‍Catholics teach salvation by works instead of faith

  Gary Hoge  ·  November 7, 2026

‍Evangelical Protestants sometimes accuse Catholics of teaching salvation by works rather than faith. And considering what Paul wrote to the Ephesians, that's a serious accusation:

‍For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8–9).

‍Catholics believe that, too. We can't earn our salvation. It's a gift of God's grace, made possible entirely through Jesus Christ. In fact, the Council of Trent explicitly declared:

‍None of those things which precede justification—whether faith or works—merit the grace itself of justification.¹

‍So where's the disagreement?

‍**Faith and works aren't competing ways of being saved**

‍Catholics don't believe that some people are saved by faith while others are saved by doing good works. Nor do we believe that faith gets us partway to heaven and our good works make up the difference.

‍We believe that salvation comes from God, through Jesus Christ, and that faith is essential to receiving it. But we also believe that the faith through which we receive God's grace is meant to transform the way we live.

‍Consider what Paul says immediately after declaring that we're saved by grace through faith, not by works:

‍> For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

‍Notice the order. We don't perform good works to make ourselves worthy of receiving God's grace. God saves us by his grace and creates us anew in Christ for a life of good works.

‍And those works aren't something we accomplish independently of Christ. As Jesus himself said:

‍> Apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

‍Our good works are possible because God is already at work within us. They don't compete with his saving grace. They're what his grace enables us to do.

‍**What does it mean to be saved?**

‍Many evangelicals speak of salvation primarily as something that happened when they first believed in Jesus. They repented, placed their faith in Christ, and received God's gift of salvation.

‍Catholics believe salvation has a definite beginning, too. We call it initial justification, and we believe it's entirely a gift of grace. Nothing we do beforehand can earn it.

‍But Scripture also speaks of salvation as an ongoing reality and a future hope.

‍Paul tells the Ephesians that they've been saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Elsewhere he describes Christians as those who are being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18). And he tells the Romans:

‍> Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed (Romans 13:11).

‍Jesus likewise tells his disciples:

‍> The one who stands firm to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13).

‍So salvation isn't simply something that happens at the beginning of the Christian life. It's also something God continues to accomplish in us as we follow Christ.

‍That's why Paul instructed the Philippians:

‍> Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose (Philippians 2:12–13).

‍Notice that Paul doesn't tell Christians to work *for* their salvation, as though they could earn it. He tells them to work *out* their salvation, and immediately explains that God himself is working within them.

‍That's the Catholic understanding. God doesn't save us and then leave us to finish the job by our own efforts. His grace continues to transform us, enabling us to love him, obey his commandments, resist sin, and persevere in faith.

‍**But doesn't James say faith without works is dead?**

‍He certainly does:

‍> In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:17).

‍James isn't proposing good works as an alternative to faith. He's describing the kind of faith that actually lives and acts.

‍Think about the difference between believing that Jesus is Lord and actually following him. If we genuinely trust Christ, shouldn't that trust affect how we live?

‍Paul expressed the same idea when he wrote that what matters is “faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6).

‍Catholics don't believe we can replace faith with good works. We believe that the grace we receive through faith calls us into a new life of love and obedience.

‍**What about Catholic teaching on merit?**

‍Here's where some evangelicals become especially suspicious. The Catholic Church teaches that good works performed in God's grace can merit a reward from him.

‍Doesn't that mean we've earned something from God?

‍Not in the sense of accomplishing something independently of his grace and then presenting him with a bill.

‍Everything begins with God. He gives us faith, enables us to respond to his grace, and makes our good works possible. He also promises to reward our faithful response.

‍St. Augustine explained the relationship this way:

‍> This question, then, seems to me to be by no means capable of solution, unless we understand that even those good works of ours, which are recompensed with eternal life, belong to the grace of God, because of what is said by the Lord Jesus: Without me ye can do nothing.²

‍And the Council of Trent expressed the same principle:

‍> God forbid that a Christian should either trust or glory in himself, and not in the Lord, whose bounty towards all men is so great, that he will have the things which are His own gifts be their merits.⁴

‍In other words, when God rewards our good works, he's rewarding what his own grace has enabled us to do.

‍There's no competition between Christ's saving work and ours. Without Christ, we couldn't do anything that contributes to our supernatural life. Whatever good we accomplish is possible because of him.

‍**So are Catholics saved by faith or by works?**

‍The question presents a choice Catholics don't believe Scripture requires us to make.

‍We aren't saved by good works *instead of* faith. We're saved by God's grace through Jesus Christ, and the faith through which we receive that grace is meant to produce a life of love and obedience.

‍As C. S. Lewis observed, asking whether faith or works is more necessary is “like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most necessary.”⁵

‍Faith and works aren't two competing methods of salvation. They belong together in the Christian life, and both depend entirely on God's grace.

‍That's why Catholics can affirm without hesitation what Paul wrote to the Ephesians: We're saved by grace through faith, not by works.

‍And we can affirm what he wrote two verses later: We've been created anew in Christ Jesus to do good works.

‍There's no contradiction. It's all the work of God's grace.

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‍**Footnotes**

‍**1** Council of Trent, *Decree on Justification*, Chapter 8, January 13, 1547.

‍**2** Augustine, *On Grace and Free Will*, Chapters 19–20.

‍**4** Council of Trent, *Decree on Justification*, Chapter 16, January 13, 1547.

‍**5** C. S. Lewis, *Mere Christianity*, Book III, Chapter 12, “Faith.”