Heaven is ONLY for those who has FAITH?

[fabio_rocha]

For all I know, not only Catholics are saved. So what’s the criteria to be go to heaven? Is Heaven ONLY for those who has FAITH?

Consider and comment over these examples as well [all of them presuming the instant moment of their death]:

1. A good atheist [meaning a person who rejects his entire life the existence of God but does a lot of good works, avoiding evil and feels bad for his/hers bad behavior AKA sins, without knowledge of what are mortal sins or how to commit them]
2. A good atheist with knowledge of what are mortal sins and how to commit them and has in his/hers conscience that he/she has one or more committed, but repents all sins.
3. A good agnostic [meaning a person who believes there’s something/someone superior in the universe, creator of all things but rejects Jesus is God and Savior]
4. A good non-Christian [a Jew, a Muslim or a Buddhist, rejecting Jesus as Messiah and Savior]
5. A good non-Catholic Christian #1 [a person who believes in Jesus and does a lot of good works, avoiding evil and repents for his/hers sins, without knowing that the Catholic Church is Christ’s church]
6. A good non-Catholic Christian #2 [same as above but knows that the Catholic Church is the One True Church and rejects belonging to it]
7. A good non-Catholic Christian #3 [same as above but knows he/she has commited mortal sin, is deeply repentant but doesn’t go to confession - because, obviously, don’t recognize that the Catholic Church is the right one]
8. An unrepentant Christian [meaning a Christian that died without repenting some non-mortal/venial sins]

I’m not going to refer non-baptized people and Christians without being in the state of grace and unrepentant because I have a clear understanding on the Church doctrine on those cases. It would be awesome if you could copy/quote and paste every topic/question and your reply on it. Thanks for the help!

 

[steve_b]

For all I know, not only Catholics are saved. So what’s the criteria to be go to heaven? Is Heaven ONLY for those who has FAITH?

Consider and comment over these examples as well [all of them presuming the instant moment of their death]:

1. A good atheist [meaning a person who rejects his entire life the existence of God but does a lot of good works, avoiding evil and feels bad for his/hers bad behavior AKA sins, without knowledge of what are mortal sins or how to commit them]
2. A good atheist with knowledge of what are mortal sins and how to commit them and has in his/hers conscience that he/she has one or more committed, but repents all sins.
3. A good agnostic [meaning a person who believes there’s something/someone superior in the universe, creator of all things but rejects Jesus is God and Savior]
4. A good non-Christian [a Jew, a Muslim or a Buddhist, rejecting Jesus as Messiah and Savior]
5. A good non-Catholic Christian #1 [a person who believes in Jesus and does a lot of good works, avoiding evil and repents for his/hers sins, without knowing that the Catholic Church is Christ’s church]
6. A good non-Catholic Christian #2 [same as above but knows that the Catholic Church is the One True Church and rejects belonging to it]
7. A good non-Catholic Christian #3 [same as above but knows he/she has commited mortal sin, is deeply repentant but doesn’t go to confession - because, obviously, don’t recognize that the Catholic Church is the right one]
8. An unrepentant Christian [meaning a Christian that died without repenting some non-mortal/venial sins]

I’m not going to refer non-baptized people and Christians without being in the state of grace and unrepentant because I have a clear understanding on the Church doctrine on those cases. It would be awesome if you could copy/quote and paste every topic/question and your reply on it. Thanks for the help!

If heaven was no different than this existance we’re in now, with everybody continuing to believe what they wanted to believe, that wouldn’t be heaven.

 

[thistle]

For all I know, not only Catholics are saved. So what’s the criteria to be go to heaven? Is Heaven ONLY for those who has FAITH?

Consider and comment over these examples as well [all of them presuming the instant moment of their death]:

1. A good atheist [meaning a person who rejects his entire life the existence of God but does a lot of good works, avoiding evil and feels bad for his/hers bad behavior AKA sins, without knowledge of what are mortal sins or how to commit them]
2. A good atheist with knowledge of what are mortal sins and how to commit them and has in his/hers conscience that he/she has one or more committed, but repents all sins.
3. A good agnostic [meaning a person who believes there’s something/someone superior in the universe, creator of all things but rejects Jesus is God and Savior]
4. A good non-Christian [a Jew, a Muslim or a Buddhist, rejecting Jesus as Messiah and Savior]
5. A good non-Catholic Christian #1 [a person who believes in Jesus and does a lot of good works, avoiding evil and repents for his/hers sins, without knowing that the Catholic Church is Christ’s church]
6. A good non-Catholic Christian #2 [same as above but knows that the Catholic Church is the One True Church and rejects belonging to it]
7. A good non-Catholic Christian #3 [same as above but knows he/she has commited mortal sin, is deeply repentant but doesn’t go to confession - because, obviously, don’t recognize that the Catholic Church is the right one]
8. An unrepentant Christian [meaning a Christian that died without repenting some non-mortal/venial sins]

I’m not going to refer non-baptized people and Christians without being in the state of grace and unrepentant because I have a clear understanding on the Church doctrine on those cases. It would be awesome if you could copy/quote and paste every topic/question and your reply on it. Thanks for the help!

There are so many threads starting up with the same topic so the same answers will get repeated. It might be easier if you went into some of these threads.

Anyway, you are a Catholic. That means you should know that the Church teaches there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church, that baptism is necessary for salvation and you must die in a state of grace.
To be inside the Catholic Church you must be sacramentally baptised a Catholic, or a Catholic through baptism of blood, baptism of desire (explicit), baptism of desire (implicit/invincible ignorance). The Church does not define which individuals or groups fall under invincible ignorance so any answers on this would be opinion only.
Outside these four forms of baptism nobody is saved.
Good works throughout a person’s life are not sufficient to save a person. For example, no matter how much good works an atheist has done if he dies an unrepentant atheist he will not be saved.
In short, not all Catholics go to Heaven but only Catholics are in Heaven.

 

[Jaaanosik]

…
For example, no matter how much good works an atheist has done if he dies an unrepentant atheist he will not be saved.
…

How do you know?
What happens when a body dies?
Only God knows what happens to that person.
It’s not for you or anybody to say who is saved or not saved.
The issue is that there is no way for us to label somebody ‘an unrepentant atheist’.

 

[thistle]

How do you know?
What happens when a body dies?
Only God knows what happens to that person.
It’s not for you or anybody to say who is saved or not saved.
The issue is that there is no way for us to label somebody ‘an unrepentant atheist’.

We do not know which particular individual goes to Hell or is saved but we can objectively say that anyone who dies rejecting God goes to Hell.

 

[Trishie]

What the Church teaches:
From the official teaching of the Catholic Church
in the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding non-Christians

scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p3.htm

The Church and non-Christians

839 "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways."325

The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People,326 "the first to hear the Word of God."327 The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews “belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ”,328 "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."329

840 And when one considers the future, God’s People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.

841 The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day."330

842 The Church’s bond with non-Christian religions is in the first place the common origin and end of the human race:

All nations form but one community. This is so because all stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire earth, and also because all share a common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and saving designs extend to all against the day when the elect are gathered together in the holy city. . .331

843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."332

844 In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them:

Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair.333

845 To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son’s Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is “the world reconciled.” She is that bark which “in the full sail of the Lord’s cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world.” According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah’s ark, which alone saves from the flood.334

“Outside the Church there is no salvation”

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.336

847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:

Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.337

848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."338

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You may like to read Matthew 25 verses 31 to 46 for Jesus criteria in judging souls

 

[Trishie]

Regarding unbeliever

Pope Benedict and Pope Francis have this to say in the encyclical that the former pope drafted and was completed by Pope Francis:

vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei_en.html

Because faith is a way, it also has to do with the lives of those men and women who, though not believers, nonetheless desire to believe and continue to seek. To the extent that they are sincerely open to love and set out with whatever light they can find, they are already, even without knowing it, on the path leading to faith. They strive to act as if God existed, at times because they realize how important he is for finding a sure compass for our life in common or because they experience a desire for light amid darkness, but also because in perceiving life’s grandeur and beauty they intuit that the presence of God would make it all the more beautiful. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons tells how Abraham, before hearing God’s voice, had already sought him “in the ardent desire of his heart” and “went throughout the whole world, asking himself where God was to be found”, until “God had pity on him who, all alone, had sought him in silence”.[32] Any-one who sets off on the path of doing good to others is already drawing near to God, is already sustained by his help, for it is characteristic of the divine light to brighten our eyes whenever we walk towards the fullness of love."

 

[steve_b]

“Outside the Church there is no salvation”

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.336

847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:

Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.337

Since God is the perfect judge of one’s fault, no one is going to put one over on Jesus

Re: “may achieve” , may doesn’t mean will, nor probably nor might.

For example, if I say it may rain tomorrow, it might not rain at all. If it doesn’t I didn’t mispeak. Afterall, I only said it may rain.
T:

848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."338

---

You may like to read Matthew 25 verses 31 to 46 for Jesus criteria in judging souls

Dieing in mortal sin has the same effect

• Titus 3: 10 Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, 11knowing that such a man is )perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.
• Ephesians 5: 3-5 fornication, covetousness……5 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.
• Hebrews 10:25-26 missing mass deliberately, no sacrifice for sin for THEM but a fiery judgement that consumes the adversaries of God.
• Hebrews 12: 16 - 17 immoraliy, is selling your inheritance
• Galatians 5: 19 - 21 sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and 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 ἀρσενοκοίτης arsenokoitēs ], 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
• Matthew 15: 19 - 20 murder, adultery, false witness, slander…defile a man
• 2 Thes 1: 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power

souls who die in mortal sins…won’t go to heaven but … Hell

 

[Khalid]

Good works have nothing to do with salvation.

That being said, 5-7 have a chance at salvation. The others we must trust to the mercy of God.

 

[Trishie]

Good works have nothing to do with salvation.

That being said, 5-7 have a chance at salvation. The others we must trust to the mercy of God.

Yes we must trust to the mercy of God, who alone gives value to good works
However good works are necessary.

Jesus as Judge of souls, clearly demonstrates this in Matthew 25 verses 31-46.

“The Last Judgement”
“When the Son of Man comes in all His glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men from one another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats.
He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. then the King shall say to those on his right hand,” Come you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was a stranger and you made me welcome. I was thirsty and you gave me drink; naked and you clothed me; sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.

Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?

And the King will answer, " I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me."

Next he will say to those on his left “Go away from me with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for when I was hungry you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.”
Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty; a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and not come to your help?”
Then he will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.” And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.

And since Jesus is the very Person who will judge all of us, I think we have to accept His criterion for who may be saved! His criterion is salvation depends upon our charity towards other people, which He regards as charity directly given to Him"

 

[Trishie]

Good works have nothing to do with salvation.

That being said, 5-7 have a chance at salvation. The others we must trust to the mercy of God.

Continued

With God’s mercy and good works, our friend.

From Scripture supporting that good works as well as faith is required for our entry into heaven is the following.

"Take the case, my brothers of someone who has never done a single good act but claims that he has faith. Will that faith save him? If one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on, and one of you says to them, ‘I wish you well; keep yourself warm and eat plenty’, without giving them these bare necessities of llife, then what good is that?: if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead.
This is the way to talk to people of that kind:'You say you have faith and I have good deeds; I will prove to you that I have faith by showing you my good deeds–now you prove to me that you have faith without any good deeds to show.

You believe in one God–that is creditable enough, but the demons have the same belief, and they tremble with fear. Do realise, you senseless man, that faith without works is useless. You surely know that Abraham our Father was justified by his deed, because he offered Isaac on the altar? There you see it; faith and good deeds were working together; his faith became perfect by what he did. This is what scripture really means when it says: Abraham put his faith in God, and this was counted as making him justified; and that is why he was called the friend of God. You see now that it is by doing something good, and not only by believing, that a man is justified." [James 2: 14-24]

“It is not those who call me ‘Lord, Lord’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my father in heaven.” [Matthew 7:21]

"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. (Galations 6:7-9)

 

[Genesis315]

Faith is absolutely necessary for salvation (Heb. 11:6). From the CCC:

CCC:

The necessity of faith
161 Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation.42 "Since “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life ‘But he who endures to the end.’"43

But, as Trishie posted, non-Christians following an upright conscience may achieve salvation, but this involves ultimately coming to have faith (see par. 848 that she posts from the CCC, which says God can lead them to the faith, without which it is impossible to please him). Just following an upright conscience is not enough for salvation, faith is necessary, but following an upright conscience can lead to faith, as Trishie’s quote from the encyclical Lumen Fidei shows.

St. Robert Bellarmine explained how this can happen, against some who argued that since there are many non-Christians in the world, God must not be offering them the means to salvation:
St. Robert Bellarmine:

This argument only proves that not all people receive the help they need to believe and be converted immediately. It does not, however, prove that some people are deprived, absolutely speaking, of sufficient help for salvation. For the pagans to whom the Gospel has not yet been preached, can know from His creatures that God exists; then they can be stimulated by God, through His preventing grace, to believe in God, that He exists and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him: and from such faith, they can be inspired, under the guidance and help of God, to pray and give alms and in this way obtain from God a still greater light of faith, which God will communicate to them, either by Himself or through angels or through men. De Gratis et Libero Aritrio, lib. 2, cap. 8

Note, his last sentence is summarized in the CCC 848 (quoting the Vatican II decree Ad Gentes), as God bringing people to the necessary faith in ways known to Himself.

