Faith vs Works

I wanted a challenge so I joined some apologetics groups. I have learned a little about how the arguments are shaped that I found very interesting. There are differences but not the differences that we think.

Let's start with a bit of history and keep in mind that this is just an extremely brief summary related to this discussion. The doctrine of faith alone began largely with Martin Luther. He was a Catholic priest. He spent a great deal of time in confession and penance. But nothing helped him to accept forgiveness and it was a great struggle for him. You can read or watch movies about the time to learn more. But eventually, he had constructed his doctrine of faith alone although the only place "faith alone" is used is in James 2:14-24 where James tells us that it is NOT faith alone that saves us. Luther solved that problem by calling James an epistle of straw.

So begins this dialogue that many Protestants believe in faith alone and Catholics believe that works save us. Neither tells the whole story. And it's not likely that my simple post here will change the dialogue of hundreds of years but I'll share what I've learned anyhow.

I grew up Baptist. We are probably the most extreme on the "faith alone" scale. Once-saved, always-saved is defended militantly. Children are told in Vacation Bible School and Youth retreats that all they have to do is accept that we are sinners, believe he died for our sins, and confess Him as Lord. Then they are told that nothing they ever do will take them from God's hands. They are secure. The idea is that true faith will result in works. However by not being up-front about what it means to be a Christian, my generation in particular because of the ease of travel and availability of the internet has probably heard this message hundreds of times and they've taken it to heart. "Our actions do not matter." And they've taken this and applied it to their lives and marriages and families. And we wonder why the traditional family has become such a rare thing. Should someone attempt to suggest that we follow the teachings of the Bible, they are attacked severely as legalists. I firmly believe that we are wrong if we focus so much on following the Law that we miss the Giver of the Law. But there is so much in the Old Testament and New Testament that would save us all from so much heartache if we valued it.

I am Catholic now because I read the Bible cover-to-cover and realized we have missed a few things. Jesus' words especially pointed to a life of action and not only passive faith. The faith that I found in the Catholic Church was dynamic. The life of conversion in the Catholic Church had much more appeal than a conversion-experience-and-you're-done that I had heard for most of my life. So many of us are not satisfied with our experience and keep searching because second baptisms, rededications and such are very common in some Protestant churches. How intriguing to find that we have a lifetime to work out our salvation(Phil 2:12-13)

What is salvation?

There are three parts; justification, sanctification and glorification.

For the Catholic, all parts are necessary. Salvation is achieved when we arrive in heaven.

For the Protestant (Baptist), justification is necessary. Sanctification and glorification are results of justification.

The argument usually surrounds the thief on the cross. He believed and Jesus told him that he would be with him in Paradise. But our sufferings contribute to our sanctification and he definitely suffered on the cross. How comforting that our sufferings are not a sign that God has turned His back on us! They are what make us holy. And it could be that he was even baptized (which in part can be glorification as we are made sons and daughters of God) when the soldier pierced Jesus' side and blood and water flowed. Neat!

There is fear that if works are necessary, baptism is necessary and even great faith is necessary, what if we miss one or more of the elements? That is where we depend on God's mercy and love. He doesn't desire us to fail. He is longsuffering. Just look at what all He put up with from the Israelites. There is no need to fear.

Are good works necessary for the true Christian's life?

Catholic - Yes!

Protestant - Yes!

I have talked to pastors, laypersons and apologists. None will say that works are not necessary. Because they are. Now some Protestants will try to frame the argument by saying that if they don't show good works, then they weren't really saved in the first place. I think the desire is to allow the works that result in some Christians lives to be the product of love. And that does happen. But I think every honest Christian will admit to sometimes when you have to work whether you feel like it or not. And often, it is the actions that bring about the change of heart.

Grace 

This is what begins the work of salvation. Not our faith because even the demons believe. Not our works because we can do nothing that can compare to what He has done for us. It is a gift and it's up to us what we do with it. We can leave it on a shelf. Or we can take part in it daily. We believe because Jesus told us so in John 3. We do good works because Jesus said so in Matthew 25. But it is His grace that begins the work. This is what keeps us coming to Him through prayer and the sacraments.

Fellowship

It would be truly awesome if some day we could follow Christ's command to truly be as one as the Body of Christ. There are many factors that dictate our place of worship; familiarity, family ties, pursuit of truth and some jobs even dictate where you worship. There are differences and some of those differences do matter if nothing else but to our own conscience. But in the essentials, there is a lot more difference in how we argue our beliefs than what we actually believe.