Ephesians 2:1-10
1 You were dead in your transgressions and sins
2 in which you once lived following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.
3 All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
9 it is not from works, so no one may boast.
10 For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.
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Check once again the difference between the world and the spirit. Also note the reference to the ruler of the power of the air ... this is Satan. He's out there and real.
Thank goodness Christ came -- and provided his grace, by which we are saved (ie, justified). It is important to understand that faith and obedience (ie, works) are one in the same. One who believes in Christ obeys his teachings. This means that works aren't a result of faith, they ARE faith, by Christ's own definition.
This is of course a dicey subject between Protestants and Catholics. :) Really all Catholics in my opinion should be crystal clear on this point. I recommend hitting the link below to see exactly what the Catechism says on this subject in detail.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s1c3a2.htm
