Salvation is by faith alone, not works, the Reformers contended. Yet as James writes in the New Testament, faith without works is dead (James 2:17).
Anna Robbins, dean of Acadia Divinity School, noted in a paper presented in Halifax last November, that this interface between faith and works leaves no room for a privatized faith. Faith is to lead us to do good works in our interactions with others and in our engagement with the world. Our works, she said, bear witness to the veracity of the faith given to us. Faith is an inner truth, which bears fruit in our actions, words and attitudes.
Robbins was one of the speakers at the Reformation@500 event presented by the Committee on Church History at Atlantic School of Theology on Sola Fide or Faith Alone, a watchword of the Reformation.
The gathering was reminded by Laurence DeWolfe, professor of pastoral theology at AST, of two classical theological terms. Salvation by faith alone starts with justification, God’s gift of forgiveness in and through Jesus Christ. Justification is an unmerited gift. It cannot be obtained by wishing for it, by working for it. Both justification and the ability to believe we are justified are gifts from God.
Justification is to lead to sanctification, the process of becoming ever more like Jesus Christ, our Saviour and our example. Again sanctification is a gift from God, one in which we partner with the Holy Spirit so our discipleship as followers of Jesus is evident in our words, actions and patterns of life.
Tim Archibald, minister of King’s, New Minas, N.S., called for bold discipleship. Using the example of George Mueller who operated an orphanage in England, Archibald described faith as the boldness to trust that God would provide what was needed when it was needed; our calling is to step out in faith. Here then faith is not mental agreement with a series of statements about God; instead, faith is a bold confidence to follow God’s call to serve Him and the world.
Lifting up the themes of bold discipleship and the public living of faith, Charles Cook, minister of Bethel, Riverview, N.B., described how his wife, Cathy Cook, felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to request a sidewalk be built in a subdivision in their community so children walking to and from school would not need to walk on the road, and be at risk of being struck by a car. Neighbours told her others had tried to get a sidewalk but had failed. Cathy Cook believed this was God’s call, and despite the discouragements, she trusted God would see it through to the end. The sidewalk was built. Faith leads disciples of Jesus to seek change for neighbourhoods, towns and cities, and the world.
Anne Marie Dalton, a Roman Catholic, teaches at Saint Mary’s University. Because of her commitments to the environment and development in Third World contexts, Dalton is asked by students who desire fundamental change in the world, “How do you keep on working on these issues without becoming cynical or quitting?” Her answer is that faith must carry the person desiring to be an agent of change. The disciple of Jesus is enabled to keep on keeping on only through faith. Faith fires the ability to keep on serving, believing the Kingdom of God, which is here in part, will be fully realized some day.
Cynthia Chenard, minister of Iona, Dartmouth, and chaplain for the RCMP and the Halifax Regional Police, bore witness to the power of faith in the face of a pastoral crisis. She said, “When you are sitting with a family that is just hearing of the tragic death of their son, there are no words, no techniques, the only thing the chaplain can bring is faith. Everything else gets stripped away.” Chenard’s stories echoed the faith of Julian of Norwich who when faced by the devastation of the plague spoke words of hope: “All will be well, all will be well, all manner of thing will be well.” When we seek to be with people in crisis, faith is all we have.
This lively conversation added to the stories of faith, thereby enlarging and sharpening participants’ under – standings of sola fide, faith alone.
The conversation about faith alone was the second of five taking place between 2013 and 2017, exploring “the five solas” of the Reformation. Sponsored by the Committee on History and funded through the Ewart Endowment for Theological Education and the Conference Fund of the Life and Mission Agency, these events are preparation for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. The conversations seek to address the questions: What might the five solas say to the church in Canada today? Are the 500 – year – old slogans robust enough to be relevant today?
The fall 2015 gathering, at the Presbyterian College, Montreal, on Reformation Day will explore Scripture Alone. The 2016 gathering in Winnipeg will be followed by the finale in Toronto in 2017.
