What role does Good Works have in Salvation?

[FatimaCrusader]

I know that grace and eternal salvation complete free gifts, that no one can earn through good works. So then what role does good works have in salvation?

 

[Mark_Robert]

One cannot even have a good intention without the prevenient grace of God. Thus even our good works (works of charity, keeping God’s commandments, faithfully receiving the sacraments, etc.) are God’s gifts of grace to us. Doing good works in a state of grace indicates that we are cooperating with and accepting God’s salvific grace and inspiraitons. Doing good works (which in actuality is receiving God’s free gift of grace) keeps us in a state of grace procured by Baptism or by the second Baptism (the second plank of salvation) which is the sacrament of Penance.

 

[Image_of_God]

I know that grace and eternal salvation complete free gifts, that no one can earn through good works. So then what role does good works have in salvation?

James says several times that people are justified by works and not by faith alone. Works are indeed meritous and are part of justification although they cannot save a person. No one is saved by good works, but we are justified constantly by doing them and by having faith. Faith without works is dead! In so much as faith is a part of justification so is works. A person’s salvation is not based mainly on faith or works, but on grace for grace gives us faith and works. Also works are not the cause of salvation because they are filthy rags, but in order to be justified we are required to do them.

 

[Image_of_God]

Also, good works is a pouring out of faith with love. Can faith be justifying without them?
Good works are cooperating with grace in so much as faith is depending on it. We are required to dpend on grace and cooperate with it, in order to be justified.

 

[havemercy]

Also, good works is a pouring out of faith with love. Can faith be justifying without them?
Good works are cooperating with grace in so much as faith is depending on it. We are required to dpend on grace and cooperate with it, in order to be justified.

I may be wrong, but I think you hit the nail on the head in that one line. :clapping:

 

[FatimaCrusader]

sorry, im kinda sloww and this is kinda complex for me. is there anyway i can explain this to my catechism class that i will be teaching (actually im just the teacher’s assistant). I think i will be teaching toddlers- little kids like in first or second grade. how do i explain the role of good works in one’s salvation?

 

[havemercy]

I don’t think you have to worry about explaining anything in great detail. You should speak from the heart because that is how children hear, I think. I wouldn’t bore them with semantic theology…It truly is semantics to them!

We do works of Christian charity because Jesus tells us to! If we love Jesus, we will do whatsoever He wills! Jesus won’t stop loving us if we fail at loving eachother, but His love for us should be the motivation we need to pull through with loving one another! His only reason for loving us is due to His being God, who is Eternal Love. That is why when we offend Him, when we sin, it hurts God…And since we hurt God, we hurt our relationship to Him and therefore, we need to be reconciled to Him. God wants us to say we’re sorry (this implies faith in His grace), and to make it up to Him by correcting our naughty, indifferent or complacent behavior. It’s all in the Lord’s prayer, friend.

Never neglect your own personal prayer. Ask God to guide you and trust Him enough to say “I’m all ears, Dad. Speak through me so that these children might come to know and love You more!” I’m confident that you’ll do well, because you mean well. God love you.
lovetony

 

[Image_of_God]

Tell them this.

Faith might be justifying as good works are , but it is NOT the reason we are saved, because Jesus saved us and loved us before we even had faith in him. Faith and works are equal parts of justification. Good works cooperate with Grace. Faith is depending on it. You CANNOT depend on grace and be unwilling to cooperate with it and say you have been justified.

Faith and good works are gifts. They CANNOT be seperated. If you believe, yet do not show proof of that faith, you are justified. Another explanation:

If you say you have faith and you are justified, yet you do not complete that faith with works are you justified?

 

[Robo40]

Sorry this may be out of line. But The Lord knows what we need. And when I volunteer at Church and help folks out. I feel Darn good!
Not sure it hellps my salvation feeling good. But it cant hurt.

VERITUS LUX MEA

 

[FatimaCrusader]

i dont know what the word “justification” means… how do i explain the word to little kids.

Tell them this.

Faith might be justifying as good works are , but it is NOT the reason we are saved, because Jesus saved us and loved us before we even had faith in him. Faith and works are equal parts of justification. Good works cooperate with Grace. Faith is depending on it. You CANNOT depend on grace and be unwilling to cooperate with it and say you have been justified.

Faith and good works are gifts. They CANNOT be seperated. If you believe, yet do not show proof of that faith, you are justified. Another explanation:

If you say you have faith and you are justified, yet you do not complete that faith with works are you justified?

 

[JaneFrances]

You have happened upon a wonderful tool to find out all you need to know about faith, works, justification, and salvation. These forums are rich with information. However, for a straightforward explanation I would turn to your Catechism first. Then, look at the CA library for articles dealing with your questions. Then, ask some more pointed questions here. . .You are sure to find great answers!

Having said all that. . .

I don’t think toddlers or first and second graders are capable of entirely understanding theological concepts such as justification. So, don’t worry. I use the Baltimore Catechism when teaching my young children at home. There are age appropriate concepts that will naturally lead into bigger concepts later.

 

[Pug]

i dont know what the word “justification” means… how do i explain the word to little kids.

