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Handout #150 |
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Faith and Works |
| By his faith the believer has been restored to Paradise and
created anew: he has no need of works to achieve righteousness (grace);
but in order to escape idleness, to employ and conserve his body, he has
to perform the works of freedom of which he is aware, with no other
intention than that of pleasing God.
That is why both these affirmations are true: 'Good works do not make a man good, but a good man does good works. Evil works do not make a man evil, but an evil man does evil works. 'So it is necessary for the substance itself, or the person, to be good before any good work. It is as Christ says: 'A bad tree does not produce good fruits; a good tree does not produce evil fruits.'The Freedom of Christian (1520 A.D.). |
