Catholics are not saved by Works

[Odell]

I have never denied that WE MUST BE FOUND RIGHTEOUS in both our thoughts and our deeds in order to be saved.

Good you starting to come around

You believe in earning your salvation through attaining a righteousness of your own, while** I am trusting in a righteous that is from God,** and is by faith in Jesus.

A) you believe we MUST be found righteous in our deeds
B) you trust in righteousness that is from God alone in Faith alone

How do you get then that we must be found righteous in or deeds?

A) Is it your own rightouss your earned deeds?
B) Is it Gods rightousness working threw you?

Again this is talking about YOU since YOU said YOU need to be found rightous in YOUR deeds.

Sounds to me that you believe that YOUR found rightous in your deeds and you are not puting any trust in Jesus.

Do you not understand that it is Gods grace that does the working of rightousness? Do you not understand that it is Gods grace that begins the work in us?

I hope this is what you believe in your righteous deeds otherwise you wouldnt be puting your trust in Jesus it would be all YOU YOUr Faaith YOUR rightious deeds.

Rom. 9:30-32
What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.

we are found righteious in our faith but not faith alone you yoiurself said we have to be found rightiouss in our deeds as well.


again this is talking about the LAW

Paul does not contradict himself

**Paul **(Rom 2:7-8) says, “Eternal life to those who seek glory, honor and immortality through perseverance in good works, but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness.”

Paul (Rom 2:13) also says, “for it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather those who observe the law will be justified.” The law encompasses Jewish rites and rituals, as well as the ten commandments. Paul is saying that the commandments still count. The commandments have to be observed. Jesus said I came to fulfill the law not to abolish the law. (Lk 10:25-37). (Mt 19:16-17) “Now someone approached him and said, teacher what good must I do to gain eternal life? If you wish to enter life keep the commandments.”

I must add that fulfillment has to do with the proper understanding of the laws. Jesus wants us to understand the commandments. Those who abide in them abide in Christ. And when we abide in him our hearts are conformed to his and we have no desire to break the laws. This is true freedom of the law.

Paul (2 Cor 5:10) instructs, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense; according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.”

Paul (Eph 2:8-9) “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one should boast.”

verse 10 God has prepared works for us that we Should be doing

Are you under a law that makes your salvation dependent upon your good works to demonstrate your faith,

Im under the Law of Christ as Paul talks about.

You understand the Law of Christ?

again why do you have a problem with Catholics deminstrating there faith by works

(Jms 2:24)

It also says,** “I will demonstrate my faith to you by my works.”** THAT’S WHAT CATHOLICS LIKE TO DO!

You dont because Satan has influenced you

or are you under God’s free grace?

I am, your not Im free from the Law YOU dont understand what freedom of the Law is.

One leads to fear and is incompatible with faith; the other sets sinners free from fear and makes sinners extremely grateful to God for His wonderful mercy.

Cathoics are grateful So grateful that we Preach not with Just words but with our actions

I would say your not gratful enough.

 

[Odell]

You still have some questions to answer

Questions that Nick refuses to answer

**1) **tell me what commandment I am breaking right now?

2) How do you respond to verses that talk about the rightous and the good?

**3) ** Are you among the
A: Evil
B: Good

4) Are you telling me that it is impossible to leave all your possessions behind and follow Jesus?

**5)**What does it mean to be free?

6) Freedom to break the commandments WHAT?

7) how do you **express LOVE **?

8) If you dont will that faith without expressed love count?
not f you read what you just wrote

9) PROVE taht works in general and the LAW is the same thing

10)
I asked you this before, but I will add something to the question now. What are the “good works” that God created us to do in Eph 2:10?

**11) **Also, what are the “works” or “fruit” that befit repentance spoken of by John the Baptist? What was He talking about?

12) But I will add one more. Who washes the saints robes in the book of revelation?

