faith_and_works_are_necessary_for_salvation.pdf
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A short article
Faith and good works are necessary for salvation
(Not faith only)
James 2:24
“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Matthew 7:21-23
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say
to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy
name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
[Unless otherwise noted, all Bible citations were from the 1611 King James Version of the Bible,
a famous Protestant translation. This version was chosen to prove the point to Protestants using a Protestant Bible.]
#salvation #justification
Faith and good works are necessary for salvation
(Not faith only)
James 2:24
“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Matthew 7:21-23
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say
to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy
name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
[Unless otherwise noted, all Bible citations were from the 1611 King James Version of the Bible,
a famous Protestant translation. This version was chosen to prove the point to Protestants using a Protestant Bible.]
#salvation #justification
Ecce Verbum
faith_and_works_are_necessary_for_salvation.pdf
Church Fathers
Reward and Merit
Ignatius of Antioch
“Be pleasing to him whose soldiers you are, and whose pay you receive. May none of you be found to be a deserter. Let your baptism be your armament, your faith your helmet, your love your spear, your endurance your full suit of armor. Let your works be as your deposited withholdings, so that you may receive the back-pay which has accrued to you” (Letter to Polycarp 6:2, AD 110).
Justin Martyr
“We have learned from the prophets and we hold it as true that punishments and chastisements and good rewards are distributed according to the merit of each man’s actions. Were this not the case, and were all things to happen according to the decree of fate, there would be nothing at all in our power. If fate decrees that this man is to be good and that one wicked, then neither is the former to be praised nor the latter to be blamed” (First Apology 43, AD 151).
Tatian the Syrian
“The wicked man is justly punished, having become depraved of himself; and the just man is worthy of praise for his honest deeds, since it was in his free choice that he did not transgress the will of God” (Address to the Greeks 7, AD 170).
Athenagoras
“And we shall make no mistake in saying, that the [goal] of an intelligent life and rational judgment, is to be occupied uninterruptedly with those objects to which the natural reason is chiefly and primarily adapted, and to delight unceasingly in the contemplation of Him Who Is, and of his decrees, notwithstanding that the majority of men, because they are affected too passionately and too violently by things below, pass through life without attaining this object. For..the examination relates to individuals, and the reward or punishment of lives ill or well spent is proportioned to the merit of each” (The Resurrection of the Dead 25, AD 178).
Theophilus of Antioch
“He who gave the mouth for speech and formed the ears for hearing and made eyes for seeing will examine everything and will judge justly, granting recompense to each according to merit. To those who seek immortality by the patient exercise of good works [Rom. 2:7], he will give everlasting life, joy, peace, rest, and all good things, which neither eye has seen nor ear has heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man [1 Cor. 2:9]. For the unbelievers and the contemptuous and for those who do not submit to the truth but assent to iniquity..there will be wrath and indignation [Rom. 2:8]” (To Autolycus 1:14, AD 181).
Irenaeus
“[Paul], an able wrestler, urges us on in the struggle for immortality, so that we may receive a crown and so that we may regard as a precious crown that which we acquire by our own struggle and which does not grow upon us spontaneously..Those things which come to us spontaneously are not loved as much as those which are obtained by anxious care” (Against Heresies 4:37:7, AD 189).
Jerome
“It is our task, according to our different virtues, to prepare for ourselves different rewards.. If we were all going to be equal in heaven it would be useless for us to humble ourselves here in order to have a greater place there."
Prosper of Aquitane
“Indeed, a man who has been justified, that is, who from impious has been made pious, since he had no antecedent good merit, receives a gift, by which gift he may also acquire merit.
Thus, what was begun in him by Christ’s grace can also be augmented by the industry of his free choice, but never in the absence of God’s help, without which no one is able either to progress or to continue in doing good” (Responses on Behalf of Augustine 6, AD 431).
Council of Orange II
“Grace is preceded by no merits. A reward is due to good works, if they are performed, but grace, which is not due, precedes [good works], that they may be done” (Canons on grace 19 AD 529).
#grace #justification
Reward and Merit
Ignatius of Antioch
“Be pleasing to him whose soldiers you are, and whose pay you receive. May none of you be found to be a deserter. Let your baptism be your armament, your faith your helmet, your love your spear, your endurance your full suit of armor. Let your works be as your deposited withholdings, so that you may receive the back-pay which has accrued to you” (Letter to Polycarp 6:2, AD 110).
