Need some help with Scriptures

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I have a guitar instructor who is a Protestant and is a very faithful Christian. We have engaged in many conversations about the Catholic church. All of these discussions have been very good ones, and I have been able to share with him a lot of insight from a Catholic perspective. As is the case with many Protestants, he was led to beleive many things that simply weren’t true about our church.

Lately he has been asking about being saved by faith alone. He has asked for some scriptures that speak to the contrary. It’s been awhile since I have dug into the Bible and I could really use some help. Can anyone share some scriptures with me that talk about our deeds done here on earth?

Thanks ahead of time!
 
James 2:14 for one: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”
 
Let’s go a step further to verse 24:
24] You see that a man is justified by works and not by** faith** alone
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How about Romans 2:
For he will render to every man according to his works:
7] to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8] but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.
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(RSV)
 
🙂 Excellent stuff, thanks and keep them coming!

Are there any scriptures that deal with our final reward in Heaven based on our works while here on earth?

Thanks again!
 
Also, 1 Corinthians 9:[24] Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
[25] Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
[26] Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air;
[27] but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Sounds like Paul worked hard at keeping his salvation, so doesn’t it make sense that we would have to all the more?
RichT said:
🙂 Excellent stuff, thanks and keep them coming!

Are there any scriptures that deal with our final reward in Heaven based on our works while here on earth?

Thanks again!
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Jesus’ parables about the talents is good for this. Didn’t the man with ten talents earn another ten and was rewarded with the governance of ten cities while the man who earned another five talents was given the governance of five cities? Oh yes, God rewards according to our deeds, but those deeds aren’t done in our own power but by the grace of God–and that is the real key. It’s all done by and through the grace of God not through taking credit for our own efforts.
 
Saved by faith alone?..I don’t think so. Try the following on your friend.

HOW WE ARE SAVED
faith? grace ? baptism? hope? works? obedience? Love? sanctification?]

BY FAITH
1 Cor 1:21
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.

Rom 3:28
28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.

Rom 10:10
For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.

BY GRACE
Eph 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God–not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

Rom 3:24
they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

Eph 2:4-6
the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ

WORKS–
Matt 16:24-27
Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? "For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.

1 Tim 4:16
Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

James 2:24
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

James 1:21-22
Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.

James 5:20
you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

BY BAPTISM
Acts: 2:40-41
And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Rom 6:4
Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

1 Peter 3:21
And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you-not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

John 3:5
Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.

BY HOPE
Rom 8:24
For we are saved by hope:

Eph 1:11-12
In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.

Col 1:5-6
You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.

Titus 3:6-7
This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Heb 3:6
Christ, however, was faithful over God’s house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope.

Heb 6:11 And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end,

cont. on next post
 
cont. from prior post

BY OBEDIENCE
Deu 7:9-10
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and who repays in their own person those who reject him.

John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.

Acts 5:32
And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

Heb 5:9
and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,

Matt 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

1 Peter 1: 2
to the exiles…who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:

Rev 12:17
Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.

BY LOVE
1 Cor 8:3
…but anyone who loves God is known by him.

2 Thess 2:10
and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

1 Cor 16:22
Let anyone be accursed who has no love for the Lord. Our Lord, come!

Jam 1:12-15
Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

James 2:5
Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?

Luke 10:25-37
“Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

John 14:15
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 15:10
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

1Cor 2:9
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him”

1Cor 13:1-2
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not
have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

1Cor 13:13
And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
LOVE IS OBEDIENCE
1Jn 5:3
For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments.

2 Jn 1:6
And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning-you must walk in it.

BY ENDURANCE
Luke 21:19
By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Heb 10:36
For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

Matt 24 :12-13
And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

cont. from prior post
 
cont. from prior post

BY SANCTIFICATION
Heb 13:12
Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood.

Acts 20:32
And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified.

1Cor 1:2
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

Rom 6:22
But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life.

Heb 2:11
For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,

HEB 10:9
And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

1Peter 1:2
who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood:

2 Thess 2:13
But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

It should be noted that many arguments can be mounted as to how we are saved based on scripture. There is only one statement, however, that is all encompassing and can legitimately include the word “alone.” It is right and proper to say that we are saved by “grace alone.” The moment we add the word “alone” to any other statement it will fail. We are no more saved by “faith alone” than we are saved by: hope alone, love alone, obedience alone, endurance alone, etc. Each of these things are components of being saved by grace alone.

I hope this helps.
 
Luther added the word **alone **.

First, because the Bible never says it anywhere.
Second, because Luther inserted the word “alone” in his German
translation, there in Romans 3, although he knew perfectly well that the
word “alone” was not in the Greek.

Scott Hahn’s conversion story. worth reading.
 
What about the “good” theif that Jesus was crucified. Jesus assured him of his salvation once he heard the Theif confess his faith.

Luke 23:42
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “i tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This guy went to heaven without baptism, and without ANY good works! AT ALL!

Works are a part of it though. To quote paul.
“I preached everywhere that they should turn to God and repent, proving their repentance by their deeds” acts 26:20
 
A couple more:
Revelation 19:
7] Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8] it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and
pure" –
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9]
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Revelation 20:
**
13
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] And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done.