**13) **Are you saved if you are not obedent to God’s will but have faith?

 

[Nick_Jones]

Once again you are misconstruing Catholic teachings. Catholics do not believe that our standing before God is the sum total of our righteous works. We do not do good works in order to become righteous before God. We become righteous before God in order to do good works. We must first enter into a salvific relationship with God - be right with God - before we can do any righteous work pleasing to Him. However, we can fall from grace:

Yes, the RC teaching is that a “saved” person can lose salvation through mortal sin and that any “saved” person will go to hell if they have any unconfessed mortal sins. In addition, the RCC teaches that justification is not by faith alone–some good works are necessary for justification.

As a result, salvation is a cooperative process for RC’s, and only those who have demonstrated sufficient cooperation with God will be saved. In the end, it is all based upon the goodness of certain individuals (a morally elite group) that, when they have died, has proven their worthiness for salvation by their own good works. None of this has anything to do with God’s goodness and mercy.

 

[Odell]

Yes, the RC teaching is that a “saved” person can lose salvation through mortal sin and that any “saved” person will go to hell if they have any unconfessed mortal sins. In addition, the RCC teaches that justification is not by faith alone–some good works are necessary for justification.

As a result, salvation is a cooperative process for RC’s, and only those who have demonstrated sufficient cooperation with God will be saved. In the end, it is all based upon the goodness of certain individuals (a morally elite group) that, when they have died, has proven their worthiness for salvation by their own good works. None of this has anything to do with God’s goodness and mercy.

Slhould I believe you or Scripture?

(Rev 20:13) “All the dead were judged according to their deeds.”

(Rev 22:12) “Behold I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds.”

(Mt 3:10) “…every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

(Mt 16:27) “For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Fathers glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.”

In Mt 25:32-46, Jesus is talking about the judgments of the nations. Those who did not have good deeds went to hell and the ones who did went to heaven.

(1 Ptr 1:17) “Now if you invoke as Father Him who judges impartially according to each ones works, conduct yourself with reverence during the time of your sojourning.”

(2 Cor 5:10) “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense; according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.”

 

[Nick_Jones]

It is apparent that you have a lot of confidence in your own righteousness:

I also recognize that I have the freedom to grieve the Holy Spirit and chose to turn away from him, as genuine Christians have done in the past and do in the present

Are you morally better than those who use their freedom NOT to grieve the Holy Spirit and turn away from Him? Why are you able to use your freedom so well?

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel

Is your RC gospel the same gospel preached by the apostles? Did any of the apostles teach anything about popes or infallible human teachers?

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

How can you know that you have “not let sin reign” in you enough for your salvation? Are you a sinner, or are you just less sinful than most people?

And that if I fail to fulfill this obligation - despite the fact that God has given me all of the gifts necessary to do so - I will fall from grace:

Are you trusting in your own goodness to fulfill your obligation or are you relying on the goodness and mercy of God?

12So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- 13for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

What is the basis of your ability to NOT live according to the flesh? Why are you trusting in your own goodness for your salvation?

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

If you DO abide in Him, would it be because of your own goodness? Why do some people fail to abide in Him?

I recognize that the good that I do is the result of being united to Christ thanks to God’s great mercy expressed in the Cross

What have you done to be united to Christ? Are you united to Christ because your free will was morally better than those who reject Him?

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked;for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Do you ever sin? If so, how much “sowing to your flesh” is too much? Does this passage make you more confident of your own worthiness for salvation or less confident?

26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.

Are you confident of your ability to keep His works until the end?

Thus I want to be found righteous in thought and in deed till the end so that I will have not received " the grace of God in vain" (2 Corinthians 6:1)

How do you plan to be found righteous in thought and deed till the end? Are you trusting in what you do, or in what Jesus has already done for your salvation?

 

[guanophore]

I have never denied that WE MUST BE FOUND RIGHTEOUS in both our thoughts and our deeds in order to be saved. You believe in earning your salvation through attaining a righteousness of your own,

This is not true, Nick, and is an example of “bearing false witness against your neighbor”. This is not what the Catholic Church believes and teaches.

while I am trusting in a righteous that is from God, and is by faith in Jesus.

Catholics know that the commandments of God cannot be kept without the grace of Christ. Unlike some evangelicals, though, we do believe they must be kept, and that God’s grace does not absolve us from obedience. What shall we say then? Shall we sin, that grace may abound? By no means!

