Confusion over how we are saved

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I believe salvation is by grace through faith alone, and cannot be achieved by human works alone (Ephesians 2:8) and believe that following the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist is necessary for salvation (I see no contradiction here as these are acts of faith). Where trouble arises for me, is over the statement by Paul that all that matters is faith acting through love (Galatians 5:6). How is following the Sacraments linked to love? Is it love for God?
 
The explanatory text in my Didache bible is regarding your quoted Galatians 5:6 is as following;
A faith that does not include works of love toward God and neighbor is empty and , therefore, does not lead to salvation and holiness. Faith, in it’s true sense, always involves the practice of charity in the form of prayer, self-denial, and deeds of mercy and love toward others. Unless faith is expressed in acts of charity, it remains ineffective. (CCC 162, 1814-1815.)
 
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RiderOnTheClouds said:
Ephesians 2:8) and believe that following the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist is necessary for salvation (I see no con
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From Bible Hub:

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.

There is no “faith alone”.

Greek Lexicon on V.8:

https://biblehub.com/lexicon/ephesians/2-8.htm

There is no “alone” in that verse.

From James 2 (BibleHub):

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?

15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.

16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless d ?

21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” e and he was called God’s friend.

24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

V.24 is the only place where “faith alone” is found.
 
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RiderOnTheClouds said:
Where trouble arises for me, is over the statement by Paul that all that matters is faith acting through love (Galatians 5:6). How is following the Sacraments linked to love? Is it love for God?
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Look at Galatians 5 in context (from BibleHub):

1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.

3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

From the USCCB Commentaries on Galatians 5:6:
  • [5:6] Cf. Rom 2:25–26; 1 Cor 7:19; Gal 6:15. The Greek for faith working through love or “faith expressing itself through love” can also be rendered as “faith energized by (God’s) love.”
Bible Hub Lexicon on V.5:

https://biblehub.com/lexicon/galatians/5-6.htm
 
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I don’t know which version of the Bible you use. But I noticed that even though your profile says you’re Roman Catholic, you make the same mistake many Protestants do by only looking at Ephesians 2:8 (which does not say we’re saved by faith alone). Read it again.

Ephesians 2:8-10

8 For by grace you have saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God —

9 not because of works, lest any man should boast.

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

My understanding of Galatians 5:6 is that Paul is referring to love for God and for our fellow man, our neighbor, whom we are to love as Jesus loves us and to love as we love ourselves.
 
The excerpt below is from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association… My question is: what about this not compatible with Catholic teaching? This sounds like something Catholics could & should do. What exactly would there be to lose by trying?

What does it mean to be born again?​

How can you be “born again” if you’re already living? Aren’t you born only once?

Being born again doesn’t mean a physical rebirth; it’s a spiritual one. It refers to a change of heart—from indifference or hostility toward God to a love for Him and a desire to live out His best for us.

But how does it happen?

First, we have to understand our current human condition. There’s a problem we all face, and Jesus said it begins in our hearts. The problem is something called sin, which means to miss the mark—to fail to do what we ought to do.

Whether we realize it or not, we strive to fix this problem ourselves—to somehow compensate for it or push it out of our minds, yet there’s still something missing deep down inside. Nothing will fully satisfy us unless we have Jesus in our lives and the eternal hope of being with Him forever in heaven.

There’s a story in the Bible about a man named Nicodemus. He was a religious leader and a good man, and one night while talking to Jesus, Nicodemus asked Him what he needed to do to go to heaven. Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). In fact, Jesus said, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Jesus was telling Nicodemus that no matter what good he did on the outside, he needed changing on the inside. That can only happen through a supernatural act of God when His Holy Spirit convicts us of wrongdoing and brings new life to our very souls.

So what do we need to do?

First, we must admit our sin—that we can’t live up to God’s perfect standard on our own. Then we must ask forgiveness for that sin and repent, which means to make every effort in turning away from that sin. Finally, we ask Jesus to be part of our lives.

That’s when God’s Spirit penetrates our hearts to guide us and help us be more like Him. That’s when we’re born again.

God Himself puts it this way: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). From then on, He gives us a new purpose and new goals for living. We no longer live for ourselves but for Him (II Corinthians 5:15).

