How do we interpret Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5?

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**Rom. 10: 10—For one believes with the HEART and so is justified, and one CONFESSES with the MOUTH and so is SAVED.

II Timothy 4: 5—But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the WORK of an EVANGELIST; fulfill your ministry.

Works of God and Faith—“What can we do to accomplish the WORKS of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the WORK of God, that you BELIEVE in the one he sent” (St. John 6: 28-29).

Deeds and Adorn— Similarly, (too,) women should adorn themselves with proper conduct, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hairstyles and gold ornaments, or pearls, or expensive clothes, but rather, as befits women who profess reverence for God, with good deeds (I Timothy 2: 9-10).

Good Deed and Grace—Moreover, God is able to make every GRACE abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every GOOD WORK [DEED] (II Corinthians 9: 8).

Heart, Thoughts and Actions (Deeds)—from the HEART comes evil THOUGHTS (St. Mark 7: 21)

Proverbs 2: 10—For wisdom will enter your heart, knowledge will please your soul, discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you.

Sirach 37: 16—A WORD is the source of every DEED; a THOUGHT, of every ACT.

Psalm 15: 1—LORD, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain? 2 Whoever walks without blame, doing what is right, speaking truth from the heart; 3 Who does not slander a neighbor, does no harm to another, never defames a friend; 4 Who disdains the wicked, but honors those who fear the LORD; Who keeps an oath despite the cost.

Words, Fruit and Acts—Ezekiel 12: 25—Whatever I SPEAK is final, and it shall be done without delay. In your days, rebellious house, whatever I SPEAK I will bring about, says the Lord God.

St. Matthew 8: 8 and 8: 13—The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have You enter under my roof; only say the WORD and my servant will be HEALED. St. Matthew 8: 13—And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have BELIEVED, let it be DONE for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.

Sirach 37: 16—A word is the source of every DEED; a THOUGHT, of every ACT.

Genesis 1: 3—Then God SAID, “Let there be light,” and THERE WAS light.

Romans 10: 10—For one believes with the HEART and so is justified, and one CONFESSES with the MOUTH and so is SAVED.

Romans 1: 16—For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. 17 For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.”

Romans 16: 25—Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages 26 but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Rom. 1: 5—Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, 6 among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; 7 to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.

II Cor. 10: 3—For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments 5 and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish every disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

Rom. 2: 5—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, 6 who will repay everyone according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, 8 but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness.

**
 
**II Tim. 3: 16—All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Deuteronomy 23: 22—When you make a VOW to the Lord, your God, you shall not delay in FULFILLING it…

Numbers 30: 3—When a man makes a VOW to the Lord or binds himself under OATH to a pledge of abstinence, he shall not violate his WORD, but must fulfill exactly the PROMISE he has UTTERED.

**Romans 10: 10 (KJV)—For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. **

Ezekiel 12: 25—Whatever I SPEAK is final, and it shall be done without further delay. In your days, rebellious house, whatever I speak I will BRING ABOUT, says the Lord God.

Matthew 12: 37—By words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

I John 4: 20-21—If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Proverbs 12: 13—For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (KJV).

From the fruit of his WORDS a man has his fill of good things, and the work of his hands come back to reward him. (Proverbs 12: 13)

Matthew 7: 24—Everyone who LISTENS to these words of mine and

ACTS on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

Galatians 5: 6—For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only FAITH WORKING through LOVE.

I John 4: 8—Whoever is without LOVE does not know God, for God is love.

I John 4: 16—God is LOVE, and whoever remains in LOVE remains in God and God in him.

I Corinthians 13: 2—And if I have the gift of prophecy, and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have LOVE, I am nothing.

I Corinthians 13: 4-7—LOVE, is patient. LOVE is kind. IT is not jealous, [LOVE] is not pompous, IT is not inflated, IT is not rude, IT does not seek its own interests, IT is not quick-tempered, IT does not brood over injury, IT does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. IT bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

St. Matthew 25: 33—He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on the 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 foundations 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.

Isaiah 58: 6-7—This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.

Hebrews 11: 4—By FAITH Abel OFFERED to God a sacrifice greater than Cain’s. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks.

Philippians 2: 12—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. 13 For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.

****Faith and Walk—as well as the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but also follow the path of FAITH that our father Abraham WALKED while still uncircumcised (Romans 4: 12).

Obedience of Faith—Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages 26 but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen (Rom. 16: 25-27).

**I Timothy 2: 15—But she will be saved through motherhood, provided **women persevere in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

**
 
**New Creation—So whoever is in Christ is a NEW CREATION: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come (II Corinthians 5: 17).

St. John 13: 34—I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

**Isaiah 55: 11-13—So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. 12 Yes, in joy you shall depart, in peace you shall be brought back; Mountains and hills shall break out in song before you, and all the trees of the countryside shall clap their hands. 13 In place of the thornbush, the cypress shall grow, instead of nettles, the myrtle. **

Genesis 1: 3—Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Genesis 1: 6-7— Then God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other.” And so it happened: God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.