Are you under a law that makes your salvation dependent upon your good works to demonstrate your faith, or are you under God’s free grace?

Under the law of love, one’s good works demonstrate one’s faith. One grows in grace through engaging in the good works that God has prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. The good works are not separated from the gift of free grace upon which they are based.

One leads to fear and is incompatible with faith; the other sets sinners free from fear and makes sinners extremely grateful to God for His wonderful mercy.

I think you have a truncated understanding of the Christian gospel, and that you don’t appreciate what a wonderful gift it is to be a slave to the Law of Love in Christ.

 

[guanophore]

Yes, the RC teaching is that a “saved” person can lose salvation through mortal sin and that any “saved” person will go to hell if they have any unconfessed mortal sins.

I think this semantics problem is based on the use of the word "saved’. Reformed theology uses this word in the aorist, a once for all completed action in the past. This is not the understanding we have from the Apostles, who teach us that we have been saved ,are being saved, and will be saved. Salvation is not a once for all completed action in the past, but an ongoing process which the believers have entered, and in which they must remain until the end. Think of salvation more as a river. We get in at baptism. We can stay in the River of Life, or climb out (mortal isn) and refuse to get back in. Does that mean we were never in the river? No.

In addition, the RCC teaches that justification is not by faith alone–some good works are necessary for justification.

Do you think that scripture does not teach that both faith and works justify?

As a result, salvation is a cooperative process for RC’s, and only those who have demonstrated sufficient cooperation with God will be saved.

Are you purporting that it is possible to be saved against one’s will? Do you not believe in free will?

In the end, it is all based upon the goodness of certain individuals (a morally elite group) that, when they have died, has proven their worthiness for salvation by their own good works. None of this has anything to do with God’s goodness and mercy.

You were doing ok until now. Suddenly you fell off grace and into self again. How is it this happens so easily to you? Can you really not see that it is impossible for a person to please God without faith? Do you really believe there is anything a person can do, who is not in God’s grace, that will get them to heaven?

Contrarily, do you really believe that there are no good works that God has prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them? How do you conclude that, if a person is in a state of grace, then if one “works” it must be of the flesh? That doesn’t even make basic logical sense!

 

[Odell]

Are you a sinner, or are you just less sinful than most people?

I dont know the hearts of other people all I know is if I break a commandment I go to Hell

Are you trusting in your own goodness to fulfill your obligation or are you relying on the goodness and mercy of God?

Gods

What is the basis of your ability to NOT live according to the flesh? Why are you trusting in your own goodness for your salvation?

Christ is my base

If you DO abide in Him, would it be because of your own goodness? Why do some people fail to abide in Him?

glad you asked

** (Mt 3:10) “…every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”**

What have you done to be united to Christ? Are you united to Christ because your free will was morally better than those who reject Him?

I chose with my free will to obey my Lord

Do you ever sin? If so, how much “sowing to your flesh” is too much? Does this passage make you more confident of your own worthiness for salvation or less confident?

why do you dismiss verses you just say oh well that verse dosnt count?

Are you confident of your ability to keep His works until the end?

absolutly arnt you?

How do you plan to be found righteous in thought and deed till the end? Are you trusting in what you do, or in what Jesus has already done for your salvation?

well since I know it is what Christ did for me is the reason I have the grace to do what he has prepared for me to do. YOU can answer the question for yourself.

Listen I choose to be good as Christ calls me to be by responding to his grace.

I dont like it when people tell me how bad I can be. That is not the gospel mesage so you should really pray on the matter. Satan is a great desever

 

[Nick_Jones]

A) you believe we MUST be found righteous in our deeds
B) you trust in righteousness that is from God alone in Faith alone

How do you get then that we must be found righteous in or deeds?

A) Is it your own rightouss your earned deeds?
B) Is it Gods rightousness working threw you?

Again this is talking about YOU since YOU said YOU need to be found rightous in YOUR deeds.

Sounds to me that you believe that YOUR found rightous in your deeds and you are not puting any trust in Jesus.

