Good works. Great God.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is a gift from God. Not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5

How can Catholics believe in the Bible, and yet believe that Salvation is works based?

In fact, according to faithforcatholics.org, "...the Catholic Church teaches that faith is important; but it also insists on the necessity of good works to merit eternal life."

Maybe I'm reading that with a negative tone.. But how I interpret that is "yeah, faith is important, but it is necessary to do good works to gain good works."

I'm so thankful that I know my salvation isn't something that I can gain or lose based on how many bowls of soup I serve at a homeless shelter or how many kids I tutor in math.. And that verse proves it. Our salvation is because of God's grace and mercy. And nothing more.

Mercy: not getting something we deserve (Hell)
Grace: getting something we don't deserve (Heaven)

We deserve Hell, but God gives us Heaven. And not because of "good works".

There's nothing wrong with doing "good works". But the reasoning behind it is important. "Good works" is something we do as Believers because we know it honors God.. Not because it's something we have to do to earn favor with Him to reserve our spots in Heaven.

Jesus already did the "greatest good" that anyone could do. His "good work" is the only reason we can go to Heaven.

Doing "good works" to ensure our salvation is like people still believing that sacrificing a lamb is necessary. It demeans what Christ did for us on the cross. It's like saying what He did for us wasn't good enough, so we have to keep doing it.

Thank You for the cross.
Thank You for the cross.
Thank You for the cross, my Friend.

(Once Again - Matt Redman)