That’s not what Ephesians 2:8 says. It says that we receive faith by grace but it’s the faith that saves as I showed from scripture in my previous post.
>>We receive that grace through faith and works and not by faith alone (James 2:24).<<
That is absolutely backwards from what scripture states. Once again, it is by grace that we have the faith that saves. I for the life of me fail to understand how Catholics take one verse and make it mean something contrary to the rest of what scripture says.
“That’s not what Ephesians 2:8 says. It says that we receive faith by grace but it’s the faith that saves as I showed from scripture in my previous post.”
No. Faith leads to saving grace. I realize that many Protestant Freepers suffer from government educations, poor reading comprehension, and general ignorance, but thankfully not all Protestants have fallen into the same trap:
In one important salvation text, the Apostle Paul uses prepositions to relate grace, faith, and salvation; “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). Salvation results from two things: grace and faith. So what is the role that each plays? The answer is found in the prepositions “by” and “through.”
The first preposition — “by” — concerns God’s grace; Paul says we are saved “by grace.” This prepositional phrase is constructed in the ancient language of the New Testament by use of the Greek dative case to signify agency. “By grace” means “by the agency of grace.”
This answers the question: Who saves us? God saves us by his grace! Paul has insisted that we “were dead” in our “trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), so that we are not able to do anything to initiate our salvation. “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved” (Eph. 2:4-5).
So what, then, is the role of faith? To answer this, Paul continues, “Through faith” (Eph. 2:8), that is, faith “in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). The key preposition for faith is “through,” which refers to the means or instrumentality by which we are saved.
We are saved by God’s grace (grace is the ground and agency of our salvation) through faith, which is the means by which we receive the gift of salvation. Faith is viewed as that way by which God’s gracious gift of salvation is received — through our faith — the way water flows through a pipe. http://www.sharonherald.com/religion/x1208368437/By-grace-through-faith-or-why-prepositions-matter-in-Bible
New International Version
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
New Living Translation
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
English Standard Version
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
New American Standard Bible
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
King James Bible
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Holman Christian Standard Bible
For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—
International Standard Version
For by such grace you have been saved through faith. This does not come from you; it is the gift of God
NET Bible
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Aramaic Bible in Plain English
For it is by his grace that we have been saved through faith, and this faith was not from you, but it is the gift of God,
GOD’S WORD® Translation
God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God.
Jubilee Bible 2000
For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God,
King James 2000 Bible
For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
American King James Version
For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
American Standard Version
for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Douay-Rheims Bible
For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God;
Darby Bible Translation
For ye are saved by grace, through faith; and this not of yourselves; it is God’s gift:
English Revised Version
for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Webster’s Bible Translation
For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Weymouth New Testament
For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is God’s gift, and is not on the ground of merit—
World English Bible
for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Young’s Literal Translation
for by grace ye are having been saved, through faith, and this not of you — of God the gift,
Having said all of that, I do not doubt for a moment that we receive a sort of prevenient grace from God to have faith in the first place.
That is absolutely backwards from what scripture states. Once again, it is by grace that we have the faith that saves. I for the life of me fail to understand how Catholics take one verse and make it mean something contrary to the rest of what scripture says.
My thoughts as well.