Catholic Doctrine on "Saved by Works"

[Actaeon]

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

I was talking with my priest last week who is giving me private instruction in the Catholic faith. He said this passage from Ephesians summed up the Catholic understanding of salvation. First comes grace, grace leads to faith. Works are merely a manifestation of your faith.

The priest is taking a rather plain approach with you, one which is geared towards keeping things simple and straightforward. I don’t want to contradict him, but Anglicans (in my experience) tend to have a robust enough theological background to discuss nuance… So please understand that I’m not trying to contradict your priest here, but to explain in a little more detail…

That section of Ephesians 2 continues through verse 10 (often 8-9 is used to refute the necessity of good works, but for some reason, no one reads the very next verse).

**Eph 2:8-10 **
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We are created specifically to do good works. First and foremost of these works is the cooperative acceptance of the will to choose God and grace. The mere act of turning to God is an act of the human will in cooperation with grace. God does not, for example, save those who actively reject Him. That basic cooperative effort continues throughout any works we do: they are a manifestation of faith, bolstered by grace, but works are ALWAYS a continued effort of the human will to reach out for God. Good works are our cooperation with God and His way of instilling in us a growth towards righteousness.

(Side note: if you continue reading, you find that the “works” that people boast of here actually refers to continuation of the Levitical law of the old covenant, while the “good works” in the passage above refers to the works of charity and acceptance of God… this whole passage was in context of a debate about whether Gentiles needed to convert to Judaism before becoming Christians and whether or not they needed to continue following the strictures of the old testament, such as no pork, unclean rules, etc)

 

[wmscott]

So let’s look at it just a bit closer.

EPH 2:8-10
8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: for it is the gift of God; 9 Not of works, that no man may glory. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, in good works; which God hath prepared, that we should walk in them.

From the Haydock Catholic Commentary

Ver. 8. Faith is the beginning, foundation, and root of justification, and the first of all other virtues, without which it is impossible to please God. (Bristow)

Ver. 9. Not of works, as of our own growth, or from ourselves: but as from the grace of God. (Challoner)

Ver. 10. For we are his workmanship, not only as to our body and soul, but by a new creation in Christ Jesus, with a new heart by his grace. (Witham) — St. Paul now compares our conversion to creation, to shew that we had been called and justified without preceding merit. In the same manner as the things which God has drawn out of nothing, cannot glory as if they had contributed any thing to their existence. (St. Jerome, hic [on this place].)

 

[twf]

Scripture is clear again and again that Christ not only declares as justified, as many Protestants teach, but truly makes us justified: that is, we become truly holy through His grace. In John 1 we are told that those who believed were given the “power to become the sons of God”. St. Peter speaks of us “partaking of the divine nature”. I think Our Lord Himself sums it up well in John 15 with the parable of the vine. Through baptism we become branches of the one vine Who is Christ. As branches we are nourished by the Vine and produce good fruit pleasing to the Father. As Christ says, if we fail to produce good fruit, we shall be cut from the vine and thrown Into the fire. It is Christ, through the merits won for us through his incarnation, passion, death and resurrection, who enables us to produce good fruit, but if we refuse to cooperate with the grace He gives us, then we are lost. Are good works do in a sense save us, but only because they are Christ working through us. Without Christ our works cannot be pleasing to the Father. This is why the Church teaches that those in a state of mortal sin cannot merit. Giving to the poor, going to mass, lighting votive candles are empty if these actions are not sustained by sanctifying grace, that is the life of Christ, within our souls.

 

[Jim_Baur]

I am the OP.

Again, thanks!

Thanks!!!