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00:00Music
00:29Well, let's return to our reflection on this topic which has to do with the relationship between faith and works.
00:42In this class, the idea is that we can understand the relationship that exists between them and that the position of our separated brethren is not really acceptable.
00:55Certainly, as we have been saying throughout our study, we certainly have to return to the topic of salvation through faith today.
01:05In other words, justification as this relationship it has with faith.
01:12But this does not mean that simply because I make a verbal confession of my acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord of my life, this will automatically lead me to definitive salvation.
01:25So, in this topic we are going to expand a little on all this so that we can know in greater depth and density what this topic of justification by faith refers to.
01:41And well, one of the points that, as I mentioned, is the strongest and is the cause of the greatest controversy between Catholics and Protestants, is precisely the issue of justification by faith.
01:55This leads to the question, are we justified by faith alone?
02:02This question is a key difference between biblical Christianity and most sects that profess to be Christian.
02:10Is salvation by faith alone, or is it necessary to add works to this as well?
02:19Am I saved simply by believing in Jesus, or do I have to believe in Jesus and do certain things?
02:27The issue of faith alone or faith plus works has become a difficult topic because of some passages in Holy Scripture that are difficult to reconcile.
02:37We can see that on the one hand Romans 3:28 and Galatians 3:24 tell us; in Romans 3:28 we read,
02:47because we hold that all are justified by faith and not by the works that the law requires.
02:55Galatians 3:24, for its part, says
02:57So the law became our guide, responsible for leading us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith.
03:08If we look closely, both speak of justification by faith and not by works.
03:16In other words, the works in this sense would have no relation to our justification.
03:22This, without a doubt, contrasts with James 2:24 which tells us,
03:29As you can see, a person is declared righteous by works and not only by faith.
03:36This leads us to think that either something in Sacred Scripture is wrong,
03:42Or we are misinterpreting these passages.
03:47And precisely for this reason, this leads some to think that there is a difference between Paul,
03:55justification, which is by faith alone,
03:58And James proposes that justification is by faith and not by works,
04:04or faith plus works.
04:06Actually, Paul and James do not completely disagree.
04:09Indeed, there is an apparent discrepancy.
04:13When we encounter two topics that seem to be antagonistic or that do not seem to correspond,
04:20It's because we are necessarily making a wrong interpretation.
04:24We are doing an exegesis that is not appropriate because Scripture cannot be wrong.
04:30Scripture always maintains a line of truth.
04:33If I can't find the correct way to read this line, it may be that I'm misinterpreting one or both passages.
04:41And this is leading me to draw incorrect conclusions, such as in this case saying,
04:46Either one of the two is wrong, or I am saved only by faith, that is, justified only by faith.
04:52and the works are not interesting, or I am also justified by the works.
04:57I have to have faith, yes, but this faith, as James says, should produce works.
05:03So the problem in these passages is, first and foremost, what we understand by faith,
05:11the origin of the works and the identification of justification with salvation.
05:17That's where the real crux of the problem lies.
05:22What exactly do we mean by these three elements that are present in these passages?
05:30Both in Romans, in Galatians, and in James, which makes several references to this.
05:36Paul, dogmatically, says that justification is by faith alone.
05:43He mentions it again in Ephesians 2, verses 8 to 9.
05:47Whereas James seems to be saying that justification is by faith plus works.
05:54This apparent problem is resolved by examining what Santiago is talking about.
06:01James refuted the belief that a person could have faith without producing any good works,
06:09as stated in chapter 2, verses 17 to 18.
06:14Show me your faith by your works.
06:19In other words, for James, faith naturally has to produce works.
06:25Thus, James emphasizes the point that genuine faith in Christ
06:30It will produce a changed life and this will lead us to do good works.
06:37Therefore, he is not saying that justification is by faith plus works,
06:46Rather, a person truly justified by faith will have good works in their life.
06:54If a person claims to be a believer, but has no good works in their life,
07:00then it is most likely that he does not have a genuine faith in Christ.
07:05And that's what he says throughout chapter 2.
07:09In other words, faith, when it is authentic, when a true conversion has taken place,
07:15when we have entered into a real process of encountering Christ,
07:20This faith can do nothing but produce works.
