How do we know we must do good acts to go to Heaven?

[Absalom_1]

Hello,

I have recently entered a conversation with a few people whom have asked me how Catholics are certain that while we must have faith (their sole argument and belief in how to reach Heaven), we must also engage in works of good deeds and behavior.
My response was to read Matthew 25:34-40…

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdome 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’”

However, it was then pointed out that it does not state that good acts are alone necessary to achieve eternity.
Even though I have deciphered the text as such, I understand how they are unable to see, as it does not say “If you want to go to Heaven, you must be kind and considerate of those around you,” or something related. What I am asking is how to defend our belief, and if there is perhaps further, bolder pieces from the Bible that may help them to comprehend.

Thank you,
- Absalom

 

[Christy_Beth]

James 2:17 So also faith of itself, if itdoes not have works, is dead.

You might want to read the rest of that chapter as well.

 

[mab23]

James 2:24
King James Version (KJV)
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

when you reconcile this with other parts of scripture it becomes clear

 

[capablanca911]

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

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, but the righteous to eternal life.”
**
But also:**

If it’s true that the truly saved will do good works, then the contrapositive must be logically true: If you do not do good works, you are not truly saved.

 

[bzkoss236]

Only a living faith, made evident by good works, has the power to save. Even then, it isn’t enough, only by the Grace of God can we be saved.

 

[Robyn_p]

Hello,

I have recently entered a conversation with a few people whom have asked me how Catholics are certain that while we must have faith (their sole argument and belief in how to reach Heaven), we must also engage in works of good deeds and behavior.
My response was to read Matthew 25:34-40…

However, it was then pointed out that it does not state that good acts are alone necessary to achieve eternity.

Thank you,
- Absalom

First, welcome to Catholic Answers!

In one sense your friends are right, that passage doesn’t say we are justified by our works alone, but that’s not a problem, because the Catholic Church doesn’t believe that. It’s Faith and works that save us. So Matthew 25: 34-40 is still a good passage to show them, because it shows that works do contribute to our justification, but of course we need faith as well.

You might want to show them Mt 7:21 also, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who* does* the will of my Father in heaven.”

Hope that helps a little!

 

[Trishie]

"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; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Phil 2:12-13

Take the case, my brothers of someone who has never done a single good act but claims that he has faith. Will that faith save him? If one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on, and one of you says to them, ‘I wish you well; keep yourself warm and eat plenty’, without giving them these bare necessities of life, then what good is that?: if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead.

This is the way to talk to people of that kind:'You say you have faith and I have good deeds; I will prove to you that I have faith by showing you my good deeds–now you prove to me that you have faith without any good deeds to show.

You believe in one God–that is creditable enough, but the demons have the same belief, and they tremble with fear. Do realize, you senseless man, that faith without works is useless. You surely know that Abraham our Father was justified by his deed, because he offered Isaac on the altar?

There you see it; faith and good deeds were working together; his faith became perfect by what he did. This is what scripture really means when it says: Abraham put his faith in God, and this was counted as making him justified; and that is why he was called the friend of God. You see now that it is by doing something good, and not only by believing, that a man is justified." [James 2: 14-24]

 

[Victor2211]

And behold, one came up to Him saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why do you ask Me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” -Matthew 19:16-17

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. -Romans 11:22

 

[10thCrusader]

One of the typical verses the Evangelicals will throw at you is Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God; Not of works, that no man may glory.

The answer is easy; just have them read the next verse Ephesians 2:10

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus in good works, which God hath prepared that we should walk in them.

In other word you are saved both by grace and by your good works cooperating with grace. Salvation is not an either/or thing; it’s a both/and thing

Read in context, the Catholic interpretation comes out every time Whenever you get in a debate about scripture with your non-Catholic friends, just say “Read on.”

 

[stephe1987]

The only way it would be possible is if a person was incapable of doing good acts. Maybe they died as an infant or were bedridden (in many cases they could still pray so that’s at least something) or had severe brain damage or were in a coma. But the Catechism wasn’t written with every possible scenario in mind (otherwise, it could contain several books describing every possible human condition), it was written for everyday Catholics and those interested in learning about the Catholic faith. Faith without works is a dead faith. A true believer would not think of living life without doing good acts. So works are required to show faith because if someone didn’t do good acts they wouldn’t have faith to begin with; actions speak louder than words. Someone can call himself/herself a believer but they have to act on their beliefs.

 

[Stan_J]

I want to thank every one who has responded. I have been struggling with this myself. After watching several videos and threads, including this one, I am beginning to understand the faith and works concept. God bless you.

Stan