Editing Christianity and Judaism (section)

===Faith versus good deeds===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2018}}
{{See also|Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification|Biblical law in Christianity}}
Judaism teaches that the purpose of the Torah is to teach us how to act correctly. God's existence is a given in Judaism, and not something that most authorities see as a matter of required belief. Although some authorities{{who|date= November 2018}} see the Torah as commanding Jews to believe in God, Jews see belief in God as a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for a Jewish life. The quintessential verbal expression of Judaism is the [[Shema Yisrael]], the statement that the God of the Bible is their God, and that this God is unique and one. The quintessential physical expression of Judaism is behaving in accordance with the 613 Mitzvot (the commandments specified in the Torah), and thus live one's life in God's ways.

Thus fundamentally in Judaism, one is enjoined to bring holiness into life (with the guidance of God's laws), rather than removing oneself from life to be holy.

Much of Christianity also teaches that God wants people to perform [[good works]], but all branches hold that good works alone will not lead to salvation, which is called [[Legalism (theology)|Legalism]], the exception being [[dual-covenant theology]]. Some Christian denominations{{which|date= November 2018}} hold that salvation depends upon transformational faith in Jesus, which expresses itself in good works as a testament (or witness) to ones faith for others to see (primarily Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism), while others (including most Protestants) hold that [[Sola fide|faith alone]] is necessary for salvation. Some{{who|date= November 2018}} argue that the difference is not as great as it seems, because it really hinges on the [[Faith in Christianity|definition of "faith" used]]. The first group generally uses the term "faith" to mean "intellectual and heartfelt assent and submission". Such a faith will not be salvific until a person has allowed it to effect a life transforming conversion (turning towards God) in their being (see [[Ontotheology]]). The Christians that hold to "salvation by faith alone" (also called by its Latin name "[[sola fide]]") define faith as being implicitly [[ontological]]—mere intellectual assent is not termed "faith" by these groups. Faith, then, is life-transforming by definition.