Justin Martyr
“We have learned from the prophets and we hold it as true that punishments and chastisements and good rewards are distributed according to the merit of each man’s actions. Were this not the case, and were all things to happen according to the decree of fate, there would be nothing at all in our power. If fate decrees that this man is to be good and that one wicked, then neither is the former to be praised nor the latter to be blamed” (First Apology 43, AD 151).
Tatian the Syrian
“The wicked man is justly punished, having become depraved of himself; and the just man is worthy of praise for his honest deeds, since it was in his free choice that he did not transgress the will of God” (Address to the Greeks 7, AD 170).
Athenagoras
“And we shall make no mistake in saying, that the [goal] of an intelligent life and rational judgment, is to be occupied uninterruptedly with those objects to which the natural reason is chiefly and primarily adapted, and to delight unceasingly in the contemplation of Him Who Is, and of his decrees, notwithstanding that the majority of men, because they are affected too passionately and too violently by things below, pass through life without attaining this object. For..the examination relates to individuals, and the reward or punishment of lives ill or well spent is proportioned to the merit of each” (The Resurrection of the Dead 25, AD 178).
Theophilus of Antioch
“He who gave the mouth for speech and formed the ears for hearing and made eyes for seeing will examine everything and will judge justly, granting recompense to each according to merit. To those who seek immortality by the patient exercise of good works [Rom. 2:7], he will give everlasting life, joy, peace, rest, and all good things, which neither eye has seen nor ear has heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man [1 Cor. 2:9]. For the unbelievers and the contemptuous and for those who do not submit to the truth but assent to iniquity..there will be wrath and indignation [Rom. 2:8]” (To Autolycus 1:14, AD 181).
Irenaeus
“[Paul], an able wrestler, urges us on in the struggle for immortality, so that we may receive a crown and so that we may regard as a precious crown that which we acquire by our own struggle and which does not grow upon us spontaneously..Those things which come to us spontaneously are not loved as much as those which are obtained by anxious care” (Against Heresies 4:37:7, AD 189).
Jerome
“It is our task, according to our different virtues, to prepare for ourselves different rewards.. If we were all going to be equal in heaven it would be useless for us to humble ourselves here in order to have a greater place there."
Prosper of Aquitane
“Indeed, a man who has been justified, that is, who from impious has been made pious, since he had no antecedent good merit, receives a gift, by which gift he may also acquire merit.
Thus, what was begun in him by Christ’s grace can also be augmented by the industry of his free choice, but never in the absence of God’s help, without which no one is able either to progress or to continue in doing good” (Responses on Behalf of Augustine 6, AD 431).
Council of Orange II
“Grace is preceded by no merits. A reward is due to good works, if they are performed, but grace, which is not due, precedes [good works], that they may be done” (Canons on grace 19 AD 529).
#grace #justification
Ecce Verbum
Is faith alone enough to justify a sinner? The Sacraments of Baptism and Penance-the means by which Justification is obtained Q. What does the sinner become by receiving the sacrament of baptism or penance? A. He becomes a child of God, a temple of the…
Justification by Faith- a Catholic interpretation of St. Paul and St. James
"If indeed you keep the royal law, according to Scripture, You shall be devoted to your neighbor as yourself, you do well. If however you discriminate, you work sin, being rebuked by the law as violators. For whoever shall guard the whole law but trip up on one thing, he has become liable for all. It having said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You shall not murder. But if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law. Thus talk and thus act as being about to be judged by the law of liberty. For merciless judgment is to the one who has not done mercy. Mercy boasts against tribunal."
"What is the point, my brothers, if anyone claims to have faith but has no works? Is the faith not able to save him? If a brother or sister is naked and lacking in daily nourishment, but anyone of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and satisfied, without having given them bodily necessities, what is the point? So also faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself."
"But someone will say that you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from works and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that there is one that is God. You do rightly; even demons believe and tremble. But do you want to learn, O foolish man, that faith apart from works is useless? Was Abraham our father not rendered just by works, having raised Isaac his son on the altar? You see that the faith was cooperating with his works, and by the works, the faith was completed. And the Scripture was fulfilled, saying, But Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as justice, and he was called 'friend of God'. You see that from works man is rendered just, and not from faith alone. And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute rendered just, having entertained the messengers and by a different way having sent them forth? Just as the body apart from spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead."
