Your response as per the Catholic teaching is in error.

Hi Lutero,

Thank you! This is what I love. Actual, nitty gritty comparisons to Scripture.

Your response to faith alone and faith plus works as per the Catholic teaching is in error. The links you have provided conveniently skip certain verse because you did not interpret the book of the Bible as a whole to get its contextual meaning.

Let us proceed and see if this assessment of yours is true.

On you blog article you quote Galatians 2:16, but you conveniently forgotten to interpret contextually Galatians chapter 3 which is subsequent after chapter 2. Refer to Galatians 3:23-28. It is by faith alone and is applicable to all – Jew or Gentiles.

Let’s look at that contextually. Let’s take just one more verse. Instead of starting at Gal 3:23, let’s start at Gal 3:22-28. Note how he speaks of the faith OF Jesus Christ:

22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Faith, like many other words, has many meanings. One of them is “trust”. The other is “religion”.
The faith OF Christ Jesus, THAT faith, is Christianity. Specifically Catholic Christianity. Sacramental Christianity. Wherein, we have faith ALONE in the works of God. The proper disposition for a believer is to have faith, to believe, that God can do what He promised to do. And He promised to renew us in the bath of regeneration that we might walk with the Saints in this life (Titus 3:5; Heb 12:21-24). Yeah, He promised to give us the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) and wash away our sins (Acts 22:16). We do nothing, He does it all in the Sacraments. But, unless we keep the Commandments, we are not properly disposed to receive the Sacraments (Rom 2:13).

Also you rely on Romans 2:13, but you conveniently forgot Romans 3:28 – “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law”.

Rom 3:28 does not somehow nullify Rom 2:13. They are both true. How can they both be true when they seem to contradict each other? The only way they can both be true is the way the Catholic Church teaches. The Sacrametns JUSTIFY. In order to receive the Sacraments, we must be in a state of grace. In order to be in a state of grace, we must keep the Commandments. The Commandments are the Law. Therefore, DOERS OF THE LAW ARE JUSTIFIED. BY GOD.

The question of faith alone or faith plus works is made difficult by some hard-to-reconcile Bible passages. Compare Romans 3:28 5:1and Galatians 3:24 with James 2:24. Some see a difference between Paul (salvation is by faith alone) and James (salvation is by faith plus works). Paul dogmatically says that justification is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9),

Again, you are doing your best to dispense with many Pauline passages. Foremost among them is Romans 2:1-13. But there are so many that I can’t list them all in this little space. I’ll give you five, that should suffice. Rom 13:10;  Gal 5:6; 1 Thess 1:3; Heb 6:10; Heb 10:24

while James appears to be saying that justification is by faith plus works. This apparent problem is answered by examining what exactly James is talking about. James is refuting the belief that a person can have faith without producing any good works (James 2:17-18).

THAT IS THE CATHOLIC TEACHING!!! Can Satan have blinded you so much? Faith produces good works. That is faith AND works. Or faith PLUS works. That is the Catholic Teaching. What is your problem?

You need to pray that God may open your eyes to something which Satan has blinded you. You are here explaining Catholic doctrine and at the self same time claiming that it is Protestant doctrine. Whereas, this is precisely what Protestants decry.

James is emphasizing the point that genuine faith in Christ will produce a changed life and good works (James 2:20-26).

Catholic doctrine.

James is not saying that justification is by faith plus works,

Yes, he is.

but rather that a person who is truly justified by faith will have good works in his/her life.

Not true. Let us examine James 2:24.

James 2:24
King James Version (KJV)
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Wiggle yourself out of that. Twist the Scripture all you want. The only one who will be destroyed is YOU (2 Pet 3:16).

If a person claims to be a believer, but has no good works in his/her life, then he/she likely does not have genuine faith in Christ (James 2:14, 17, 20, 26).

Catholic doctrine.

Paul says the same thing in his writings. The good fruit believers should have in their lives is listed in Galatians 5:22-23. Immediately after telling us that we are saved by faith, not works (Ephesians 2:8-9), Paul informs us that we were created to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). Paul expects just as much of a changed life as James does: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). James and Paul do not disagree in their teaching regarding salvation. They approach the same subject from different perspectives. Paul simply emphasized that justification is by faith alone while James put emphasis on the fact that genuine faith in Christ produces good works.

You have misunderstood completely.

Sts. Paul and James both explain salvation by faith and works, which is the keeping of the Commandments (Rom 2:1-13; James 2: 14-24). But St. Paul also goes into detail about salvation by faith apart from works, which only happens in the Sacraments (Romans 3:28; Titus 3:5). St. Mark touched upon it (Mark 16:16), St Peter touched upon it (1 Pet 3:21); St. Luke touched upon it (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16). But only St. Paul goes into detail over and over again (Romans 3:28; Gal 2:16; Titus 3:5).

Sincerely,

De Maria