If I have faith, why do I need works?

Recently, during the visit of the Holy Father to the United States, I came across many social media posts from our Protestant brothers and sisters denouncing the concept of works being important for our salvation. The protests of the dissenters seem to largely center around a passage from the Letter to the Ephesians. In Ephesians 2:8-9, Saint Paul tells us "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-not the result of works, so that no one many boast" (NRSV). This passage seems to tell us that we have been saved through faith, and that works are simply a way for us to boast. One can draw a parallel toward Christ's command for us to wash our faces when we fast to avoid turning our fast into an occasion to boast (Mat 6:17).

In telling us to fast, Christ is demonstrating a way that we can live our faith through our works. It is not an action that we undertake for our own glory but rather one that we undertake for the glory of God. Saint James tells us that faith without works is not compatible, for by our works we can demonstrate our faith (2:14-18). He instructs us, just as Christ did, that feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are all works that are not only good, but necessary for our salvation. While faith is indeed a gift we receive by the grace of God, works are the means through which we are justified.

How then are we to respond to the claim that it is through faith alone, and not through works, that we are 'saved?' The very answer may lie in the very next verse this challenge from Ephesians comes from. In Ephesians 2:10, we are told "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." If works are not necessary for our salvation, why would we be created for good works? In the remainder of this chapter from Ephesians, Saint Paul tells the Gentiles (toward whom this was intended) that although they lived separate to the Law of Moses they have now been "brought near by the blood of Christ." The works of the Law (such as circumcision) is what Saint Paul is referring to. The sacred scriptures, comprising the greatest love story ever told, present a series of faithful men and women of God who put their faith into action through works. Who are we to deny this example?