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.