We must be found PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS to be saved. Everything about us must be perfect, including every thought and every deed we have ever done in our entire life. God’s righteous standards cannot be satisfied by anything less than PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS in every detail of our lives.

To trust in the goodness and righteousness of Christ for salvation is to NOT trust in anything else for salvation, especially not in our own righteousness:

Rom. 3:21-25
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.

Do you not understand that it is Gods grace that does the working of rightousness? Do you not understand that it is Gods grace that begins the work in us?

It isn’t enough that the righteousness begins in us:

Philip. 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

we are found righteious in our faith but not faith alone you yoiurself said we have to be found rightiouss in our deeds as well.

We must be found PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS in every way. No sin or imperfection is acceptable to God. We need the perfect righteousness of Christ imputed to us.

Philip. 3:9
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

 

[Odell]

question 14

I How do you conclude that, if a person is in a state of grace, then if one “works” it must be of the flesh? That doesn’t even make basic logical sense!

 

[guanophore]

We must be found PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS to be saved. Everything about us must be perfect, including every thought and every deed we have ever done in our entire life. God’s righteous standards cannot be satisfied by anything less than PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS in every detail of our lives.

This is a ridiculous assertion. How can evil deeds ever be “made rightous”? They can be forgiven, surely, and we can be cleansed of the guilt of them, and their effects, but wrongdoing needs to be put away from us. It is Catholic teaching that nothing unclean shall enter heaven, and it is true that God’s justice requires satisfaction of sin.

To trust in the goodness and righteousness of Christ for salvation is to NOT trust in anything else for salvation, especially not in our own righteousness:

You are making an illogical leap here. You are assuming that, if we have righteousness, it is our own, instead of God’s strength being made perfect in weakness. In baptism, God transfers us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Then begins the process of becoming the righteousness that has been declared in Christ.

It isn’t enough that the righteousness begins in us:

Philip. 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

This is the Catholic undestanding, certainly. This is why we don’t believe OSAS. It is not enough just to begin, or to be declared righteous. We must in fact complete that good work. He who began it will complete it, but we participate in the completion.

We must be found PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS in **every way**.  No sin or imperfection is acceptable to God.  We need the perfect righteousness of Christ imputed to us.

We do, but imputed righteousness is not enough either. He does not want white covered dung heaps. He wants gold. Once we begin walking in the kingdom, we must not put our hand to the plough, then look back. We must persevere until the end. And day by day, we are changed from one glory into another, until, on that final day, we shall see Him as He really is, becuase we shall be like Him, not just “declared” righteous, but “made” righteous by the power of His might.

Philip. 3:9
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

Indeed, it is not our own works, or our own righteousness, but that which comes from God. We must choose to walk in it, however, and embrace the cross, taking it up daily.

 

[peary]

Catholics dont teach salvation of works.

But how do I explain this in a beginer apologetic way.

How would you explain it in this way we are not saved by faith alone nore works alone. This is the base of my argument but how would YOU atact this argument from this particular point with a protestant?

**The Catholic position is - we are saved by GRACE ALONE, but we are JUSTIFIED in the sight of God through our works. **

 

[Nick_Jones]

Questions that Nick refuses to answer

tell me what commandment I am breaking right now?

Do you have any gods besides the God who created all that exists?

How do you respond to verses that talk about the rightous and the good?

I acknowledge that there are righteous people and unrighteous people living on the earth. However, we probably disagree on what (or who) it is that makes a person righteous.

1. Are you among the

A: Evil
B: Good

If you’re asking which group I belong to, I’m one of those who will be found having a righteousness that is not from myself. By God’s grace I have the faith that places me “in Christ” and saves me by the perfect righteousness of Jesus.

Are you telling me that it is impossible to leave all your possessions behind and follow Jesus?

It would be impossible for me to do that, but my salvation isn’t dependent on my own goodness but instead my salvation is based upon the goodness of God, and in Him alone.

What does it mean to be free?

For me, being free is not to live in fear of God’s wrath for my sins. Knowing that I’ve been forgiven and safe forever because the Lord is my Shepherd. He will lose none of those whom the Father has given to Him.

