How do sola fide adherents explain The Parable of the Ten Virgins?
Upvote:1
The short answer, is that works are not a requirement of salvation, but are an indication of salvation through faith, and the Holy Spirit working within the heart of the saved person. As such, the virgins in the parable that were not prepared were not of faith, as indicated by their surprise at the arrival of the bridegroom. Keep in mind that this parable is in reference to the second coming of Christ.
This interpretation is largely supported by the idea that the virgins were "foolish", as opposed to forgetful in failing to bring enough oil to wait until night, which demonstrates a lack of faith on their part that the bridegroom would arrive at all.
Also important is verse 25:11 of Matthew (ESV): "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'"
Note that he does not say that they were not prepared or had not done enough to merit entry, but that he did not know them at all, a phrase used by Jesus to indicate non-believers, such as the Pharisees in John 8:19 (ESV): "They said to him therefore, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." The Pharisees knew Jesus' identity, of course. He was speaking to knowledge of him as the Son of God.
The comments above are my interpretations. The following additional response is taken largely from the interpretations presented in the HCSB Study Bible, specifically Charles Quarrels of Louisiana College, who authored the commentary on Matthew.
In the HCSB commentary, the virgins represent those who fail to persevere by waiting for Jesus' return with constant vigilance. The cry of "Master, master" (Gk kurie, kurie ) is identical to that of the false disciples in Matthew 7:21 . "I do not know you" echoes Matthew 7:23 and expresses exclusion from Messiah's kingdom.
The parable does not describe a true disciple who loses his salvation, but a false one whose commitment to Jesus was deficient from the start.
Upvote:1
People misunderstand this and other warnings in the NT because they see only two groups of people in the world: unsaved and saved. But according to 1 Corinthians 2:15 and 3:1-4, there are three groups: unsaved ("natural,") carnal, and spiritual. So, many of the warnings in Galatians and Hebrews are addressed to the carnal, for one aspect of the carnal mind is to trust in oneself and one's works rather than Christ.
So people see the warnings like the 10 Virgins and believe that the ones who missed out are unbelievers. Yet unbelievers do not wait for the Bridegroom! Rather, these were the carnal ones in the ecclesia (which are all saved by biblical definition), who did not heed the signs and get ready for His return. (See Matthew 24:42-51 for examples of readiness and unreadiness.) The spiritual are always ready, since Jesus is their focal point.
We don't really need to spiritualize the oil as being the Holy Spirit indwelling the believer; it is sufficient that the 5 are noted for being "foolish," not "without the Holy Spirit." They were foolish because they were not doing what should be done to get ready for his coming. If they had faith that he was coming, then they would have been ready with the oil in the first place. They believed enough to be saved and be put into the house of God, but not enough to stir themselves to action to readiness afterward. For possible examples as to why they were foolish, or unfruitful, see the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:18-33).
Faith alone saves us. The foolish missed the Bridegroom; but because they believed, they did not lose their salvation. They did not build on the foundation of Christ, and so their works will be seen to be wood, hay, and stubble, yet they "will be saved, yet so as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). All the warnings to members of the ecclesia harmonize when you see this duality of flesh vs. spirit, carnal vs. spiritual, works vs. faith everywhere in the NT. The dire warnings are not about losing their salvation and they never say so.
More post
- 📝 Did the early church accept lifelong, faithful concubinage?
- 📝 Anne and Joachim are the parents of Mary - is this a Catholic dogma?
- 📝 How did the phenomenon of "Megachurches" come about?
- 📝 In "take up your cross daily" what does "cross" refer to?
- 📝 Why is the Ichthys symbol almost always facing left?
- 📝 What does it mean to say a bible translation is "evangelical?"
- 📝 Was God "unmerciful" to Ananias & Sapphira in Acts 5:1-10?
- 📝 How does the Christology of the Baha'i faith differ from that of trinitarian Christianity?
- 📝 How to interpret Genesis 1:1, given it is a Young Earth, and Old(er) Universe?
- 📝 Why is saying Vespers on Holy Thursday and Good Friday discouraged?