Jeremiah 31: 31-34—The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Galatians 6: 15— For neither does circumcision mean anything, nor does uncircumcision, but only a NEW CREATION.

Galatians 2: 19-20—For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but CHRIST LIVES IN ME; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given Himself up for me.

(N. B. B. It is not our old Adam that does the good works, but the participation in the Divine Nature.)

Romans 5: 5—and hope does not disappoint, because the LOVE of GOD has been POURED INTO OUR HEARTS through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.

**Galatians 4: 6—As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” **

Romans 8: 14-15—For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, "ABBA, Father!"

**Share Divine Nature—His DIVINE power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of Him Who called us by His own glory and power. Through these, He has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the DIVINE nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love (II St. Peter 1: 3-7). **

Wisdom 8: 7—And if any one loves righteousness, her labors are virtues; for she teaches self-control and prudence, justice and courage; nothing in life is more profitable for men than these.

St. Matthew 5: 44—But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for He make His sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and unjust.

James 2: 22—You see that FAITH was active along with his WORKS, and FAITH was completed by the WORKS. (HEBREWS CHAPTER 11)

James 2: 25—And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by WORKS when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route?

**James 2: 26—For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also FAITH without WORKS is dead. **

**(Body without spirit is dead. **

**Faith without works is dead.) **

**
 
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bobby_bambino:
So Ephesians 2:8-9 says
‘‘8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.’’
and Titus 3:5 says
‘‘5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,’’
These seem to point at faith alone, but I know that isn’t correct since we are saved by faith and works. How does the Catholic church interpret these passages? Thanks!
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EASY!

While reading Ep 2:8-9, lets not to forget to read verse 10.

**Ep 2:10: ** For we are what he as made us in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand to be our way of life."
 
bobby_bambino,

I believe one of the most brilliant expositions of Ephesians 2:8-10 is put forward by St. Thomas Aquinas, I’ll try and find it for you in my spare time. But yeah, he really makes sense of every aspect of those verses and explains how they all fit together. If someone wants to beat me to the punch feel free to do so - I could be a day or two, but I’ll try to give a summary of what he says (w/ several quotes).

Also, I thought this article was a pretty good (long) explanation of the Titus text (over and against the Protestant one).

God Bless
Harold
 
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bobby_bambino:
So Ephesians 2:8-9 says
‘‘8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.’’
and Titus 3:5 says
‘‘5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,’’
These seem to point at faith alone, but I know that isn’t correct since we are saved by faith and works. How does the Catholic church interpret these passages? Thanks!
Click to expand...
It certainly points to the need for faith, as the Catholic Church teaches. However, even if you have “faith so as to move mountains and have not love” certainly indicates that faith alone is insufficient.I believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith working in love. We must love Christ, who said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” I will take Christ at His word. If you can show me where Jesus said “you are saved by faith alone”, then, please, do so.
 
I don’t see a problem in the faith vs. works. They’re intrinsically linked, as a whole. Faith saves us, but the faith that saves or is sufficient to save is the faith that “works,” ie, is operational, functional, obedient, that follows Christ and does what He says to do. Any other type of faith would be, by Saint James’ reckoning in his epistle, DEAD, that is not working, non-operational, and therefore insufficient to save. It isn’t a balance sheet, with God as the accountant and us coming in and pointing to the sheet and saying,“See, we did this and this and this and this, so ya gotta let us in.” It isn’t works righteousness or sola fide. It’s an organic whole. Does that sound right?
 
In my opinion there’s a fundelmental flaw with the question. I don’t think its best to try to interpret a verse by itself but rather in the context it is being used. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians was written in a response to a particular situation occuring in the Church of Ephesus where as his letter to Titus was written for an a different reason. To the Ephesians, Paul was combating the teachings of others that gentile Christians must in effect become practicing Jews and follow the Mosaic Law. So when Paul is refering to “works” the “works” he is talking about are the works demanded by the Mosaic Law. Paul is insisting it is our Faith in Christ and not “works” demanded by the Mosaic Law which brought us salvation. However, through out Ephesian (as well as Galetians and Roman) Paul implies and states the necessity of our Faith Response which is rooted in living a life of unconditional love - which demands good works. Titus is a Letter written for instruction on how Titus should shepherd his flock (which was in at a place, it seems, Paul never visited - Crete) It is a Pastoral Letter addressing a different set of topics than Ephesians therefore shouldn’t be contrasted with Ephesians just as James was dealing with a whole different set of circumstances (James’ people seem to believe that just doing certain good works was enough - a type of Cafateria style of good works) James had to dwell on that through Faith we have been given the gift of Salvation but our Faith response has to be a total response of our lives. So to go back, my opinion is to study each individually - why each was written and the message to each individual community.
 
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