And Catholics agree with you. You can't earn your salvation by works or by anything else.
In the Catholic view, justification and salvation are ours because we are adopted into God's family and become his sons and daughters, not by nature (as Christ is) but by grace. They aren't a consequence of works, good or otherwise.
By the same token, faith without works is dead faith with no power to save. I didn't make that up, it's a verbatim quote from the Epistle of James.
>>>>What is "crystal clear" is the fact that our salvation is a free gift that accepted by faith.
And Catholics agree with you. You can't earn your salvation by works or by anything else.<<<<
>>In the Catholic view, justification and salvation are ours because we are adopted into God's family and become his sons and daughters, not by nature (as Christ is) but by grace. They aren't a consequence of works, good or otherwise.<<
Amen!! That's what I believe as well... Although, I must say most Catholics that I've met would disagree with you..
>>By the same token, faith without works is dead faith with no power to save. I didn't make that up, it's a verbatim quote from the Epistle of James.<<
What we must understand about James is that he is presenting to us in very practical terms what faith is... If or faith doesn't produce works, then it's "dead faith"... In other words it's "profession" of faith rather than "confession" of faith... A mere "profession" of faith doesn't save anyone... This "professed faith" is in contrast to the "grace bestowed faith" mentioned in Ephesians 2:8,9,10
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Yes, you (or one of your teachers) did "make that up".
And, no, it is not "a verbatim quote from the Epistle of James".
IMO, you would be wise to heed Deuteronomy:
(1) Deut. 4:2—’Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.’
As cited by jo kus in #56:
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also[.]"
James 2:26
Note that "little red dot[.] in the scripture passage. It denotes the end of the sentence, the end of the verse, and, in this case, the end of the chapter.
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In fact, I was uncomfortable with jo kus' "also" -- so I looked up parallel translations:
ASV: For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. BBE: For as the body without the spirit is dead even so faith without works is dead. DBY: For as the body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. KJV: For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. WEY: For just as a human body without a spirit is lifeless, so also faith is lifeless if it is unaccompanied by obedience. WEB: For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. YLT: for as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also the faith apart from the works is dead.
Note that only the 1611 English translation of a [Latin] translation [from Greek] (KJV) has the added "also".
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Also, to avoid "cherry picking the Scriptures" (as "Bible thumpers" are wont to do), I advise reading verses in context:
James 2:
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]?
21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Footnotes:
James 2:8 Lev. 19:18
James 2:11 Exodus 20:14; Deut. 5:18
James 2:11 Exodus 20:13; Deut. 5:17
James 2:20 Some early manuscripts dead
James 2:23 Gen. 15:6
The way I understand those passages, "Works" or "Deeds" are the evidence of true, saving faith -- not an added requirement thereunto.
If I may, I'd like to create an analogy to illustrate my viewpoint:
Consider a "blank" cartridge (one with only primer and powder) versus a"live", "fully loaded" cartridge (one with primer, powder and a bullet).
Although both make the appropriate noise (claiming to have "faith"),
only the "real" cartridge makes a hole in the target ( produces "Works", "Deeds", "Results") as evidence that it is genuine.
OTOH, a hole in the paper is not required for the fully-loaded cartridge to be a genuine, usable ("live") cartridge.
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My Lord, as a result of my faith in Him, has made me "live": "complete" ("with primer, powder and shot") -- "saved".
Although it is my joy to produce works for Him, (holes in my targets)
my failure to do so cannot negate His great work of grace and salvation in me.
28 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29). (KJV, my emphasis added...)
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(Folks, it is difficult enough for us to commune in fellowship over difficult issues like this
-- without "making up Scripture 'on the fly'"...)
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