Why is it that faith alone Christians are teaching works of the law?

Question

Catholics get wrongfully accused of by anti-catholics of "a works doctrine" and yet today I see more and more Protestant preachers teaching works of law such as to tithe 10% of your income why is that?

BTW Catholics understand the writing of both Paul and James and it is works of love in God's grace that they both agree on and that Catholics also believe in, not a salvation by works of the law such as percentage tithing.

addition: well aren't you just a fireball I'm merely looking for consistence from the Protestant community don't you think that is possible? Accusing another of something and than committing the act you accuse others of is almost like the test against false prophets.

I'm not saying giving to the poor is wrong, but lets get biblical my Protestant brothers and sisters percentage tithing was a work of the law and if you are going around teaching others a salvation by faith alone than me a bit more consistent and less contradictory.

kait , kait, kait what am I going to do with ya. You still copying answers from the gotquestions website?
The point is kait that your having faith in Jesus is a singlar work of your intellect by God's grace.

What is it to believe in Jesus? Do we believe all he instructs or just what we like? The idea of faith alone doctrine is a very selfish one don't let anyone foul you it teaches a mantra of me, me, me or I, I, I instead of us, us, us, we ,we,we.

BTW kait Dr. Francis Beckwith just resigned as president of the Evangelical Theological Society because he is Catholic now. See my other question on this.

Why bother to quote Eph 2:8-9 and exclude the next verse Eph 2:10? very misleading kiat shame on you.

final addition: some how these answers are going off track. This isn't a debate on faith verse works (of the law). This is a question on why do those holding to a "faith alone" stance contradict themselves, example given was percentage tithing clearly outlined in the OT as a work of the law.

addition #2 oh dear now that I've received some more answers I can see some corrections are in order.
Cindy ty for your comments I can understand what you are explaining especially the false image of Catholicism presented to many Protestants by other Protestants. One correction, the transformation of the win is known as transubstantiation which explains a change in substance not appearance.

CJohn317 you poor youth man, who is talking on worship of Mary or the saints? you have gone off trace stick to the original question about the lack of consistency of some Protestant teachers and preachers. For your information, the Trinity doctrine was formulated by Catholics and the Catholic Church teaches to give God alone Godly worship. It's so sad to see you've accepted the typical slander spoken about Catholic who believe in only one Body of Christ formed by those believers already in heaven and those still here on earth.

For everyone else prayers to the saints are not worship.

Answer 1

Maybe because they finally figured out "faith alone" isn't in the original scriptures? That the world "alone" was added in by Martin Luther?

Maybe they've finally decided to do what Jesus taught rather than NOT doing it just because we Catholics were?

Don't get me wrong on that. There's plenty of stuff our Protestant cousins have done that was wonderful that we Catholics wouldn't do simply because they did it.

Silly us.

Edit: Mantazma, wow. That's really freaky since Jesus himself says when we feed the hungry we feed HIM. When we clothe the naked we clothe HIM. When we nurture the orphan we nurture HIM.

How can anyone call themselves a follower of Christ and say this is wrong?

Elisha, you know it's funny about both Sola Scripura and Sola Fide. Neither are in the bible. Luther's teaching does contradict itself because it can't be both. Only Scripture and Only Faith. If it's "only" then you have to pick ONE. And neither are biblical.

Answer 2

Honestly, it seems oddest to me that right after they sway a person with their "faith alone" doctrine, they then instruct the "new" believer (who may really be a proselyte who really didn't understand their faith before) they must say a certain prayer to "receive" salvation. Prayer is an expression and, as such, a work.

Actually, salvation is by grace (EDIT: that is, grace *through* faith, so faith is necessary) - a gift that cannot be *asked* for, though God offers it freely to all (EDIT: though not all live in grace since not all have faith). Those who live in grace are moved to good works (including but not exclusive of financial giving) as an expression of that grace.

Of those who give financially, some offer little, others their whole livelihood. The caution is to not make a big deal of it. Those observed in the temple who were wealthy made a production of the large sums they gave, hoping others would think more highly of them. Meanwhile, the poor widow who dropped in 2c wasn't embarrassed so much as humble (though, admittedly, she had nothing to boast of, if she were embarrassed, she may have waited until she could drop in a silver or gold coin instead).

Answer 3

Because that is how it is. That is what they believe.

You can explain, time and time again, Catholics do not worship Mary to the same "Christian". Yet, time and time again same "Christian" person keeps still reference that Catholics worship Mary.

They like to believe people from outside the Catholic faith rather than people in it.

They also say that follow the Bible and Bible is word of God and don't need some "Church" telling them how to read. Yet, you can not find the "faith alone" in the Bible.

There are a lot of whys, just accept that some can never be explained. Live as a good Christian and work on building love and friendship with the people around you and around the world. I have many nonCatholic friends, our friendship would never last as long if we try to explain why we do what we do. "We" meaning humankind.

