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What Must I Do to Be Saved? A Catholic Response to Luther’s ‘Faith Alone’

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Michie

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​

‘Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy.’ (Catechism 1992)
Lucas Cranach the Elder, “Portrait of Martin Luther,” 1532
Lucas Cranach the Elder, “Portrait of Martin Luther,” 1532 (photo: Public Domain)

Catholics believe that salvation is a gift from God, received through faith and baptism, and lived out through charity and good works.

But members of many Protestant denominations have a different idea. They believe that you need only to believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (that is, you will be welcomed into heaven). As evidence, our Protestant brothers and sisters rely on a few notable Scripture verses: In Acts 16:31, for example, Paul and Silas explain to the Philippian jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

And if that’s not enough, they cite 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 because of works, lest any man should boast.”

These verses may seem decisive at first glance — but it’s important to consider the whole of Scripture to understand God’s full design for salvation.

Faith Without Works?​


Continued below.
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What Must I Do to Be Saved? A Catholic Response to Luther’s ‘Faith Alone’

‘Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy.’ (Catechism 1992)
www.ncregister.com www.ncregister.com
 
Mercy Shown

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Michie said:

​

‘Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy.’ (Catechism 1992)
Lucas Cranach the Elder, “Portrait of Martin Luther,” 1532
Lucas Cranach the Elder, “Portrait of Martin Luther,” 1532 (photo: Public Domain)

Catholics believe that salvation is a gift from God, received through faith and baptism, and lived out through charity and good works.

But members of many Protestant denominations have a different idea. They believe that you need only to believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (that is, you will be welcomed into heaven). As evidence, our Protestant brothers and sisters rely on a few notable Scripture verses: In Acts 16:31, for example, Paul and Silas explain to the Philippian jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

And if that’s not enough, they cite 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 because of works, lest any man should boast.”

These verses may seem decisive at first glance — but it’s important to consider the whole of Scripture to understand God’s full design for salvation.

Faith Without Works?​


Continued below.
www.ncregister.com

What Must I Do to Be Saved? A Catholic Response to Luther’s ‘Faith Alone’

‘Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy.’ (Catechism 1992)
www.ncregister.com www.ncregister.com
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but what if true faith results in all of the rest of the things you have mentioned. What if all of the rest of the things you mention are the out growth of saving faith?
 
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Michie

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Mercy Shown said:
but what if true faith results in all of the rest of the things you have mentioned. What if all of the rest of the things you mention are the out growth of saving faith?
Click to expand...
Like what things are you referring to in the op? Example of a situation you are thinking of would be helpful.
 
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RileyG

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Michie said:

​

‘Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy.’ (Catechism 1992)
Lucas Cranach the Elder, “Portrait of Martin Luther,” 1532
Lucas Cranach the Elder, “Portrait of Martin Luther,” 1532 (photo: Public Domain)

Catholics believe that salvation is a gift from God, received through faith and baptism, and lived out through charity and good works.

But members of many Protestant denominations have a different idea. They believe that you need only to believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (that is, you will be welcomed into heaven). As evidence, our Protestant brothers and sisters rely on a few notable Scripture verses: In Acts 16:31, for example, Paul and Silas explain to the Philippian jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

And if that’s not enough, they cite 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 because of works, lest any man should boast.”

These verses may seem decisive at first glance — but it’s important to consider the whole of Scripture to understand God’s full design for salvation.

Faith Without Works?​


Continued below.
www.ncregister.com

What Must I Do to Be Saved? A Catholic Response to Luther’s ‘Faith Alone’

‘Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy.’ (Catechism 1992)
www.ncregister.com www.ncregister.com
Click to expand...
I always found it interesting that Lutherans and some evangelical or low Church Anglicans/Episcopalians profess faith alone but also celebrate the sacraments as a means of grace and forgiveness. Not to go off topic in a Catholic forum, but that's just based on some material I've read.

Just food for thought.
 
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fhansen

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Mercy Shown said:
but what if true faith results in all of the rest of the things you have mentioned. What if all of the rest of the things you mention are the out growth of saving faith?
Click to expand...
Faith is all about acknowledging God's existence, His mercy, His love, His goodness, His trustworthiness, resulting in reconciliation with Him. It's to accept God as our God again, reversing, within ourselves, the alienation from God that was initiated for humankind by Adam in Eden. And we do that when we see and accept God as revealed through his Son who is the "express image of God", God incarnate. And as John 15 tells us, if we remain in Him we will produce much good fruit, and if we don't we're like branches that will be gathered up and put into the fire and burned. "Apart from me you can do nothing", John 15:5.

So faith is to be engrafted into the Vine. From that relationship, which is how man was created to be to begin with, hope and love will result as well, with love being the most important as per 1 Cor 13. Love is the real motivator behind good fruit. This is all something that we must participate in and grow in, and persevere in according to the Bible. If our faith, hope, and love are real, then our lives will show it. We can also fail to remain in Him, to walk in the Spirit; we can bury the gifts given as per the parable of the talents, we can return to the flesh in which case bad fruit will result.
 
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fhansen

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Clare73 said:
The demons believe in God.

So we have the faith of demons, and the gift of faith (Php 1:29, 2 Pe 1;1, Ac 13:48, 18:27, Ro 12:3) from the Holy Spirit.

I'm thinkin' Paul doesn't agree with "faith is faith."
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I think Paul would agree that faith without works is dead as faith without love makes us nothing, And so it avails nothing as Augustine put it. Too much obsession with faith, instead of where faith is meant to lead. So Paul could also say in Rom 1:18-20

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
 
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