On the other hand, many faithful Catholics see the disease of “easy-believism” in Protestantism. They have the image of the guilt-ridden Protestant who, after hearing the fifth repetition of the song “Just As I Am,” walks the aisle to give his life over to Jesus, only to return to the aisle a few years later after a serious lapse of faith. They also see many Protestants who, no matter how wicked they live, boast that they cannot lose their salvation. Claiming Jesus will never damn them, no matter what they’ve done, they proudly proclaim the Evangelical axiom: “once saved, always saved.” Consequently, Catholics see a tendency among Protestants to reject the law as unnecessary for salvation, since all one needs is Christ’s covering for one’s sins.

Let’s set the record straight

Despite the misunderstanding of many Protestants, Catholic theology teaches we’re saved by grace, not works. In fact, the Fathers taught salvation by grace alone from the Catholic Church’s inception. Later at the Council of Orange in A.D. 529, twenty-five canons were dogmatized stating man was saved by grace. One thousand years later, the Council of Trent upheld these doctrines and declared in its very first canon:

“If anyone shall say that man can be justified before God by his own works which are done either by his own natural powers, or through the teaching of the Law, and without divine grace through Jesus Christ: let him be anathema.”

In Chapter 8, the Council declared:

“. . . None of those things which precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace itself of justification; for if it is a grace, it is not now by reason of works, otherwise (as the same Apostle says), grace is no more grace [Romans 11:6].”

Pretty strong words, right? Apparently, there’s a difference between the stereotype Protestants have of Catholicism and the real thing. Let’s dig a little deeper and discover why the Council taught this way.

Adam was a bad, bad boy

In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam a law not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he obeyed, he’d have been blessed with eternal life. As we all know, Adam disobeyed and the result was death (cf. Genesis 2:17). From that time onward, all men would come under the curse of death (cf. Romans 5:12-14). In Romans 7:10, St. Paul describes how the law affected mankind. Speaking in reference to Adam’s sin, he writes: “I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.” If Adam obeyed the law, God would have allowed him to eat of the tree of life and live forever (cf. Genesis 3:22-24). But since Adam disobeyed, the law could only be used to curse him. In addition, because the seeds of death were sown in man, he would have a tendency to sin, and the law would be there to convict him of every little fault.

In 1 Corinthians 15:56 St. Paul succinctly sums up man’s plight by stating: “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” In other words, as long as death remains, men will sin, and as long as men sin, the law will be there to condemn him for every single fault (CCC 708, 1963).

For this reason, the law can never serve as the means to salvation. As St. Paul concludes in Galatians 3:10-11, “All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’” In other words, if one tries to use the law to become right with God, he must obey every single requirement perfectly, without exception - otherwise, the law will curse him: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10).

Similarly, Romans 3:20 says, “Therefore no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, rather through the law we become conscious of sin.” Here’s what St. Paul means. Let’s say I tell you to make a perfect box, precisely equal on all sides. I give you a measuring stick, a saw, a hammer, wood and some nails. You begin by measuring the wood for the sides of the box and you cut along the lines. Finally, you nail the sides together. You think you’ve done a pretty good job, until I begin to inspect the sides of the box with the ruler. I find that one side is 1/64” longer than the opposite side. I find another side is 1/32” shorter than an adjacent side. The result? You didn’t make a perfect box as I requested. Ironically, the very measuring stick you thought was going to help make a perfect box turns out to be the very device that points out all your mistakes.

In this analogy, the measuring stick is the law. The moral of the story is that if you try to base your relationship to God on the law without grace, then God will use the law to judge your compliance. The very law you thought would bring you close to God, is the very law that makes you conscious of all your mistakes. The law has no power to give grace or mercy for your faults. It’s an impersonal, uncompromising force.

