e act of justice whereby anyone discharges a
debt would not be meritorious.

Reply Obj. 2: God seeks from our goods not profit, but glory, i.e.
the manifestation of His goodness; even as He seeks it also in
His own works. Now nothing accrues to Him, but only to ourselves, by
our worship of Him. Hence we merit from God, not that by our works
anything accrues to Him, but inasmuch as we work for His glory.

Reply Obj. 3: Since our action has the character of merit, only on
the presupposition of the Divine ordination, it does not follow
that God is made our debtor simply, but His own, inasmuch as it
is right that His will should be carried out.
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SECOND ARTICLE [I-II, Q. 114, Art. 2]

Whether Anyone Without Grace Can Merit Eternal Life?

Objection 1: It would seem that without grace anyone can merit
eternal life. For man merits from God what he is divinely ordained
to, as stated above (A. 1). Now man by his nature is ordained to
beatitude as his end; hence, too, he naturally wishes to be blessed.
Hence man by his natural endowments and without grace can merit
beatitude which is eternal life.

Obj. 2: Further, the less a work is due, the more meritorious it is.
Now, less due is that work which is done by one who has received
fewer benefits. Hence, since he who has only natural endowments has
received fewer gifts from God, than he who has gratuitous gifts as
well as nature, it would seem that his works are more meritorious
with God. And thus if he who has grace can merit eternal life to some
extent, much more may he who has no grace.

Obj. 3: Further, God's mercy and liberality infinitely surpass human
mercy and liberality. Now a man may merit from another, even though
he has not hitherto had his grace. Much more, therefore, would it
seem that a man without grace may merit eternal life.

_On the contrary,_ The Apostle says (Rom. 6:23): "The grace of God,
life everlasting."

_I answer that,_ Man without grace may be looked at in two states, as
was said above (Q. 109, A. 2): the first, a state of perfect nature,
in which Adam was before his sin; the second, a state of corrupt
nature, in which we are before being restored by grace. Therefore, if
we speak of man in the first state, there is only one reason why man
cannot merit eternal life without grace, by his purely natural
endowments, viz. because man's merit depends on the Divine
pre-ordination. Now no act of anything whatsoever is divinely