Catechesis: Good Works

On the other hand, this does not mean that faith only lays hold of righteousness and salvation at the beginning and thereafter delegates its function to works, so that from then on they may preserve faith and the righteousness and salvation that have been received. On the contrary, so that we may be sure and certain of the promise not only that we receive righteousness and salvation but also that we retain it, Paul attributes to faith not only access to the grace but also the basis for our standing in grace and our “boasting in the glory which is to come.” That is, he attributes everything—the beginning, the middle, and end—to faith alone.—FC SD IV:34