Good work = salvation is it true?

[Bookcat]

Faith and Works in Paul:

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20081119_en.html

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20081126_en.html

 

[Julia_Mae]

I believe this is incorrect. Paul was not only speaking of “Old Testament works”. This can be verified by the example he uses directly after with Abraham. The Old Testament Law hadn’t even been given yet and Paul argues that Abraham was justified apart from works not the OT Law.

I believe this is indeed including all works in which someone believes they can “earn” Salvation. Whether it be belief in skydiving for Salvation, the beatitudes or circumcision.

Please don’t just write “you’re wrong” without addressing the point of my argument directly (nothing personal to quoted poster, just looking for intelligent discussion from any). There is no point in “discussion” in that case. If we actually discuss the points of the Bible, hopefully all of us can learn from each other. If you can prove my point incorrect through scripture then so be it.

Please post the Scripture quote you are referring to. I am repeating the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and I’d like to hear you address the issue relative to Jesus saying He will judge based on works of mercy.

BTW, no one here and no place in Catholic theology says we can “earn” salvation in any way. None are good, not one. No one deserves to be in the Presence. Anyway, if you’ll look up and post your Scripture passage and explain what Jesus means while maintaining your position, please?

Matt 25:32-46

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, g and all the nations* will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’

He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ l And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Also, can you explain this passage from Romans:

2:2–

We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true. Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you hold his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience in low esteem, unaware that the kindness of God would lead you to repentance?

By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God, who will repay everyone according to his works: 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.

 

[NewsTheMan]

If this is how you defend your faith you and your fellow Catholics should feel ashamed.

Relax friend, it was a cartoon.

On a slightly unrelated topic, it says in your information that you are a “Bible believer”. May I ask what this means?

I ask for two reasons:

1. Why not “believer in Christ”?
2. How do you know whether or not to believe in the Bible? By what authority can you say that you believe in the scriptures? and related is the question of 2 Peter 1:20?

You needn’t answer me, though. These are just general questions to think about.

Enjoy your stay here at CAF :harp:

 

[Subrosa]

Why do Catholics believe that good works are necessary for salvation! Does not Paul say in Romans 3:28 that faith alone justifies!

Nope! Paul never ever says that faith alone justifies. He does say that faith justifies, but not alone.

For instance, in Philippians 2:12 he says, “So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

And in 1 Corinthians 13:2b he says, “…if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.”

Paul tells us about a different aspect of faith that you may have missed in Romans 1:5, “Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith…”

These statements that include faith show us three different things: 1. That we need to “…work out our salvation;” 2. That love is greater than faith (read the rest of chapter 13, you will see that it all involves works); 3. That Christ’s purpose in making apostles was to, “…bring about the obedience of faith.” Paul spells out that obedience in chapters 6-8 and 12-15 of Romans, which are all works by which we obey God in faith.

Just so you know, it was Martin Luther who said “faith alone,” not Paul. Martin Luther was not an apostle and so had no authority by which to proclaim such a false doctrine.

The Catholic Church, the one and the same church at Rome that Paul addresses in his letter, has always proclaimed, “…faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26) because faith is completed by works (James 2:22).

So, as Paul admonishes us to do,…*work out your salvation with fear and trembling!

*God bless and the peace of Christ be with you!
Subrosa

 

[Subrosa]

By the way, most of the Lutheran Church and the Catholic Church have resolved the issue of faith and works. The two churches published a joint statement over ten years ago.

It may be beneficial to read it so you can see how the issue was resolved.

Subrosa

 

[I_v_I]

Please post the Scripture quote you are referring to.

When I said: “I believe this is incorrect. Paul was not only speaking of “Old Testament works”. This can be verified by the example he uses directly after with Abraham. The Old Testament Law hadn’t even been given yet and Paul argues that Abraham was justified apart from works not the OT Law.”

I was speaking of Romans 3:28 which is followed directly by Paul referring to how Abraham was justified.

I am repeating the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and I’d like to hear you address the issue relative to Jesus saying He will judge based on works of mercy…

Can you give me the chapter/verse for the text you are referring to please?

BTW, no one here and no place in Catholic theology says we can “earn” salvation in any way. None are good, not one. No one deserves to be in the Presence. Anyway, if you’ll look up and post your Scripture passage and explain what Jesus means while maintaining your position, please?

Many of the implications have been that in order to receive Salvation from the Lord one must do something, whatever it may be, other than simply have faith. Anything in addition to faith is a “work”. And Paul tells us in Rom 4:1-5 that whenever work of the flesh is done, wages are obligated (or earned). Therefore, if we believe we did anything, anything at all, of our own power in order to receive Salvation then we “say” the gift of Salvation is not a gift but an obligatory wage paid for what we did. This view does not align with Paul.

Matt 25:32-46

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, g and all the nations* will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’

He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ l And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Also, can you explain this passage from Romans:

2:2–

We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true. Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you hold his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience in low esteem, unaware that the kindness of God would lead you to repentance?

By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God, who will repay everyone according to his works: 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.

Ok. I think I understand where you are coming from. In Matt 25 we are told of two groups, those who did “good works” and those who did “evil works”. The key here is to find out what the Bible says about doing “good works”. “Good works” are only achieved by God working in the Spirit through us. Therefore these people had been saved and filled with the Spirit in order to accomplish these “good works”. Those who did “evil works” did them of the flesh (of themselves). Everything a person working of the flesh does is evil because they do not have the Spirit of God (Rom 8:1-17).

So the difference between these two groups of people is that some had been saved and led by the Spirit to do good works. The same works James speaks of, those that attest to one’s Salvation. And the other group did only evil works because they did not have the Spirit and were therefore led always by the flesh. They were never Saved.

Romans 2 follows the same pattern. Those who do “good works” do them only by the working of the Spirit of God. These people are therefore Saved. Those who do not have the Spirit are those who have “reject(ed) the Truth” (Rom 2:8) as Paul tells us, and therefore are not Saved. They do their works of the flesh (apart from the Spirit because they do not believe) and because of it they are condemned. Anything done of the flesh cannot please God (Rom 8:8).

 

[steve_b]

But now you are forgetting verse 8 and 9. Both methods are wrong. We must understand how they go hand in hand.

In 8 and 9 we are told that Salvation is obtained through faith alone apart from works.

**Eph 2: **
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. *

Faith alone isn’t there. You are reading into the text what isn’t there.

• faith is NOT alone in those passages, nor is alone mentioned.
• works & good works aren’t the same. Good works are essential to do

I:

Verse 10 tells us exactly what James tells us in his book. That after Salvation, we are led to do good works by the Holy Spirit which now dwells in us. These are the works that attest to others that we are truly Saved.

if we are God’s workmanship, we do what God created us to do. We do what He prepared in advance for us to do.

as I said previously,

What did Jesus do to the fig tree that didn’t produce fruit? He cursed it. Why? Because it didn’t do what God made it to do, that is to produce fruit.

***Mark 11: ***
20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

what will He do to the soul who won’t do good works, which God prepared in advance for him to do.?
*. *

Mt 25:
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment

 

[Ignatius]

Why do Catholics believe that good works are necessary for salvation! Does not Paul say in Romans 3:28 that faith alone justifies!

Your title is misleading. Good works do not equal salvation, but neither does faith alone. In fact, Scripture specifically states that faith alone cannot save you. Of course we must have Faith, but Paul does not say that “faith alone” saves us, he talks of “works of the law”, meaning to mosaic law that was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Elsewhere the Bible clarifies and says explicitly that faith alone cannot save and faith without works is dead. Taking a few verses out of context will always lead you to error. You must take into account those books and verses that were written later to clarify what was written formerly. It takes a more effort to take into account all of Scripture, but that is what must be done to get to The Truth of Scripture.

Jesus, who is God incarnate, tells us what will happen when we stand before Him. Those who disobey His commands will not receive salvation, If you do not forgive others, you will not be forgiven, and hence will not receive salvation.

He will say to them:
“Come,ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
Mat 25:34-36

 

[Ignatius]

quote=eddadonkey;8508102http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7UlK-KoDv54/TocxVTAJntI/AAAAAAAAAB0/5ILjEoxorYU/s400/faith-alone.jpg

Yup, that pretty well nails it. One picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[fbl9]

.

There are many people who live without the indwelling, yet they often do good works.How is this possible?

 

[You]

Why do Catholics believe that good works are necessary for salvation! Does not Paul say in Romans 3:28 that faith alone justifies!

The goats did not give him anything to drink, nor clothe him and for that reason were sent to hell. Those who gave even so much as a drink of water to his loved ones would receive their reward. [paraphrasing lots]

 

[Norminha]

Why do Catholics believe that good works are necessary for salvation! Does not Paul say in Romans 3:28 that faith alone justifies!

