Can faith alone save us?

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IN her article last August 13, 2017, entitled “We cannot ‘edit’ our God,” fellow columnist Ms. Villafuerte, wrote: “Religious groups should be careful not to change God’s plan for salvation. Otherwise anyone at any time can play around and tinker with this divine plan.

*** “Good works is an overflow of being saved. But good works is not a precondition to being saved. Let me say again, though I’m repetitious, that it is a great insult to God to ‘edit’ Him.”

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Ms. Villafuerte quotes: “By grace you have been saved through faith. . . it is the gift of God, not of works.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“Meaning that we are saved by God’s mercy, not by our merit – by Christ’s dying, not by our doing.”

* * * We Catholics agree with Ms. Villafuerte’s assertion that God has already merited for us redemption through Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.

Our task, as God’s recipients of God’s undeserved mercy, forgiveness, and love, is to respond by accepting God’s free gift in faith. Thus, faith is the basic requirement for salvation.

* * * But while maintaining that, we Catholics also hold -- and here’s where we part ways with Ms. Villafuerte’s thinking -- that our faith must be an active and practical faith, animated by charity and productive of the works of love.

As Richard Chilson puts it in his book Full Christianity, “We are justified by faith, not by works. But how does a person of faith live?” And his reply: “Christians will act charitably.” In other words, it’s not enough to ACKNOWLEDGE Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

* * * A purely intellectual faith that bears no fruit in active works of love is deficient and incomplete. Jesus who is our model exemplified this when he went around “doing good” by preaching, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, defending the oppressed. The Son of God didn’t only redeem us by faith in his Father but he also reached out to the needy by good works.

* * * Let me cite some important passages to prove the importance of good works: Mt 19,16--The rich young man asked Jesus: “Good Master, what shall I do to gain eternal life?” Besides keeping the commandments, Jesus told him to practice poverty and charity. “If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven.” * * * Note that Jesus even equates practice of charity to perfection. In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10,25), Christ exhorted the lawyer: “Do this (caring for the wounded man) and you will have eternal life.”

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Read, too, Zacchaeus’ salvation story (Lk 19, 1-10). Zacchaeus as a senior tax collector felt guilty for all his wrongdoings so he confessed his sins and said: Behold, Lord, I give one-half of my possessions to the poor and if I defrauded anyone, I restore it four times.” Moved by his spirit of repentance and reparation, Jesus replied, “Today salvation has come to this house.”

* * * Ms. Villafuerte did not mention these clear passages, especially Jesus’ parable of the Last Judgment which prove the importance of good works. Isn’t this “editing” the Word of God?

(To be continued in my column this coming Sunday)

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ST. JUDE. Today join our novena to St. Jude, Saint of the Impossible, at the Divine Word Shrine, Christ the King Seminary on E. Rodriguez Boulevard, Quezon City after the 6 p.m. Mass.

A healing prayer and anointing of the sick will follow.