Answer 4

How about: 4. We are saved by faith alone, but neglect of works does impair our relationship with God. Salvation is through faith that Jesus Christ - God in the flesh - died in our stead. While salvation is through faith alone, our works DO matter. Our relationship with God is a two-way street. We shouldn't just get saved then sit back and do nothing. We should draw closer to God. We should to pray to Him, praise Him, trust Him, and depend on Him. We should witness to non-believers and share the Gospel, and live wholesome lives, setting an example for others. We should strive to be Christ-like. These things aren't necessary for salvation, but our relationship with God will suffer if we don't do them. AND we WILL be judged by our works. Some of us who have served God particularly well will reign alongside Jesus. Others will have responsibilities a couple of rungs down the ladder in God's Government.

Answer 5

James clearly indicated that he regarded the works to be a necessary result of the faith. "I will show you the faith that underlies my works," were his words. He was NOT saying the works EARN heaven, only that the works must happen or the faith is obviously meaningless. "Jesus went about doing good." So must we because we are Christians. This doesn't just mean preaching but also taking care of people's physical and social needs. These are the crosses we are told to pick up.

In other words, work as if you believed in the kingdom of heaven. Practice what you preach. It shouldn't be too hard if the faith is true. But people who sit on their hands and proclaim that they are "saved" because they are believers are only fooling themselves. "By their fruits you shall know them."

Answer 6

I was semi influenced by the faith alone belief but I read the Bible and it is evident that works are necessary, although not the reason that we are saved. The two pillars of Protestant theology seem to contradict each other a bit. (Sola scriptura and sola fidela). God Bless to all denominations and I hope that we can come together again and help to heal the wounds on the Body of Christ by our separation.

Answer 7

Totally agree, the "Faith alone" doctrine just does not make sense to me, because in James it clearly says in the Bible that faith without works is dead. I heard someone the other day claim, that all faith alone people are going to heaven, and Catholics and others who believe in both faith and works are going to hell. Does this mean Mother Teresa, John Paul II, Oscar Romero will not be in heaven. I think they would have a better chance, then a guy who believes in Jesus but sits on his couch all day watching the golf channel (not saying he will not get to heaven).

Answer 8

Tagan says:

I'm not a protestant, and I'm not a Catholic, and I DON'T believe like the protestants do nor the Catholics.

For some reason, both protestants and Catholics alike can't get a hold on the concept that Christ FINISHED the work of salvation on the cross... Be it "works of the law" or "works of love," they both teach that we must add SOMETHING to God's gift in order to obtain salvation... WHY???



EDIT: I HIGHLY, HIGHLY and TOTALLY agree with KAIT's answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

Max got me thinking about the inverse:
If we refuse to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and nurture the orphan, we are worse off, IMHO.
To ignore Christ's humble presence in those in need is the biggest sin of all... By conscienciously disregarding our bretheren would be literally saying that we deny existance of the Body of Christ (works) and Christ Himself (faith).

Ouch, my head hurts.

Answer 10

This is perhaps the most important question in all of Christian theology. This question is the cause of the Reformation - the split between the Protestant church and Catholic church. This question is a key difference between Biblical Christianity and most of the "Christian" cults. Is salvation by faith alone, or by faith plus works? Am I saved just by believing in Jesus, or do I have to believe in Jesus and do certain things?



The question of faith alone or faith plus works is made difficult by some hard-to-reconcile Bible passages. Compare Romans 3:28, 5:1 and Galatians 3:24 with James 2:24. Some see a difference between Paul (salvation is by faith alone) and James (salvation is by faith plus works). In reality, Paul and James did not disagree at all. The only point of disagreement some people claim is over the relationship between faith and works. Paul dogmatically says that justification is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9) while James appears to be saying that justification is by faith plus works. This apparent problem is answered by examining what exactly James is talking about. James is refuting the belief that a person can have faith without producing any good works (James 2:17-18). James is emphasizing the point that genuine faith in Christ will produce a changed life and good works (James 2:20-26). James is not saying that justification is by faith plus works, but rather that a person who is truly justified by faith will have good works in his life. If a person claims to be a believer, but has no good works in his life – then he likely does not have genuine faith in Christ (James 2:14, 17, 20, 26).



Paul says the same thing in his writings. The good fruit believers should have in their lives is listed in Galatians 5:22-23. Immediately after telling us that we are saved by faith, not works (Ephesians 2:8-9), Paul informs us that we were created to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). Paul expects just as much of a changed life as James does, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17)! James and Paul do not disagree on their teaching on salvation. They approach the same subject from different perspectives. Paul simply emphasized that justification is by faith alone while James put emphasis on the fact that faith in Christ produces good works.