When I do good works, which is not nearly frequent enough, it is because I am trying to live a Christ-like life, which was commanded of us because it is pleasing to the God whom we should love with all our heart.
Frankly, I see it as something between the faith alone and the earning through our own efforts, as Protestants see the Catholic view. Isn’t “accepting” Christ as Savior an act of volition?If someone chooses, who could choose otherwise, hasn’t he “earnedl his salvation? (Ugh, i hate typing on this ipad)
Well, Paul says ‘faith alone.’ (It’s the best translation of Romans 3, especially when contrasted against the ‘works’ he speaks of.)
If you add any kinds of works to the faith that God’s grace is granted through, then it’s no longer grace, because the definition of grace is that it’s undeserved favor.
James 2 of course tends to come up in these conversations, but James is specifically writing to people who assume ‘faith’ means ‘intellectual assent’ and that’s how he defines the word when he uses it.
In other words, genuine saving faith always produces good works—barring saving faith that comes at the very end before any good works can be done, of course. If someone claims to have ‘faith’ but doesn’t act it out, the ‘faith’ is false.
After all, Jesus says that we must have faith like a child. A child has nothing of their own, can’t work to earn their keep. They can only receive what their parents freely give to them. So we have to be like a child towards the Lord, only believing in what he gives freely to us.