Nope!
Faith along with good works (mercy) are requisites to enter the Kingdom of God.
But not anyone who says Lord, Lord should enter the Kingdom, nor anyone who does a good work apart from faith can enter the Kingdom.
Catholics believe that there is a balance -a perfect harmony in all God has created and His Church His the source of salvation.

 

[fred_conty]

I believe this is incorrect. Paul was not only speaking of “Old Testament works”. This can be verified by the example he uses directly after with Abraham. The Old Testament Law hadn’t even been given yet and Paul argues that Abraham was justified apart from works not the OT Law.

I believe this is indeed including all works in which someone believes they can “earn” Salvation. Whether it be belief in skydiving for Salvation, the beatitudes or circumcision.

Please don’t just write “you’re wrong” without addressing the point of my argument directly (nothing personal to quoted poster, just looking for intelligent discussion from any). There is no point in “discussion” in that case. If we actually discuss the points of the Bible, hopefully all of us can learn from each other. If you can prove my point incorrect through scripture then so be it.

To answer your reply I hope you will bear with me for a moment to clarify the
way WE use the word “salvation” or saved, which is what faith brings.

Salvation seen in stages of progression.

First stage
When a person INITIALLY(first) receives faith, it is a free gift from God and not earned by works.
I believe this is what you were saying when referring to Abraham. As far as I know, that is
what the CC teaches. The person cannot pull himself up by his own bootstraps (works) to
earn faith because he is nothing and has nothing that is holy to do that.
I’m pretty sure we agree on this.

Second Stage
By receiving his gift, we believe this gift brings with it hope, and charity. In addition he
receives the Holy Spirit, which makes him a holy temple of God, and thereby God’s dwelling place.
God intends him to be permanently saved, or in CC terms, always holy.
I believe we agree on this too, but if not, then we are are close.

Third Stage
To the CC, holy or saved is not static, but dynamic. There is growth in holiness in a person of faith.
But unfortunately there is also a diminishing holiness possible, as well as a loss of holiness all together.

In some PC, saved only means saved at one level of holiness. There is no dynamic movement except that if the person of faith is severly negligent he may be determined to never have received the faith at all.

As I see it, the third stage is where the divergence occurrs between the two ideas of saved by faith.

CC believes in fasting, personal prayer of meditation, almsgiving, various degrees of holiness in people, self sacrifice and suffering, all found in the bible. These are used to bring spiritual blessings of a deeper faith, greater charity, and a stronger hope, which allows the Holy Spirit to take greater possession of the person, resulting in being more in the immage of God and increasing the life of God dwelling in the soul which is holliness to a greater level.
On the other hand, an active sinner has the reverse of all this.

Now this third stage is where I was placing the comparison of St. Paul and St. James with regards to faith.
St. Paul is referring to O.T. works of no value to the christian, and St. James to N.T. works.

Just a sharing a thought.

 

[fred_conty]

@I V I
I would have answered sooner but I had a funeral in the family.

 

[I_v_I]

@ fred conty

Very sorry for your loss.

To answer your reply I hope you will bear with me for a moment to clarify the way WE use the word “salvation” or saved, which is what faith brings.

Salvation seen in stages of progression.

Absolutely! Love to hear/read thoughtful responses.

First stage
When a person INITIALLY(first) receives faith, it is a free gift from God and not earned by works.
I believe this is what you were saying when referring to Abraham. As far as I know, that is what the CC teaches. The person cannot pull himself up by his own bootstraps (works) to earn faith because he is nothing and has nothing that is holy to do that.I’m pretty sure we agree on this.

I’m very interested in hearing a confirmation of this from others. I’ve never heard a Catholic say this before (Not that I’ve spoken to very many on the topic).

Just so that we are definitely on the same page… you are saying that you received faith in Christ from God Himself and nothing of yourself? And this is for faith only, not total Salvation?

Second Stage
By receiving his gift, we believe this gift brings with it hope, and charity. In addition he
receives the Holy Spirit, which makes him a holy temple of God, and thereby God’s dwelling place.
God intends him to be permanently saved, or in CC terms, always holy.
I believe we agree on this too, but if not, then we are are close.

Yes, we agree about faith leading to good works. Just to clarify my position: I believe this only happens to those who have true faith. However, I believe the Bible tells us much about false profession and those who say one thing with their mouth and another with their actions. These people had false faith which was not God given faith and therefore they were never Saved.

