Understanding St. Paul

There are a few manners of speech which St. Paul uses which people misunderstand quite often.

For instance.  

FAITH OF CHRIST

Romans 3:21-23
King James Version (KJV)
²¹ But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;  ²² Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Galatians 2:16Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Some people seem to think that this is a reference to Christ's great faith in the Father.  

But it is not.  Gal 2:16 is a very good illustration of what St. Paul means by that phrase.  Note that he compares the faith of Christ to the works of the law. That is because he is comparing the Old Testament to the New.  He is comparing that which we had to do in the Old Testament in order to be righteous followers of God to that which we have to do in the New Testament to become righteous followers of Christ.  Essentially, it is a comparison of the Jewish religion to the Catholic Church.

Some people think it is equivalent to faith in Christ.

Again, Gal 2:16 is a great illustrator of the difference.  Note that he uses the phrase faith of Christ in the same sentence with the words believed in Christ. 

Here is the sentence I'm speaking of:
but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law:

In other words, he says that established His Church in order that we who have faith in Him may be justified therein (i.e. in the Sacraments) and not by the works of the law.

DEAD WORKS

Another example is the term, dead works.  Most people that I've to whom I've spoken, seem to think this is a reference to the works of the law.  But it isn't.

Dead works means "sins".  Here are the two verses where he uses the term:

Hebrews 6:1Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Hebrews 9:14How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

I have frequently heard people say that the works of the law are dead.  And they attribute that understanding to the teaching of St. Paul.  But it isn't so.

Let's look at Hebrews 6:1.  If we read back to Hebrews 5, we see that he is talking about those who are learning the faith.  And he is reprimanding those who should be much farther along understanding the faith of Christ.  So far along that they should be teachers.  Therefore, when he gets to Heb 6:1, he says it is not necessary that he have to again teach them the necessity of repenting from sin (i.e. dead works) and the necessity of having faith in God.

Now let's look at Hebrews 9:14.  He says, the blood of Christ "purges our conscience of dead works".  There is another verse where St. Paul says almost the same thing:

Hebrews 10:2
For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.

Sincerely,

De Maria