*[James 2:8-26, The Greek here was rough going; it definitely is not as smooth to translate as Luke. The word for 'dead', nekra, is interesting; it seems to be associated less with death as an abstract idea and more with corpses in the concrete. Could also be translated as 'corpsified'. The point is that without being completed by works, faith is made corpse-like, as is clear from the last sentence in the passage.]
article
#justification
"If indeed you keep the royal law, according to Scripture, You shall be devoted to your neighbor as yourself, you do well. If however you discriminate, you work sin, being rebuked by the law as violators. For whoever shall guard the whole law but trip up on one thing, he has become liable for all. It having said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You shall not murder. But if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law. Thus talk and thus act as being about to be judged by the law of liberty. For merciless judgment is to the one who has not done mercy. Mercy boasts against tribunal."
"What is the point, my brothers, if anyone claims to have faith but has no works? Is the faith not able to save him? If a brother or sister is naked and lacking in daily nourishment, but anyone of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and satisfied, without having given them bodily necessities, what is the point? So also faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself."
"But someone will say that you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from works and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that there is one that is God. You do rightly; even demons believe and tremble. But do you want to learn, O foolish man, that faith apart from works is useless? Was Abraham our father not rendered just by works, having raised Isaac his son on the altar? You see that the faith was cooperating with his works, and by the works, the faith was completed. And the Scripture was fulfilled, saying, But Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as justice, and he was called 'friend of God'. You see that from works man is rendered just, and not from faith alone. And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute rendered just, having entertained the messengers and by a different way having sent them forth? Just as the body apart from spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead."
*[James 2:8-26, The Greek here was rough going; it definitely is not as smooth to translate as Luke. The word for 'dead', nekra, is interesting; it seems to be associated less with death as an abstract idea and more with corpses in the concrete. Could also be translated as 'corpsified'. The point is that without being completed by works, faith is made corpse-like, as is clear from the last sentence in the passage.]
article
#justification
EWTN Global Catholic Television Network
Justification by Faith | EWTN
EWTN is a global, Catholic Television, Catholic Radio, and Catholic News Network that provides catholic programming and news coverage from around the world.
Ecce Verbum
Saint_Paul_general_audiences,_July_2,_2008_February_4,_2009_Benedict.pdf
How man is justified in the eyes of God
"St Paul", Joseph Ratzinger
pg 78-83
*St Paul speaks of faith that works through charity (living faith)
"Man is unable to “justify” himself with his own actions, but can only truly become “just” before God because God confers his “justice” upon him, uniting him to Christ his Son.And man obtains this union through faith. In this sense, Saint Paul tells us: not our deeds, but rather faith renders us “just”.This faith, however, is not a thought, an opinion, an idea.This faith is communion with Christ, which the Lord gives to us, and which thus becomes life, becomes conformity with him. Or to use different words, faith, if it is true, if it is real, becomes love, becomes charity, is expressed in charity. A faith without charity, without this fruit, would not be true faith. It would be a dead faith."pg 84
“Catholics can use the phrase “faith alone” just as long as it isn’t opposed to faith in charity, in love (Gal 5:6)” (Wednesday Audience, 19.11.2008).
#justification
"St Paul", Joseph Ratzinger
pg 78-83
*St Paul speaks of faith that works through charity (living faith)
"Man is unable to “justify” himself with his own actions, but can only truly become “just” before God because God confers his “justice” upon him, uniting him to Christ his Son.And man obtains this union through faith. In this sense, Saint Paul tells us: not our deeds, but rather faith renders us “just”.This faith, however, is not a thought, an opinion, an idea.This faith is communion with Christ, which the Lord gives to us, and which thus becomes life, becomes conformity with him. Or to use different words, faith, if it is true, if it is real, becomes love, becomes charity, is expressed in charity. A faith without charity, without this fruit, would not be true faith. It would be a dead faith."pg 84
“Catholics can use the phrase “faith alone” just as long as it isn’t opposed to faith in charity, in love (Gal 5:6)” (Wednesday Audience, 19.11.2008).
#justification