Today, you can experience spiritual rebirth; you can be born again.​

 
The very foundation of all that we do, all that we are as Catholics, is a loving relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our very purpose is to 1) know God, 2) to love God and 3) to serve God. However, Paul also speaks of building upon the foundation, and he specifically addresses the each of the Sacraments, from Baptism to Eucharist, Confirmation as well as Reconciliation, Marriage and Holy Orders. I do not think that he specifically mentions Anointing, but he was certainly aware of the Apostolic teaching that James the less wrote in his epistle.

Much of what Saint Paul wrote was contingent upon the Christian’s knowledge of the Sacraments and general teaching. After all, he was addressing established communities of Christians. Remember also that Paul was confronting converts who still held to the Mosaic law, thus he hammered on faith apart from works of the Mosaic Law. He could have written thousands of letters in the decades of his preaching, but we have only 14 attributed to him that survive in copies.

Oh, how are we saved? God’s grace through our faith - but - dying in a state of grace with God is our assurance, our ‘sure hope’ as Saint Paul wrote. And it is hope (not once saved always saved), as Saint Paul also writes regarding hope that man hopes for that which is to come - not for that which he already has. The Sacraments are our recipe, our road map, but a contrite and faith-filled heart is the foundation, once again.
 
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When Paul says works do not save us, he means works ‘alone’, without faith do not save us, right? When James says that works completed Abraham’s faith he means that faith must act with works to be a true faith, right? (Such a belief seems different from the Protestant belief that faith on it’s own will save us)

Am I understanding it correctly?
 
OP. The Catholic Church is very much “both/and” instead of “either/or” as some of the more evangelical Christians want to phrase things. Also salvation as seen through Catholic eyes is a continuing process until our last breath instead of “Are you saved?” with a yes/no answer. A Catholic is saved on the Cross, now when we say “Yes” to Christ and hope to say “Yes” to Christ in the future so we are “saved here and now but not yet” as we haven’t died.

Talk to your parish priest or deacon and ask when sin, salvation and good works is taught in RCIA and ask if you can attend that class if the priest or deacon doesn’t have the time to talk with you.
 
observer333 said:
My question is: what about this not compatible with Catholic teaching? This sounds like something Catholics could & should do. What exactly would there be to lose by trying?
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Catholics do believe that having faith is essential to salvation. There isn’t really anything to “try” as you put it.

From the Catholic perspective, You must have faith AND act on that faith as the scriptures say and as the apostles and church fathers taught. Salvation is not a one and done experience from the Catholic perspective. Our entire lives are a process of growing ever more in faith and acting more perfectly on it.

For Billy Graham, being saved was a once and for all type of thing. Once you were saved that was it. You were saved forever.

I was raised in this kind of “faith alone” environment. It is severely lacking in my opinion.
 
Jesus said to him I am the way,and the truth and the life no one comes to the Father but through Me

John 14: 6
 
Jesus is THE judge.

He makes all the decisions.

[Be nice to His Mother … He listens to her.]
 
Catholics are already Christians. We have already been born again (water and Spirit). We, however, refer to it as “born from above.”
 
thebible said:
Jesus said to him I am the way,and the truth and the life no one comes to the Father but through Me

John 14: 6
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I really, really wish people would stop quoting random Bible verses that, while perhaps somewhat related to the subject matter, don’t appear to be linked to the discussion and offer no commentary to link them.
 
There is no confusion on how we are saved.

That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved

For with the heart a person believes resulting in righteousness and with the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation

Romans. 10.9-10
 
RiderOnTheClouds said:
When Paul says works do not save us, he means works ‘alone’, without faith do not save us, right? When James says that works completed Abraham’s faith he means that faith must act with works to be a true faith, right? (Such a belief seems different from the Protestant belief that faith on it’s own will save us)

Am I understanding it correctly?
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Mankind was given free will through which love can be expressed by cooperation with supernatural grace.
 
thebible said:
There is no confusion on how we are saved.
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If that were the case, we wouldn’t have a 500+ year resistance to some clearly defined teachings like:
  • The necessity of baptism (John 3:5, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, 1 Peter 3:21, Nicene Creed)
  • The necessity of the Eucharist (John 6:51)
  • The necessity of good works (Matthew 25:31-46, Galatians 5:6, Philippians 2:12-13, James 2:14-26)
 
Why would you assume that Catholics haven’t already confessed with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and that we believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead?

If you would read the threads here, your concerns would be put to rest.
 
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