Reply #91: One cannot "earn" salvation - grace only. But without works, faith sucks.

[Rabrrrrrr]

Another poster mentioned the passage from James, "Faith without works is dead", and I believe that to be totally true.

But our works do not earn our way into Heaven, nor are they any part of salvation - that's where grace comes in, because none of us can be good enough to *earn* it on our own merit.

So the works come as our loving response to that grace. So in a sense, it's faith - but I'm a universalist, so I don't believe one needs faith in Christ or God or anything else to have the grace. I think Jesus died and was raised for ALL people, all of humanity, throughout all of time.

Of course, I'm talking only Christianity here, and my interpretation of it; other religions will view it differently, but then other religions don't have the debate between "faith" and "works", so I can only assume the OP is asking about a Christian perspective.

For me, it's not about faith or works: it's solely and totally about grace. It's not about what we do, but about what God has already done and does and will do.