Justified by Faith and Works?

Our Protestant brothers and sisters will cite today’s First Reading as proof that we are justified by faith alone and not at all by works: “Indeed, if Abraham was justified on the basis of his works, he has reason to boast” (Rom. 4:2).

To be clear, the Catholic Church has always taught that salvation is a free gift from God that we cannot possibly earn, and yet we can accept or reject it through our good or bad works, as Paul himself teaches clearly elsewhere (see Rom 1:18–32; 2:6–8). And never mind that faith can be said to be a foundational—and sustaining—good work. In other words, faith is not a one-time, irreversible decision as some Christians who espouse “eternal security,” aka once saved/always saved, incorrectly claim.

In this light, we can see that Paul distinguishes between “works of the law” (Rom. 3:28) in Romans—and also in his Letter to the Galatians—and good works in general.

Indeed, a closer look at St. Paul’s epistles shows Paul’s agreement with what Jesus teaches about good works in the Gospels, including in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5—7), and it also illustrates why in today’s Gospel Reading Jesus teaches us that we should fear him as the Just Judge, whom we will face at our particular judgment.

Doers

Paul doesn’t brush aside all good works; rather, he teaches that ‘‘works of the law,’’ i.e., primarily the ritual and liturgical commandments which Moses prescribed for Old Covenant life, cannot make a man righteous before God, because they are performed “apart from the grace of Christ.” However, for persons already established in grace as New Covenant disciples of Christ, Paul teaches something quite different regarding their living out the timeless moral law grounded in the Ten Commandments: “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. 2:13–15; see Jas. 1:22–25; 2:14–26).

In addition, the same Greek word for ‘‘justification’’ that St. Paul uses to describe justification by faith in Romans 3:28 and 4:2—dikaióō—is the same word that St. Matthew (Matt. 12:37), St. Paul (Rom. 2:13) and St. James (Jas. 2:24) all use to describe justification by works regarding our moral conduct in living out the New Covenant.

Keep the Commandments

Further, as we read in Matthew 19:16–26, consider that when the rich young man asks, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” Jesus doesn’t respond, “Good deeds?! It’s all faith alone, man!” No, the Lord tells him to keep the commandments, and enumerates, in summary, the Ten Commandments. And when the rich young man says he’s kept all of these since his youth, Jesus makes, similar to the Sermon on the Mount, an even higher appeal, which lead to the young man’s—at least for awhile—turning away from following Jesus as his disciple.

Consider also Jesus’s forecast of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25:31–46, in which good works do play a role in whether one attains heaven or not.

And yet Jesus closes today’s Gospel by reassuring and giving us hope, praised be him, as he does elsewhere: “Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:7, emphasis added; see 15:1-7)

[Readings: Rom 4:1-8; Lk 12:1-7]