Life as a working man

St. Paul uses his own analogy to get this important point across. Romans 4:4-5 states:

“Now when a man works, his wage is not given to him as a gift but as a debt. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”

St. Paul is using the analogy of an employer and his employee. The employee and the employer have a contract which states the former will be paid a wage for work he does for the latter. There’s no personal relationship between the two, just an exchange of work for pay. St. Paul is adamant that we can never come to God on such a basis. We can never make an impersonal contract with God to be “paid” salvation for the work we do. As we’ve noted above, man is sinful, mortal and imperfect. He could never do enough work to satisfy the requirements of the law. For one mistake, the law will condemn him.

Now we can see why Scripture gives a constant and abiding teaching that men cannot be saved by the law, works or works of law (cf. Romans 3:19-4:17; 5:20; 6:14; 7:6-12; Galatians 2:16-3:25; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; 1 Timothy 1:9; James 2:10). If we try to base our entrance into heaven on the law, then the law will simply show where we’ve failed, and the punishment will be eternal death.

Here’s the rub

As much as St. Paul tells us about our condemnation under the law, he also commands us to obey the law for salvation! For example, in Romans 13:9-10, St. Paul tells us to obey the commandments. In the next chapter, Romans 14:10-12, he warns that God will judge us based on how we have kept his laws. Similarly, in Romans 2:6-8, St. Paul writes:

“God will give to each man according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger” (see also Matthew 16:27; 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27-10:13; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11; Revelation 22:11-12).

In Romans 2:13, the Apostle concludes, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are just with God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” Doesn’t this seem contradictory? How can St. Paul say in one breath that we are saved by works (cf. Romans 2:6-13), and in the next say we’re not saved by works (cf. Romans 3:20-4:8)?

To explain this apparent contradiction, we’ll use the same analogy of the employer and employee that St. Paul used in Romans 4:4-5. Let’s say I’m your employer and you’re my employee. The work week is over and it’s now Saturday. My family and I are moving into another house and I call to ask if you’d help us move our furniture. I’d also like to get acquainted with you and strike up a friendship. You come over and help, working hard all day. Now here’s the crucial question: Do I owe you a wage for your work? No, legally I don’t owe you anything, since you did the work “off the clock” or “off company time.” But I’m a gracious and honorable person. I appreciate your willingness to work for me and establish a friendship, so I want to reward you for your work and keep our friendship alive. For this reason, I may take you out to dinner, invite you over for a swim, or do any number of nice things. In fact, our relationship may become so good, I may give you a promotion at work and, maybe someday, a share of the company. I give you all this because you have fulfilled my desires and have become my friend. Our personal relationship blossomed because of my graciousness and your willingness, not because I owed you anything for your work.

This is precisely the principle behind St. Paul’s teaching in Romans 2:4-13. God will justify the doers of the law and grant eternal life to those who do good not because God owes them anything, but because He’s honorable, gracious and it pleases Him to reward those who fulfill His desires. Hence, man must approach God personally and honorably, as a son to a father, not as an employee seeking a paycheck. As St. Paul says in Romans 11:35: “Who has ever given to God that God should repay him?” This is why St. Paul constantly stresses faith as the means to obtain God’s favor. In a word, faith treats God with the honor and respect He deserves, not as someone who owes us a living.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” The author uses the word “please” because it’s a personal term which appeals to God’s graciousness, not a legal term that implies payment. We cannot please God through a system of law, because law will always condemn us if it doesn’t receive perfect compliance. Faith, on the other hand, allows the humble sinner to approach God personally and to seek forgiveness from a gracious and merciful Father. Faith says: “God, I believe in You for who You are; I believe in Your holiness, Your integrity and Your love. I believe You’re looking out for my best interest despite the suffering and danger I see all around me. I believe in Your future heavenly kingdom. I believe in You despite the fact that I can’t see You. Most of all, I believe, through Christ, You have opened up a way for me to get to heaven if I repent of my sins.”

