BpAndre
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Joined: 20 Aug 2005
Posts: 126
Location: Chicago, IL.
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 Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:19 pm Post subject: Faith and Works |
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Is faith in Christ a mere mental assent or agreement to the fact that He is the Son of God only, or is true faith operative in the life of the believer? Must true faith result in some response, generated by God’s grace operative in our life, compelling us to live the Christ-like life? We believe this to be so. Furthermore, we believe that this is the proper understanding of faith and works. The Catholic Apostolic National Church does not now, nor has it ever, taught a “works-righteousness” type of salvation; that is, we do not teach that one can earn their way into heaven by doing good works. We do believe, that we are compelled as Christians to do good works – because Christ Himself taught us to do so. One’s faith then, must work. We are saved by the grace of God, justified by faith. working through love.
"‘Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.’" (Matt. 7:21) This contradicts affirmations that all that is required is to “ask Jesus to be your personal Lord and Savior”, in order to be saved. We are exhorted, not only be the prophets, and Apostles, but by Jesus Himself, not merely to profess Christ as Lord, but to go the next step and walk in faith, and do the will of His Father. This particular message is not isolated. It is not merely “nice to do” but absolutely essential to follow one’s profession of believe with the actions that are manifest as a result of true faith, such as feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and loving one another as Christ loves us. Our failure to obey Christ’s instructions to us will not go unnoticed. He will hold us accountable for our failure to live out our faith in accordance with His teaching. "‘Why do you call me "Lord, Lord," and not do what I tell you?’" (Luke 6:46)
"For he will render every man according to his works . . ." (Rom. 2:6-8)
"For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified." (Rom. 2:13)
"For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgments . . .” (Heb. 10:26-27).
"What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?" (Jas. 2:14) A profession of faith and believe not genuinely followed by acts of mercy and virtue, the corporal works of mercy, and acts of love for our fellow man, not just those whom we know and care about, but the stranger in our midst as well, profits us absolutely nothing. Ours is a faith of action, and not mere mental assent – one is to walk forward in faith, trusting in God.
"So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." (Jas. 2:17) Genuine faith operative in the life of the faithful is God’s grace at work in us.
"But some one will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. . . .Do you want to be shown, you foolish fellow, that faith apart from works is barren?” (Jas. 2:18-20)
"You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." (Jas. 2:24)
We see that faith is joined to works of charity and love to our fellow man. This agrees with Christ’s exhortation to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. When St. Paul, in Romans, speaks of “works of the law”, he is referring to the obligations of the Mosaic law upon the observant Jew, such as circumcision, temple obligations, animal sacrifices for atonement for sins, the kosher laws, and the like. This understanding is evident in the context of the passage, as St. Paul is arguing with the Judiazers, who wanted the Gentile converts to be circumcised, which would initiate them into the Old Covenant and obligate them to obey Mosaic law. The phrase in Greek is “erga nomou” and usually is transferred as “works of the law”, where the word “nomou” is the word used in the Septuagint, the Greek language book of Hebrew Scripture to translate the Hebrew word “Torah”, the Law of Moses. This understanding of what St. Paul was saying is further supported by archeological proof, as the same phrase appears, in Hebrew, in the Dead Sea Scrolls of the first century. So then what St. Paul is talking about in referring to “works of the law” is the Law of Moses, and what St. James is talking about in referring to “works” are the acts of love and mercy, that we are enabled to do through God’s grace. Jesus Christ never taught “faith alone”.
[cited by the catechism of the Catholic Apostolic National Church]
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Bishop Andre' Jhohn-William Queen, SCR
Vicar General
Catholic Apostolic National Church
Phone: 773.942.4660 |
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