"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." [Matthew 5:31-46]

Some Protestants claim that the Catholic Church teaches the wrong Gospel because it promulgates the wrong message of salvation. What is meant by "wrong Gospel, wrong message of salvation" is that Catholics are taught that in order to get to Heaven one must receive the Sacraments, attend Mass, and do good works. In other words, they must "work their way to Heaven." The principle Gospel message, to Protestants, is this: Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again. We are saved when we believe this message, receiving Christ as our Savior. This means that we must trust Christ's blood sacrifice on the cross as being the full payment for all our sins.

Fundamentalists use Galatians 1:9 ("So say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed."). This Catholic "false gospel" is any teaching that says that we can earn our salvation by our good works.

Fundamentalists also use Galatians 2:16 to support their claim that salvation is not dependent upon works: . "[Y]et [we] know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified." By "works of the law," however, St. Paul is referring to the many laws of the Jewish Old Covenant, which no longer apply. Protestants often mistakenly identify "works of the law" with Good Works of the New Covenant which have to do with Christian charity. Fundamentalists also equate the Sacraments with "works" and this is indeed true, because receiving the Sacraments is a work of charity, i.e. of Love, specifically, God’s love for us. For it is principally through the Sacraments that our Lord’s promise is fulfilled: "And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of time." [Matt 28:20] For it is in the Sacraments that He is physically present to us in the manner in which He established each Sacrament. Fundamentalists say that to depend upon works for our salvation means that Christ’s death was in vain and that Catholics therefore reject Christ as our Savior. To Protestants, doing good works is a sign that one has been saved, i.e., good works are a consequence of being saved and have nothing directly to do with salvation itself. They say that St. James is talking about works in this way in his epistle wherein he says "Faith without works is dead."

When Catholics are asked if they have been saved, most are notoriously poor at providing a satisfactory answer. This is because the Catholic view of salvation does not agree that anyone can undergo the "once saved, always saved" formula. The correct answer any Catholic should say in response to this question is, "Yes, I have absolutely been saved." God has given all of us the gift of Salvation. The Protestant view seems to derive from a different sense of sin. This comes from Martin Luther – the Protestant position on "Salvation alone" did not exist until Martin Luther, although he did somewhat resurrect the heresy of Pelagianism. Pelagianism denied Original Sin and regarded grace as within man's natural capacities, rather than as a gift from God. Semi-Pelagianism made man primarily responsible for his own salvation and denigrated the necessity of God's enabling grace. Luther added the word "alone" to Romans 3:28, for nowhere in Scripture does it say that we are saved by "faith alone." The only places the word "alone" is used in reference to Salvation is in James 2:17 and 2:24 ("So faith alone, if it has no works, is dead" and "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone."). Luther wrote in a letter to Melanchthon:

If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here [in this world] we have to sin. This life is not the dwelling place of righteousness, but, as Peter says, we look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. It is enough that by the riches of God's glory we have come to know the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. No sin will separate us from the Lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day. Do you think that the purchase price that was paid for the redemption of our sins by so great a Lamb is too small? Pray boldly – you too are a mighty sinner.
 

Luther's point was to say, "In this life, any action you take is going to be sinful to some extent: so in the end, you've just got to get on with it, and look to Christ's blood to cover your sins.

The Protestant notion of "once saved, always saved" removes our free will and, no matter how bad our sin, this is no longer a denial of our love of God. The Protestant notion of sin, therefore, separates it from any denial of our love of God. The Protestant interpretation of good works as signs of our salvation seems to be the equivalent of painting oneself into a corner. For if someone has accepted Jesus as her or his savior, therefore assuring themselves of salvation beyond all doubt, they then put themselves into the position of never ever sinning again. That anyone who has accepted Jesus as her or his savior goes through the remainder of her or his life absolutely sin free, is an absurdity, especially in view of Luther’s position that all our actions are sinful.

