D-fendr,
Do “you believe you can earn your way to heaven”?
Is this a correct assumption/presumption of what you believe?
No. In fact I believe taking this as either a possibility or having it as a motivation is a big step away from God.
Then what is all this about praying for other people? What's the bank of merit where a RC can earn points by praying and then give them to someone else for their salvation?
The RCC says if someone prays according to a certain rotation (I forget exactly what it is now) that person can earn days off in purgatory for themselves or for others.
Which is nuts.
The RCC catechism says good works are required for salvation.
And this is not Scriptural. Good works are the result of our salvation, of the rebirth by the Holy Spirit; they are not the cause of our salvation.
The cause of our salvation is the good work Christ performed on the cross on our behalf and mercifully imputed to us, by the grace of God for the glory of God.
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" -- Titus 3:5