent, i see the protestant corner saying "faith alone, but not only faith". This remains blurry for me. Is it that with faith comes the inclination towards good actions, and thus good actions comes from being saved and not the reverse? If so, my qeustion si this: before one has faith, can he/she not do good actions as well? And if this person never in his/her lifetime comes to know Christ, yet lived a life full of good actions, how is it then that this person is saved?




One last question for this particular post:

If faith alone is enough for salvation - explain the fall of Lucifer to me?

Lucifer HAD faith... he had the favors of God like no other angels... his faith was very strong... yet, even though he had faith, he fell from grace... So how then, can one be saved in the instant they have faith, then and forever regardless of their thereafter, if the very first example of damnation - Lucifer, had faith to start with?

i don't know, this might be a silly question, but I find it rather perpexling, yet interesting at the same time.

Pax Crhisti

Didace