Therefore, no Protestant can really be sure of their salvation, either. If they commit a sin, how can they be sure that they are saved? Of course they seem to attempt to get around this by the teaching that our sins are "covered" by Jesus’ redemptive act, as if they can be hidden from the Father. The phrase, "I’ll cover for you" smacks of tricking authority. God cannot be fooled and nothing can be "hidden" from Him. Of course, in the Fundamentalist view, even if one sins, if she or he does good works, doing those good works is still a "sign" of her or his salvation. This Fundamentalist view smacks of the heresy of Pelagianism which believes that grace is not needed to do good works. A horrible sinner, a very evil person, can still force himself to do a good work because it is a conscious act, just as committing a sin is a conscious act. So you can make yourself do a good work in order to fool yourself that you are saved. This is toying with the heresy of Pelagianism which denies the necessity of grace in order to do good works. This heresy was condemned by the Second Council of Orange in 529. Rather than "covering" one's sins, justification, according to Catholicism, is a true eradication of sin, a supernatural infusion of grace, and a renewal of the inner man. [cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), #1987-1992]. This is infused salvation as opposed to the external or forensic salvation of Protestantism, wherein righteousness is merely declared, or imputed by God, while the individual remains in a state of total depravity which is covered by this declaration of salvation. No theologian or Christian figure of any note believed in forensic, imputed justification until Luther and Calvin came along in the 16th century. It is simply implausible and incredible (and unbiblical: Matthew 16:18, John 14:26) to think that a theological concept considered so absolutely crucial by Protestants could have been lost immediately after the Apostles and for fifteen centuries thereafter. The Catholic position of eradication of sin is well supported in Scripture:

To interpret all of these many passages as metaphorical or symbolic is a strained and implausible interpretation of Scripture. As Scripture states, our sins are taken away, put away, swept away, washed, purged, cleansed, blotted out, or removed.

The following verses seem to support the Protestant position regarding Sola Fide ("Faith alone"), i.e., these verses emphasize the role of Faith in Salvation:

• Mark 16:16: He that believes and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believes not shall be condemned.
• John 3:18, 36: He that believes in him is not judged. But he that does not believe, is already judged: because he believes not in the name of the only begotten Son of God. He that believes in the Son, has life everlasting; but he that believes not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
• Acts 16:30-31: And bringing them out, he said: Masters, what must I do, that I may be saved? But they said: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shalt be saved, and thy house.
• Romans 1:16-17: For I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes, to the Jew first, and to the Greek. For the justice of God is revealed therein, from faith unto faith, as it is written: The just man lives by faith.
• Romans 3:20: Because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before him. For by the law is the knowledge of sin.
• Romans 3:28: For we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law.
• Romans 4:2: For if Abraham were justified by works, he has whereof to glory, but not before God.
• Romans 4:13: For not through the law was the promise to Abraham, or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world; but through the justice of faith.
• Romans 5:1: Being justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. . . .
• Romans 10:9: For if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him up from the dead, you shall be saved.
• Galatians 2:16: But knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ; we also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
• Galatians 3:11-12: But that in the law no man is justified with God, it is manifest: because the just man lives by faith. But the law is not of faith: but, he that does those things, shall live in them.
• Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God; Not of works, that no man may glory.
• Titus 3:5: Not by the works of justice, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us, by the laver of regeneration, and renovation of the Holy Spirit. . . .

That Good Works (i.e., cooperation with God’s grace) are a necessary part of salvation can be proven by these verses, for these verses emphasize the role of Works in Salvation:

