T
Truthstalker
Guest
I read the other thread on this topic. My answer is radically different and thus another thread.
I think there are two situations to be approached: one is initial conversion, and the second is what happens in the life of the committed Christian.
In the first case, a hardened sinner will not repent without God working initial grace in him. He has not yet repented, he will not, he may refuse to, so if he is ever to be redeemed, God must act. I think this is entirely consistent with Catholic theology. We are saved by grace through faith, not by our repentence.
In the second case, the Christian is becoming conformed to the image of Christ. He must yield to the command to repent, to change the way he looks at the world, repeated many times in the Scriptures. I think we need to be careful we do not go into a works-righteousness based on our repentence, and at the same time avoid the opposite extreme of overscrupulosity, because there is always more to the iceberg of our sinfulness than is apparent on the surface. As we grow in Christ, we grow in the habit of repentence, which is part of the fruit of faith, the works of faith. Faith without works is dead; one of those works is repentence - and not a one-time repentence but a life-long change.
This repentence is a grace God works in someone.
I think there are two situations to be approached: one is initial conversion, and the second is what happens in the life of the committed Christian.
In the first case, a hardened sinner will not repent without God working initial grace in him. He has not yet repented, he will not, he may refuse to, so if he is ever to be redeemed, God must act. I think this is entirely consistent with Catholic theology. We are saved by grace through faith, not by our repentence.
In the second case, the Christian is becoming conformed to the image of Christ. He must yield to the command to repent, to change the way he looks at the world, repeated many times in the Scriptures. I think we need to be careful we do not go into a works-righteousness based on our repentence, and at the same time avoid the opposite extreme of overscrupulosity, because there is always more to the iceberg of our sinfulness than is apparent on the surface. As we grow in Christ, we grow in the habit of repentence, which is part of the fruit of faith, the works of faith. Faith without works is dead; one of those works is repentence - and not a one-time repentence but a life-long change.
This repentence is a grace God works in someone.