Saved by Faith or Works? w/ Dr. Scott Hahn

Matt asks Dr. Hahn a persistent question in Catholic-Protestant apologetics: are we save by faith alone, or by works and faith. Dr. Hahn explains how the biblical Catholic answer is a little more interesting than one way or the other.

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[coffeeanddavid]

It's not "faith AND works" or "faith OR works" but rather "Faith THAT works."

[sethhansen]

As a Lutheran, that sounded like a pretty Lutheran answer. I'm not saying this to be inflammatory, I just really desire more unity and dialogue with our Catholic brothers and sisters. I love my Catholic brothers and sisters!!

[psallen]

Simple, you are saved by faith but faith without action is dead. Your faith is your actions and your actions are your faith.

[ondreyjames]

Put simply:

We are saved by faith apart from works, however faith that saves is never alone.

[lukebrown]

Dr Scott Hahn can explain anything and make it deeper.

[anycyclopedia]

As a Catholic, Faith alone is like sitting on a couch believing Jesus and doing nothing. Which is not what Jesus wanted us to do.

[heathervancalcar]

We're saved by Jesus... we speak through Prayer... We prove our Love through works.

[andrewdoesapologetics]

I'm sorry, but this seemed like a very protestant answer. How was his answer of being saved by Faith consistent with the Council of Trent?

[AJTramberg]

As a protestant, I agree with much of this, except the part where it's implied this is a Catholic position. That is not the historic Catholic position. You are co-opting (perhaps this is a good thing, nonetheless) a form of evangelicalism (usually, but not always, a Calvinist form, ie. I am not a Calvinist). You would be hard pressed to find a Catholic on the street that would express this opinion.

Here's the historic Catholic position I've always heard form Catholics:

"Canon 24. If anyone says that justice received is not preserved and also not increased before God through good works, but that those works are merely fruits and signs of justification obtained, not the cause of its increase, let him be anathema."

[leeveronie]

Dr Hahn makes it so complicated but accurate at an 18th grade level hahaha .... can be explained a lot easier i'm sure ...
Thank You Matt and Dr Hahn

[themanufan]

Grace is the gas in the car, that is merited by our faith... We still have to put the foot on the gas and make sure we steer the car on the road to heaven.

[leoashura]

The prostitute was justified by her works and another verse it says Faith, the bible includes works that includes the will of the Father as Faith, being Faithful to God. Gods grace is what saves us, Faith is the justification. A Faith that follows the Will of God, not a Faith of believing in God or Jesus existence because even the Devil believes that

[yeeta]

here are some verses to prove that faith alone saves, NOT WORKS

Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭9

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Romans 4:1-5
“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

John 6:40
“And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:47
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

John 6:29
“Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

John 3:14-17
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:18
“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 3:36
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
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‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭16‬
“knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭21‬
“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

[andreasmandl]

Listening to Scott Hahn is like listening to one of the churchfathers!!!😇

[tankthomus]

We are saved by faith but how does one know their faith is genuine? Through works. Faith without works is dead because if you genuinely believed that God died for your sins then you would act like it. You would follow God’s commands (imperfectly, but trying) out of your reverence of him. Works are a symptom of true faith without works your faith is dead.

These are my thoughts on salvation, would you guys say it’s biblically grounded or am I missing the mark?

[marcusmagnificus]

"If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy." - Our Lord Jesus to St. Faustina

[ssur_yam]

I think this is a misrepresentation of Lutheranism, from the formula of concord: But after man has been justified by faith, then a true living faith worketh by love, Gal. 5:6, so that thus good works always follow justifying faith, and are surely found with it, if it be true and living; for it never is alone, but always has with it love and hope.

We are justified by faith alone, but true faith necessarily produces fruit. In that sense works are necessary, but they are not the source of justification.

[michaelsandy]

What is Dr. Hahn's source for making these statements?
The council of Trent canon 9 says " If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema."
The council of Trent still stands as authoritative in Catholicism and the words "prepared and disposed" sound like there are some works that make you come to a place of being declared as justified before God.

This is why you must test every teaching of the Catholic church by scripture because you will never know what is truth otherwise. Read the entire New Testament yourself and check to see if the teachings and practices of the Catholic church match. This is what happened during and even before the reformation. The Catholic church was and still is filled with heresy. Once people had access to the Bible and started reading it they protested against the Roman Catholic church for teaching false doctrines and leading people astray in a false gospel. It seems to me that the official Roman Catholic church teachings on justification are still faith plus additional works that need to be done in order to be righteous before God and therefore the Roman Catholic church is proclaiming a false gospel.

Romans 8:1 is clear "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, " If you are in Christ Jesus you are no longer condemned by God for your sin. You are in Christ Jesus when you put your faith in Jesus and repent of your sins. Repentance is just a decision to turn away from sinning against God and to now obey Jesus from here on out in your life. Repentance always goes with someone who has true saving faith. It is your faith alone that saves you and repentance is not a work. Your good works are showing that you repented and are evidence of a true saving faith like James talks about in James 2:14-26. If you are truly in Christ Jesus then you are not supposed to go on sinning like Paul talks about in Romans 6, but those works of obedience can never make you righteous before God (see Gal 3:11).

Furthermore Galatians 3:1-14 (NIV below) is very helpful in understanding that Paul taught a person's faith alone is what saved them.
"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?[a] 4 Have you experienced[b] so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[c]

7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[d] 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[e] 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”[f] 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”[g] 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[h] 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."


In Acts 26: 12-18, Jesus himself says to Paul in verse 18 that people are "sanctified by faith in me."
"12 “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, [a] ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’


15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, ’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

[atobpe]

At 0:45, Scott Hahn implies that Martin Luther used the analogy that faith alone is like a dunghill covered with snow. I am unable to find where Martin Luther said such a thing. However, it is documented that Martin Luther (and other Reformers) said that we are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” We should all be cautious to avoid strawmen arguments by using very dubious quotes of others.

If you read the writings of the Reformed and the Westminster Confession of Faith, you will find that the concept of salvation by faith alone does not mean what a lot of evangelical claim today - i.e., you just have to believe but do not have to have good works or bear fruit. The Reformers taught that it was through faith alone that one enters into the Kingdom of God (or is saved), but genuine faith in Christ necessarily results in the believer doing good works and bearing good fruit. However, the works and the fruit do not contribute to the salvation of that person.

[chrissexton]

Always looking for answers on this topic. As a Catholic at a Lutheran school, I am faced with the faith vs works question practically on the daily