As a catholic i have a question?

Question

Protestants defend the whole sola fide thing with a number of passages. I believe Jesus died for my sins and that I coundnt do it for myself through good works.

So are good works evidence of a changed life or do they contribute. Jesus does mention differing rewards in heaven.

Im just confused about some of the verses like "a gift from god so no man can boast"

Now I know it will fall on deaf ears but I really dont need to hear from a load of undeducated anti-catholic knuckleheads (but I know I will)

Answer 1

You said somethingm then why are you scared of giving clear evidence

Answer 2

I’ve read a little about this doctrine in the Catholic encyclopedia and learned few things. Basically, sola fide amounts to a person accepting Christ in faith, and that’s it. It’s a very vague concept, as the encyclopedia pointed out, because you can’t measure a persons faith; they are free to make the proclamation of accepting Christ but essentially live by whatever doctrine suits them.

Protestants like to twist the Catholic teachings of “faith without words is dead” by saying we are trying to earn our salvation, which we all know can never be done. Salvation is a gift from God, freely given.

However, do we just say, “I saved,” and that’s it? Do we not have to embark on the work of purifying our souls, of turning away from our temptations and weaknesses? Wouldn’t that be faith-inspired work?

What about charity? Do I proclaim the same “saved” declaration and then ignore the needs of my brothers and sisters, except, “I’ll pray for you”?

Answer 3

Good works are evidence that Jesus has changed your life. They are also a sign that you want to follow Christ and do His bidding. They are also the way that we participate in His work of salvation for ALL (we don't earn our way to heaven, but we do help other people find Jesus by our example).

Salvation is wholly a gift from God, but that doesn't mean we can sit on our butts and not do anything to help the Lord with the work that needs to be done on earth. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, minister to the sick and dying, help free the oppressed, etc.

Answer 4

Hello! I am Anglican/Episcopalian but on this issue I am in line with the Catholic Church, I believe.

The best way to approach the question is not to think about it like an accounting book where your good works and bad works are marked down for some end-of-life tally. Rather, think of good works and bad works changing the condition of your Self and thus the status of your soul at any given time.

The influence runs in both directions. Doing good works can make you into a person who is more likely to do good works in the future and thus more likley to do the will of God (which is the opposite of sinning). But walking with God in the first place makes you more likely to do His will, and terefore good works are also evidence of that relationship.

Worthy of note, John Hick has argued rather well that the fact that many peoples and religions produce good people who do good works is evidence that Christianity is not the only valid religion. Pre-papal Cardinal Ratzinger opposed him forcefully, basically saying he must be wrong. I think Hick has an excellent argument, though, if by their fruits you will know them.

Answer 5

You have to understand the history of the sola fide argument. "Faith Alone" was originally espoused as a counter to the abuse of the sale of indulgences in the 16th Century. Yes, the authority of the Church to grant indulgences was most certainly abused. However, when used properly, indulgences raised funds to build hospitals, orphanages, monasteries, convents, schools, and churches. I have no doubt that many souls were able to do penance through indulgences. It is quite unfortunate that a number of greedy clergymen abused the granting of indulgences, but they were the exception, not the rule.

On the other hand, there are many Christians who abuse the Faith Alone concept by believing once saved, always saved, and never putting their faith into action. They love to go around asking people if they are saved, not because they care about them, but to boost their own egos.

Paul said that we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. It is erroneous to believe that once we are saved we will never sin again. Not all who proclaim they are saved will repent of their sin and do penance. Jesus said as much, "Not all who cry out 'Lord, Lord' will be saved."

Answer 6

*Is Catholic*

The problem that you are having is that the Catholic understanding of salvation is different from the Protestant understanding of salvation.

Most Protestant core understandings of the idea of "salvation" combines justification/righteousness/salvation/redemption/sanctification as one general idea -- sometimes there is differentiation sometimes not -- depends on your Protestant that you are talking to.

The Catholic Faith understands these terms distinctly as different events.

Let me start this off with a standard axiom that YOU SHOULD MEMORIZE. St. Augustine said this "The God that created thee without thee will not save thee without thee"

It is a suscient summary of the Catholic understanding of "salvation".

Let me break this down for you a bit.