**
 
Jez4 said:
What about the “good” theif that Jesus was crucified. Jesus assured him of his salvation once he heard the Theif confess his faith.

Luke 23:42
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “i tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This guy went to heaven without baptism, and without ANY good works! AT ALL!

Works are a part of it though. To quote paul.
“I preached everywhere that they should turn to God and repent, proving their repentance by their deeds” acts 26:20
Click to expand...
How do you know the good thief did not do any good works in his life? For that matter, how do you know the “good thief” wasn’t stealing food to feed his hungry children. The fact is we don’t know why the Romans gave him death by crucifixion. What we do know is that as Lord Jesus looked in to his heart and gave him his particular judgement right before his death instead of right after.
 
Rich T,
As to your original question, I think in your discussions with your friend it could be helpful to first point out that the Catholic Church has always taught that Salvation/Redemption was a gift from God given freely. Nothing man has ever done (of coarse I do not include Jesus in this category) could have merit or deserve Salvation. Even our Blessed Mother never merited Salvation and her own Immaculate Conception was a gift of God’s freely given but merited.

However, once that has been established, I would suggest that you kind of turn the tables around on your friend and ask him to start going through out the entire Bible (OT and NT) and pick out every passage where acts of charity, mercy, concern for the innocent/helpless or most in need (as personified by widows and orphans) and forgiveness is not demanded by God and especially in the OT (you can just usethe psalms for brevity sake) are signs of the Kingdom of God ( that is God’s loving presence and activity on earth).

After a thorough search, then, if I were you, ask him what he conclusions are about the need of good works, not a merits of Salvation or Faith but as the natural behavior of one who has sincerely accepted God’s free gift of Salvation.

One note about the “Good Theif”. Perhaps we should study this passage not so much in light of Salvation as a “Free Gift” (which it is!) but also consider it as another teaching of Christ to us on the role of the Church (and all Christian individuals) to forgive whenever sincere forgiveness is asked for. I say this thinking about all the teachings of Christ on the need to forgive (70 x 7, the Good Shephard who seeks out the lost sheep, the Prodical Son/Loving Father, Paul’s use of excommunication to force sinners to their senses and seek forgiveness are just a few examples). Wasn’t the first power Christ gave to the Apostles after the Resurrection, the power to forgive (Jn 20: 22-23)? And a little later Christ’s example of forgiveness when in Jn 21:15 - 19, he forgave Peter?
 
What about the “good” theif that Jesus was crucified. Jesus assured him of his salvation once he heard the Theif confess his faith.
Click to expand...
Luke 23:42
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “i tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Click to expand...
This guy went to heaven without baptism, and without ANY good works! AT ALL!
Click to expand...
Works are a part of it though. To quote paul.
“I preached everywhere that they should turn to God and repent, proving their repentance by their deeds” acts 26:20
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For one thing, as others have pointed out, we don’t know what good works the thief may have performed before Calvary. The Bible doesn’t say he performed any – but it doesn’t say he didn’t. So while we can’t say that he did perform any good works, we can’t rule it out.

Second, the thief wasn’t in any position to perform any *physical *good works during the short time we hear about him, that is, while he was on the cross. Say there was a quadriplegic Christian that could not perform physical good works. Would God hold that against him? No, because he is not physically able to perform them. However, there are plenty of other things he could do (and sins he could commit, for that matter) that don’t require physical motion that God could hold him accountable for.

Which brings us to the third point. There are a number of things we see the good thief do that could, indeed, qualify as good works:

**Luke 23:39-42:
39
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.”
40
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? **
Here the good thief comes to the defense of Jesus, when he could have continued to revile him. “So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-34)
**41
And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” **
The confesses his guilt before Jesus, and acknowledges Jesus’ innocence. How would he know that, by the way? It seems clear that he may have been, in some manner, a disciple of Jesus before this time.
**42
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” **
Again, how does he know about Jesus’ kingdom? Jesus has spoken only a few times from the cross, and nothing about his kingdom. Again, we can presume some type of previous life as a disciple before this time. Once he is transfixed to the cross, however, all that is left for him to do is make a final act of repentence by the only means left to him – his words.
 
I now realized that when I wrote my previous post I left out one very important word in my reference to Mary. The word I left out was “NOT” and the sentence was trying to state that the Immaculate Conception was given as a gift freely given by God and was “Not” merited by Mary.

I sincerely apologize for this lapse.
 
Fidelis said:
There are a number of things we see the good thief do that could, indeed, qualify as good works…
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Amen! I don’t know of a better work than speaking up in defense of our Lord Jesus Christ! Especially when you realize that part of the punishment of crucifixion was being mocked and ridiculed while you hung there near death. In ancient Rome it was considered patriotism to scorn those who had been crucified by the state by scoffing at them and throwing trash (or worse) on them. Most Jews of course didn’t participate in this activity, because they were not really willing supporters of Rome, but we clearly see the Roman soldiers ridiculing Jesus. And, if I can get inside the mind of the bad thief for moment, what better way to shift any scorn off yourself than to pick on somebody else. This of course is exactly what the good thief does NOT do. He speaks on behalf of Jesus, defending the seemingly defenseless. When it comes down to it, why do we refer to one as the good thief and one as the bad thief? Isn’t it just because one does something good, and the other doesn’t?
 
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