***Works are essential for fulfilling God’s plan for His children:
Eph 2:10 : For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.***
So what happens if you don’t? What are the works essential for? How are they essential?
***I get the impression that the Latin view is that works and faith are two completely separate things, which must be independently chosen by any prospective or actual believer.***
We believe that if one believes then one must follow the edicts of the Sermon on the Mount et al. Non performance is indicative of flagging or little faith.
*** That is, I could ask why shouldn’t Catholics feel they can sin all they want to during the week, and then simply clean it up with a confession and a couple of “Hail Mary’s”.
***
Because that is not true repentence; if you intend upon committing the same sins over and over again, then one remains in that state of sin.
***A true Reformed is a true believer, changed by God. That person will WANT to do works of his own “free will”.***
But if the Reformed have every action in their lives dictated and controlled, there is no free will and the works are mechanical only.
So what happens if you don’t? What are the works essential for? How are they essential?
If we don't then we never had faith in the first place, as James said. That's pretty essential, but it is not independent. No one can have true faith and then not do works. Works are an echo of faith, but faith alone is what saves. Per my above, specifically, one example of fulfilling God's plan by works is evangelizing. Another is loving my neighbor, etc.
FK: *** That is, I could ask why shouldn’t Catholics feel they can sin all they want to during the week, and then simply clean it up with a confession and a couple of “Hail Mary’s”. ***
Because that is not true repentance; if you intend upon committing the same sins over and over again, then one remains in that state of sin.
But I thought that the Catholic position was that through Apostolic succession any priest had the authority to absolve sin based on John 20:23. I have been told that Heaven accepts the decision of the priest (even one who has wrongly been fooled). That doesn't match what you are saying.
But if the Reformed have every action in their lives dictated and controlled, there is no free will and the works are mechanical only.
That is the classic difference between God's POV and man's. Men fully experience free will, so it is fully real, for us. On a higher plane, God is in control. Some of the time, we are only intellectually aware of it, but many other times we can witness it first hand, like witnessing the birth of a child.