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Monday, January 25, 2016

Catholics Believe In Works-Based Salvation?: Misconceptions About Catholicism 101: Lesson 2:

( Go here for Lesson 1:  Catholics Worship Saints.  False!)

It is a popular misconception among non-Catholics that Catholics believe a person is saved by works alone.

It is true that Catholics do not believe in sola fide, i.e. salvation by faith alone.   So, the non-Catholic reasoning goes: if Catholics do not believe that one is saved by faith alone, that must mean they believe that one is saved by works alone, right?  Wrong.

I was constantly told when I was a Protestant that Catholics do believe in salvation by works, but I was misled.

Here is a brief account of what Catholicism says about faith and works:

Faith

  • By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God.  (CCC 143)
  • Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him.  "Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind, and 'makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.'" (CCC 153)
  • Faith is necessary for salvation.  (CCC 183)
These three bullets from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) are enough to show that Catholicism does teach that we are saved by faith.

But we are not saved by faith alone:

The only place in the Bible that uses the words "faith alone" is in the second chapter of James.   

Jame 2:24

"You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only."  (NKJV)
 "You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone."  (NIV)
 "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone."  (NRSVCE)

And we are not saved by works alone:

Pelagianism is a heresy that claims we can be saved by our own works and our own free will independent of God's grace.  Pelagius was a British monk who lived at the time of  Augustine in the early fifth century.  Pelagius was condemned as a heretic at the Council of Carthage in 418 by the Church.   

The above citations from the Catholic Catechism should be evidence enough that Catholics do not teach that a person is saved by works alone.

Are works completely out of the picture?


What about verses like Ephesians 2:8 - 9?
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one may boast.  (NRSVCE) 
Catholics say you're absolutely right.  We are saved by grace through faith and this comes from God.  God does not look down, see we're good people, and then decides to save us based on our works.  Grace is the subject of the verses in Eph 2:8-9.  Read the verses just before it.  ST Paul is talking about grace.   Beginning in verse 4, "But God, who is rich in mercy...(v 5)made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - ... (v 7) so that ... he might show immeasurable riches of his grace ... (v 8) For by grace you have been saved..."

I put the ellipses in for brevity sake.  Double check in your own Bibles to ensure that I did not alter the context.

God does not save us based on our works.

So why do Catholics put such an emphasis on works?


Because the Bible - the word of God - tells us so.  Catholics do not think of "good works" as merely doing what pleases man; Catholics consider "good works" acts that please God.

One cannot read the Bible cover to cover without noticing what happens to the patriarchs, the nation of Israel, the kings of Israel, the people to whom the writings of the New Testament are written when they disobey God.   Bad things happen.  God has infinite mercy.  He welcomes back those with a contrite heart.  Jesus forgave sinners on the spot, but He also told them to repent and sin no more.

Catholics view "good works" as obeying God.  From Genesis 3 through Revelation, sin is disobeying God.  Sin is saying, "not your will be done, Lord; I want to do my will, not yours."   Ideally our will is in line with God's will.  However, when our will leads us to act in ways that we know are contrary and contradictory to God's ways, then we have sinned.  Where does conscious, serious, deliberate disobedience lead us?  Read the Bible cover to cover and find out.   It never leads to a happy place.  

Only when God's people obey God do they stay in His grace.

If we disobey, does that mean God is through with us?  NO.  He continually calls us back to Him.  He continually makes His mercy and grace available to us.  We have two options: we can continue to disobey and stay out of His will and grace, or, we can repent (turn away from sin), confess that we have sinned, and go back to obeying God's will.

Even the demons believe that Jesus is Lord.   Belief is not enough to get to Heaven.  We must believe that Jesus is Lord and we must obey Jesus as our Lord.  We are truly saved by grace through faith, but then we must keep that faith alive by obeying God the best we can and ask for forgiveness with a contrite heart when (not, if) we fall short.

We are saved by faith and works.


