The Catholic Church interprets that passage differently from the way you do, Tnt. The Church teaches that that means that all of the Levitical law, including the ritual washing of hands, circumcision, not starting fires on Saturday, and the prohibition against eating pork and shellfish, were now abrogated.

Tnt, by interpreting the scripture your way, as opposed to the Church's way, you are guilty of making private prophecy of scripture, in violation of II Peter 1:20 and Proverbs 3:5. Be careful not to do that.

Good, actually excellent explanation by Tim Staples, Catholic Answers:

Scripture CANNOT contradict Scripture...

This misconception is rooted in the misinterpretation of a few key texts, such as Romans 3:28: "For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law." Romans 4:5 is another: "And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness." On the surface, St. Paul seems to be saying works are not necessary for our justification or salvation in any sense, but that is not the case when we examine the context of these passages. Not only would this interpretation contradict the words of James 2, but it would also contradict Paul himself.

Work in Christ

Paul made very clear in Romans 2:6-8 that good works are necessary for attaining eternal life, at least for those capable of performing them: "For he will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury."

So what about the fact that Paul also said we are "justified by faith apart from works of law?" He was writing to a church in Rome struggling with a very prominent first-century heretical sect known today as the "Judaizers." These heretics taught that belief in Christ and obedience to the New Covenant was not enough to be saved. A man also had to keep the Mosaic Law (which, according to Hebrews 7:11-12, has been superseded in Christ) and be circumcised in order to be saved (cf. Acts 15:1-2). Paul gave us one clue—among many—that he had this sect in mind when he wrote in Romans 2:28-29, "For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal . . . " Paul told us in Colossians 2:11-12 that this true "circumcision of Christ" is baptism.

It is in this context that Paul says we are "justified by faith apart from works of law." He did not in any sense say that works are unnecessary. He specified works of law because these were the works without which the Judaizers were claiming one "cannot be saved."..................end

Thank God for His Church!!!

Paul does not change his mind. Paul is consistent throughout. Paul is speaking against the Judaizers (let's face it, Tnt, you are a Judaizer) when he condemns the "dead works of the law", just as Deneez says. Paul certainly does not say that morality or good works are not necessary.

Steve is correct though in that he cannot comprehend, who can condemn someone for this though, that too is Grace.

The Catholic Church teaches that there are two kinds of people in the world: (1) those in the state of grace, and (2) those in the state of mortal sin. People in the state of grace are not under the dominion of sin, but all it takes is one mortal sin and back to the dominion of sin the soul goes. Baptists, as you know, disagree with this. They think that once saved, always saved--in effect they think they have a license to sin.

It is not Paul's teachings that you really disagree with, Tnt. It's the Baptist misinterpretation of those teachings that you have a problem with, and I don't blame you.

The Catholic Church strongly opposes abortion and homosexual marriage.

Paul vs. James
Paul teaches that the gift of salvation through grace occurs APART FROM any behavioral requirement:

Romans 3:28 : "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith WITHOUT THE DEEDS OF THE LAW."

Paul reiterates this position in: Romans 4:6; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; II Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5 -- yet no other Bible writer ever makes this point of stating that salvation occurs apart from or separate from works or deeds, which Paul not only states, but reiterates so emphatically.

Paul is specifically rebutted by the later writing of James (brother of Jesus) who offers one of the most striking and dramatic direct contradictions in James 2:24. Here he chooses language and syntactical structures which specifically contradicts Paul's wording in Romans 3:28 in both content and construction:

Here are the two passages, shown in various translations:

Romans 3:28 (Paul)
KJV: a man is JUSTIFIED by FAITH apart from WORKS of the law.
RSV: a man is JUSTIFIED by FAITH without the DEEDS of the law.
Today's English Version: a person is PUT RIGHT WITH GOD only through FAITH, and not by DOING what the Law commands.
NIV: a man is JUSTIFIED by FAITH apart from OBSERVING THE LAW.

James 2:24 (James' rebuttal)
KJV: by WORKS a man is JUSTIFIED, and not by FAITH only.
RSV: a man is JUSTIFIED by WORKS and not by FAITH alone.
Today's English Version: it is by his ACTIONS that a person is PUT RIGHT WITH GOD, and not by his FAITH alone.
NIV: a person is JUSTIFIED by what he DOES and not by FAITH alone.

We could put these statements into a formula:

J = Justification.
F = Faith (whatever it is; however you define it)
W = Works

Paul's formula: J = F - W
James' formula: J = F + W

"J" cannot equal both "F - W" and "F + W" thus a clear and direct contradiction.

