Titus 3:5 and Works "OF THE LAW"

[NguyenKimPhat]

Dear CAF,

      I am so thankful for all the help here at Catholic Answers Forum, CAF has truly helped me grow in my Catholic faith.  I was speaking to a Fundamentalist Baptist about how Ephesians 2:8-9 was NOT referring to good works of Christian love and obedience; instead, I explained to her that Ephesians 2:8-9 was referring to **works of the old Mosaic law.**  However, she answered me with this argument:

Titus 3:1-7, “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for any honest work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all men. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another; but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.”

      1) So First, the Findamentalist Baptist used Titus 3:5 to explain that even works of righteousness did not have any role in our justification.  The Fundamentalist Baptist said that I was wrong when I said that Eph 2:8-9 was only referring to works of the old Mosaic Law.

Will someone please help me? The most common Catholic response to Eph 2:8-9 is, “Eph 2:8-9 only refers to works under the old Mosaic Law.” However, Titus 3:5 EXPLICITLY says, “not by works of righteousness.”
How do I respond to this?

 

[COPLAND_3]

** 3:5he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, 6 which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.**

First of all we are not saved by our own works of righteousness, it is by grace period. To aquire grace we receive it through the Sacraments as we see above where Paul specifically mentions Baptism (by the washing of regeneration). Baptism is not a work that we do, it is something that we receive, and it gets its power through the work of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. If someone rejected the Sacrament of Baptism and tried to aquire grace on their own merits, they would be doing it all in vain. But on the otherhand, works of righteousness is a part of the Christian life that plays a role because James says that faith without works are dead.

 

[Todd_Easton]

Having sanctifying grace in our souls is what saves us and we can’t get sanctifying grace from doing good works; we get it when we receive the graces of baptism, which ordinarily occurs when we receive the sacrament of Baptism, “the washing of regeneration.” (Titus 3:5) However, that doesn’t mean that good works are not important and have no effect on our salvation. Once we have sanctifying grace in our souls, we can lose it and so lose our salvation, if, subsequently, we sin mortally by willfully refusing to do those “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) (See Matthew 25:31-46, where it is indicated that those who willfully refuse to do good works and are unrepentant about it will be sent to eternal punishment.) Also, doing good works, once we have sanctifying grace in our souls, among other things, earns us “treasure in heaven” or merit. The Bride of the Lamb is clothed in a dress of fine linen, bright and pure, which is the good works of the saints. (Revelation 19:8)

 

[NguyenKimPhat]

So in Catholic Apologetics, should we ever use the argument that Eph 2:8-9 is only referring to works of the old Mosaic law? Is this argument now debunked by Titus 3:5 ?

Even from the very first time that I heard the argument that Eph 2:8-9 only refers to works of the Mosaic law, I thought that that argument was kind of weak.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

So in Catholic Apologetics, should we ever use the argument that Eph 2:8-9 is only referring to works of the old Mosaic law? Is this argument now debunked by Titus 3:5?

Even from the very first time that I heard the argument that Eph 2:8-9 only refers to works of the Mosaic law, I thought that that argument was kind of weak.

This article refutes the Protestant interpretation of Ephesians 2:8:
catholicdefense.googlepages.com/eph2

The “works of the law” argument is not weak when properly understood. There are two very different ways it can be read, there is a solid and correct way of understanding it, and a oversimplified and wrong way of viewing it.

Titus 3:4-7 is actually a very powerful passage against Protestantism, because they don’t believe justification transforms the soul when 3:4-7 says just that.

It could even be argued that Titus 3:5 is about the Mosaic Law (though works in general could also work) without any serious problems. Look at the context: 9But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
This easily applies to the Judaizer heresy issues. And compare this to Philip 3:3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
** If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin**, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. 7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Did you see that? Paul is talking about works of the law here, but his point is that while ‘geneology’ and ‘obeying the law’ are not bad, the fact is the only that matters/saves is the transforming power of God in your soul.

So linking it all, when Titus 3:5 says “not by works of righteousness” he could easily be talking about the part in Philippians 3 where Paul says he kept the law flawlessly but the righteousness the law gives does not save, only experiencing the power of Christ’s resurrection transforming his soul. Protestants cut off Paul at Phil 3:9, but Paul’s thought goes beyond into verses 10-11 (and onward).

You’re on solid ground, trust me. Once you ‘get it’, you’ll realize just how much the Protestant position is founded upon sand.

 

[Todd_Easton]

The “works” that St. Paul refers to in Ephesians 2:8-9 seem to be more than just the works of the Mosaic Law.

The following is from A Commentary on the New Testament, published by The Catholic Biblical Association, 1942, page 540, on Ephesians 2:1-10:
2:1-10. All Brought into Christ’s life. The recipients of this Epistle to whom St. Paul adverts principally are converted pagans. He draws of the pagan society from which they came a picture something like that of Romans 1. 2 f. They were before their conversion subject to the prince of the power of the air about us, i.e., the devil. The had been subject not only to him, but to the desires of their own unregenerate nature. Hence they were children of wrath, i.e., the wrath of God was upon them. But not only the Gentiles, but the Jews also had incurred the wrath of a just God. 4 ff. But God who is rich in mercy, by reason of the great love wherewith he has loved us, even when we were dead (spiritually) by reason of our sins, brought us to life together with Christ. Those who are thus quickened share in the privileges of their divine Head. They sit with Him in heavenly places: already their glorification has begun. The Apostle, however, has said that we are called to holiness (1:4). Here he tells us that we must bring forth good fruits: God has made good works ready beforehand that we might walk therein. 8. By grace we are saved and not through works. We are not justified by the observance of the Mosaic Law or of any other law. Nothing done before we became Christians could save us from wrath. A soul in mortal sin cannot merit. It cannot of itself even believe: the very beginning of faith requires grace. Once justified, however, men are able to perform meritorious works and St. Paul constantly urges us to live worthy of the vocation to which we are called (4:1). If our natural works had been enough to transfer us from the state of sin to the state of grace, we might be proud of ourselves. But St. Paul insists that we should not boast (1 Cor. 1:29).