Just to post one more thing to show faith is necessary, in this allocution from Bl. John Paul II, after explaining how non-Catholics may be saved, he rejects the idea that they can be saved without faith in Christ the Redeemer:
Bl. John Paul II:

What I have said above, however, does not justify the relativistic position of those who maintain that a way of salvation can be found in any religion, even independently of faith in Christ the Redeemer, and that interreligious dialogue must be based on this ambiguous idea. That solution to the problem of the salvation of those who do not profess the Christian creed is not in conformity with the Gospel. Rather, we must maintain that the way of salvation always passes through Christ, and therefore the Church and her missionaries have the task of making him known and loved in every time, place and culture. Apart from Christ “there is no salvation.” As Peter proclaimed before the Sanhedrin at the very start of the apostolic preaching: “There is no other name in the whole world given to men by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12). For those too who through no fault of their own do not know Christ and are not recognized as Christians, the divine plan has provided a way of salvation. As we read in the Council’s Decree Ad Gentes, we believe that “God in ways known to himself can lead those inculpably ignorant of the Gospel” to the faith necessary for salvation (AG 7).

vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/alpha/data/aud19950531en.html

Also, as has been mentioned, charity is also necessry–dying in mortal sin also excludes one from salvation, as does dying without faith.

 

[steve_b]

Good works have nothing to do with salvation.

on the contrary,

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— 9 not because of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

iow, since

• God prepared good works in advance, for us to do
• and we are created by God to do good works,

What do you think happens to the person who does NOT do good works that God created in advance for them to do?

**Lk 13: **6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. 9 And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Good works IS tied to salvation. Not in a way that anyone can boast, but because we are created by God to do them. When He crowns those works we do, bottomline He crowns His own work.[Philippians 2:13 (Douay-Rheims Bible, Philippians Chapter 2)

When we don’t do what God created us to do, we are like the fig tree who wouldn’t produce fruit. It didn’t go well for that tree if during the probation period, it continued being unproductive.

 

[Michael_Allen]

Hi Fabio

Personally I am becoming more open to the full restoration of all things and people…

Colossians 1:19-20 For in him [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

1 Timothy 2:4 [God] who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. + Isaiah 46:10 …I [God] will accomplish all my purpose,’

John 12:32 And I [Jesus], when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

God bless +

Michael

 

[Rachel126]

In short, not all Catholics go to Heaven but only Catholics are in Heaven.

Very simply, the Church does not teach this.

 

[Genesis315]

Very simply, the Church does not teach this.

That depends. If what is meant is that only people who were members of the Church* in re* during this lifetime can be saved, then it is false. If it means all who are saved must belong to the Church either in re or in voto, then it is true. Likewise, if it means all those in Heaven now possessing the beatific vision believe the truth about God and salvation history without error, then it is also true.

 

[Rachel126]

That depends. If what is meant is that only people who were members of the Church* in re* during this lifetime can be saved, then it is false. If it means all who are saved must belong to the Church either in re or in voto, then it is true. Likewise, if it means all those in Heaven now possessing the beatific vision believe the truth about God and salvation history without error, then it is also true.

I was referring to your first sentence, as i believed that is what the poster meant. If I misinterpreted him, my apologies.

 

[steve_b]

I was referring to your first sentence, as i believed that is what the poster meant. If I misinterpreted him, my apologies.

I think what was meant, if a non Catholic does make it to heaven, and that’s a big if, they are no longer non Catholic but Catholic.

let’s keep in mind the sentence in the Our Father, “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

That means unity will be perfect John 17:20-23 everyone will be Catholic and on the same page for everything…no division of anykind.

 

[fhansen]

The Reformers were so obsessed with ‘justification by faith alone’, that they ended up equating faith with man’s justice for all practical purposes. Catholicism recognizes that man’s justice consists of love, love of God and neighbor, and the standard of love is what we’ll be judged by. And love and sin are mutually exclusive ("Love does no harm to it’s neighbor". Rom 13:10), while love absolutely demands to be expressed by acts that are beneficial to neighbor (“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love”. Gal 5:6) What this means is that we’re justified by faith to the extent that it leads to communion with God and so produces love in us; we’re justified via faith, IOW, faith being the root and foundation of justification, as Trent put it.

But can faith be implicit only? Can one show faith, without even being conscious of it, by their acts of love? Could James 2:18 be applied here:
**18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds".
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. **

Would’ve the love shown by the Good Samaritan been a mark of justice in God’s eyes? In Matt 25:31-46 the sheep and the goats were judged based on their actions-and many apparently weren’t even aware that they’d done anything of worth to Jesus, or failed to do so.

In any case I like St John of the Cross’s statement:
"At the evening of life we shall be judged on our love"

We know that God is infinitely just and fair, and that His standards mean that culpability is different for people with different levels of knowledge (ignorance) which is affected by widely varying backgrounds. Luke 12:48 applies here. For someone who’s received much, such as one educated in the Catholic faith, more is required.

 

[thistle]

Very simply, the Church does not teach this.

Yes it does. If you die rejecting God you condemn yourself to Hell.