Faith and Works

The Protestant Reformation in 1517 began the discussion of "faith alone" vs. "faith and works" for salvation. Roman Catholicism teaches that we are not saved by faith alone. The Church has taught this since 30 AD. This truth can be seen from Sacred Scripture.

All who say they are "Christian" will be able to agree on the following two truths: salvation is by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8) and salvation is through Christ alone (Acts 4:12). The Bible tells us we must have faith in order to be saved (Hebrews 11:6). Yet is faith nothing more than believing and trusting? When you look at the Scriptures, we see faith also involves consent to God's truth (1 Thessalonians 2:13), obedience to Him (Romans 1:5, 16:26), and it must be working in love (Galatians 5:6). These ideas appeared to be missing by the reformers, yet they are just as important as believing and trusting.

Do our works mean anything? According to Jesus they do (Matthew 25:31-46). The people rewarded and punished are done so by their actions. And our thoughts (Matthew 15:18-20) and words (James 3:6-12) are accountable as well. In Matthew 19:17-19, Jesus said: "If you would enter life, keep the commandments... You shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself."  That is works!!

What does St. Paul mean in Romans 3:28: "For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law." In this, he was condemning the Old Covenant sacrifices and rituals which couldn't justify and he was pointing to better things now in Christ Jesus in the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-10). Always keep in mind the two definitions of the word "work" as used in the Bible-- one meaning refers to a work of the Jewish law and the other definition refers to a good deed which can make your faith come alive.

During the Reformation, Martin Luther himself changed the understanding of the Bible to fit his theology. In Romans 3:28, he inserted the word "alone" when he translated it. This was not the way it was taught for over 1100 years. The only time you do see the words faith and alone together in a sentence is in James 2:24, where James says "See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone."

St. Paul made clear in Romans 2:6-8 that good works are necessary for attaining eternal life, "For he will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are factions and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury."

Paul speaks of faith as a life-long process, never as a one-time experience. He says in Philippians 2:12, "So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling." He never assumes he has nothing to worry about concerning his salvation.

The Catholic Church has never taught we "earn" our salvation. It is an inheritance (Gal 5:21), freely given to anyone who becomes a child of God (1 John 3:1), so long as they remain that way (John 15:1-11). You can't earn it but you can lose the free gift given from the Father (James 1:17).