• 1 Cor 10:12:Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall
• 1 Peter 1:17: And if you invoke as Father him who, without respect of persons, judges according to every one's work: converse in fear during the time of your sojourning here.
• 2 Corinthians 5:10: For we must all be manifested before the judgement seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he has done, whether it be good or evil.
• 2 Corinthians 11:15: Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers be transformed as the ministers of justice, whose end shall be according to their works.
• Ezekiel 18:27: And when the wicked turns himself away from his wickedness, which he has wrought, and does judgment, and justice: he shall save his soul alive.
• James 2:21-25: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, offering up Isaac his son upon the altar? See you, that faith did co-operate with his works; and by works faith was made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled, saying: Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him to justice, and he was called the friend of God. Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by faith alone? And in like manner also Rahab the harlot, was not she justified by works, receiving the messengers, and sending them out another way?
• James 2:17: So faith also, if it have not works, is dead. . .
• James 2:14: What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but has not works? Shall faith be able to save him?
• Jeremiah 17:10: I am the Lord who searches the heart and proves the reins: who gives to every one according to his way, and according to the fruit of his doings.
• John 3:5: Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to you, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
• John 3:36: He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him. [Obedience is a good work.]
• John 5:29: And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.
• John 6:54: Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you, [and I shall raise you up on the last day.]
• John 5:24: 24 Amen, amen I say unto you, that he who hears my word, and believes him that sent me, has life everlasting; and comes not into judgment, but is passed from death to life. [The act of faith is a good work in itself.]
• Luke 10:25-28 And behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him, and saying, Master, what must I do to possess eternal life? But he said to him: What is written in the law? how do you read it? He answered, saying: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind: and your neighbor as yourself. And he said to him: You hast answered right: do this, and you shalt live.
• Matt 10:22: And you shall be hated by all men for my name's sake: but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.
• Matt 19:16-17: Now someone approached Him and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?" He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
• Matthew 25:41-46: [See the quote at the beginning of this article.]
• Matthew 5:20: 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works.
• Matthew 12:37: For by your words you shalt be justified, and by your words you shalt be condemned.
• Matthew 16:27: For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.
• Philippians 2:12: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
• Proverbs 10:16: The work of the just is unto life: but the fruit of the wicked, unto sin.
• Psalm 61:13: For you render to each one according to his works.
• Revelation 22:14: Blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb: that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. [Some sources use "keep the Commandments" in place of "wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb".]
• Revelation 2:23: And I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he that searches the reins and hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works.
• Revelation 20:12-13: And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them; and they were judged every one according to their works.
• Romans 2:6, 13: [God] will render to every man according to his works. To them indeed, who according to patience in good work, seek glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

There is an organic connection between faith and works and God's unmerited grace coupled with our cooperation and obedience, as can be seen in John 6:27-29: "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal. Then said they to him, 'What must we do to be doing the works of God?' Jesus answered them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." Many of these verses are in support of regenerative Baptism, which is vehemently opposed by Fundamentalists. For example, "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name." [Acts 22:16] Or ". . .Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." [Acts 2:38]. On the other hand, Catholics do not hold that baptism alone is sufficient for eternal salvation, and they interpret these verses in harmony with the rest of the biblical teaching of salvation as a lifelong process. The Protestant "once saved, always saved" dogma is the sin of Presumption.

The set of verses in support of "Faith Alone" and the set of verses in support of "Good Works" seem to contradict each other. Of course we know that the Holy Spirit would not contradict Himself. Therefore, all of these verses are true and provide a balanced approach to the subject of Salvation. I like the analogy given by C.S. Lewis when he says that emphasizing one side over the other is like saying that one blade of a pair of scissors is more necessary than the other. This balanced view is what the Holy Spirit is teaching us. One cannot build a dogma, such as "Faith Alone" based on isolated verses. These verses must be seen in relation to all Scripture. No verse really stands alone. To take verses in such an individual sense has the danger of causing errant interpretations by taking them out of context and by separating them from the organic whole. Luther tried to do that by simply removing whole books from the Bible. He wanted to remove such books of Timothy and Hebrews, for example, for they have verses which seem to contradict his teachings. Fortunately, other Protestant reformers saved these, and other books, from being removed from the New Testament. Of course Luther did succeed in removing the seven Deutero-canonical books from the Old Testament. But this, also, is another subject.

Some references:
Robert Sungenis, Not By Scripture Alone : A Catholic Critique of the Protestant Doctrine of Sola Scriptura

Dave Armstrong, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism