Faith Alone or Works and Faith?

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One criticism of Catholicism is that by taking the Sacraments and performing works for God, you doubt that faith in God will save you. Does anyone have Biblical quotes that say other wise, about why the Sacraments are beneficial to one’s relationship with God? Or just perhaps rational arguments? I would appreciate anything, thanks in advance 🙂
 
John 6:53-54"Jesus said to them “**Amen, Amen I say to you. Unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood You do not have life within you **54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day”

Sounds like The Eucharist to me. A sacrament. Jesus himself said that That unless we do this, we have no life within ourselves. We must DO something other than just have faith.

The Catholic Church does not teach that we earn our salvation through works.
We are saved by “Grace alone, through faith, working in love”

God gives us something we can never deserve our earn. That is GRACE. We have Faith, and because of this The Holy Spirit, enables us to do works. But that does not mean that we believe we are saved by our works. But, neither are we saved by Faith alone

James 2:14-26 New King James Version (NKJV)

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your[a] works, and I will show you my faith by my** works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?[c] 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”[d] And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

A lot of “Christians” these days seem to disagree with St. James. But, I am not one to disagree with one of the Apostles.**
 
KidCatholic1 said:
One criticism of Catholicism is that by taking the Sacraments and performing works for God, you doubt that faith in God will save you. Does anyone have Biblical quotes that say other wise, about why the Sacraments are beneficial to one’s relationship with God? Or just perhaps rational arguments? I would appreciate anything, thanks in advance 🙂
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I think of doing good works as faith in action: putting your money where your mouth is, so to speak. Good intentions are wonderful, but without acting on them by means of behavior, the best intentions in the world often come to naught. To put it another way, faith is revealed in the form of good works, whether or not the person is aware of it.
 
Letter of St James, Chapter 2:

[16] And one of you say to them: Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; yet give them not those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it profit? [17] **So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself. [18] But some man will say: Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without works; and I will shew thee, by works, my faith. **[19] Thou believest that there is one God. Thou dost well: the devils also believe and tremble. **20] But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? ** drbo.org/chapter/66002.htm

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James 2:14-17

What good is it my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

The New American Bible, Revised Saint Joseph Edition.
 
KidCatholic1. You said:
One criticism of Catholicism is that by taking the Sacraments and performing works for God, you doubt that faith in God
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Why would works (done in grace as Catholicism teaches—not mere “works on our own”) be “DOUBT” of “faith in God”?

It seems to me the requirement of works done IN GRACE is an affirmation of faith in God.

Remember, the Church teaches that our works in grace is our cooperation of God WORKING in us.
More detail . . . .

I think some of the people who un-Biblically preach against works and run after these traditions of denying works are the ones that seem to have an issue with belief/faith.

Some of them don’t REALLY believe God is at work IN US.

Here is an excerpt from some prior posts as you asked for “Biblical quotes”.
**Biblical Examples . . . **

**
PHILIPPIANS 2:12a** 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation . . . !!!

HOW can we possibly DO this?? Fortunately St. Paul tells us in the very next sentence how. By God WORKING within us!

PHILIPPIANS 2:12-13 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Ask the people who are hassling you KidCatholic1, if they believe these verses for what they say.

2nd CORINTHIANS 6:1 1 Working together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain.

PHILIPPIANS 4:13 13 I can do all things in him who strengthens me.

GALATIANS 2:20 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

EPHESIANS 3:20-21 20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

HEBREWS 13:20a, 21 “Now may the God of peace . . . . equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in you that which is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

JOHN 6:55-56 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

1st THESSALONIANS 2:13 13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

PHILIPPIANS 1:6 6 And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Justification by Faith ALONE is a man-made invention

These guys will tell you: “Well I do good works BECAUSE of my faith”!

Ask them two things:

1-Do you HAVE to DO good works? (They will invariably squirm & respond you can’t help it if you have a “real” faith).

2-What if you do good works (like being martyred or “giving up my body to be burned”) because of your faith . . . . but NOT because of “CHARITY” too? Are you saved anyway? (St. Paul already answers that below. Faith without Charity CAN be performed BUT . . . BUT this faith is NOT salvific).
St. Paul on Faith Without Charity

Don’t divorce faith from works KidCatholic1. If you do, EVEN if you have faith to move mountains, you will . . . what?

