#does free grace theology teach cheap grace?

[thinkingonscripture]

What is Free Grace Theology?

Free Grace Theology is a theological perspective within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone (Eph 2:8-9), in Christ alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), totally apart from any human effort or good works (Rom 3:28; 4:4-5; 11:6; Gal 2:16; 2 Tim 1:9; Tit 3:5). It affirms that eternal salvation is “the gift of God” (Eph 2:8), and is exclusively in Christ,…

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Thoughts on catholicism?

Okay, so I don’t have time for a super long answer right now—and to be honest I am no expert on the subject—but I’ll try to do my best to write some of my thoughts. If you’d like a more detailed response, feel free to send me another message, and I’ll try to write a more in-depth response when I have the time.

In a nutshell: I have a profound respect for Catholicism. I appreciate the role it has played in providing a Christian moral foundation for Western civilization as well as Catholic social teaching. If you’re wondering whether or not I think Catholics are saved, all I can say is that I do believe that some people who identify as Catholics are saved, just like I believe that some people who identify as Protestant Christians are not. Ultimately only God knows a person’s heart, and I am not in a position to judge whether they are saved or not.

I do disagree with a lot of Catholic theology. As a Protestant, I believe in sola scriptura, sola fides, sola gratia, etc. Unlike the majority of Catholics who believe that a combination of faith and works is necessary for salvation, I believe that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ and not works (Ephesians 2:8; Titus 3:4-7; Romans 11:5-6). This definitely does not constitute a “free pass” to say and do whatever you want. If you are truly saved, your actions should reflect it. Grace is precious—it is not cheap and definitely should not be taken for granted (Romans 6:1-2). The bottom line is if you are truly saved, your life will show it (Matthew 7:18-20; Luke 6:45). 

I believe in the authority and infallibility of God’s Word, but I do not believe that these things extend to stuff the Pope says. To be honest, this is one aspect of Catholicism that I personally can’t really wrap my head around. I’ve read the Scriptures Catholics often quote to support this belief (such as John 21:15–17; Luke 22:32; and Matthew 16:18), and I just do not understand why anyone would interpret them in this way. It seems like a huge stretch to me. Not only that, but looking at the corruption of different popes throughout history, I cringe to think of people believing Papal doctrine is infallible.

Another thing I have a hard time understanding is why someone would want to talk to a saint rather than pray to God directly. I mean, we’ve already got the best mediator we could ever hope for in Jesus, and the Bible tells us that he is our only mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). Why would we want to go through a middle man? I know that many Catholics think of this as no different than asking another believer to pray for you, but when we ask living friends and loved ones to pray for us, we don’t attribute godlike qualities to them or believe that they have unique intercessory abilities and special influence. Instead, we ask them to share the burden of our prayer concerns with the Lord.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I am not an expert on Catholicism, and there is a chance that some of my assumptions about Catholic beliefs may be wrong. I am sure that there are a lot of people who could do a better job writing this post, but these are my two cents on the topic.