Third Stage
To the CC, holy or saved is not static, but dynamic. There is growth in holiness in a person of faith. But unfortunately there is also a diminishing holiness possible, as well as a loss of holiness all together.

We also agree on this point although not through and through. I believe the Bible tells us that we can achieve “different levels of holiness”, something referred to as Christian maturity in different levels of faith and obedience.

In some PC, saved only means saved at one level of holiness. There is no dynamic movement except that if the person of faith is severly negligent he may be determined to never have received the faith at all.

Sorry, what is PC? Pentecostal Church?

If by “dynamic movement” you mean holiness, then I definitely agree that there are different levels of maturity. However, if by “dynamic movement” you mean falling in and out of Salvation, I’d strongly disagree and we can discuss further.

As I see it, the third stage is where the divergence occurrs between the two ideas of saved by faith.

CC believes in fasting, personal prayer of meditation, almsgiving, various degrees of holiness in people, self sacrifice and suffering, all found in the bible. These are used to bring spiritual blessings of a deeper faith, greater charity, and a stronger hope, which allows the Holy Spirit to take greater possession of the person, resulting in being more in the immage of God and increasing the life of God dwelling in the soul which is holliness to a greater level.

I believe in fasting, giving, different levels of Christian maturity, self sacrifice and suffering (not sure what ppom is), if meditating on the Word then I believe the Bible teaches that as well. However, I don’t believe the Bible tells us that receiving Salvation is dependent upon us of ourselves doing any of these things. I believe It tells us that the work of the Holy Spirit in us leads us to do these things and it is not something that we are doing to be Saved, but something we are doing as an evidence of our having already been Saved.

On the other hand, an active sinner has the reverse of all this.

By active sinner, I assume you mean someone who is professing the faith and sinning…
I believe all believers will sin and do sin, probably daily. However, I believe there are two types of professing Christians that sin.

1. Those who have true faith in Christ and when they sin they are truly repentant and have a heavy heart for sinning against God.
2. Those who have a false faith and sin with no regard to God and no feelings of repentance.

Now this third stage is where I was placing the comparison of St. Paul and St. James with regards to faith.
St. Paul is referring to O.T. works of no value to the christian, and St. James to N.T. works.

Please explain why you think this is referring to OT Law when the example Paul uses directly after is of Abraham who did not have the Law. You sound like a reasonable person. Do you not think this is strange? Even just a little strange? Why would the Holy Spirit use an example of not doing OT works of someone who had not been given them? He was not even expected to do them.

Crude example: An english student in a class whos curriculum was composed of spelling and literature. Spelling was covered over the 1st semester and literature over the 2nd. After the 1st semester, the mother of the child was told, “your son received an A due to his excellent spelling”. Then the mother brags to her friends about her sons excellent spelling abilities in english class. Would her friends be correct in saying her son is a great literature student when he hadn’t taken literature yet?

 

[Des]

Hello I v I. Welcome.

Please explain why you think this is referring to OT Law when the example Paul uses directly after is of Abraham who did not have the Law.

Since the last chapter of St. Paul’s ended with Him speaking of the works of the law, then it’s natural flow to the following chapter would be saying that ‘IF’ Abraham were justified by those same works of the law, he has glory, but not with God.

St. James confirms a distinct separation between both types of works when He speaks of Abraham being Justified by His Works which in Catholic terms, is speaking of the Doctrine of Increase Justification mentioned in Trent after first being Justified by His faith.

James 2

21 *Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works, offering up Isaac, his son, upon the altar?
22 Seest thou that faith did co-operate with his works: and by works faith was made perfect?
23 And the Scripture was fulfilled, saying: *Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him to justice, and he was called the friend of God.

***Council of Trent: ***

"Having, therefore, been thus justified, and made the friends and domestics of God, advancing from virtue to virtue, they are renewed, as the Apostle says, day by day; that is, by mortifying the members of their own flesh, and by presenting them as instruments of justice unto sanctification, they, through the observance of the commandments of God and of the Church, faith co-operating with good works, increase in that justice which they have received through the grace of Christ, and are still further justified (Council of Trent, Sixth Session, Chapter 10)". Thus the council the redemptive role of suffering in the Mystical Body of Christ, as well as the increase of grace through good works.

 

[I_v_I]

Relax friend, it was a cartoon.

On a slightly unrelated topic, it says in your information that you are a “Bible believer”. May I ask what this means?

Sure. I believe what is in the Bible as truth about God and nothing else.

