Home 
Apologetics Working Your Way to Heaven (part 1)
Apologetics Working Your Way to Heaven (part 1)
| Working Your Way to Heaven (part 1) |
|
If you are open about your Catholic Faith, chances are you have been criticized for your beliefs. Many times, this criticism comes from Protestant Christians who do not understand Catholic teaching. One of the most misunderstood aspects of the Catholic faith is justification by faith and works. Protestants often mistake this teaching for a method of salvation based only on a person's works and not on God's free gift of salvation. Therefore, it is common for Catholics to be accused of trying to "work their way to heaven". The truth of the matter is that the Catholic Church does not teach salvation by works. The Catholic Church teaches that we are saved by God's grace alone. Not by our faith alone and not by our works alone, but by God's grace alone. Grace is a gift given to us by God without any merit on our part. The whole initiative is God's. He chooses to save us out of his love for us because of who he is not what we do. The free gift of salvation can be seen in Titus 3:4-5, "But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy". Without his grace, we are not saved. Both Protestants and Catholics agree upon the need for grace. This is our common ground. The difference is how grace is used in our lives. In other words, how are we justified (to make righteous). Protestants hold to the view that we are justified by faith alone. In fact, the doctrine of faith alone (sola fida) was one of the major reasons for the Protestant Reformation. According to Protestant theology, God only declares us to be righteous. Therefore, our justification is a one-time event as God declares us innocent. Although Protestants affirm the importance of good works, they deny the fact that works play any role in justification. The Catholic teaching is that we are justified by faith and works. The grace of God enables the Christian to have the saving faith that works in love. Another way to look at it is that Protestants think justification is a one-time event (accepting Jesus) while Catholics refer to justification as an ongoing process (accepting Jesus as well as works throughout one's life). This justification is something that begins when we first become Christians and continues throughout one's life until the end of life in which it will be complete as we stand before the throne of God. The fact that justification is an ongoing process and not a one-time event can be seen by looking at the life of Abraham. We are told that Abraham was justified in Genesis 15 and later justified in Genesis 22. The example of Abraham's justification is inconsistent with Protestant theology, since it states that justification is an one-time event. In emphasizing the importance of works, the Catholic Church in no way degrades the importance of faith. The emphasis is in the need for both. If I were to say that I need both my right and left hands to paint the house, I am not degrading my right hand by saying that I need my left hand. I am simply saying that both are needed. One should note that the Catholic Church does not have a problem with saying that Christians are justified by faith. It is the 'alone' that Catholics do not like. The Church understands that faith does bring salvation, provided that it is made alive by works of charity. However, the phrase "faith alone" excludes everything else including good works. Discounting good works in this manner contradicts the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. We will look at the Protestant view of justification in the next issue. John Zamboni is a Catholic apologist and the founder of Gospel Truth Ministries (www.flash.net/~truth) in Texas, U.S.A. The mission of Gospel Truth Ministries is to bring people closer to the Lord Jesus Christ through study of His Word and obedience to His Church. This is done by presenting the truth of the Catholic Faith through the use of books, tapes, articles, and seminars. Gospel Truth Ministries is dedicated to presenting the truths of the Catholic Faith with charity, while being completely obedient to the Magisterium. |