Free living in the Spirit

What else does Scripture say about our freedom from the law’s condemnation and our protection under grace? Romans 6:14 says, “For sin will not be your master because you are not under law, but under grace.” Similarly, Romans 7:6 follows this point: “. . . We have been released from the law so that we can serve in the new way of the Spirit, not in the old way of the written code.” In these passages, St. Paul teaches us that since our relationship with God is restored, we’re no longer in the system of law, and thus, will not be judged by its uncompromising edicts. Rather, God looks at us through the eyes of grace, as a father looks at his child, so we can serve in the new way of the Spirit without being condemned for every single fault. As James puts it, “seek to be judged by the law of freedom. . . with mercy” (James 2:12).

Noah is a good example of this principle. Hebrews 11:6-7 tells us he was a great man of faith, a faith that pleased God and brought his salvation. Genesis 6:8-9 says, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. . . . Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” Note the very intimate relationship Noah had with God - a relationship that was established by faith and which moved God to look at Noah through eyes of grace, not through a harsh, unyielding law. Even though Noah was born in sin like the rest of the human race (cf. Psalm 51:5; 58:3-4) and sinned from time to time (cf. 1 Kings 8:46; Proverbs 20:7-9; 1 John 1:8-9), he repented of his sins, and through eyes of grace, God evaluated Noah as a “righteous and blameless” man. Like Noah, as long as we remain faithful to God, He will evaluate us through his grace and mercy.

So, how do we explain to our Protestant brethren that we’re not violating St. Paul’s statement in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not of works so that no one can boast”? The answer is simple: In such passages, St. Paul is referring to the works-for-pay mentality we mentioned previously. These are people who “boast” to God of their earthly accomplishments and expect to be paid handsomely for their efforts. In short, they think salvation is owed to them for their paltry efforts and ritualistic practices. Anyone who thinks this way, whether Catholic, Protestant or Jew, will not receive God’s favor. If they try to base their salvation on works of law, then God will use the law to judge them. For a single fault, they will be condemned.

People who dig the law

St. Paul often uses the Old Testament Jews as an example of those who lacked faith and attempted to make themselves right before God by their works. In Romans 9:31-32, he notes that “Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.”

Why does St. Paul describe them in this way? It’s precisely for the reasons we have stated above. Early in their history, many of the Jews lost faith in God (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:1-6; Hebrews 4:2-6). Only a remnant remained faithful to Him (cf. Romans 11:3-10). As they began to rebel and sever their relationship with God, He increasingly withdrew from them. As in ordinary life, when the personal relationship breaks down, then legal codes and regimens are implemented to replace it. This is precisely what God did to Israel. As time went on, God began to replace his personal relationship towards Israel with a legal relationship, bringing them under more and more laws (cf. Ezekial 20:21-26). The Jews misinterpreted the intent of these laws and subsequently made them into a religion. They no longer loved God for who He was, they just wanted to get paid for doing their works (cf. Isaiah 58:1-14). In fact, they complained bitterly to God when they didn’t receive what they thought was their due (cf. Exodus 16-17).

By the time of the first-century A.D., many Jews were thoroughly entrenched in this tit-for-tat game with God. One of the chief ways they tried to force God’s hand was by claiming circumcision was equal to salvation. True, God had established circumcision as the legal entrance into the covenant society with Abraham. Distorting this, the Jews claimed they now possessed inalienable rights with God that could not be abolished (cf. John 8:31-59). In effect, circumcision became their chief legal work in which they expected to be paid by God with eternal life.

Jesus and St. Paul told the Jews they were sadly mistaken. God never did and never would justify one’s entrance into heaven by mere legal rights. Rather, God established salvation by His “word of promise” (Rom. 4:13-16; Gal. 3:16-18). Promises are based on the power and integrity of the individual giving the promise. There’s no law behind God telling Him what to do. God is God, and thus His character alone is the ultimate basis for what He does. In fact, as we noted before, if salvation were based on legal requirements then no one could be saved, because the law would require perfect compliance to its contract. Law would always condemn for the slightest fault, and the Jews had plenty of faults. Conversely, God’s promise contains grace which can forgive all our faults.