I ask for two reasons:

1. Why not “believer in Christ”?
2. How do you know whether or not to believe in the Bible? By what authority can you say that you believe in the scriptures? and related is the question of 2 Peter 1:20?

1. Just because of what the tag is used for. In my limited experience here it seems it is used in order that others know your general beliefs as they align with a denomination quickly (i.e. Catholic). I don’t want someone to assume something about me that I don’t necessarily believe. I’d rather tell my beliefs specifically. But I am a believer in Christ. Praise God!
2. OT - Because it was scripture before Jesus and He and the apostles attested to its authenticity. Also because of the many fulfilled prophecies.

NT - Because I believe it is the Word of God spoken through the apostles and companions of the apostles by the Holy Spirit. The Word of God and not man. I believe all books of the NT were written before the close of the 1st Century, within one generation of Christ’s death.

You needn’t answer me, though. These are just general questions to think about.

No problem.

Enjoy your stay here at CAF :harp:

Thanks

 

[I_v_I]

There are many people who live without the indwelling, yet they often do good works.How is this possible?

These “good works” are only as man sees them. They are vile to God because He sees them for what they truly are, “self seeking” (Rom 2:8). Meaning whether they do “good” or “bad” works they do them in order to fulfill their own wants and needs. These are works of the flesh and not of the Spirit and therefore cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6).

 

[Trevor_Stamm]

Ave Maria l v l, hope yoiu enjoy CAF

1. OT - Because it was scripture before Jesus and He and the apostles attested to its authenticity. Also because of the many fulfilled prophecies.

So you agree the Septuagint is authentic. Which means you accept the deuterocanonical books?

NT - Because I believe it is the Word of God spoken through the apostles and companions of the apostles by the Holy Spirit. The Word of God and not man. I believe all books of the NT were written before the close of the 1st Century, within one generation of Christ’s death.

I think he’s asking how did we recieve the canon of Sacred Scripture? What was and what wasn’t going to be in Sacred Scrpture, and if it’s open or closed. Who was the authority that decided the table of context and which books/letters were inspired by God? We all know the answer, even yourself, but I think he wants you to say it

 

[I_v_I]

**Eph 2: **
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. *

Faith alone isn’t there. You are reading into the text what isn’t there.

• faith is NOT alone in those passages, nor is alone mentioned.
• works & good works aren’t the same. Good works are essential to do

The exact words do not need to be in a statement in order to understand that the words are the gist of the statement. What would you say to me if I said, “purgatory is obviously an incorrect interpretation because the exact word is not in the Bible”? What about the trinity?

This is not reading into the text. It is understanding it.

Eph 2:8 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.

From “by grace” we understand that absolutely no work was needed to obtain the free gift, otherwise the giving of the gift is not grace but payment.

From “you have been saved through faith” we understand that Salvation came by the free gift of faith. True it doesn’t say “you have been saved by faith alone” but then again it does because this is all Paul tells us we have been saved by. Further we see that Salvation has already been completed by those who have received the free gift due to the usage of the past tense.

From “this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”, we see that this free gift had nothing to do with anything we did. It came freely from God Himself. This directly tells us no work was needed to receive the gift.

From “not by works” Paul is telling you… it is not by works. This couldn’t be any more clear.

From “we are God’s handiwork” we understand again that the work of our Salvation was done by God and God alone.

From “created in Christ Jesus to do good works” we understand that God’s handiwork through the Spirit of Christ Jesus leads us to do good works. These works are a result of the Holy Spirit working in us, not of ourselves.

From “which God prepared in advance for us to do” we have confirmation that the good works came from God’s work in preparing them, not from man’s decision to do them.

Paul belabors the point again and again and again in this piece of text that the work, all of the work, is of God. This is the entire point of the text, every bit of it attempts to tell us that Salvation is from God and only God by His grace through the faith He mercifully gives. To God be the glory and none to man.

Just because the word “alone” doesn’t appear here doesn’t mean we can be blind to “not by works”.

Salvation is attained through faith, not by works.

if we are God’s workmanship, we do what God created us to do. We do what He prepared in advance for us to do.

I agree totally. Upon Salvation through faith, not of works, we are made a new creation led to do what God has prepared us to do by the work of the Holy Spirit.

What did Jesus do to the fig tree that didn’t produce fruit? He cursed it. Why? Because it didn’t do what God made it to do, that is to produce fruit.

Indeed He did. No tree or person produces fruit unless God wills it. Those He wills to produce fruit through Salvation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit produce good fruit. Those who do not are cursed.