Salvation: Grace or Earned?

[Wesrock]

2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who do such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 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. (Romans 2:2-8)

Paul isn’t writing to a non-Christian community. He is speaking to Christians. If he’s speaking about living outside of Grace, then Paul just said non-believers may attain eternal life. However, he is speaking to those already baptized. The rest of Romans isn’t to say good works aren’t necessary, he’s speaking specifically to what the Judaizers are preaching - that you are justified by circumcision, by adherence to Jewish dietary restrictions, by keeping the Jewish festivals and the Sabbath (specifically Saturday). That was the old, imperfect way of trying to justify yourself, by keeping these practices. Paul wishes to share how much better and efficacious the New Covenant is.

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!** 16 Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to any one as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?** 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:15-18)

Sin leads to death, obedience leads to righteousness. Not just a declaration of faith, but the obedience of faith.

12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you live according to the flesh you will die,

but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:12-17)

Christ did not do all the work so we don’t have to. Catholics believe it’s not enough to simply confess Jesus only to then live according to the flesh. Christians are co-heirs, yes, provided we suffer with him.

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking[e] in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church (Colossians 1:24)

We must make up in our living what was lacking in Christ. Our own sufferings and actions should help conform us to him. Christ did not expect us to just accept his sacrifice and not do anything more.

22 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.

Christians must continue in God’s kindness or be cut off.

 

[Wesrock]

Let’s not forget these other Thoughts of God from Sacred Scripture:

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?[c] 15 If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

18 But some one will say,** “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith**. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well.** Even the demons believe**—and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish fellow, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, 23 and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. 24 **You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. **25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.

And here James makes the point I’d like to make. When Catholics read scripture, we don’t read the lines that we must believe in Jesus and have faith in Jesus as intellectually believing that he is Lord and stopping there. To believe in Jesus goes much further: it’s believing in what he preached. And Jesus quite clearly did not just teach he was king and god. He teaches about the new law and doing good works, and about judging his disciples on of they practice what he preached.

21 “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’ (Matthew 7: 21-23)

Now, back to Ephesians 2:8-10. When taken in context of the surrounding verses, it becomes clear that Paul is speaking of Baptism. About moving from non-Christian to Christian, about entering the New Covenant. It’s not the end, it’s just the beginning. We must understand in context of the other things Paul has said, in what the letters of James, John, and Peter says, in what the Gospels say, in what all the books of the Old Testament say.

As many said on the first page, we don’t earn God’s grace. We don’t earn our justification. But we must cooperate with this grace.

 

[Wesrock]

Hmmm. We’re the above posts appropriate for this board? Seems more suited to apologetics and sacred scripture. Please let me know. I’m still familiarizing myself with these boards. It’s too late to edit them.

 

[BartholomewB]

Wesrock

The OP posted his question on this board, so I suppose this is where we have to carry on the discussion.

 

[BartholomewB]

Jesus 123

Let me ask you the same question I asked the OP (#3 on this thread, but he hasn’t answered it yet).

What interpretation do you place upon Matt 25:31-46?

“Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. … What you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.”

usccb.org/bible/matthew/25