Freedom to break the commandments WHAT?

We were all born in sin. No one keeps the commandments. We all sin because we are sinners, and sinning is what sinners do. We are sinners in Adam, and our evil desires (our sinfulness) is bondage. Adam and Eve were only free before they ate the fruit. They (and all of humanity) lost that freedom through sin.

1. how do you express LOVE?

Mainly by telling other people the good news about what Jesus has done on the cross.

1. If you dont will that faith without expressed love count?
   not f you read what you just wrote

The faith that saves will be expressed in love.

1. PROVE taht works in general and the LAW is the same thing

You seem to have misunderstood what I’ve said. I don’t think works in general are necessarily works of law. But I do believe that any kind of works that are required of us for our salvation are works of the law.

1. I asked you this before, but I will add something to the question now. What are the “good works” that God created us to do in Eph 2:10?

If the Spirit of God is in you, He will reveal this to you. Everyone is given certain gifts and some people are blessed with more of a certain gift than others. My gift is spreading the message of hope and forgiveness to those who are running away from God.

1. Also, what are the “works” or “fruit” that befit repentance spoken of by John the Baptist? What was He talking about?

A repentant person will be a changed person. I’m guessing that it is living by faith in Jesus.

1. But I will add one more. Who washes the saints robes in the book of revelation?

I don’t know.

1. Are you saved if you are not obedent to God’s will but have faith?

If you have the faith that saves, you will be found righteous (obedient) in God’s sight.

Rom. 1:5
Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

 

[Nick_Jones]

This is a ridiculous assertion. How can evil deeds ever be “made rightous”? They can be forgiven, surely, and we can be cleansed of the guilt of them, and their effects, but wrongdoing needs to be put away from us. It is Catholic teaching that nothing unclean shall enter heaven, and it is true that God’s justice requires satisfaction of sin.

God took our sins away from us and placed them on Jesus at the cross–a legal transfer of sin from us to Him, so why is it impossible for God to impute His perfect righteousness to those whom He has chosen to save (a legal transfer of righteousness from Him to us)?

Rom. 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

 

[Nick_Jones]

My view is consistant with all of scripture including but not limited to James Ch.2. My view is that salvation comes as a grace of God, not required from God by an indiviuals profession in faith alone.

I agree that an individual’s profession of faith is not the same thing as having the faith.

If you go on living the same sort of sinful life after your profession of faith, do you have salvation?

Just because a person professes to have faith doesn’t tell us whether he or she really has saving faith. And if you have been saved, you have been saved from your sins–your sins will never be counted against you. To be saved from your sins is to be forgiven for your sins. But with faith comes change. It is certain that the Spirit living in the saved person will lead to change in attitudes and actions.

Are you saved if you do not love God, but have faith?

I have no reason to believe it is possible for anyone to be saved, and not love their Savior.

Are you saved if you are not obedent to God’s will but have faith?

It is impossible for a person to have saving faith AND to be “not obedient to God’s will.” The faith that makes a person righteous (justified) before God, also makes the person obedient to God, since obedience is one manifestation of righteousness. So, to be found righteous in Christ by faith is to also be found obedient in Christ by faith.

 

[Nick_Jones]

Qunatity of works per se have nothing to do with the Catholic view of salvation, so we do not worry whether we have enough works or not. What we are concerned about is being in state of grace and not falling from grace through sin. Not doing good is sin.

God Bless,
Michael

If it is true that not doing good is sin, is one good work enough for your salvation?

 

[Nick_Jones]

Matthew 25, the Last Judgment. Jesus divides the elect from the damned based on who did good works. Examples can be multiplied.

The teaching of Jesus, as shown in Matthew 25, is that those who fail to do good works to the poor and disadvantaged, “to the least of my brothers and sisters,” has failed to do good to Jesus-- these people are damned eternally.

I find it interesting that RC’s wish to start a discussion here, with the title, Catholics are not saved by Works and all of you are trying desperately to prove that your good works really ARE necessary for your salvation!

