S
SimonArizona
Guest
1 Cor 3:16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
Galatians 6:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren.
Romans 8:16-17 When we cry, “Abba, Father!” it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
You see, when we do works IN HIM, in cooperation with His Spirit, there is tremendous power at work.Where our works draw their power is from the Cross, flowing through us. The power is all His. And we apply it by cooperating our spirit with His.
How do we become holy? Catholics agree with other Christians that we cannot save ourselves, and we cannot earn heaven on our own. Rather, we are saved by grace-God’s merciful aid, given to enable us to become holy as He is holy. It’s an absolutely unmerited, free gift of God, made possible through our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and His atoning death on the cross for us.
Certainly, our faith in Christ’s power to transform us is essential to our salvation by God’s grace. But a mere intellectual assent to the truths of the Gospel is not enough. Scripture insists that faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead St. James 2:14-26).
When we are justified (literally, “made just”) by God, He doesn’t just declare us righteous as a kind of legal fiction so that we can escape eternal punishment. Divine justification actually wipes out sin and provides a supernatural, renewing infusion of His power. By cooperating with grace, we become like God, fit to live with Him forever.
In this way, good works, and the transformation of character they contribute to and reflect, are indeed necessary for salvation.God rewards the good works we do, works that He himself has made possible (Matt. 16:27; 25:31-46). “To the obedient,” He promises, “I will show the salvation of God” (Ps 50:23)
:extrahappy:
Galatians 6:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren.
Romans 8:16-17 When we cry, “Abba, Father!” it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
You see, when we do works IN HIM, in cooperation with His Spirit, there is tremendous power at work.Where our works draw their power is from the Cross, flowing through us. The power is all His. And we apply it by cooperating our spirit with His.
How do we become holy? Catholics agree with other Christians that we cannot save ourselves, and we cannot earn heaven on our own. Rather, we are saved by grace-God’s merciful aid, given to enable us to become holy as He is holy. It’s an absolutely unmerited, free gift of God, made possible through our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and His atoning death on the cross for us.
Certainly, our faith in Christ’s power to transform us is essential to our salvation by God’s grace. But a mere intellectual assent to the truths of the Gospel is not enough. Scripture insists that faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead St. James 2:14-26).
When we are justified (literally, “made just”) by God, He doesn’t just declare us righteous as a kind of legal fiction so that we can escape eternal punishment. Divine justification actually wipes out sin and provides a supernatural, renewing infusion of His power. By cooperating with grace, we become like God, fit to live with Him forever.
In this way, good works, and the transformation of character they contribute to and reflect, are indeed necessary for salvation.God rewards the good works we do, works that He himself has made possible (Matt. 16:27; 25:31-46). “To the obedient,” He promises, “I will show the salvation of God” (Ps 50:23)
:extrahappy:
