Least I can do or most I can do?

[Tom]

It seems to me some people are looking for the absolute minimum they need to do to attain their salvation.
Must I do A, B, And C? Or can I skip C? Can I “be saved” by simply doing “D” and skip A, B, & C?
That’s not Gods message to me. God wants me to love Him first and foremost. If I truly love Him I will want to do as much as I possibly can, not the least I can, and I need to do EVERYTHING out of love, not because I “need to” or “have to”.
I’m a little tired of the “works” debate. No, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do; God will be so very pleased with you for trying to sneak into heaven doing the absolute minimum. Read Scripture, Jesus tells us about those who want to do the least.
I don’t “need to” go to a priest for confession, I go straight to God, even though Jesus teaches us He gave His power to absolve sins to the Apostles and their successors.
I don’t “need to” receive the Eucharist, even though Jesus repeatedly tells us this IS His body and blood, and calls us to “do this in remembrance” of Him. After all it must only be symbolic right?

 

[ALLFORHIM]

It seems to me some people are looking for the absolute minimum they need to do to attain their salvation.
Must I do A, B, And C? Or can I skip C? Can I “be saved” by simply doing “D” and skip A, B, & C?
That’s not Gods message to me. God wants me to love Him first and foremost. If I truly love Him I will want to do as much as I possibly can, not the least I can, and I need to do EVERYTHING out of love, not because I “need to” or “have to”.
I’m a little tired of the “works” debate. No, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do; God will be so very pleased with you for trying to sneak into heaven doing the absolute minimum. Read Scripture, Jesus tells us about those who want to do the least.
I don’t “need to” go to a priest for confession, I go straight to God, even though Jesus teaches us He gave His power to absolve sins to the Apostles and their successors.
I don’t “need to” receive the Eucharist, even though Jesus repeatedly tells us this IS His body and blood, and calls us to “do this in remembrance” of Him. After all it must only be symbolic right?

Hi,
Once you have received/accepted the FREE GIFT OF SALVATION then you should do everything for God’s Glory
What it comes down to is people just dont want to be inconvienced or uncomfortable. We are a bunch of lazy, selfish humans. God has called us for a purpose and if we simply sit back and do nothing then we are missing out on His Will for us and blessings He will give us. We are saved to DO good work to GLORIFY GOD. We need to do these works with LOVE and JOY not with annoyance , indiffernce or arrogance.
Just my :twocents:

 

[jpusateri]

It seems to me some people are looking for the absolute minimum they need to do to attain their salvation.
Must I do A, B, And C? Or can I skip C? Can I “be saved” by simply doing “D” and skip A, B, & C?

I fully agree. It came with the scientific revolution and the search for the minimum cause and effect.

For example, I notice that in winter when clouds gather, it snows AND the temperature rises. Is it the snow that makes the temperature rise or the clouds? Why? Ah, it’s the clouds that make a heat blanket for the earth and the snow doesn’t matter. (I think this is how it works! )

So we apply that to faith. Is it the assent to faith that saves or the baptism? What if I am not baptized? Do we have to take both Body and Blood at Mass? What if we have one?

I always think of Occam’s Razor, though perhaps it’s not a perfect match. In effect, what is the minimum elements needed to explain something? The rest is implied to be throwaway.

I see this in Protestant thinking all the time. Vestments. Candles. Statues. Mass.

My priest once told me this metaphor. If you are a basketball player and you play just the minimum, you will never be a great basketball player. Great players play all the time, almost every minute they are either playing or thinking about playing better. Now…what kind of Christian do you want to be?