What You Need to Be Saved (Faith vs. Works)

if you don't go any further in this video I want to be very clear Catholics do not believe that we are saved by our works what do we believe in We Believe excuse me hi my name is father Mike Schmitz and this is Ascension presents there is this kind of I don't know old argument or old debate that goes back to the 1500s when it came to those who broke away from the Catholic church and started their own denominations uh about is it Faith or is it works in fact one of the kind of cries

was a Sola fide or faith alone and so sometimes people say like okay so Protestants believe in faith alone we're saved by faith alone justified by faith alone whereas Catholics believe that you're saved by your works right so that's just the kind of thing is it Faith or as it works and on one hand a Protestant is saying it's Faith the other hand it's Catholic saying it's works though that's probably a what's the word that is probably a miss a mischaracterization of both parties in fact I know it's a mischaracteration mixed I know it's mischaracterization

of cat the Catholic party because we don't believe that we're saying buyer works what do we believe in we believe that we are saved by grace through faith working ourselves out in love and there are a lot of Protestants who would say like no no you have to there's some kind of thing you have to do so but there's some though who would say no no solafide all you have to do is profess faith in Jesus that's all you have to do is have faith in Jesus in fact scripture says if you believe in your

heart Professor with the lips Jesus is Lord you'll be saved now at the same time we can't isolate a scripture passage and take it out and read it at the exclusion of all the other scriptural passages so how do I understand a Catholic vision of salvation where what we need is both faith and works let's go back to the original definition we're saved by grace right it's just a free gift Say by Grace it's God's forgive it's unmerited it's it's it is bestowed upon us before we have done anything to deserve it and in spite

of the fact that we haven't done anything to deserve it it is God's Gift we're saved by grace through faith right we respond to God's Gift of Grace we respond to God's Gift of himself in in the passion Paschal mystery right Christ's life death and Resurrection we respond to that with faith in another video we'll talk about this more but Faith isn't just like oh yeah yeah check the box like I agree that's not Faith that's the beginning of belief faith is I have placed my trust I've surrendered by intellect and my will to this

God who has died and risen from the dead for me he poured out the holy spirit for me we're saved by grace again completely unmerited gift through faith that's I've now surrendered I've submitted my intellect and my will to this God working itself out in love so there there is that sense of it has to work itself out it's not a it's not a one and done it's not once saved always saved it's not once I profess faith in Jesus I can just go about my Merry way why do we know that this is true

well we know this is true because of scripture in one place you can say well if you profess with your lips and believe in your heart Jesus is Lord you'll be saved yes but we can't read that to the exclusion of other scriptures for example we have another scripture where Jesus makes it very clear he says not everyone who says to me Lord Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven not everyone who again surrenders their intellect and will to me Welcome To The Kingdom of Heaven only those who do the will of my Father in

heaven so we realize that connected to Faith is also action that connected to Faith is also works in fact in the letter of James James makes it very clear he says faith without works is dead the faith without works is dead another way to say it is faith that that works is no use faith without works is like having no faith that you actually have to we have to again we're saved by grace through faith working itself out in love in fact that phrase solafide faith alone that's only found one place in the entire Bible

and that is in James Chapter Five when James says we are not saved through faith alone the only time that rallying Cry of faith alone is is there those two words are together in scripture is when Saint James writes we are not saved by faith alone but what do we say bye it's about grace through faith working itself out in love and we see it as we again we see this even Jesus has made this so clear at the end of um Matthew's gospel right Matthew chapter 25 he has a number of kind of apocalyptic

end of time Visions or Parables he tells he says that at the end of time here is the Lord when the son of man comes he'll divide them like sheep and goats right to the Sheep they'll go with the Everlasting rest with my father and to the goats to damnation what is the differentiation between the sheep and the goats well to those who are saved those who go to heaven essentially Jesus says what he says I was naked and you clothed with me I was hungry and you fed me I was ill and prison you

visited me and they say when did you do that when did we see you naked and and hungry and alone and he says as often as you did it for one of the least of my brethren you did it for me and to the others he says I was hungry you didn't feed me I was naked you did include me I was Ill in prison you didn't visit me and they will say to them to Jesus um when do we see you and he says as often as you didn't do it for one of these

Lisa my brethren you did not do it for me and realize they both call him Lord right those going to heaven and those going to hell both call him Lord now it could be at the end of time and when Jesus reveals himself as Lord to everybody even those who didn't believe in him that's a distinction maybe that's that case but the differentiation Between Heaven and Hell is not based off of did you believe in me the differentiation between him and hell is not did you have faith in me the differentiation Between Heaven and Hell