In Romans 4:1-22, St. Paul teaches the Jews that Abraham had to first put his trust in God. He had to believe in God for who He is and what He stands for (cf. Hebrews 11:8-16). God wouldn’t let Abraham start with a legal relationship. No, he was first required to trust in the power and integrity of the Lord to do what seemed impossible: produce a child for Abraham even though he was a hundred years old and Sarah was barren. He had to believe in a God who “calls things that are not as if they were” and requires it “without wavering in unbelief” (Romans 4:17- 22).

Hence, St. Paul’s argument to the Jews is that only after Abraham established this highly personal, faithful and obedient relationship with God was the bond legally sealed in the act of circumcision (cf. Romans 4:10-11). The legal came after the personal. Even then, Abraham was still required to act upon his faith, so as to keep the bond of love alive (cf. James 2:23-24). If the bond turned into a mere legal tie, then Abraham would have lost his justification, for justification isn’t based on a legal contract but on the divine promise of grace in exchange for faith and obedience (cf. Heb. 10:19-38; 12:14-28).

So, where does the Church fit in?

We need to say one more thing about the law. Although we have seen in many Scriptures that Christians have been released from the law, the law itself hasn’t been abolished. In fact, Jesus said that law will not be abolished “till all is fulfilled” and “heaven and earth pass away” (Matthew 5:18-19). How can we understand this?

Well, if you’ve been following this article, you now understand that since we are in God’s grace, we’ve been released from the inflexible and merciless judgment of the law. Under grace, God will not condemn us for a single, minor fault. On the other hand, however, we are required to obey the law to the best of our ability (cf. Romans 8:4; 7:6; 2:29). We do this under the jurisdiction and graces of the Church. Just as a father and mother have rules for their children, so the Church has rules. In fact, “pope” in Italian means “papa,” for he’s our spiritual father and we are his children. If we obey our papa, we remain in the graces of the Church and thus in the graces of God. For minor offenses (venial sins) the law will not condemn us. But if we sin mortally and don’t repent, we’ll be disinherited and given over to the law to be judged (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5; James 2:7-13). The Church does this by excommunicating unrepentant sinners.

The Church has such power because God took the administration of law from Israel and gave it to the Church (cf. Romans 3:2; Acts 1-2; 1 Timothy 3:15). With that power came the Church’s prerogative to interpret, modify and administer the law (cf. Matthew 16:18-19; Acts 15:1-28). In the Church’s power of legislation, she has the right to:

1. Establish laws that weren’t explicit in the Old Testament (eg., laws against contraception, abortion, slavery, cloning, euthanasia, divorce and remarriage, etc., cf. 1 Corinthians 7).
2. Dispense with certain laws that were practiced in the Old Testament (ie. the civil and ceremonial precepts of Israel - stoning, circumcision, kosher diet, etc., cf. Acts 15:1-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1-8).
3. Modify certain laws (eg. the third commandment regarding sabbath observance is changed to Sunday, cf. Acts 20:7).
4. Uphold the remaining laws (eg. the ten commandments, cf. Romans 13:1-10).

In a word, the Church has the power to amend Old Testament laws, much like we amend the U.S. Constitution. The Church can do this because God gave her the keys of the kingdom to bind and loose, as well as the gift of infallibility, so that all her Laws are backed by divine authority (cf. Matthew 16:18-19).

Wrapping it up

Catholics don’t imagine they can “earn” their salvation. Rather, they merely follow their Lord in love and obedience. On the last day, God will either judge us according to the law, or according to His grace. Those under the law - those who tried to earn their salvation - will face condemnation. But those who approach God through His grace will stand before a Father. With love for His children, He’ll look past their faults and imperfections and welcome them home.