When I offer numerous passages that deny any role for our works in making us justified, you attempt to parse words like “works” and “law” in order to find some way to get the apostle Paul to agree with your man-centered “gospel” that has made your salvation into a human-merit process instead of a free gift!

How is God glorified in any of this? Does that even matter to you? And how does anyone know when they’ve done enough good works to attain salvation? If we can’t know, how do we stop living under fear of hell, and start living by faith in what JESUS HAS DONE?

 

[Nick_Jones]

**The Catholic position is - we are saved by GRACE ALONE, but we are JUSTIFIED in the sight of God through our works. **

What does “GRACE” mean? I thought that if we are saved by grace, it means that salvation is given for free–as in a gift, which by the nature of a free gift…cannot possibly require any cost or obligation by the one to whom the gift is given.

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works…

 

[Deborah_Kloos]

Jesus said if you don’t wash the feet of others you have no part in Me. As Catholics we live our faith by serving others. When we take the Body of Christ at mass then we leave the church and become the Body of Christ through serving others. Jesus said if you love Me feed my lambs. Jesus was quite clear that service is a huge part of our faith to God. We must be like the man in the Parable of the good Samaritan and not walk by those who need us.

 

[itinerant1]

This is an interesting, but complicated topic. I would like to throw a few thoughts into the mix for your feedback.

When Scripture talks about being saved by grace the context is important. The context is the difference between the Old Law and the New Law. Under the Old Law or Old Covenant, the emphasis was on following its many laws and precepts. One purpose of the Old Law was to show the Jews man’s need for God’s grace. Thus, the Old Law was an obstacle or stumbling block. After all, it only took the breaking of one law for one to be law breaker. Hence, one could not be made righteous or justified by the works of the Old Law. Grace was needed. Man, in a state of Original Sin needed God’s help or grace to be made righteous or justified in His sight.

So, in comes the New Law or Covenant. The New Law did not do away with the Old Law but was its fulfillment. The New Law was the long awaited for dispensation of grace. Through faith, which is a grace in itself, we are given that grace which justifies. It’s a matter of co-operating with grace and believing in the Good News. We are justified by this act of faith.

Now here are the points, which many people get confused about. It is by grace that we are saved and not by the works of the Old Law, or anything else that we can do ourselves. This does not mean we are saved by faith alone as the Protestants would have it. Furthermore, no one is saved until they die and are judged at the Particular Judgement.

So where does justification fit into this? Justification leads to salvation. We are first justified by faith. This is what I will call primary or initial justification. We are justified by faith. This conversion involves reception of the Sacraments of Penance and Baptism. The Sacraments remove the guilt of Original Sin and personal sins.

So, where do good works come in to the story? Good works increase our justification. I will call this increase in justification secondary justification. Good works are necessary for salvation. This fact is explained in many places of the New Testament. St. James says “faith without works is dead”. In fact, the Epistle of St. James is all about the need for works, which is why Martin Luther did not like this epistle. Luther called the Epistle of St. James an “epistle of straw”. Go figure.

Christ often emphasized the need for good works. Consider his parable of the sheep and the goats at the Last Judgement. Christ condemned the goats for lack of good works and said to them, “Whenever you did not do this for the least of my brethren, you did not do it for me.”

In regard to salvation, I previously stated that no one is saved until they die. Even St. Paul never presumed on his own salvation. We need to work out our salvation, as St. Paul says to the Philippians, “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, (as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but much more now in my absence) with fear and trembling work out your salvation.”

“With fear and trembling work out your salvation” is one of those verses that Protestants twist and distort until they come up with an interpretation that seems to jibe with their false belief in “salvation by faith alone” and “once saved, always saved”.

On another note, those who never hear the Good News cannot, of course, have an explicit faith in Christ. However, Gentiles such as these can still be saved. In Romans, St. Paul talks about the Gentiles, having the law of God written on their hearts (the natural law) and do what is right (good works) according to their hearts, will be saved.

So that is my mini course on Old Law, New Law, grace, faith, initial justification, secondary justification, works, natural law, and salvation last of all.

Your truly,
intinerant1