Is did you take care of the least of these or did you not take care of the least of these did you do something or did you not do something now this is so critical salvation is a gift of Grace if none of us deserve it none of us work our way to heaven none of us can work our way to heaven it is a free gift remember we're Say by grace through faith working itself out in love at the same time faith without works is dead utterly useless it can save no one having works

is not merely a sign that I've been saved having Works comes out of this live relationship with God where I've actually surrendered myself to him no it's completely his gift but I have to do something with his gift or it is as if I never got a gift now here's the example I I maybe I've used this example before but I'm going to use it again so imagine uh Christmas comes around maybe actually no not even Christmas not even your birthday your parents out of nowhere out of just the sheer goodness of their hearts they

decide to buy you a guitar again it's not nothing you earned nothing you deserve not even again not even your birthday not even Christmas out of nowhere your parents are just like I love you so much I'm we're going to give you this guitar and this is not just an ordinary guitar this is an extraordinary guitar it is it's incredible it's one of the best guitars ever made right not only were you are we going to give you this guitar we are giving you right down the road is uh one of the greatest guitar teachers

of all time you have unlimited lessons with this person as often as you want to train with them as often as you want to study with them we've already taken care of it completely provided anytime you want you just walk down with your guitar and this person this this incredible guitar teacher will teach a guitar If also also this if you ever break a string if you ever record the guitar if you are walking down to the teacher's place and like smash it against a tree accidentally or even on purpose we will completely fix that

guitar we'll replace that guitar now if I've been given all those things I didn't Merit it I didn't deserve it but I've been given those things by these parents who love me but I never pick up the guitar and play it if I never go down the road and actually learn from this great guitar Master if I never if I break a string but then never ask for it to be fixed I've been given the gift is the gift of any use to me no now did you do anything to deserve it if I work

really really hard at the guitar gonna be a great guitar player you can't without a guitar so the gift itself the guitar the lessons the repairs the replacement unmerited free gift I could never work hard enough to get this so it's not saved by works it's not I'm a great guitar player because of works but unless I actually work it's as if they never gave me the gift unless it like this unless I cooperate with the action of the Holy Spirit unless I cooperate and actually let my choices be affected by the grace that was

given to me it will be as if no gift has been given in the first place see if the analogy hopefully analogy doesn't break down at any point because here's God who in his complete goodness who loves you so much has given us the gift of Salvation And it is wrapped up it is on bow it can change our hearts here's God who says that I will constantly give you my spirit who'll lead you into all truth you're part of the church and if you're ever hungry you come to the church you get fed if

you're ever hurt you come to the church and get healed but if I never unpack that gift of Grace again unmerited purely gratuitous gift of God's grace if I never respond with faith submitting my intellect and my will to God and I never work out in love it will be as if I was never given that gift in the first place God has made his decision before you or I did anything and before actually even scripture says Romans chapter five well you and I were still enemies of God he did this how much more so

now once we've been reconciled he brought his abundance of his grace upon us his holy spirit into our hearts you already started with an a here's the deal God loves you so much you already start out with an a now we just say Okay unpack the gift just pick up the gift now here's the last thing I know how intimidating it can be I know what it is to have a guitar and be like where do I start I see amazing people out there and they're playing guitar like crazy they're incredible at this I don't

even know where to start or I'm trying and it's really hard to get my fingers in the right place and all these kind of things right you know you just start because I also know what it is to be intimidated by this invitation of oh my gosh here's God's free gratuitous Grace where do I start these people pray all the time they go to mass every single day they pray the rosary five times that you know at least where do I start you just start again it's if God already loves you you start out with

an a after you've been baptized right you you've been saved by grace through faith working us about in love so what do I need I need that Faith to submit my intellect and will to the Lord and I need to let my actions be an expression of love as I learned how to play the guitar I'm gonna fall down I'm gonna mess it up but that's why God's given us reconciliation that's why he's given us he's given us forgiveness it's because it's like yeah just because you've Fallen doesn't mean it's over just because you fail

doesn't mean my love's run out so my friends God desires your heart he desires your salvation you're saved by grace you didn't do anything to deserve it so simply work it out if you're in trembling Faith working yourself out in love anyways that's all I got for today for almost here to Central Spanish father Mike God bless foreign [Music]