Perhaps you ought to not use a big word like that with the smaller kids anyway. Lots of people don’t really know what it means, so they might not even be able to go home and ask their parents what it means.

Tell the kids that they love Jesus and Jesus loves them. Jesus has a plan for us to help us get to heaven and be with him forever. Explain the plan and encourage them to obey it/him. Also encourage them to do appropriate acts of charity, like letting their sister sit in the best seat in the car. Encourage them to imitate Jesus and the saints.

But I am pretty brainless when it comes to kids.

 

[Image_of_God]

i dont know what the word “justification” means… how do i explain the word to little kids.

I don’t think toddlers will understand this but…

Justification is the being made acceptible by God. To justify means to make acceptible so justification is the process of being made acceptible to God, Jesus did this and continues to do this.

 

[FatimaCrusader]

Perhaps you ought to not use a big word like that with the smaller kids anyway. Lots of people don’t really know what it means, so they might not even be able to go home and ask their parents what it means.

Tell the kids that they love Jesus and Jesus loves them. Jesus has a plan for us to help us get to heaven and be with him forever. Explain **the plan **and encourage them to obey it/him. Also encourage them to do appropriate acts of charity, like letting their sister sit in the best seat in the car. Encourage them to imitate Jesus and the saints.

But I am pretty brainless when it comes to kids.

so what is the plan?

 

[Milliardo]

I know that grace and eternal salvation complete free gifts, that no one can earn through good works. So then what role does good works have in salvation?

Good works is the basis by which God will judge us. This is a point missed entirely by those who adhere to sola fide.

 

[Syele]

i dont know what the word “justification” means… how do i explain the word to little kids.

I’m not Catholic so if I’m wrong from a Catholic point of view someone please say so.

The way I explained Justification to my 4 year old is from a protestant Catechism for children:

“What is Justification? Justification is God’s forgiving me and treating me just as if I had never sinned.”

I know, as a protestant, we disagree on how we are justified but I think the meaning of the word is the same.

 

[Steven_Merten]

Hello FatimaCrusader,

I think you want to focus on teaching young children the difference between love and hate for God. I think natural inteligence of young children will facilitate the understanding of how loveing God, by obeying Him through good works, fits into the path to eternal life.

Choices Of The Heart
NIV 1JO 5:3

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.NIV JOH 14:15

"If you love me, you will obey what I command."
**NAB JOH 15:22 **

“If I had not come to them and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; now, however, their sin cannot be excused. To hate me is to hate my Father. Had I not performed such works among them as no one has ever done before, they would not be guilty of sin; but as it is, they have seen, and they go on hating me and my Father.” NAB DEU 11:1

“Love the LORD, your God, therefore, and always heed his charge: his statutes, decrees and commandments.”
**NIV JOH 14:23 **
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” **NAB JOH 15:9 **
“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Live on in my love. You will live in my love if you keep my commandments, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and live in his love. All this I tell you that my joy may be yours and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
NAB MAT 25:31

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

 

[JaneFrances]

so what is the plan?

Quite simply, “the plan” is to know God, to love God and to serve God in this world and to be happy with Him in heaven. This is the kind of answer one can find in the Baltimore Catechism.

 

[Pug]

Quite simply, “the plan” is to know God, to love God and to serve God in this world and to be happy with Him in heaven. This is the kind of answer one can find in the Baltimore Catechism.

Oh, this reminds me, maybe it would help to have this quote from the BaltimoreC

9. Q. What must we do to save our souls?

A. To save our souls, we must worship God by faith, hope, and charity; that is, we must believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him with all our heart.

FatimaCrusader:

so what is the plan?

Okay, I’ll try this in simple language. God decided it would be nice to create men and women to live happily together with God, so he created Adam and Eve. But they sinned and gave up their trust in God and left the friendship of God. After that, people everywhere did lots of sins. So God planned a way to reconcile men and women with God so that they could again be children of God and His friends. At the right time he sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross for all our sins so that men and women could be restored to friendship with God. His rising from the dead proves that it is possible for people to be raised from the dead to go live with God in heaven.

So, that was the plan for all mankind. But God has a plan for each person, too. He has provided us lots of help to be his friends. We should each cooperate with God’s plan and live our lives with our goal being to love God and be his friend and go live with Him in heaven after we die.

Some of those helpful things are called sacraments. The Eucharist is food that makes us strong to do the right things and to love Jesus, and when we mess up and do the wrong thing, God gave us confession to restore us to his friendship again. The Church is another gift God gave us. The Church reminds us of what God said and helps us to follow Jesus and obey him. The Church has preserved the bible for us to read and listen to, for example.

Etc. Then perhaps give a simple plan for the child, like when to go to confession, spend time loving others and helping them like Jesus did, pray to God. I think one needs to tell the child how to go on, how to live as a Christian.

But as I alluded to before, I don’t have kids, so a parent could do a better job here.

 

[John_Henry]

I know that grace and eternal salvation complete free gifts, that no one can earn through good works. So then what role does good works have in salvation?

Good works help us to grow in the grace we have been freely given, thus making it more likely that we won’t fall from grace through serious sin. In a word, sanctification. Which is necessary for salvation.