Help with a question from a Protestant

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What do you understand here by the word “merit”? I suspect it sounds to you as if Catholics are saying that we earn or deserve salvation by something we have done, rather than God making us more worthy from the inside out.
The church makes a set of rules and tells you that if you break one of these rules you are committing a mortal sin, which will cause you you to be kept from heaven. If you then follow these rules in order to avoid hell, you are meriting your salvation by doing so.
 
Sin separates us from God. The nature of sin has not changed, just because Jesus died to free us from it. If we return to a life of sin, sin still separates us from God.
Confessing our sins enables us to access His grace and to return to a right relationship with Him.
One of the most dangerous of the “once saved always saved” mentality is that the nature of sin has somehow changed, and that it no longer separates us from God.
Do you not agree that obedience does keep us in God’s grace?
Those who have received the Apostolic Faith beleive it is possible to fall from grace.
I do believe that sin separates from God in a relational sense and that we should confess our sins. I would also say that living a life characterized by sin is an indicator that we no longer have faith in him and, as so, are no longer “saved”. Living a life obedient to God does keep us in a better relationship with God and re-enforces our faith. I don’t accept the “once saved, always saved” mentality because the scriptures speak too much of the dangers of “falling away”.
 
The church makes a set of rules and tells you that if you break one of these rules you are committing a mortal sin, which will cause you you to be kept from heaven. If you then follow these rules in order to avoid hell, you are meriting your salvation by doing so.
Actually scripture sets that table #15
 
The church makes a set of rules and tells you that if you break one of these rules you are committing a mortal sin, which will cause you you to be kept from heaven. If you then follow these rules in order to avoid hell, you are meriting your salvation by doing so.
Re:The Bolded…
Let us rephrase this and see if it still sounds the same.
The church -]makes a set of rules/-] clarifies and explains the sins that are gravely offensive to God, and tells you that if you -]break one of these rules/-] knowingly and freely commit any of these acts you are committing a mortal sin.
Sounds quite a bit different doesn’t it?
Now it doesn’t sound so much like “earning” by works and more like seeking to please God - who we Love above all else.

Just a thought on how a different view and different words can put a whole new slant on something.

Peace
James
 
wow – it is sure amazing to see all of the varied answers to the question

" are catholics christians"

this is real “basic”

becaiuse – when i went thru the "life in the spirit " charismatic class teaching-- that was to goal and intention-- of my self and the other people–

and amazing ly when we were baptised in the Holy Spirit – we spoke in tongues and prophisied – just like in acts 19-- when Saint Paul – layed hands on the 12 epheson people

Paul in Ephesus - While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and.

6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

this is the 1st step in the A_B_C’s-- of walking in the anointing–

and only in remote areas of a catholic church - do you find the anointed catholic christians
 
This is from my own experience and I don’t want to impose anything on Catechism.

I’d say the grace Catholics are talking about is not a blanketing grace(you have clean clothes, but still have dirty body and you are doing nothing about it, but still declared clean) but a deep ,transformative grace(you used to be dirty but endowed a cleanly spirit which makes you rush to the stream to wash yourself).

If you’d had a true conversion of heart, meaning your will is submitted to God’s will in totality, you canNOT NOT do good works. Because from the moment of conversion, there’s a new person(Holy Spirit) inside you who makes possible what used to be impossible by yourself.

It’s like a soul of a sober lady coming into a drunkard’s body. You don’t crave alcohol anymore because it’s just out of this new person’s character to drink much. It’s grace and not a harsh self-discipline to suppress your desire. Yes. We have to die to ourselves but it is not as difficult as it used to be.

The relationship’s like
faith always produces good works
but good works **does not ** mean the person has true faith(motives can be different)
but zero good works always mean no real faith.
 
The church makes a set of rules and tells you that if you break one of these rules you are committing a mortal sin, which will cause you you to be kept from heaven. If you then follow these rules in order to avoid hell, you are meriting your salvation by doing so.
OMG!!! :bigyikes:

I have never heard of this before. Where did you come by such a notion?
 
This is from my own experience and I don’t want to impose anything on Catechism.

I’d say the grace Catholics are talking about is not a blanketing grace(you have clean clothes, but still have dirty body and you are doing nothing about it, but still declared clean) but a deep ,transformative grace(you used to be dirty but endowed a cleanly spirit which makes you rush to the stream to wash yourself).

If you’d had a true conversion of heart, meaning your will is submitted to God’s will in totality, you canNOT NOT do good works. Because from the moment of conversion, there’s a new person(Holy Spirit) inside you who makes possible what used to be impossible by yourself.

It’s like a soul of a sober lady coming into a drunkard’s body. You don’t crave alcohol anymore because it’s just out of this new person’s character to drink much. It’s grace and not a harsh self-discipline to suppress your desire. Yes. We have to die to ourselves but it is not as difficult as it used to be.

The relationship’s like
faith always produces good works
but good works **does not ** mean the person has true faith(motives can be different)
but zero good works always mean no real faith.
Nice…👍

Peace
James
 
OMG!!! :bigyikes:

I have never heard of this before. Where did you come by such a notion?
Quite possibly by talking to some Catholics - - - :rolleyes:

I have to admit that, as a young child in parochial elementary school this is sort of the way we were taught. Of course with young children this is normal. We teach them the rules and tell them to be obedient. Later, as they grow, they are taught (or they should realize) the reasoning behind such rules.
Unfortunately in the case of some Catholics (myself included for many years) they never seem to come to this recognition…they never grow beyond that “rules” mentality. 🤷
So when they talk to others…it can be presented in just this sort of way.

Just my 2 cents

Peace
James
 
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