Catholics believe that salvation is a gift from God, received through faith and baptism, and lived out through charity and good works. Many Protestants, following Martin Luther, believe it’s enough to simply profess faith in Jesus as Savior. Luther was so intent on proving his point that he eliminated books from the Hebrew Scriptures and wanted to remove the Epistle of James from the New Testament, where the Apostle writes, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” Many theologians believe that Luther felt guilt for his own sins, and changing to a “faith alone” theology allowed him to absolve himself of responsibility for his sins.
