If we understand that we cannot merit graces from God and that we cannot earn our own salvation, how are we to understand the nature of merit concerning the moral life?
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Answer:
In Christian theology, merit (Latin: meritum) is a good work done that is "seen to have a claim to a future reward from a graceful God".[1] The role of human merit in Christian life is a point of dispute between Catholics and Protestants.
Within Christianity, both Catholics and Lutherans affirm that "By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works".[2] The Catholic Church further teaches that "When Catholics affirm the 'meritorious' character of good works, they wish to say that, according to the biblical witness, a reward in heaven is promised to these works. Their intention is to emphasize the responsibility of persons for their actions, not to contest the character of those works as gifts, or far less to deny that justification always remains the unmerited gift of grace".[2
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