"But At Least That Person is Still Religiously Faithful!" Isn't Going to Help That Person Living in Sin

I'm not writing this to condemn all Catholics as hypocrites living illicit lifestyles. Some Catholics are humanly speaking, good citizens, who try to live a good life as possible. I'm talking about some people who are active in their respective Catholic parishes, carry their Rosary around, attend processions, and they're living life like they've got a license to sin. It really became an issue when some Catholics end up renouncing such behavior. I'm glad there are some Catholics who renounce such bad behavior among their parishioners. However, I do still feel or hear the lousy excuse something like, "At least the person is still religious! He may be having another woman but he's active in the parish!" Sadly, such actions won't help that person living in sin.

It's common to see many people in jail who are religious. I'm not saying that every person praying the Rosary or doing other prayer rituals in jail is automatically a criminal. There are innocent persons who got framed up (or arrested for other wrong reasons such as religious persecution in atheist countries) praying the Rosary hoping to be proven innocent. Some people who are praying Catholic prayers in prison are in their best behavior, staying calm, and are actually crying because they've been wrongfully accused. He or she may be praying that the truth behind the frame-up will come out. However, there are those who are really big-time criminals who are in jail praying the Rosary, reading the Bible (and they don't understand it), having a prayer book, and the like and are living a life of sin. I wonder if anybody is still going to say that, "Even if he's a dangerous criminal but at least he's religious!" The same might apply when a person together with his or her paramour goes to jail and they'rere seen praying Catholic prayers together. Can their religious rituals save them?

This is the problem of the "At least that person is religious!" argument. Religion has become more of a cover and a facade for wickedness than anything. Again, I'm not saying all religious Catholics are criminals. What I'm stating is that there are many wicked people who are also religious Catholics. Romans 10:3 states that people try to achieve their own righteousness ignorant of God's righteousness. Catholics have been trying to add works to faith. They got one part of salvation wrong which says it starts with infant baptism. How can they even have true baptism when they didn't understand the Christian faith when they were below the age of accountability? Then they get into one ritual after the other like the first communion, confirmation as a teenager, and confession. They confess and the priest tells them to pray a certain number of prayers - it's just vain repetition. 

Being religious does no good either. The truth with trying to achieve salvation with being religious is simply "Do more good than bad." James 2:10-11 is clear that whoever tries to keep the whole Law yet breaks one of them is guilty of all. That means you can't work for your salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that you're saved not by works but by grace. Romans 11:8 says that it's either by faith or works not but both. The biblical stand of salvation is that it's a salvation by faith which results to works and not salvation by both faith and works. What's so sad is that the average Catholic still wants to contribute with their own efforts to salvation rather than rest in the perfect work of Christ.