[LearsFool]

This part is confused:

You can’t do anything to be saved—rather, God saves you on the basis of your faith

So you have to have faith to be saved, do you? That's doing something, isn't it?

Protestants believe that you don’t work for your salvation, and that nobody is good enough to deserve salvation. But thankfully salvation does not come on the basis of works

The author has two different kinds of works there. The explanation he seeks is right in front of him. He's nearly there, but can't see it. Paul's contrast between faith and works in Romans is a contrast between faith and those works that would make one good enough to deserve a "not guilty" verdict.

[CynicalBear]

>>So you have to have faith to be saved, do you? That's doing something, isn't it?<<

Nope, it's not. Faith is not my faith but is the faith of Christ given to me as a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--

Galatians 2:16 having known also that a man is not declared righteous by works of law, if not through the faith of Jesus Christ, also we in Christ Jesus did believe, that we might be declared righteous by the faith of Christ, and not by works of law, wherefore declared righteous by works of law shall be no flesh.

Notice the difference in the wording of "we in Christ Jesus did believe" but it's by the faith of Christ. And yes the word is different in the Greek.

Man can't even boast about his faith. Our faith is not even our faith. God gives it to each in different measures. So no, man is not doing something. God is doing something through man.