It is by grace through faith we are put in a right relationship with God when we choose to follow Him.  But it is our works - while cooperating with God's grace - that keep us in the will of God.  There is no free ride.  As Catholic author and apologist, Frank Sheed says:
Salvation is not handed to us on a dish; in no sense a laborsaving device.  What Christ does for men is what men cannot do for themselves, not what they can; what they can, they should.  To have found the way is not the end; it is the beginning.  The way is not the goal.  Only the goal is, for us, permanence; the way may be lost.   
We might lose the way, as we might lose any way, either by wandering from it through error, or by lacking the strength for the effort - the "fear and trembling" - which following it to the end demands.  As against the danger of losing the way we need truth.  As against the danger of falling by the wayside we need life - Our Lord came that we might have life "and more abundantly" (Jn 10:10) - the life of sanctifying grace.
But if that's not good enough, then take the words of the New Testament writers inspired by the Holy Spirit.  For brevity sake I will quote only a portion of each verse.  I am not proof-texting.  I use care to make sure that I am not taking the verses out of context.  If I am wrong, please show me my errors.  All citations are taken from the New American Bible.

Matt 7:21  "Not everyone ... will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."

Matt 19:16-17  "If you wish to have eternal life, keep the commandments."

Rom 2:2-8  Eternal life to those who persevere in good works.  Wrath to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness.

Gal 5:4-6   We cannot be justified by the law alone.  The only thing that counts for anything is faith working through love.

Eph 2:8-10  We are "created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them."

Phil 2:12-13  Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

James 2:14-24  Man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Faith alone?  Once saved, always saved?  

Don't bet your life on it.


Sources:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America.  1994.  United States Catholic Conference, Inc.

The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia.  2004.  The Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, MN.

www.biblegateway.com  for various translations and texts.

Theology for Beginners. 1981.  Frank Sheed.


What Catholics Really Believe. 1992.  Karl Keating.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

LORD, I NEED YOU.... Every. Single. Day.

I taught part-time one semester at Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina.  The bells in a nearby clock tower would play the old hymn "I Need They Every Hour."  I thought it was fitting since I taught mathematics - a subject most students abhor.

My view was modified a couple weeks into the semester.  I need God every hour too.  It's not just my students.  We all need God to get through the struggles, fight for us through the temptations, and rejoice with us in the joyous times.

The lyrics to this classic hymn are:

  1. I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
    No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
    • Refrain:
      I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
      Every hour I need Thee;
      Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
      I come to Thee.
  2. I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
    Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.
  3. I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
    Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.
  4. I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
    And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.
  5. I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
    Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

Below is a video of Christian recording artist, Matt Maher, singing his song inspired by this hymn (while kneeling) at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013 (to the best of my knowledge).

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Setting a New Course?

I had no idea what I was going to write when I began this blog.  I've made little headway since then.  I'm still in a dense fog on Blog Sea and now I'm not sure which course to take.  Sure, I have a compass, but without knowing my current position, I'm not sure which bearing to set.

In my first blog post I wrote that I would not make this primarily a Christian blog, even though I am a Christian.  I'm also a Marine, a mathematician, a conservative, an amateur musician, a budding novelist, a husband, and a father.  I intended to write about a variety of topics and not pigeonhole myself into one genre.

However, after my conversion to Catholicism, I now feel a strong passion for telling others about Christianity and defending the faith.  Most of my family & friends are non-Catholics.  Many have an aversion to Catholicism based on misinformation (or, in some cases, lies).  I really want to make an attempt to clear up those misconceptions & falsehoods - for my family, friends, and others.

Make no mistake, there are plenty of topics and current events on which I would like to comment, but I know I cannot touch them all.   I'm leaning more & more to making this a man-blog with an emphasis in Catholic Christianity.

After I get out of this blog fog I may make a course correction.  I also may have to realize that I need to set a new course because of someone's needs on shore or on ship.

Maybe I'll just make a port-of-call and enjoy the scenery in some exotic location for a while and then get back to my original course.

Who knows?

Stay tuned.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Let the Son Shine.

A funny thing happened during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament this afternoon after work.  I often stop by first thing in the morning or immediately after work.

It was overcast much of the afternoon.  The basilica was dim; only a few candles were burning and a light shining on the tabernacle behind the alter.

Three of us were inside (that I know of) and it was silent.

Suddenly the clouds moved away and the sun shined through the Co-Cathedral window at a particular spot - right on the area in the window where the infant Jesus is portrayed at the nativity.  It became very bright inside and all three of us turned to look at each other and then at the window.

I fumbled for my camera phone and tried to capture the moment onto 4 megapixels.



The sun was bright for what seemed like a minute.   Another cloud slowly moved in front of the sun and the Son glowed sweetly for about another minute.



It was a pleasant experience.