Justification by faith alone is a pillar of Protestant theology. Next to sola scriptura, sola fide might be the most famous of the reformation "sola's." As one might expect, this has been a MAJOR point of contention between Protestants and Catholics over the years. In this video, we're looking at James chapter 2, one of the most difficult passages of Scripture for Protestants because James explicitly says that we are saved by WORKS. However, it's not like we Protestants just weren't aware of this. So, can sola fide stand up against James 2? Who's right when it comes to justification, Catholics or Protestants?

Every week in our Life in the Word videos we seek to unpack the Bible one chapter at a time. This week is much heavier on theology than most weeks, but I hope you enjoy it. In the first have, we discuss the radical nature of class relations in Christianity, then we pivot to the controversy over justification by faith alone.

After looking at the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Council of Trent, a quote from Pope Benedict, a quote from Calvin, Luther's background, and of course, the text itself, I came to a conclusion that might equally offend Catholics and Protestants.... sorry. Perhaps it's naive, but I just really don't think Catholics and Protestants are that far off when it comes to justification. In fact, with some semantic nuance, I think we can find common ground.

TIME STAMPS:
00:00 - Intro
04:31 - Class Relations in Christianity (James 1:1-13)
08:07 - Sola Fide
21:46 - Conclusion