I am not a Protestant, I was raised Catholic- but I have many questions regarding the RC Church.
It seems that the Church believes that Christ died on the cross to give us the “opportunity” to go to heaven.
Catholics have to partake in the sacraments and do good works to even hope of getting into purgatory.
Seems against the scripture and it makes insufficient our Lord’s sacrifice
Not at all.
It’s very biblical, in fact.
Without Christ’s sacrifice, no one could have the “opportunity” to go to heaven. Does any Christian say otherwise? Does any Christian say that he or she is WORTHY of heaven? Catholics don’t. We acknowledge that His death and resurrection is THE most important event in history.
Regarding works, haven’t you read James? Faith without works is dead. We are saved by grace (there’s that sacrifice of Christ), through faith (yep, we believe in faith) and a LIVING faith MUST have works. As James says, loosely paraphrased, if I see my poor, starving, naked neighbor and greet him blithely with “Good luck and God keep you (that faith statement)–keep warm and well fed” and I MYSELF do NOTHING to clothe or feed said neighbor (there’s those works), then my “faith”, my belief in God, my words of “God keep you” MEAN NOTHING.
Whatever you do for the least of these, YOU DO FOR ME.
Sacraments are part of our lives in Christ. Baptism is required for a Christian–in baptism we die to sin and live in Christ. Jesus instituted Reconciliation (and Paul and James second him) by telling us to confess our faults, and by Jesus giving his apostles (and those in succession) the right to “bind and loose”. Holy Eucharist is the unbloody sacrifice of Jesus which He asked of us to do “in remembrance of Me”. And of course we know from John that Jesus told us to “eat His flesh and drink His blood”, and that those who did so, “remain in Me, and I in them”, and that unless we do eat of His flesh, we shall not have life within us. Confirmation makes us all “priests, prophets and kings” through the power of the Holy Spirit (sent to us by Christ). Holy Orders brings men into succession of the apostles; Christ Himself was a priest in the order of Melchisedek–who predates ABRAHAM, let alone Aaron’s priests. . .Matrimony was given its sacramental character by Jesus when He noted that a man and a woman were to marry and become one flesh; Extreme Unction or Sacrament of the Sick is also biblical; we are reminded in the NT. . .is any among you sick? Bring him to the leaders (priests) for healing and prayer, for the prayer of a righteous man does much. . .
That’s too crazy!
)