Redemption/Justification is a pure gift of grace that comes about only through the sacrifice of the cross.

Redemption is the act of Christ buying back the soul from the devil.

Justification is the process by which a specific individual is redeemed. In Baptism one is Justified, they are moved from being a child of the first Adam and become adopted as sons of God. Justification requires an act on a part of some individual, either the choice of yourself or the choice of your parents. It is a pure gift of God and THIS is what Paul says when he says "a gift from god so no man can boast" -- he is talking about the grace of Baptism and justification here.

However, one baptized is not defacto saved. One must bring forth good fruits. This is the process of sanctification, the universal call to holiness. It is as St. Paul says, the putting on of Christ and the dying to self so that only Christ lives.

Catholics understand this process, which is life long, as a co-operation in the grace of God. This is why good works are mandatory and the scriptures support this. We are called to become perfect as the Father is perfect. This is not purely God acting in us but rather us acting in concert with God. If you look at the saints, it is very hard to distinguish where their action starts and where God's action starts. It can be said that the saints become all light or all Christ.

Good works are not evidence of a changed life. Rather they contribute to a changed life. An individual who progresses in the universal call to holiness will have good works for their lives will be changed BUT -- this is key -- their changed life is utterly dependent upon these good works which stem from the activity of the individual and are not grace alone.

Now the Righteous Man is the individual who is progressing in the universal call to holiness. He is not perfect and he may still sin, but when he does he repents immediately. He is righteous because he is on the path towards God.

Now salvation properly speaking can only be said of those who are with Christ in heaven. But it can also be said that when we are at Mass we are with Christ and the Eschaton breaks into time. So that in a sense is also an experience of salvation.

But in general in regards to salvation, it is to be said that I was saved (baptism) I am working out my salvation in fear and trembling (universal call to holiness, good works, progressing in the virtues), and I have hope that I will be saved (get to heaven.)

Answer 7

In the epistle of James we hear," Faith without works is dead."

Works are evidence of faith- they do not save us. But if we do not practice good works, we are not doing what we are called to do.

Listen to this Sunday's Gospel (below)...you will hear that even when the servant does everything asked of him, he is not entitled to anything.

Same with us. There is nothing we can do to MERIT Heaven....but if we do not do the work the Lord intends for us to do, we most certainly can LOSE Heaven.

Luke 17: 5 - 10
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5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
6 And the Lord said, "If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, `Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
7 "Will any one of you, who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, `Come at once and sit down at table'?
8 Will he not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink'?
9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?
10 So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"

Answer 8

Why wouldn't a person who has experienced such a stunning, life-changing bounty not want to show eternal gratitude with works of love and honor for God? Our lives are by the grace of God. Every bounty is by the grace of God. I'm not anti-any religion.

Answer 9

Faith with out works is dead. So, this means that they are both evidence of and they contribute to our salvation.

We are called to do good works. Many times we do them out of obedience, just because we know it is what God has said to do but we have no real desire. Sometimes it's downright hard to do. But as we practice our obedience to Christ we receive the grace that eventually allows us to desire to do his will. We find that the works we wanted to reject we now embrace.

We are asked to do things by God in faith. This means not always with the upfront understanding but with absolute trust in him. Our desire to please God through obedience becomes an abundance of grace for us and a deepening of faith. This in turn brings us closer to Christ.

To say, we are saved by faith alone is a true statement, but it does not end there, it only starts there. Faith shows us the road to salvation...works is what we do as we travel that road and make our way towards heaven.

Answer 10

http://www.catholic.com/library/salvation.asp

IF the link does not work (gets cut), go to catholic.com, and look at the panel on the left. Click on 'Salvation'.

The above link summarizes the Catholic 'understanding' of salvation. The short is: we really do not know, and there is NO assurance of salvation (which we all would wish for, right?)

The answer is: we are saved by God's GRACE, not by our works, not even by what we BELIEVE to be our faith.

Really and truly, it is only God who sees our merits, and the Divine Grace and Wisdom will judge justly.

Answer 11

Can't speak to all of it but.. good works are indicators of a changed life.. as a Catholic the best way to make a change
is to go to confession to be rid of the previous sins, then try to not repeat them. Frequent confession is a very useful tool in making changes in oneself. Plus, the graces received are always beneficial.