Christian and Catholic!Primjer

St. James

If you are Catholic or you have ever spoken to a Catholic about salvation you have probably heard this statement from St. James: "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone" (James 2:24 NIV).  Of course, one part of the New Testament does not nullify another as much as some Catholics or Protestants would like it to.  Instead each piece of the New Testament compliments the other.  

James clearly says we are not saved by "faith alone."  Paul clearly says we are saved by "faith apart from works," which is the same as saying "faith alone."  Can both be right?  Of course they can be.  It's like two people standing on difference continents pointing to the same ocean, for one the Ocean will be immediately to the East while for the other it is immediately to the West and both will be correct even though they are giving different directions to the same ocean.  Recognizing this was critical in my own walk with God.  Perhaps seeing how this is possible will bless and affirm you as well.  

Faith Alone

When St. Paul says we are saved "apart from our works" he is saying that we are loved unconditionally by God and that we also need to be loved unconditionally by God because we have all made mistakes.  He certainly does not tell Christians to go on sinning – that is obvious if you read the rest of his letters.  St. Paul is simply revealing that nothing can separate us from the unconditional love of God if we merely welcome it into our lives – not even our continuing struggle with sin.  

When St. James says that we are saved by faith and works together, he is certainly not saying that Jesus' death on the cross was unnecessary, that God does not love us, and that we can earn grace.  He was saying that authentic faith includes and produces works naturally.  In other words, if our faith is real, holiness will grow in our lives and show up in our works. Faith which never produces any change in our actions is therefore "dead" (James 2:14-26 NABRE).  

We say we are saved by faith apart from works (faith alone) because we have a God whose love never changes despite our sins.  We also say that faith without works is dead, because if we have real faith we have to be open to God changing us over time.  St. Paul is pointing us to who God is because of grace.  St. James is pointing us to see who we will become because of the same grace.  It's all the same truth, just from different starting points or different sides of the ocean.  

My Journey

I look at where I am in my walk with God today and am simply in awe.  God, by revealing his truth about being saved by grace alone, has made me fall in love with his Son.  Falling in love with God's Son through grace has made me fall out of sin.  Literally, God's grace has saved me (as Paul says) and changed me (as James says) in that order.  Recognizing that I am loved and saved apart from my works has inspired the greatest works in my life revealing and deepening my real faith.  It's honestly amazing to behold.  And it really is ALL GRACE.  It makes me laugh to myself and almost want to cry just to think about it.  

I go to Mass because of grace.  I go to Confession because of grace.  I love others well because of grace.  I love myself well because of grace.  Every good deed I do is because of grace.  And every bad deed is because somewhere along the way I misunderstood or rejected grace in some way.  It's so very simple: me with grace puts me right with God and me without grace leaves me on the outside looking in with God.  

How about You?

Do you feel like you are on the outside looking in with God?  We all are.  However, God invites us into a relationship with him anyway through his free gift of grace given on the cross. 

Ask God to personally show you the truth about his undeserved love called grace and the changes he wants to make in your life through his grace, regardless of what church you attend, based on what you read in his Word now.