A full response to God’s grace involves responding in faith and responding in the way we live. In a previous lesson we discussed the matter of devotion or worship to God, especially in our public assemblies 2. In this short but important lesson, we shall examine the matter of "good works… So you have to keep adding good works in the hope of gaining eternal life. For example, if you love children and enjoy teaching, you may help out in the children’s catechism of your church. Are you aware that they don’t have the new testament. In Other Words The works in Ephesians 2:8 is the initial call from God. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. Salvation is not Jesus + something. For the sake of completeness, one small point should be made in this article before giving some closing thoughts. Works all involve human effort! Previous | Index | Next >> "A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD" The Christian And Good Works INTRODUCTION 1. One objective of such activities is to stir us up to "good works" - He 10:24-25 3. Under Roman Catholic teaching, a person could never say what Paul says in Ephesians 2:8, “you have been saved.” The other error, which is more pervasive in evangelical circles, is that good works have no connection whatsoever with salvation. The battle between “faith alone” vs. “faith and works” for salvation has been going on ever since the Protestant Reformation in 1517. We are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone; however, the faith that saves is never alone but is accompanied by spiritual life and loving obedience. He supplies the free gift of faith through his love and mercy, in the present, resulting from a past action. The works in Ephesians 2:10 are the results of faith working in us, as a future action after baptism. Or if you have good management and accounting skills, you may help out in the administrative work of your parish. According to Catholic doctrine, the … Now I will expand on that concept somewhat. Without doubt, the official documents of the Roman Catholic Church teach justification by works. But the New Testament epistles are filled with this idea of good works as an expression of our calling: The bible verses in question are when Paul says that we also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law (Gal 2:16), and when James says that faith without works is dead (James 2:26). For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. Jesus and the saints always had great love and compassion for the sinner, possessed, sick and poor. Note, “Do you want to be shown you foolish fellow, that faith apart from works is barren” (Eph 2:20). There are three types of works: evil (or bad) works, good works and dead works, but they are all works! Catholic theology insists that the Christian's good works are truly his good merits, and by these works, he preserves and increases the initial righteousness received in baptism to finally attain eternal life (canons 24 and 32). The ironic tragedy, however, is that Protestantism, after the Reformation, most often refers to good works solely in a negative fashion. In this time of lent it is good to imitate Jesus and the saints by also doing corporal works of mercy. This is, of course, because of its insistence on justification by faith. Good works are good because they spring not from a lifeless faith but a “true and lively faith” (WCF 16.2). We know that Jesus had a purse with money to give to the poor that Judas stole … Continue reading "Traditional Catholic 7 Corporal Works of Mercy" You can corrupt the Gospel easily by requiring any type of works to be saved. 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