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annalex, what do you plan on doing with your works of righteousness, giving God a bill?

It's not a good works outweighs the bad kind of thing. Sinning once is all that it takes to condemn us.

James 2: 8-11

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

This is the big problem with works. Once the Law is broken, death is required. We can't pay that obligation.

Even if we sin only once, and he rest of our life is pure as Jesus, we are under condemnation. All the other good works we do cannot cancel out that one sin or pay for that one sin, because the wages of sin is death and by the works of of the Law is no flesh justified. Nothing else can pay for it.

It has to be through faith that God will forgive us in Christ when we throw ourselves on the mercy of the court. Just like the publican praying outside the temple. The Pharisee was bragging on how he kept the Law. The publican knew he hadn't and had nothing left to appeal to but God's mercy.

This is the big problem with works. Once the Law is broken, death is required. We can't pay that obligation. Even if we sin only once, and he rest of our life is pure as Jesus, we are under condemnation. All the other good works we do cannot cancel out that one sin or pay for that one sin, because the wages of sin is death and by the works of of the Law is no flesh justified. Nothing else can pay for it.

I grieve over so many souls that cannot grasp with their minds this critical difference. To have loved ones say things like, "I offer it up for my sins.", when they suffer anything from a cold to a perceived persecution when someone disagrees with their religion's doctrine. If ONLY they could grasp with their hearts what a magnificent gift the Creator has provided for us - that he desires we accept by faith - so that their motive for good works can be because of gratitude and not out of fear of condemnation.

1 John 4:19
We love him, because he first loved us.

James 2: 8-11 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not

I love that you posted this scripture, it was on my mind earlier today .. Catholics love to quote James thinking that it supports works, but they do not quote this :)

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (2 James 10)

How does that contradict what the Catholic Church teaches?

First, is a work is done because the law says so, that work is not "good works" that the Bible urges us to do. It is something we do, and it is good that we obey laws, but it is not of salvific nature. Second, it is very true that a single mortal sin demolishes all the good works one had done prior to that sin. Good works save, but not by any magic, and certainly not because they might at some point fill some quota. They configure the soul onto Christ, they create a habit of imitating Christ, they sanctify,-- but one still has to have a regular church life, and confess sins in order to obtain salvation.

Good works alone do not save anymore than faith alone saves.

Thank you for raising that important point. This is one example where patience is requred to understand Catholic teaching as a whole rather than picking on thing, understanding is badly and waving Protestant slogans in the air.