When you say Church, is that somehow meant to exclude Orthodox Christians and Protestants in general?
In a sense, all Christians belong to the one church (body of belivers) of which Christ is the head. But Jesus gave us earthly “heads” … priests, bishops,to guide us in areas that are not… where it is not always so easy to comprehend God’s perfect will. a good example is stem cell research which many think is a great thing… and yet just because we humans CAN do something doesn’t mean we should… and the Church tells us that certain aspects of this kind of research are immoral. Test tube babies are immoral (for one thing you have to masturbate to get the sperm

)… yet many would not think these thing were wrong if it weren’t for the Church … Obviously there were no such kinds of issues when the Church began 2000 yrs ago… so this is what i mainly meant by sayingthat we need the Church… to guide us into ALL truth… mere humans cannot do that… the Church is human but also divine… and its (ex cathedra) teachings can always be trusted because they come from God… Jesus Christ established His Church. There is only one … God is not the author of confusion…
" the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
one cannot be working all the time… this psg probably refers to those times of rest when we are not really doing much for God… If a person does absolutely nothing that Jesus requires (helping the poor, praying for people… etc) he will not make it to Heaven… (St. Mt 25:31… Jesus says When I was hungry, you fed me, when i was ___________ [fill in the blanks] you cared for me…" Jesus didn’t always speak of eternal punshment… when he spoke of punishment… In some passages in the Bible it only speaks of punishment, not using the word Eternal… however, in this psg he does use the word… and it is addressed to those who never do anything for their brethren - )
Is your idea of “grace” one in which God pays you what you are due? Are you one who works, receives wages, or do you receive grace as a gift-
uh… are they mutually exclusive??? i say both… As someone once said Happiness is the result of doing the right thing… Grace is the result of doing what God wants… whether you choose to call what He wnts “works” or whatever… i guess its “works” if you don’t particualrly want to do it… some may not want to go to a soup kitchen to feed the poor… but if he does… he fulfills Mt 25:31 … (and he may end up actually liking it…

)
We’re both Christians, you and I. Both of us want (and need) to receive the same gift after we die. I will receive it as a free gift, not as something God is obligated to give me. I am a sinner. I do not deserve salvation. It is not something I will ever deserve.
i agree, more or less… although in a very real sense, those who do what Jesus says DO deserve… well, maybe not Heaven or maybe not right away as soon as they die… but once Jesus is (shall we say) “done with” them, they will deserve it… (when done w/Purgatory)
or are you the sort of person who wants to receive salvation because you deserve it, God owes it to you, and it is your just wages? Which sort of person are you?
again, not mutually exclusive…
I.
If that is your Church teaching, I’ll certainly disagree with it. .
that is your choice… and if you want to find the RCC;'s exact teaching on grace and works, you should read the Catechism…
I know quite a few missionaries through my parents as well as through (and including) immediate friends, some of whom I’ll be living with in the fall. It kind of trips you out when you hear about what they’re up to. These are people who could easily be making inroads in business, finance, politics, or whatever, but instead they’re telling me about how they plan on fasting a few days each month if they don’t get enough support. There’s one guy who walked away from acting and modeling so he can get into ministry to victims of sex trafficking. These are the people I hang out with.
you are fortunate to know these kinds of people…

.
but uh… why do they bother doing all that if they are saved regardless?? why not just “have faith” and uh… party hearty…
Well, that’s clear enough. So the only question remaining is the one I already asked: Once you do everything Jesus said, do you receive salvation as a just wage for a job well done? If you’re trying to communicate a different message, you should consider phrasing that differently. If that’s exactly what you meant, though, you got it just right.
One doesn’t do everything Jesus said just to get to Heaven… although that is not an altogether unworthy motive in my opinion… Why not love yourself that much? God is love… and we must “love others as we love ourselves” (Jesus said this)… but If we don’t love ourselves (enough to try to be with God in Heavne), how can we truly love someone else???
in any case… one does what Jesus wants (or should anyway)
becaue s/he loves Jesus… When you love Jesus you will do any work He seems to want you to do… whether it is something you naturally like doing or not…
in any case, it hardly matters what a person’s motive is in following Crhist and we humans don’t kow the motives of others anyway… When someone asked Jesus waht he must do to enter heaven Jesus said to do the commandments and give up everything to follow Him… If someone does that he will get to Heaven… motives are not addressed here…
all that matters is doing everything Jesus said,
which involves belonging to His One true, original Church…