The Lost Son

[byrdele]

Hello, I have two questions regarding maintaining one’s salvation.

When the original Aramaic is used, what do the terms in the parable of the Lost (Prodigal) Son mean:

dead (your brother was dead) - dead in that we don’t know where he was, or dead as in dead in sin (not in God’s grace). Is it dead as in physical and if so, does it symbolise eternal death?

lost (your brother was lost) - lost similar to the question above?

Second question, regarding all 3 of the parables, the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and then Lost Son, I assume that it must be very hard, albeit possible, to turn away from God once we have experienced His grace forever?

Reason I ask is that I spent 20 years in the Protestant faiths in that this was interpreted as simply having lost one’s way temporarily because the boy is still the father’s son even when he is misbehaving. That never wavers, and so it was assumed by Protestant theologist that he never lost his sonship (symbolically salvation). But since it is told after the story of the lost sheep and coin, which seem to symbolise eternally being lost and rescued by the Catholic church (also explained by Protestants as simply having wandered out of God’s plan for one’s life, but not His grace)?

In talking about saving grace, it seems that although we can lose our salvation, that it is almost impossible. Christ always chases down the lost sheep, tears the house apart to find the lost coin, is standing and awaiting (possibly “expecting”?) the son to return. There are also the conditions which bring the son to his senses, would that not be caused by God?

In other words, when a Catholic tries to remain a faithful believer, will one mortal sin (or deadly sin) wipe him out of God’s grace, or does God make certain to bring that person back? I know we have free will, but still it seems that even when we are lost to God, He makes it so very hard to actually permanently lose one’s salvation that I wonder how many people have actually done it? (Rhetorical question). The Bible states that a bruised reed shall not be crushed, nor a flickering wick snuffed out. Does this mean that God goes to so many lengths to find us again that it makes it hard to lose one’s salvation - although, as mentioned before, it is still the person’s choice.

Thank you. Will I be notified that there is an answer to this so I can look it up? I posted once and have no idea where my post went.

Regards,

Byrdele

 

[DanteAlighieri]

Hello, I have two questions regarding maintaining one’s salvation.

When the original Aramaic is used, what do the terms in the parable of the Lost (Prodigal) Son mean:

dead (your brother was dead) - dead in that we don’t know where he was, or dead as in dead in sin (not in God’s grace). Is it dead as in physical and if so, does it symbolise eternal death?

lost (your brother was lost) - lost similar to the question above?

In the reality of the story, the terms dead and lost refer to the fact that the son in question was, in effect, dead and lost to his father. In our reality, the meaning of the symbolism is fairly apparent: that we are dead and lost to God unless we come back to him by accepting his willingness to take us back and guide our lives henceforth – i.e., by cooperating with grace.

Second question, regarding all 3 of the parables, the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and then Lost Son, I assume that it must be very hard, albeit possible, to turn away from God once we have experienced His grace forever?

(snip)

In talking about saving grace, it seems that although we can lose our salvation, that it is almost impossible. Christ always chases down the lost sheep, tears the house apart to find the lost coin, is standing and awaiting (possibly “expecting”?) the son to return. There are also the conditions which bring the son to his senses, would that not be caused by God?

Indeed, we are saved by grace, but we must cooperate with that Grace. Christ seeks us out, but we must answer the call. He does not force salvation on us.

In other words, when a Catholic tries to remain a faithful believer, will one mortal sin (or deadly sin) wipe him out of God’s grace, or does God make certain to bring that person back? I know we have free will, but still it seems that even when we are lost to God, He makes it so very hard to actually permanently lose one’s salvation that I wonder how many people have actually done it? (Rhetorical question). The Bible states that a bruised reed shall not be crushed, nor a flickering wick snuffed out. Does this mean that God goes to so many lengths to find us again that it makes it hard to lose one’s salvation - although, as mentioned before, it is still the person’s choice.

It is possible for one mortal sin to ruin one’s chances of salvation; however, if one has lived a life guided by God’s grace, one is less likely to fall into mortal sin. I suppose this is sort of like saying, as you did, that it is hard to lose salvation.

Another thing to remember is that one could conceiveably be saved despite having a mortal sin on one’s soul if one is perfectly contrite – that is, truly sorry for the sin because it offends God. Again, one who has lived according to God’s will has conditioned one’s own will to the point that one is more likely to be perfectly contrite.

Thank you. Will I be notified that there is an answer to this so I can look it up? I posted once and have no idea where my post went.

Depending on whether you subscribe to a thread, you will get email notices when someone responds to it. Also, when you come back to the forum, log in and click the “Quick Links” menu at the top and select “My Posts”, and you will see a list of ever post you’ve ever made.

Peace,
Dante

 

[byrdele]

Thank you very much for your answer.

Regards

Byrdele