Justification by works

• What did the catholic church traditionally believe in?

  Justification by works
• Catholics believe that justification first comes from baptism
• Catholics believe that justification can be lost by the committing of mortal sins
• Justification can be regained through confession, reconciliation and penance, which involves confessing sins and doing good works to make up for sin
• Catholics believe purgatory existed for Christians who hadn't done enough penance for their sins before dying
• In medieval times, penance involved the sale of indulgences, which were certificates from the pope that granted a sinner freedom from penance
• In medieval times, penance involved the sale of indulgences, which were certificates from the pope that granted a sinner freedom from penance
• Indulgences were sold for money, the money was then used by the Vatican to pay for new buildings
• In medieval times, it was claimed that money could be given to save souls from purgatory
• The Epistle of James suggests that justification is by works, not faith alone
• In the Epistle of James, James points out that if someone is in need of food, just having faith will not solve the problem, works are needed
• James points out that even demons believe in God, so mere faith in God cannot mean much since demons are not saved
• James claims that Abraham was justified by his works as his willingness to sacrifice his son shows devotion to God
• Abraham had faith in God, but the faith was "active along with his works, and faith was completed by works"
• "Faith without works is dead" - James 2:26
• The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats suggests that works are important for justification
• During the second coming of Jesus, he will divide all the people of the world into the good (sheep) and the bad (goats)
• Those who are good to others in life will be saved by Jesus as helping others meant they indirectly helped him
• Luther claimed that the Catholic Church's focus on good works is what corrupted it as it let the church claim that giving them money was a good work that could lead to salvation
• Luther claimed that good works are the result of being a faithful Christian, but it is the faith that is relevant to salvation
• Luther does believe that works have great value in Christianity, but only as a symptom of faith
• Luther used the analogy of fire and heat to explain faith and works: one flows inevitably from the other
• In the parable of the sheep and the goats, Luther claims that these works are only salvific because they were a symptom of faith
• Luther tried to get the Epistle of James removed from the Bible for being 'straw'
• "Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith"- The Epistle of James