- 📝 Do Arminian Protestants agree with Chapter 3 Article 1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith?
- 📝 When did the Catholic Church first distinguish mortal from venial sin and connect it to state of grace?
- 📝 What is the difference between Magisterial teaching and Sacred Tradition in Roman Catholicism?
- 📝 Purgatory and Plenary Indulgences?
- 📝 Catholicism: Does a second marriage become valid when the previous spouse dies
- 📝 Exactly what does “to love” mean for the Catholic Church?
- 📝 Why are people traditionally buried facing east?
- 📝 Why would Jesus begin to be called the Son of God?
- 📝 What are some examples of Sacred Tradition in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 Does the Roman Catholic Church have a daily Bible reading?
- 📝 Did Emanuel Swedenborg posit a hard distinction between the head and heart?
- 📝 How do Calvinists explain God's wanting no one to perish and electing some to judgement?
- 📝 What is the Church attitude to the belief that Jesus had a biological father?
- 📝 Why doesn’t the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod have bishops?
- 📝 Is the seal of the living God in Revelation 7:1-3 the same as the seal Paul wrote about (Eph 1:13; Eph 4:30; 2 Cor 1:22; cf. 1 John 4:13)?
- 📝 Is the Mass seen as a sacrifice in the Lutheran Church?
- 📝 Why did Jesus wear the crown of thorns?
- 📝 Was Tetzel robbed by a man who had preemptively bought an indulgence?
- 📝 What is the difference between God and the Spirit of God?
- 📝 What are the biblical justifications for racial segregation?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How do sola fide adherents explain The Parable of the Ten Virgins?
- 📝 How does one reconcile Sola Fide with the parable of the talents?
- 📝 How do Christians apply the Parable of the Ten Virgins to their lives?
- 📝 How do "once saved, always saved" advocates explain the Parable of the Sower?
- 📝 How does repentance fit into the doctrine of sola fide ("by faith alone")?
- 📝 How do Sola Fide adherents interpret 1 Corinthians 13:2?
- 📝 How do proponents of sola fide explain Titus 1:16?
- 📝 How do "once saved, always saved" advocates explain the Parable about wise virgins?
- 📝 How do adherents of soul-sleep interpret the parable of Rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19–31)?
- 📝 How do Protestants explain the relationship between justification and the works of the servants in the Parable of the Talents?
- 📝 How do 'soul sleep' adherents explain Mark 12:27, "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living."?
- 📝 If the Ten Commandments say “thou shalt not kill” how can a Christian fight in a war?
- 📝 How does the Catholic church explain Matthew 19:9, which seems to allow divorce in case of sexual misconduct?
- 📝 How do Sola Scriptura defenders have a list of "scripture" since the list isn't mentioned in scripture?
- 📝 How do "Sola Fide" adherents reconcile with the three aspects of faith?
- 📝 How do proponents of Sola Scriptura choose the "correct" interpretation of a key Bible verse?
- 📝 How do the proponents of the idea that salvation once received cannot be lost explain Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-29?
- 📝 How do creationists explain the genetic diversity of animals after Noah's Ark?
- 📝 How do young earth creationists explain the evidence for ice ages?
- 📝 How do sola-scriptura adherents reconcile the role of the Holy Spirit as a teacher?
- 📝 How would a Catholic explain the absence of the mass in the Epistle to the Hebrews?
- 📝 How do monothelites explain Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane?
- 📝 How does Sola Scriptura understanding of the Bible affect the anagogical sense of the Bible?
- 📝 What is the purpose of baptism for sola fide adherents?
- 📝 How do opponents of Penal Substitution explain God's declaration that He "will not leave the guilty unpunished"?
- 📝 How do Jehovah's Witnesses explain the dramatic changes in their eschatology?
- 📝 How do those who deny Jesus' pre-existence explain the large number of verses suggesting it?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis against Sola Fide (salvation by faith alone, apart from works)?
- 📝 How do those who believe in salvation by grace, and in works being the fruit of salvation, explain Galatians 6:8-9?
- 📝 How does the Swedenborgian Church explain passages where Jesus talks/prays to the Father?