|
|---|
| Mt 7:21 | must do God's will; judged on actions | |
| Lk 6:46-49 | must do God's will; judged on actions | |
| Jn 5:28-29 | must do God's will; judged on actions | |
| Mt 19:16-17 | for life, keep commandments | |
| Jn 14:15 | Jesus: keep my commandments | |
| 1 Cr 9:27 | Paul strives to avoid sin | |
| Ga 5:6 | faith working in love is key | |
| Ja 1:21-27 | doer of the Word's work blessed | |
| Ja 2:17 | faith without works is dead | |
| He 10:26-27 | avoid sin | |
| Rm 8:12-13 | avoid sin | |
| 1 Tm 5:8 | man that fails to provide denies faith | Faith without action is worse than no faith at all, it is a "denial of faith" and the man is "worse than an infidel". Harsh words for those who think that faith alone will get them into heaven. |
| 1 Jn 2:3-6 | keep commandments | |
| 1 Jn 3:24 | keep commandments | |
| 1 Jn 5:3 | keep commandments | |
| Ja 2:20 | faith without works is dead | James repeats: faith without works is dead. It is vanity to think otherwise. |
| Ja 2:26 | faith without works is dead | A third time James makes this important point. |
| Mt 7:26-27 | Without action, destruction | |
|
|---|
| Jn 14:15 | Jesus: love me? then act | |
| 1 Cr 13:2 | faith without charity is nothing | The greatest, most complete faith, capable of moving mountains, is but nothing without love. Apparently, "faith" does not operate alone.
Moreover, Paul uses the word faith and its cognates over two hundred times in the New Testament, yet he never qualifies them with the adjectives alone or only. |
| 1 Cr 13:13 | The greatest is charity | The three great virtues of faith, hope and charity, yet charity is singled out as the most important. Apparently, "faith" is not at the top of the pecking order. |
| Pp 1:29 | Not faith alone, suffering too | Not mere belief, but also bearing the cross |
|
|---|
| Mk 5:36 | Only Believe [1]verse used to challenge Catholic teaching | This verse is often abused to argue that "faith alone" suffices for justification. However, God only declares here that he requires a faith in his almighty power for the performance of miracles, and that without this necessary predisposition, he will not do any miracles. Compare with Mark 6:4-6. |
| Lk 7:50 | A faith that saves? [1]verse used to challenge Catholic teaching | Another verse which Protestants hope proves that "faith alone" is salvific. But one merely has to consider the entirety of this story to see that this is not so. Before Christ spoke these words to her, he had said: many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. That is, she was justified not so much through her faith, as her charity. She had faith of course, or she would not have come to Jesus. But it was her faith, working through charity, that justified her. This is precisely the doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Nor does the woman believe, even for a moment, that her faith alone has saved her as so many Protestants believe of themselves. So why does Christ say that her faith has saved her? The answer is simple and has been given by many: namely, that faith is the beginning of salvation. But had she not also loved deeply and acted on it, her faith would have been for nought. |
| Ga 3:6 | Faith alone? [1]verse used to challenge Catholic teaching | Is Paul affirming Abraham's justification by faith alone? In context Paul is talking about the Law of Moses. Paul's argument here is that Abraham was reckoned as righteous before "the Law" existed, thus "the Law" isn't strictly necessary. Paul is not arguing for "faith alone" but merely referring to a pre-Law OT passage where Abraham is declared justified.
Furthermore, the OT event Paul references is God's promise of a son to Abraham. No act beyond faith was even possible. Years later, Abraham must act on God's command (i.e., the sacrifice of Isaac). God says he knows Abraham's faith, NOT when Abraham accepts God's command, nor when he prepared for the journey, nor when they arrived at the designated site, nor when the altar was built, not even after Isaac was bound and laid on the altar, but only at the very last moment when Isaac was under the ready sword, i.e., faith alone was insufficient. [Genesis 22:10-12] |
| Gn 15:6 | belief as righteousness [1]verse used to challenge Catholic teaching | In isolation, this verse says Abram's faith justified him. But 3 points to remember:- The particular event in view was God's promise of a son. No proof of faith (work) by Abram was needed. So concluding that work need never accompany faith is unwarranted. See the sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22, for example, when Abraham's "faith alone" was insufficient. His action was necessary for God to "know" his faith.
- The credit given Abram was not described as sufficient for salvation, nor as a permanent effect.
- Abram's faith is addressed by James [Ja 2:17-26]. He points out that Abram's faith, alone, was insufficient because even demons believe and are fearful of God. Abram many times showed his faith through action. And thrice James declares that without these works faith is dead (compare: James 2:17, James 2:20, James 2:26).
|
| Lk 5:20 | Jesus acts on their faith? [1]verse used to challenge Catholic teaching | It is important to note that this verse does not say Jesus "knew" but rather "saw" their faith, obviously implying that their faith "in action" (for this event is remarkable in part for the extraordinary efforts of the man's friends) was what Jesus saw. Otherwise, if Jesus "knew" their faith, they could have just stayed home with their inactive "faith" alone. |
| Mt 7:22-23 | Work is iniquity? [1]verse used to challenge Catholic teaching | In isolation, Protestants hold this citation against the Church, sometimes by contorting "work iniquity" [KJV] to imply "work is iniquity." Yet by looking at Mt 7:21-24, the tenor changes dramatically, putting "works" in context. Miracles and prophecy are sometimes brought forth through bad men (e.g., Pharoah, Balaam, Caiaphas, etc.). Obviously such a "work," no matter how glorious, does not imply (let alone guarantee) their salvation. Only a life lived in conformity with faith, acting through charity, is salvational. |
| Ga 2:16 | faith not works [1]verse used to challenge Catholic teaching | Protestants often misuse this verse to deny that works play a role in Salvation. Galatians 2, however, concerns the Jewish Law, and the works required by it. See especially verses 12-21. Paul is arguing that performing "works of the [OT Jewish] Law" is no longer necessary for Justification because the new salvational economy wrought by the death of Christ replaces it. For if Justification was available through the "works of the [OT] Law", then the death of Christ was in vain for it was unneccessary. |
|
|---|
| Mt 16:27 | works weighed at judgment | Here the works of "every man" will be accounted at judgment.
Yet nowhere in Scripture does the it say that man will be held to account at judgment for his faith.
For more, see Good Works [play a role]. |
| Mt 25:32-46 | Jesus damns believers without works | His words for those who did not have charity and did not act: "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels." Harsh words for those who think that faith alone will get them into heaven. |
| 1 Cr 3:8-9 | rewards according to labor | |
| 2 Cr 5:10 | works have merit at judgment | |
| Rm 2:6-13 | works have merit at judgment | |
| Ga 6:1-10 | works have merit at judgment | |
| Rv 20:12 | works have merit at judgment | |
| Ja 2:24 | man justified not by faith alone | This is the only place in the bible where the words "faith alone" appear. And they are preceded by the words "NOT BY" so that no one is confused. This is one reason why Luther wanted this book removed from the Bible. |
| Ja 5:20 | earning forgiveness | |
