Being "at peace" with God

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I’m talking/kind of debating with a protestant friend of mine, she says she’s worried that Catholics aren’t at peace with God because of what we believe about mortal sin…
She says that she feels worried that we never experience peace with God because of our sin, and that it’s terrible to think that you have to live a certain way in order for God to be happy with you.
How am I supposed to explain this? Protestants often ask if you “know” you’re saved, which I find extremely arrogant but I don’t know how to explain the Catholic position without sounding like we only care about good works…I had to experience it to understand it so I don’t know how to explain haha…help?
 
I think the Scripture your friend is talking about is Romans 5:1-2

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

As a Catholic, you can tell your friend that you have peace with God through the graces found in the sacraments of baptism and reconciliation.

*From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

(2 Corinthians 5:16-21 ESV)*

If your friend questions mortal sin and the need for confession, you might want to bring the following verses to his attention:
  • Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
(Romans 6:16 ESV)*
  • If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
(1 John 5:16-17 ESV)*

*Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working

(James 5:16 ESV)*

These are just my suggestions, though I am no expert. You may also want to listen to the other replies that you get to this question.
 
Many people, even some Catholics often assume many things about our faith. Though I am not an authority on our faith, I do strive to learn by reading the Catholic Catechism, Vatican documents, the scriptures, trying to ask my priest, and of course praying for the Holy Spirit to guide me.

I have approached this question before something like this.

Catholics are at peace because we have been given the knowledge for avoiding sins, as have all Christians.

Yes we do have free will, but our faith in God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and knowing that we should do God’s will above our own, if mindful of our actions will aid us in avoiding sin.

As Catholics, if we truly have a contrite heart and faith, we may be reconciled for our sins through confession, and do penance. Therefore, we are forgiven our sins, as we should forgive ourselves, should avoid committing them again, and should be at peace with ourselves and God.

This is a brief explanation, by no means complete.

For starters, From Catechism of the Catholic Church:

THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION
1422 “Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.”

VII. THE ACTS OF THE PENITENT
1450 “Penance requires . . . the sinner to endure all things willingly, be contrite of heart, confess with the lips, and practice complete humility and fruitful satisfaction.”

Further reading:
scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a4.htm
 
TeenageConvert said:
it’s terrible to think that you have to live a certain way in order for God to be happy with you.
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This is what I don’t get. If by your life you disregard God, of course He won’t be terribly happy about it.

Or perhaps explain it like this - I am at peace with my parents, but I know that I could easily disappoint them by, say, getting addicted to drugs and supporting the habit with violent crime. They’d still love me, but they aren’t going to support that. There are certain principles violating which would cause my parents to be deeply, and rightly, disappointed with me.

Something similar applies with God.
 
You don’t have to be in a state of grace to be at peace. The Catholic Church doesn’t expect people to be in a state of grace every moment of their lives, and that’s certainly not necessary for salvation. The Church is a hospital for sinners.

A hospital, it’s not a used car dealer. It’s not once we’ve got the car off the lot we’re good. No, we need to live a Sacramental life, why? So we can know God. Because the Sacraments are as close as most people can get to God on Earth without experiencing a miracle or something.

Someone in the hospital needs continual medical attention. A continual flow of grace and mercy.

And grace yields a lot more than Faith. So, if your friend is concerned about our teaching on mortal sin, I’m concerned with her Church’s teaching on grace. Isn’t grace devalued if you only emphasize Faith, and you don’t have the Sacraments?
 
TeenageConvert said:
I’m talking/kind of debating with a protestant friend of mine, she says she’s worried that Catholics aren’t at peace with God because of what we believe about mortal sin…
She says that she feels worried that we never experience peace with God because of our sin, and that it’s terrible to think that you have to live a certain way in order for God to be happy with you.
How am I supposed to explain this? Protestants often ask if you “know” you’re saved, which I find extremely arrogant but I don’t know how to explain the Catholic position without sounding like we only care about good works…I had to experience it to understand it so I don’t know how to explain haha…help?
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Your friend may believe in a protestant tradition that once a person is saved then there is nothing that a person can do that will jepordise their eternal salvation. So to them, if they believe that, then they are not concerned with sin in that way and are at peace. However, I have heard a number of people on CAF who believed in that for a while and then began to question that protestant tradition.
This may be where your friend is comming from.

But here is what the bible says about a mortal sin. And it didn’t distinquish between protestant and catholic.

If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal. . [1 Jn 5:16-17]

And here is what the bible says about particular mortal sins and their consequences.

Titus 3: 10 Reject a factious (schismatic, heretic etc)man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.

Ephesians 5: 3-5 fornication, covetousness…… Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Galatians 5: 19-21 sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, will not inherit heaven

Romans 16:17… dividers don’t serve our Lord but themselves. Stay away from them. Satan will soon be crushed under your feet

Colossians 3: 5-6 immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry, …rath of God is coming

1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 no sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers, will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Matthew 15: 19-20 murder, adultery, false witness, slander…defile a man

Jesus said to Peter, “whose sins you forgive they are forgiven them…”
In saying this, Jesus obviously meant people to go to Peter to have their sins forgiven. Otherwise, why would Jesus say this? So this is saying indirectly that people need salvation after they have been saved if they have sinned mortally.

Just a thought.
 
TeenageConvert said:
She says that she feels worried that we never experience peace with God because of our sin, and that it’s terrible to think that you have to live a certain way in order for God to be happy with you.
How am I supposed to explain this?
Click to expand...
Peace comes from the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, primarily the Gift of Wisdom. It comes from God, how we choose to respond to God, be it noble, that choice to respond does not produce peace. So it does not matter absolutely on how the soul see the sins, for peace comes from God.

Now we have other gifts like the Gift of Understanding which enlighten by the teachings of the Church bring about a lively faith to say yes, I confess my sins and I understand that God forgives them through the priest and wisdom gives me peace. I understand that I am his child. The Gift of Knowledge informs me by disposition on the emptiness of created things, the vanity of creation and so I hope for a life in heaven, and now I recieve many gifts in me and elsewhere from God until I get there.
 
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