Clearly, James seems to be saying exactly the opposite of what Paul says. The key words here, in both passages, are JUSTIFIED (or, in Today's English, "put right with God"), WORKS/DEEDS/ACTIONS (or, in NIV, "observing the law"), and FAITH (same in all versions of both passages). Not only does James echo the same words, in the same parallel structure, but he even cites exactly the same example! The passage from Paul comes near the end of the third chapter of Romans; immediately after that, opening up the fourth chapter, Paul cites the example of Abraham and says it was his faith, not his works, that justified him (Romans 4:1-3). In James 2:21-24 (the same passage noted above), Paul's very example is used against him, but with the opposite (and contradictory) conclusion, that Abraham was justified by the combination of faith with works. Not only does James use exactly the same example, but to remove any doubt that they are referring to Abraham in exactly the same context, both Paul (Romans 4:3) and James (James 2:23) refer to exactly the same scriptural reference to Abraham, in which the Old Testament scriptures say that Abraham's belief was counted to him for righteousness (see Genesis 15:6). James' use of the same examples (right down to the identical scriptural reference), same words, and parallel structure clearly suggest that this was an intentional reply/rebuttal to Paul.

If anyone wants to suggest that, perhaps, the two passages have different root words in the original texts that just happened to pick up similar English equivalents by all these translators, then maybe we should look at the Greek source texts.

The same Greek word DIKAIOO is used by BOTH Paul AND James for the term justification (or "put right with God") in BOTH passages. While the Today's English Version does use a different term in their English translation, at least they apply it consistently in both Romans and James.

The same Greek word ERGON is used by BOTH Paul AND James for the term variously translated as works, deeds, actions, doing, or observing. While the English translators couldn't agree on the best term, both Paul and James were talking about the same thing. And, with the exception of the NIV, the translators of each version at least are consistent in their own usages between Paul and James. I wonder, however, about the objectivity of the NIV -- one of the most popular texts among conservative Christians -- in choosing to change the wording used between Paul and James in a way that subtly changes the connotation of Paul to be less in contradiction to James.

The same Greek word PISTIS is used by both Paul AND James for the word that all versions of both passages translated as "faith."

Some have tried to explain these differences by saying that Paul and James had different meanings for their words "justification," "faith" and "works/deeds." Yet the simple fact remains they used the same words, in the same order and same context, even illustrated with the same example of Abraham and Isaac.

But on several occasions, attention has been called to one difference in the wording of Paul and James. While they use the same words, in the same context and the same order, when talking about the "works/deeds" Paul adds the phrase "of the law" while James does not. Some have argued that this means Paul is talking about something different. Not so.

Paul's use of that phrase is a restrictive modifying clause, limiting the scope of what he is talking about. By leaving it out, James is at the very least accepting everything in Paul's more restrictive context and broadening to include additional contexts. But more to the point is that earlier in the same chapter (James chapter two) James, just before the verse in question and his reference to Paul's example of Abraham and Isaac, in verses 8-13 James discusses behavior very specific in terms of the Law, and the deeds of the Law. Aside from the possibility of simply broadening the more narrow focus of Paul, what seems more likely IN CONTEXT is that James does not need to say "of the law" since he has already made it clear a few verses before that he is talking about "deeds of the law."

In fact, the only credible scenario is that James is clearly rebutting Paul's scandalous undermining of Jesus' teachings.

Paul is not only rebutted by James in the examples above, but also admits having some problems getting along with Peter, admitting in Galatians 2:11: "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed."

In stark contrast to Paul's teaching of salvation by faith APART FROM behavioral manifestations, Jesus (in Matt. 7:21-27), state unequivocally that the mere profession of accepting him is not enough, but that such a profession MUST BE backed up by deeds. Jesus teaches a salvation of universal compassionate love expressed in ACTION. It is the centerpiece of everything he taught. And Jesus himself consistently expressed love and closeness to sinners, lepers, tax collectors and other outcasts, while saving his rare words of harshness and anger for the Pharisees and Saducees -- the pompous, self-righteous administrators of the established religious orthodoxy.

Source: http://www.wordwiz72.com/paul.html

Steve

Love: Paul often talks out of both sides of his mouth, so to speak. In other words Paul often contradicts himself in his letters. I have never noticed Moses, the Prophets, Yeshua or the true 12 Apostles contradicting themselves or each other. This flaw in Paul's letters is one reason I question the authority of Paul. Paul often boasted of being an Apostle and there is no evidence of Paul being even close to being an Apostle.

Big: If you have not already seen the contnradictions Paul made in his lettters I very much doubt that you will ever see any contradictions. I have shown several contradictions in this thread. It is my guess that some simply prefer to follow Paul instead of following Yahweh/Yeshua. Some have been beguiled/seduced by the strange teachings of the tare Paul.