For me the division between the 2 makes sense in the context of Byzantine theology. Justification being more God’s work and Sanctification our work. Sanctification is our cooperation with God. It’s our part in the process of theosis, which a work that continues beyond death (Final Theosis as we call it). The goal in mind is our resurrected and glorified body. We are working with God in preparing for that great Day where will behold the glory of God with everything that we are.
@@JC_0007 right, it's a gift that we have to accept. The accepting part is our participation. As the scripture teaches we are coworkers with God in our salvation.
POPE BENEDICT XVI: “Faith is not the simple intellectual approval by man of truths concerning God. It is an act in which I freely entrust myself to a God who is Father and who loves me.... Having faith is above all about having a relationship with a God whose love is indestructible and who understands people’s problems. Christian faith entails giving up control and placing one’s life in God’s hands. It’s this liberating and reassuring certainly of faith that helps people live without fear, proclaiming and living out the Gospel message with courage. Faith shows that humanity won’t find its full realization unless the human person is animated by the love that comes from God. The gift of faith then finds expression in relationships full of love, compassion, care and selfless service toward others.”
Hey Jimmy, if I join the 50$/month patreon membership right now for Capturing Christianity will I still receive the gift or is the campaign over? Thanks!
Jimmy, is it acceptable to view doing good works as being obedient to the grace and love that has been poured into me as a new creation in Christ? Wording it this way seems reasonable to me.
I thibk its fair to say that doing the works of love is not a matter of passively sitting by and waiting for good deeds to pour forth without any effort. It does take consistent decisions to do good motivated by love of God and neighbor. James says faith is made complete by works. If I'm not growing in good works, I'm in serious danger of sliding into sin and eventually mortal sin. So, yes, our good works don't earn us forgiveness. Forgiveness is freely given to anyone who repents of sin and turns to Christ to save them. But if i do not bare fruit from that faith, then my faith is of no effect. Christ says that a branch that does not bare fruit is cut off ans thrown into the fire. "Being saved" ultimately means being made a new person who is fundamentally different and behaves differently (like Christ). If I turn back to sin and commit mortal sin, then I spiritually die again and need to repent and confess those sins so i can be restored to right standing with God.
Justification is the operation, as it were, of making someone just, where justice means "rendering what is due." Sanctification is the operation of making someone perfect, where perfection here means "without blemish." Man is justified by baptism, thereby paying his debt to God for Adam's sin, and at that moment is also sanctified. But while the original debt always remains paid, men may sin again and incur new debt of their own before God, thereby becoming unjust with respect to him and destroying their sanctification. Through confession and absolution, one may again repair their unjustified state, however their sanctification remains imperfect until all temporal debt for their sins is paid. This is why a man may go to heaven without being a saint at the moment of his death, but only by paying any lingering temporal debt owed in Purgatory first.
Hello! Will the Capturing Christianity gifts still apply if I join this Saturday? Saturday is the earlier that I will be able to support the ministry. The second question is if I will receive the gifts after a month worth of pledging or after more than 1 month. Thank you, Jimmy, and God bless you!
The current thank you gifts will still apply if you join this Saturday. My understanding is that they will be sent after the first month--hopefully by the end of June. 😊
@@EddyRobichaud I'm not sure what you mean. I answer people in comboxes when I can, on a variety of topics (often questions they ask). In the case of two people in this one who refer to Cameron Bertuzzi's current fund-raising drive, I'm trying to help out a friend. I make *NO* profit from that. If that's a black mark in your book, I hope this helps.
This is as close as you've gotten to answering my question about mortal sins of omission and their relation to justification/salvation. If we knowingly, deliberately, and gravely omit a good work of love, then we have sinned mortally and lost our justification/salvation. Good works do not cause salvation, but, for most people, they do RETAIN one's salvation. I feel like there's a need for more completeness and clarity than the minimal formula "avoid mortal sin"; otherwise, you are just going to cause confusion for both Protestant and Catholic alike (like with the previous caller mentioned). Most people only think of sins of commission (and not sins of omission) when they hear "mortal sin" or have it explained to them.
Tony, my understanding is that simply omitting a good work does not necessarily = mortal sin. I had a gentleman recently ask me for money. I told him I didn't have any and we parted ways. I then remembered that I did have $10 but I didn't see him anywhere. I decided if I see him before I leave, I'll give him the money but I never saw him and I drove away. In both cases, I don't see that as a mortal sin. Perhaps a missed opportunity. If a venial sin of omission, the Confiteor and Eucharist take care of it as long as we treat the omission with reference. Even so, I think it can also be viewed from a place of prudence. In the end, my choice resulted in an opportunity missed but not necessarily a sin. This is my understanding.
@@billlee2194 I agree that not every omission is mortal. Neither is every omission venial as Jesus makes clear in Mt 25 and the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. A group of us at my parish buy, put together, and hand out care bags for beggars/homeless. They include water, food, food gift card, hygiene items, etc. I highly recommend it.
@@tonyl3762 Thanks Tony. You make a great point about the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. I will bring that up in my next spiritual direction session. Always finding new pieces of the puzzle. :) Perhaps the parable is a good parallel to the NT instructions to feed the hungry, etc. and the admonishment for us to be about the business of doing good deeds. Perhaps, when we strive in these areas, then we are no longer 'practicing' what the rich man praciticed daily so that what good deeds we do omit become missed opprotunities. So, maybe it's our daily practice and attitude that can become the serious problem and sin. Because, even when we strive to take care of the Lazarus folks we meet along our journey, as James states, we all still make many mistakes. So, with these mistakes, God is merciful. So, if I feed the hungry but omit giving my $10 to the man, God doesn't put a check by my name and say you omitted this one thing so you are in mortal sin. Maybe it's the turning our lives over to God that allows us to cooperate with what you are doing at your parish so that our omissions/mistakes here and there are seen as the many mistakes we all make daily even though we are in Christ through the Sacraments, obedient to good deeds and embracing a contrite, sincere heart seeking to subdue the flesh. Hope this helps. Let me know what you think. God bless you brother.
