Bringing you the "Good News" of Jesus Christ and His Church While PROMOTING CATHOLIC Apologetic Support groups loyal to the Holy Father and Church's magisterium
Home About
AskACatholic.com
What's New? Resources The Church Family Life Mass and
Adoration
Ask A Catholic
Knowledge base
AskACatholic Disclaimer
Search the
AskACatholic Database
Donate and
Support our work
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
New Questions
Cool Catholic Videos
About Saints
Disciplines and Practices for distinct Church seasons
Purgatory and Indulgences
About the Holy Mass
About Mary
Searching and Confused
Contemplating becoming a Catholic or Coming home
Homosexual and Gender Issues
Life, Dating, and Family
No Salvation Outside the Church
Sacred Scripture
non-Catholic Cults
Justification and Salvation
back
The Pope and Papacy
The Sacraments
Relationships and Marriage situations
Specific people, organizations and events
Doctrine and Teachings
Specific Practices
Church Internals
Church History


Randy Richmond wrote:

Hi, guys —

I was sharing the faith with a Pentecostal and the main topic was salvation. He said faith alone was needed for salvation and, of course, I said faith plus works were needed.

I brought up all the verses that include Baptism. He brought up the thief on the cross, but
I responded:

  • How do we know he wasn't previously baptized?

  • Can you guys share some other ways to defend the-thief-on-the-cross argument?

Thanks!

Randy

  { Can you guys share some other ways to defend the-thief-on-the-cross (doing no works) argument? }

Mike replied:

Hi, Randy —

This is an issue that Protestants will always have problems understanding at long as they reject the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist in John 6:52-69.

Faith alone does nothing. (James 2:14, 17, 20-24) A true faith manifests itself in good deeds and actions, like bringing the Gospel to other non-Christians.

Protestants reject our view of good works because they have the false idea that the good works and deeds we do, are done by us alone. <False!> They are done with Jesus working through us via the Eucharist we receive every Sunday or even every day.

Now Yes, we have to cooperate with the Lord and to that extent, we are bringing Christ into the world by our Catholic Christian examples. This is also why CINO's (Catholics In Name Only) scandalizing the Church do so much damage to the Church's mission.

Make sure your check out our knowledge base next time. Most of these questions we have already answered. I threw in some of them below. I also have a Similar Issues . . . block of questions and answers dealing with Earning versus Grace Working through us, that I put at the end of this posting.

Mike

Mary Ann replied:

Randy —

The thief did three good works:

  1. he defended Christ
  2. he acknowledged his sin, and
  3. he asked for salvation, however little he may have understood it.
    (It may have just been being kind to Jesus.)

Mary Ann

Earning versus Grace Working through us.

Similar issues . . .

[Related posting]|[Related posting]]|[Related posting]|[Related posting]|[Related posting]
[Related posting]|[Related posting]|[Related posting]

Please report any and all typos or grammatical errors.
Suggestions for this web page and the web site can be sent to Mike Humphrey
© 2012 Panoramic Sites
The Early Church Fathers Church Fathers on the Primacy of Peter. The Early Church Fathers on the Catholic Church and the term Catholic. The Early Church Fathers on the importance of the Roman Catholic Church centered in Rome.