Question:  Dear Greg,

            Let me first tell you how much I appreciate your site as a resource for expanding and expounding upon my faith.  I am a practicing Roman Catholic, but I believe very strongly in the idea of “one body, many parts”.  I would, however, like to clarify the sentiment that most Catholics deny that faith is the only way to salvation and that salvation is conditional on works.  The real belief is that the two are intertwined; through your faith in Jesus our Lord comes a love for humanity as creatures of God and the practice of good works.  In truth, good works are in fact a requirement of the faith.  I do not believe that works alone will save you, but faith without works cannot exist.  Through faith comes works.  Jesus commands that we feed the hungry, visit the sick, and clothe the naked.  This is an integral part of keeping the Faith.  Faith in Jesus is in fact the only way to salvation, but with this faith comes works; otherwise, that faith is empty.  I would appreciate your comments on this subject.

            Yours in Christ,

            Joel

Answer:  Dear Joel,

            Here’s a little more detailed answer to your question.  First, I very much agree with your statement about the universal nature of the body of Christ.  There is no “one true and only church” that captures all of the goodness and grace of God.  God does not give any physically incorporated group an exclusive franchise on his work – he works in whom and where he wills, often in spite of the efforts of Christians!!  We can be thankful that the size and membership of the body of Christ is up to God – not to any humans, for we humans would like to feel superior to others, and often our Christianity can come across that way.  So I appreciate what you say about one body, many parts.

            Second, it is important to realize what the official Catholic teaching is – and to distinguish it from the actual belief and practice of Catholics.

            One example – birth control.  What the official Catholic teaching is, and what the practice is are two different things.

            I am not certain how aware you are of the official Catholic teaching – and that teaching may not be the same as what you have heard from a priest – for the Catholic church, like most churches, is not monolithic.  Not every Catholic believes the exact same thing – and certainly not on this issue.

            Now – you say that good works in fact are a requirement of faith.  Well, this is true, but perhaps not in the way you are explaining it.  Good works are God’s gift, produced by the Holy Spirit, which follows the conviction of faith.  We do not produce righteousness – the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to us because of and after, we accept, believe, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ completely for our salvation.

            Such trust means that we accept that his atoning work on the cross was sufficient for our salvation – he does not need our works to help him save us.  Salvation is not Jesus plus what we do.  This does not mean that the Christian does not have works.  It is a question of where those works come from – who gets the credit – who produces them.

            In Galatians we read of the works of the Holy Spirit compared to fruit – the fruit that comes from and to a tree is not credited to the tree – the tree is simply the vehicle in which and through which the fruit is produced and evidenced.  God gives the fruit to the tree – God gives the increase.  Nothing we do when we plant a little seed in the ground can “make” that seed grow – God makes it grow.

            Ephesians 2:8-10 shows us that we are not saved BY our works – but we are saved FOR works (see vs. 10).  We are saved so that God might produce works in us – but even those works are not produced by our efforts, for we are unable and unworthy of producing anything of value to God.

            Hope this helps, Joel.  May God be with you and bless you.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht