|
No. "None of those who cry out, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." (Mat. 7:21) Clearly, this implies that works are necessary in our journey towards salvation. The word "does" simply cannot point to anything but works! To "do" is to "work."
Most Protestants believe in the concept of "Eternal Security", or, "Once Saved, Always Saved." (An exception is found among the Church of Christ, I believe.) Salvation is thought of as Christ placing upon the believer a redeeming "cloak" to cover up one's sins, thus making the believer always saved. To add "works" to salvation is to fall from grace. In contrast, Catholicism teaches that one's sins must actually be removed and not simply "covered up." We must "cooperate" with God's grace. God's grace is necessary for cooperation in justification through faith, and in our sanctification through charity.
Often quoted is II Cor. 12:9 when St. Paul realizes, "My grace is sufficient for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection. And so I willingly boast of my weaknesses instead, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
Recall Heb. 2:10 that says, "Indeed, it was fitting that when bringing many sons to glory God, for whom and through whom all things exist, should make their leader in THE WORK of salvation perfect through suffering." I Pet. 3:14 also says, "Even if you should have to suffer for justice' sake, happy will you be. 'Fear not and do not stand in awe of what this people fears.'"
Even clearer still is the message found in Col. 1:24 as follows, "Even now I find my joy in the suffering I endure for you. In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, the church."
All verses point to how we "participate" in Jesus' work of salvation.
Ignoring the necessity for works in God's salvific plan, Protestants do not recognize the importance of suffering as redemptive. Catholics believe that mankind's Fall from Adam did not totally corrupt man's nature. That said, one can logically conclude that good works (including suffering) DO MATTER. Surely, the history of salvation is fulfilled through the coming of Christ in the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4, Eph. 1:10). Christ becomes the 'new Adam', as expressed in Rom. 5:15 and I Cor. 15:21) whereby He overcomes the law, sin, and death, bringing grace and life for all. However, the christological structure of salvation points to our relation to it by our basic attitudes and hope. I Thes. 5:8 says, "We who live by day must be alert, putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet." Our communion with Christ actually binds us to His suffering and death, as expressed in Phil. 3:10 which says, "I wish to know Christ and the power flowing from his resurrection; likewise to know how to share in his sufferings by being formed into the pattern of his death." (This explains one reason why Catholics wear Crucifixes, for they are a constant reminder of our bond with Christ's suffering and death.) Therefore, our suffering is not just a byproduct of God's permissive will, nor simply a result from our deficiencies [e.g. lack of faith], but a means for increasing our own salvation and even that of the world.
I recall a simple analogy that the Jewish convert, Rosalind Moss, uses to help us understand redemptive suffering. Imagine a mother who is ready to bake a cake. The mother is fully equipped to bake this cake to perfection. However, her toddler rushes into the kitchen and asks to help out. The mother knows that her little girl will not really be that helpful in baking this cake, yet out of love for her, allows her to participate. The little girl's participation in no way undermines or reduces the mother's capacity to bake this cake. Yet it is out of love that the mother accepts her child's help, just as Jesus in His love, accepts our suffering.
Passages such as Romans 3:27 and 11:6, and Ephesians 2:8-9, are often quoted to "prove" that faith, absolutely independent of action, is the ticket to heaven. These passages do not imply that works are independent of salvation.
Recall that the Greek word 'ergon', which Paul uses for "work" in Romans and Ephesians is used many other times in the New Testament, both by Paul and by the other New Testament authors. A careful study of how this word is used will reveal that Protestants have taken Paul's comments (in Romans and Ephesians) out of context.
One must ask the question, "Does Paul really deny the place of works in salvation"?
No. Scripture clearly shows how Paul discussed works as being an integral part of the process of coming to Christ.
"I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do WORKS (caps mine; 'erga') befitting repentance" (Acts 26:19-20).
So why, then, does Paul seem to condemn works in the Epistle to the Romans? After all, Protestants point to such passages as Romans 3:27 or 11:6 in order to suggest that our works, either good or bad, do not matter in the least to our salvation.
When Paul speaks of works in Romans, he is referring to the ritual practices of the Mosaic Law of the Old Covenant. This becomes evident when we read his comments in elsewhere in Romans:
"By the works of the Law ('ergon nomou') there shall be no flesh justified in His sight" (Rom. 3:20);
and, again:
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without works of the Law ('ergon nomou')" (Rom. 3:2).
Indeed, Paul points out that Israel has not attained to righteousness precisely because the Mosaic Law became a stumbling block to faith (Rom. 9:32). Paul confirms this inverse relationship between faith in Christ and adherence to the requirements of the Mosaic Law in his Letter to the Galatians as follows:
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law ('ergon nomou'), but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the Law ('ergon nomou'): for by the works of the Law ('ergon nomou') shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid" (Gal. 2:16-17).
What of Ephesians 2:8-10?
Many Protestants use Ephesians 2:8-10 as proof to suggest that good works have nothing to do with salvation. Yet Paul dismisses such in this very same passage in saying, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for GOOD WORKS (caps mine; 'ergois agathois'), which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
Paul is saying that while salvation is a free and unmerited gift from God, one CANNOT be a Christian without good works. In this regard, it is useful to recall that the Epistle to the Hebrews clearly distinguishes between DEAD WORKS (caps mine;
Heb. 6:1: 'nekron ergon') and GOOD WORKS (caps mine;
Heb. 10:24: 'kalon ergon').
In conclusion, there are so many verses in Sacred Scripture that uphold the necessity of good works in salvation. Such as:
"Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me" (Matt. 25:34-36).
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their WORKS (caps mine; 'erga')" (2 Cor. 11:13-15). This verse says specifically "whose end will be according to their works"!
"The righteous judgment of God, Who will render to every man according to his WORKS (caps mine; 'erga'): eternal life to those who, by endurance in GOOD WORKS (caps mine; 'ergou agathou'), are seeking glory and honor and immortality" (Rom. 2:6-7).
"Let them do good, that they be rich in GOOD WORKS (caps mine; 'ergois kalois') storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life" (1 Tim. 6:18-19).
"Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every GOOD WORK (caps mine; 'ergon agathon')" (2 Tim. 2:19-21).
"For if a man thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let every man prove his own WORK (caps mine; 'ergon'), and then he shall have rejoicing in himself alone and not another" (Gal. 6:3-4).
"And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's WORK (caps mine; 'ergon'), conduct yourself throughout the time of your stay here in fear" (1 Pe. 1:17).
"Behold, I am coming quickly, an My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his WORK (caps mine; 'ergon') Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie" (Rev. 22:12-15).
Again, all verses point to how we "participate" in Jesus' work of salvation.
|
