Works salvation is where one who…in the flesh, comes to the law of God and says - I can do that!! They are like the rich young ruler that says - I have done all these things from my youth rather than taking the full brunt of the law on the chin and saying - I am guilty!!
If we are trying to keep a list of rules to attain justification…whatever it might be…you can serve in the mission in the flesh - you can give money in the flesh…for your own glory or for any other selfish motive. Then, afterwards say - se , I have fed the poor and clothed the naked…justify me - vindicate me!
But, one must come to grips with their own sinfulness (See the Beatitudes) and fall before the Lord in humility and repentance and believe the gospel - to the death.
C2C
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. (Galatians 5:6 NAS95)
Whatever is not of faith in sin.
Of all of the explanations of “works salvation” presented by Protestants in this thread, this is the most accurate. Man in the flesh
cannot please God. If we believe that we can enter into a right relationship with God on the basis of works (i.e. “I did this amount of works, so now make me righteous and include me in the community of the righteous”), then
that is “works salvation.” Catholicism does
not teach “works salvation” and this is best demonstrated by the Church’s teachings on predestination:
We shall return to this point. But in any case, from this minimum admitted by all we get three propositions to which all Catholic theologians subscribe. They are: (1) Predestination to the first grace is not because God foresaw our naturally good works, nor is the beginning of salutary acts due to natural causes; (2) predestination to glory is not because God foresaw we would continue in the performance of supernaturally meritorious acts apart from the special gift of final perseverance; (3) complete predestination, in so far as it comprises the whole series of graces from the first up to glorification, is gratuitous or previous to foreseen merits.
thesumma.info/predestination/predestination4.php
Complete predestination (grace to glory) is independent of any merit. Moreover, the
gift of final perseverance (i.e. perseverance to the end) is given by God and
cannot be merited. All rewards/ merits depend on this gift. Therefore, as Saint Augustine stated, when God rewards our merits, He is crowning His own gifts. There is
nothing that we have that we have not received from Him and we can do nothing apart from God’s grace.
Moreover, the Catholic concept of “merit” is
not based on a “debtor” system. Rather, its based on God’s gracious promises. Calvinists emphasize that they believe that salvation is a completely free gift. But they also believe in the concept of reward - since it is clearly taught in the Bible. However, if they really think about it, they also believe that these rewards are
also gifts. Why? For one, they believe everything is decreed by God from all eternity. Therefore, any reward that we receive has also been decreed by Him and is
not purely based in human effort. He also decreed the means by which that person would attain that reward. In other words, just like salvation, God decrees both the end and the means that accomplish that end. So a reward is also, in essence, a gift. If God had not
freely decreed the means and the end - independent of any foreseen merit - then we would
never be rewarded.
Catholics believe that our rewards are also gifts. They are rooted in the free gift of final perseverance and are based on the gracious promises of God. In a “debtor” system of salvation, God is
obligated by
man to show favor and grant His mercy in exchange - or as payment - for the works performed by man. In other words, the Divine will is completely made subject to the will of man. In the Catholic understanding of merit, it is God who obligates
Himself to reward through His gracious promises.
Proverbs 19:17
17One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD,
And He will repay him for his good deed.
This decision to reward is purely based on His sovereign choice. If He is a debtor - as in Proverbs 19:17 - that is because He has freely chosen to be a debtor. Moreover, only those to whom He freely gives the final gift of perseverance will he reward. Apart from this free gift, there is no merit deserving of
any reward.
God Bless,
Michael
