Faith that works

Scriptural References

"Not by faith alone"

• Letter of James: "Faith without works is useless. ... Show me your faith and I'll show you my works."

"Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called 'the friend of God.' See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" (<a href="http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/james/james2.htm">James 2:20-26</a>).

• • Protestants ignore this perfectly clear scripture by creating a canon-within-the-canon: they pick and choose which books of the New Testament are "really" inspired by the Holy Spirit.
• There are no portraits of Judgment Day talk about being judged by the quality of our faith; all of them say that God judges what we have done or have failed to do.

"By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God, who will repay everyone according to his works: eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness. Yes, affliction and distress will come upon every human being who does evil, Jew first and then Greek. But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, Jew first and then Greek" (<a href="http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/romans/romans2.htm#v5">Rom 2:5-10</a>).

"You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father" <a href="http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/matthew/matthew5.htm#v13">(Mt 5:13-16).</a>

• • Mt 7: Good fruit = good deeds. "By their good fruit (good deeds!) you will know them.
  • Mt 25: the parable of the sheep and the goats.
  • Lk: the Good Samaritan (a member of the wrong faith!) whose work of mercy in attending to the wounded man is contrasted with the "faith" of the Jews on their way to worship in the Temple.

Those who say that salvation comes from "faith alone" are saying, in effect, "I do not need to obey the law of love. As long as I believe that Jesus died for my sins, my actions have no eternal consequences. I may do as I please. I don't have to repent and make reparation for my sins. God loves me unconditionally. He says, 'I love you just the way you are.'"

Action Speaks Louder than Words

Jesus says to all of His disciples, "Come, follow me" (Mt 19:21; Jn 21:22; etc.). "Then he said to all, 'If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it'" (Lk 9:23-24).

Having faith motivates us to work: "For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised" (2 Cor 5:14-15).

Works Righteousness

• This is a real problem among Catholics. We tend to think (as did the Pharisees) that we qualify for Heaven by keeping the law (Torah). Pharisaism is condemned in the New Testament because it is such a common problem among Christians.
  • Luther was right: we are not saved by our good works; we are saved by God's sovereign and selfless decision to save us by the death of God, the Son, on the Cross. "By his wounds, we are healed" (1 Peter 2:24).
  • Pelagianism is a heresy condemned by the Church. Pelagius taught that Jesus just gave us a blueprint to follow in our own lives; in his view, once we see the blueprint for love, we are capable of imitating Jesus by choosing to do so. The Church teaches that this is false; we can never become worthy of God's love on our own merits but only through the merits of our Savior.
  • The Church later condemned the Semi-Pelagians as well. They said, "We may need Jesus to heal us and sanctify us, but we can, at least, recognize our need for a Savior by ourselves." The Church teaches that even our awareness of sin is a grace given to us by God; without God's loving kindness, we cannot realize how much we need His love to save us.

Catholic Perfectionism and Minimalism

• There are periodic outbreaks of perfectionism among Catholics, starting with the Pharisaism of New Testament times and appearing in later ages among the gnostics, the Jansenists, the Illuminati, etc.. In the Protestant tradition, the Puritans are famous (or infamous) for this kind of Christian extremism (although, in fact, many of the Puritans may not have been as puritanical as our culture makes them out to be).
  • Perfectionism breeds depression. "It doesn't have to be perfect to be good." "The best is the enemy of the good." "Virtue is the mean between extremes." Scrupulosity seems to be zeal for the law but it violates the law of love by putting second things first.
  • Perfectionism breeds rage and condemnation. "You strain the gnat and swallow the camel." We can become so focused on small violations of the law that we don't realize that we are cultivating an anti-Christian mentality of anger and resentment.
• At the other end of the spectrum, some Catholics abuse the Church's guidelines for the Christian life by trying to figure out what is the least they need to do to gain Heaven. They say in many different ways, "How close can I get to sin without really sinning? How much pleasure can I take in sin without completely breaking my relationship with God?" This is a poisonous mindset. Jesus replies, "You are neither hot nor cold; I will vomit you out of my mouth" (Rev 3:16).