You will have Eternal Life anyway because of such a profound faith as to even move mountains?? No!

You will have “nothing”!

Here is what St. Paul DOESN’T say . . . .

NOT 1st CORINTHIANS (Phantom Verse) 2 and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am still justified anyway. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain heaven because I am justified by faith alone. . . . 13 So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is faith so it fits into a man-made doctrine of sola fide.

Fortunately Sacred Scripture tells us what St. Paul really says about this situation.

1st CORINTHIANS 13:2b-3, 13 2 and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. . . . 13 So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
In Summary

Don’t divorce necessary faith from necessary works. God doesn’t, either should you.

Hope this helps.

God bless.

Cathoholic
 
KidCatholic1 said:
One criticism of Catholicism is that by taking the Sacraments and performing works for God, you doubt that faith in God will save you. Does anyone have Biblical quotes that say other wise, about why the Sacraments are beneficial to one’s relationship with God? Or just perhaps rational arguments? I would appreciate anything, thanks in advance 🙂
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That is a very flawed criticism. Just because we take the sacraments and perform works for God does not mean we have doubts that our faith will save us. To the contrary, I would say our reliance on the sacraments is a result of our purest faith in God. How could we believe that a piece of bread and wine can be consecrated to become the Eucharist, a whole different reality, if we did not place enough faith in God? Moreover, these sacraments are all directed to God and ultimately rely on God’s grace. This is something that we recognize. The forgiveness of sins in baptism is only made possible by God’s grace. The sacrament of confession is only possible in that we trust (ie. have faith) that God is forgiving and merciful. We recognize marriage to be a sacrament because we place faith in God’s call to the man and woman, that their relationship will bear fruit in the eyes of the Lord. We trust what God has revealed to us. We accept it. We respond to it. This is faith. Faith is not just simple belief where you sit idly.

Works is a response to faith and to God’s grace. It is by God’s mercy that we obtain salvation, not through our works. But our works are a response to God’s call. It doesn’t make sense to say “I believe in God and love God” but fail to respond to His call. This is where works comes in. You wouldn’t tell your parents “I love you so much, I would do anything for you.” then when they ask you to bring a cheque they’ve signed to a charitable organization, you deny them that request. Or if they send you to bring food to your sick brother/sister who doesn’t live with you anymore, you say “no” too. Is that how you show your love? Moreover, what are your actions (or lack thereof) saying? When you say no, are you saying you know better?

Our actions are a way of responding to God’s love with others. Our works are wholly centered on God; when I do these things, I am not thinking of my salvation. I am just thinking of God’s love and how I want to bring that to people. Try asking any Catholic and ask whether they’re doing their work based on a doubt in God or whether they’re doing it out of love for God. I think the people who are so opposed to works need to stop being so intently focused only on the aspect of the God who will judge and bring salvation. They need to look at the bigger picture and accept God in His entirety for He is not only a just God. He is a loving God.

Moreover, God has provided us many graces. Why shouldn’t we share this with others? Who was it that told the rich man to sell all his things and give to the poor then follow? He was called to do some kind of work! Who was it that healed the blind and the lame? Even He who is certain of the existence of God did works! Being saved wasn’t even applicable to Him, yet He did works! His very saving humanity is a work!

Please note that all that I’ve written is what I think. My thoughts on the matter, not the Church’s position (though some of it is interspersed in between).

Some links that might be helpful:

catholic.com/quickquestions/why-does-the-church-teach-that-works-can-obtain-salvation

catholic.com/magazine/articles/we-can-work-it-out

ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/FAWORKS.HTM
 
meltzerboy said:
I think of doing good works as faith in action: putting your money where your mouth is, so to speak. Good intentions are wonderful, but without acting on them by means of behavior, the best intentions in the world often come to naught. To put it another way, faith is revealed in the form of good works, whether or not the person is aware of it.
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Exactly.

Faith includes but is not limited to intellectual assent.
 
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