Solo Christo:
Also Pax:
Sanctification is a process on earth which will get finished in Heaven. So do you claim to be fully sanctified right now as a believer? I will post more later.
I find your thinking faulty at least by the words of scripture, the teachings of most non-Catholics, and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
However, I will say this; your understanding may be closer to Catholic teaching than it is to most Protestant teaching. Sanctification is indeed a process. Protestants and Catholic agree that sanctification does occur in the Christian’s life of earth as part of God’s plan for us. Protestants generally stop there. Catholics, on the other hand, recognize the very point that you are making. Hebrews 12:22-23 says, "…you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to **the spirits of just men made perfect, ** Furthermore, Revelation 21:27 says that "nothing unclean will enter it[heaven].
Based on this you and I can easily agree that there is a necessity for what might be reasonably be called “a final sanctification.” This, however, does not occur in heaven. Nothing unclean can enter heaven. Therefore, our final sanctification must be accomplished prior to entering heaven. Catholics realize that most of us cannot be fully sanctified and free from all attachment to sin while we are still on earth. In Catholic terms our final sanctification occurs between heaven and earth. This final cleansing or purgation from all attachment to sin is referred to as purgatory. This experience is best described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 where it says, “Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw–each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” There are other verses in scripture that point to this as well. Among my favorites is Isaiah when he is given a heavenly vision and looks upon the thrown of God. In Isaiah 6:5-7 the prophet says, " And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand
a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said:
"Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven."
We do not know if this final sanctification is instantaneous nor do we know more about it than described by Paul and perhaps Isaiah. It is conceivable that there is some duration associated with this cleansing but it is not clear. C.S. Lewis wrote a book called “The Great Divorce.” It is an imaginative view of heaven, hell, and purgatory. Lewis, a non-Catholic and well respected by most Christians, accepted the teaching of purgatory. It certainly fits with scripture and is the best explanation for final sanctification.
I hope from our discussions that you will at least take away a couple of things. The most important thing to remember is that Catholic teaching attributes
everything to God’s grace. We accomplish nothing on our own. Without faith and God’s grace we cannot lift ourselves out of sin and we cannot please God. We do not teach works righteousness. The Catholic Church condemned works righteousness, which was known as “Pelagianism” in the fourth century, and reiterated the condemnation at the Council of Trent. When we speak of Mary’s sinlessness we do so in light of God’s mercy, love, and grace. Mary is a creature like you and I. The difference is that she is the mother of Jesus Christ. She has been graced by God in unique ways that no other human being will ever experience and scripture shows this to be true.
check the link.