@@billlee2194It is not my job to judge whether a particular person I don't know very well is in mortal sin because of their specific action/inaction in a specific situation. My job is to worry about me, my family, and friends I know fairly well, out of love for them. But sure, I think there are often good reasons to think a certain omission is not mortal or even sinful. Prudence is not optional. Giving money to someone who has a high likelihood to abuse it is not really loving that person. That is why we keep the prepared bags in our cars with only what will help and give the bags when the occasion inevitably arises. Our parish only temporarily pays bills for those who fill out a form and disclose information about themselves to ensure funds are used responsibly. It is interesting to note Jesus only mentions giving food, drink, welcome, clothing, and visitation in Mt 25. One can reasonably take measures to secure one's own safety too. The principle of subsidiarity also applies; it is no mortal sin to omit feeding a hungry person half way around the world. Those closest to the problem/need should try to address it first; we should not assume only the coercive national government can address it. However, without becoming overly scrupulous, we all still need to take seriously the objective gravity of certain sins of omission, as mentioned in Scripture by Jesus, even if not subjectively mortal. Yes, there are often mitigating factors, but what are we doing to remove legitimate excuses/concerns (e.g. alcohol/drug abuse, our own safety, etc.) and give the needy what they actually need? If we are not even trying, knowing our obligation to those in our community, then we shouldn't be surprised to hear "'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me" and to receive "eternal punishment" (Mt 25:45-46). And yes, there is always mercy for any sin, if we ask for it.
POPE BENEDICT XVI: “Dear friends, Saint Paul in many of his letters does not shrink from calling his contemporaries, members of the local community, ‘saints’. Here it becomes clear that every baptized person - even before accomplishing good works or special achievements - is sanctified by God. In baptism the Lord, as it were, sets our life alight with what the Catechism calls sanctifying grace. Those who watch over this light, who live by grace, are indeed holy.” Germany, 2011
Would it be what stage of Justification? Initial would be faith correct but continuous and ongoing and final justification works olay a part with faith correct 💯😊?
Faith nor works merit the initial grace of justification (repent, believe, baptism usually). That is entirely Gods grace. However, justification is an ongoing process, not because the initial stage lacks anything, but because we as humans are sinners. It does not mean we must do a certain amount of good works to get to heaven, but it does mean that we must respond to Gods opportunities for us to do good. We are culpable for ignoring a work of charity when we know it would be beneficial and feasible. However, the level of culpability or severity varies with each situation. There is no science to it, but here’s what I say: we all fall short of the Kingdom. Do your best and ask the Lord for grace and mercy, most especially at the moment of death. Our real struggle should be to avoid sin especially mortal…the good works will assuredly follow.
It is false that Faith automatically produces good works. 1 Cor 13:2 "if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." Here St. Paul states that faith (and the only type of faith he is interested in is saving faith) can exist without charity (good works). In John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit (good works) he will take away>" So here is a branch truly in the vine (not sort of in the vine, not 2 inches from the vine, but really and truly in the vine) and so saved. Yet because later this branch does not produce good works it is taken away. This proves that a person truly saved may still not produce the good works later. The idea that if you push the button of faith and the conveyor belt of good works follows is false.
Not everyone that says to me Lord Lord shall enter into my Father's Kingdom "says Jesus " so yeah :) 👍 😊 some people say or believe if you say Jesus is Lord automatically you go to Heaven no matter what you can do whatever you want and you still.go to Heaven ...hmm......yikes
The branch cut off from the vine shows that salvation can be forfeited. Such stagnant faith withers and causes the soul to die because it has not been nourished by good works.
Adding to the OG post. St. James differentiates faith and works like body and soul. Last time I checked neither the body produces the soul nor viceversa. Both have independent existences from each other.
We are freely justified, Romans 3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
You still have to go on & live the faith out in love. It's initial grace that saves us when we were dead in trespasses & sins. Many do nothing w/ the gift, refuse the gift, don't appreciate the gift or continue on w/ charity, love & grace thru faith themselves
@@J-PLeigh8409 1 John 5:13 That You May Know I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 is written in the present, now today, not while your walking in faith. Giving your life to Jesus is once in your life, after you live a life of sanctification day by day you learn to walk with Christ. Not day by day you get saved.
@@EddyRobichaud I never said day by day you get saved....never said that. Those that are in & remain in the faith obviously have eternal life, but it's scriptorture to ignore or impose on any texts that teach we have to finish the race, not fall away, not ship wreck our faith, fall from grace, keep the faith, not return to vomit, bring others back, not get cut off, etc. Christ even prays for Saint Peter that his faith will not fail. I can go on, but osas is super hard to support & really a heterodox doctrine
@@J-PLeigh8409 That is the catholic doctrine, no one can be saved because our bad deeds can’t be erased by our good deeds and no one is perfectly perfect so if that is what you believe you can never be saved and Jesus died for nothing. No one can walk a perfect life never, only Jesus that’s why He is the Saviour not us, and our way of walking.
@@EddyRobichaud why do you keep saying I believe or said something that I never did or do? It's not just Catholic doctrine that we can fall away, it's biblical, explicitly biblical & the Orthodox teaching of Christendom for 2k yrs. It's about practicing the faith that has been established beautifully, this faith is sacramental. Catholicism condemns a saved by works doctrine, it's all by grace
Hebrews 10:9-10 “Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first (old covenant), that he may establish the second (New covenant). By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
