The Roman Catholic is taught to come to faith by good works; the Protestant, to come to good works by faith.

The Roman Catholic is taught to come to faith by good works; the Protestant, to come to good works by faith. Trent reasoned that if salvation were given freely, regardless of works, justification by faith alone would reap complacency. Virtue and good works would serve no ultimate purpose.

In response, the Protestant Reformers argued that the believer, having become justified by free grace, is also reborn with a will inclined to good and to the glory of God. Faith must bear fruit. Luther wrote, "Let us conclude that faith alone justifies and that faith alone fulfills the law.... Faith is a living, restless thing. It cannot be inoperative."40 The Reformers and their successors insisted that though we are justified by faith, our faith must be justified (i.e. validated) by our works (James 2:17). Hence they spoke often of "the obedience of faith" (Romans 16;26), stressing that faith leads to obedience and obedience springs from faith. "By faith Abraham...obeyed" (Hebrews 11:8). As Thomas Watson remarked: "Faith believes as if it did not work, and it works as if it did not believe."

- Dr. Joel R. Beeke
Justification by Faith Alone
(The Relation of Faith to Justification)