07:25Paul says the same thing in his writings.
07:30The good fruits that believers should have in their lives are related to faith.
07:37And that is why, in Galatians, in chapter 5, verses 22 to 23,
07:43It tells us about spiritual fruits.
07:46The fruits produced by those who have no faith,
07:49who has a dead faith, because we can talk about people,
07:52For example, this would be applicable in our time,
07:57to the Catholic who is baptized, but does not truly have faith.
08:04In other words, he does not know the Lord, he does not pray, he does not participate in the sacraments,
08:08She does not know the Holy Scriptures, yet she is baptized.
08:12And if we were to ask him if he believes in Jesus Christ,
08:15He's obviously going to say that he does believe in Jesus Christ.
08:17Jesus Christ, even though I know nothing about him,
08:21nor be interested in living as he lived and doing what he did.
08:25He is a person who claims to have faith, but it's what the apostle James says.
08:30It is a faith that is dead,
08:32because there has not been a true acceptance of the faith,
08:35And then this causes our baptism to be buried.
08:40And although we should, because of this faith, produce fruit,
08:44because they are not produced.
08:45So what does it produce?
08:47It produces the fruits of a pagan, doesn't it?
08:50Which is what he mentions immediately in verse 22 and following.
08:54In other words, everything that is truly contrary to faith,
08:58while at the end he speaks to us of the fruits of the Spirit,
09:03peace, kindness, love, patience, understanding.
09:06These are all the natural fruits that faith produces in a Christian.
09:11Immediately after telling us that we are saved by faith and not by works,
09:18In Ephesians, Paul informs us that we were created to do good works.
09:25Ephesians 2:10 tells us about the good works that we should do.
09:31I would like us to look at this text so that we can see the importance of this.
09:35In Ephesians 2:10 the apostle tells us,
09:39Indeed, we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
09:46that God had previously arranged for us to practice.
09:50So, it's clear then that Paul is also talking about producing good works.
09:56In other words, faith will naturally result in us doing good works.
10:03If there are no good works, then what the apostle James says applies.
10:08It is a dead faith.
10:10Therefore, Paul, like James, expects nothing less than a changed life.
10:17a life transformed in Christ.
10:20So, he says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
10:26The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
10:30In other words, a Christian is a new person,
10:35is someone who has been renewed by Christ through the action of the Spirit,
10:40And this renewal will naturally always produce new works.
10:47James and Paul do not disagree at all in their teaching on salvation.
10:54They approach the same issue, but from different perspectives.
11:00from different angles.
11:02Paul simply emphasized that justification is by faith alone.
11:08while James emphasizes the fact that faith in Christ will produce good works.
11:15In other words, Pablo leaves it there, and that's what we've been saying.
11:18In other words, there really is a justification; it is an action that God has taken in our lives.
11:24And this automatically happens when we enter into and truly accept faith in Christ,
11:32It will be given as a prize, as an addition, an addendum,
11:39We will be given the strength of the Holy Spirit.
11:41We already saw it in the passage about Saint John,
11:45As with Saint John, in a single moment justification is given and strength is bestowed,
11:51The Spirit is given, and it is the one that will act within us.
11:55so that we may produce works of righteousness,
12:00which are the ones that will be carried out towards the fulfillment of faith and the covenant.
12:04Furthermore, I think the problem lies in not properly understanding what justification means in Paul.
12:13We have already seen some of this in our previous chapter.
12:18As has already become clear, this is a work of God that makes salvation possible,
12:24but it is not salvation itself.
12:26Therefore, in order to achieve salvation, in addition to being justified, good works are necessary.
12:33We'll look at this in a little more detail in our next section.
12:39Let's stop here for a moment so we can also do a little bit of summarizing.
12:43I invite you to review, to go over a little bit, the quotes we have given,
12:48both from Galatians and Ephesians, as well as from James and also from Romans,
12:55so that you can already have a clear understanding of what we are saying,
13:00because this is important for your life.
13:05It is important because the eternal salvation of each one of us will also depend on this.
13:10Well, we'll be back in a moment to continue our discussion on this interesting topic.
13:16Justification by faith, but salvation by works.
13:21We'll be right back.
13:22We'll be right back.