Hi First Presbyterian Church,

In my Wednesday Evening Bible Study, a few people in the group have a Catholic background, so we’re studying the differences between Catholics and Protestants. With Halloween right behind us, it seems appropriate for me to highlight some things we’ve discussed in our Bible Study. (By the way, did you know the Protestant Reformation began on Halloween in 1517?)

Maybe you know this but maybe you don’t, Catholics and Protestants have historically differed in our understanding of how faith and good works relate to salvation. Sometimes Protestants say, “Protestants believe that we are saved by God through faith alone, and Catholics believe that we are saved by God through faith and good works.” I think this is an oversimplification of the truth. I think when we look more closely at what we mean by statements like that, we will actually find that our beliefs aren’t as far apart from each other as we might assume.

It’s true that Protestants believe that God saves us by faith alone. We cannot earn our own salvation. We cannot heal our own brokenness. This is what we’re told in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” This is what we call justification – which means we are “declared innocent of sin” by God. We are justified by our faith in Christ. To be justified before God means we are free from sin and its effects, which are death and hell. So is that the end of it? Protestants think you just believe in Christ and you’re saved? Not exactly. Even if we are rescued from death and hell because of the work Christ has done and transmits to us (i.e., justification), that doesn’t mean our salvation ends there. God does care about our actions. God wants us to live like Jesus lives. So God helps us to live that way by giving us help from the Holy Spirit. This process of living increasingly more like Jesus is called sanctification. Both justification and sanctification are part of the whole process of salvation. I sometimes like to summarize it by saying, “We don’t do good works in order to become saved. We do good works because we are saved.”

Even though Catholics sometimes seem to talk about doing good works in order to earn their salvation from God, that isn’t how Catholic theologian Peter Kreeft describes it. Here’s what he writes: “Protestants and Catholics agree that faith is necessary for salvation. The Bible clearly teaches that it is. Good works alone do not merit salvation. No one can ‘buy’ heaven with enough good works, or good enough motives. The ticket to heaven is not being nice or sincere or good enough; the ticket to heaven is the Blood of Christ, and faith is the acceptance of that free gift. But the [Catholic] Church insists that good works are necessary too. This means the works of love. Good works are not mere external deeds, but the works of love. And love is not mere feelings, but the works of love (charity, agape). That is why Christ can command them; feelings cannot be commanded. St. James clearly teaches that ‘faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead’ (James 2:17). And some of Christ's parables teach that our salvation depends on charity (Matthew 25:40: ‘as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’)”

I think what Kreeft is saying is something along the lines of “doing good works because we are saved.” If I’m right, then, it turns out, Protestants and Catholics may not be that far away from each other as we might think about salvation.

Friends, I encourage you to reflect on God’s amazing love and grace shown to you in Jesus Christ today. You are loved, forgiven, and saved because of Jesus. Let that reality sink into your hearts. And then, go and love someone today – humbly and selflessly serving them like Jesus would. In doing both of those things, you are experiencing the broad spectrum of all that salvation entails. Praise be to God.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff