Justification

[Briguy]

Ok, I will chalk this one up as a win and move on. I have discussed justification with Catholics before and had the same result. Whenever I present Biblically logical arguments I do not get responses. I thought on the Catholics home court it would be different, but I was wrong. I guess this proves I can win on the road! Hope the Packers do as well tonight as I did on this thread. Take care all,
In Love and Truth always,
Brian

[Kilroy the Ninja]

Um, I wouldn't chalk anything up just yet. Let me see what I can do and get back to you.

[Guest JeffCR07]

[quote]Hi Jeff, Thanks for the nice post. I will check the board from time to time and discuss things as I can. You wrote:

"Thus, for a catholic, we do not do good works in the hopes that we will "prove" to God our goodness, but rather, we do good works because Christ's grace is living within us, and working through us".

I serve Jesus Christ for the same reason. I am so thankful that he saved a mess like me, that I serve him gladly. I was justified (made right with God) when I truted Jesus by faith to forgive my sins). I was sanctified (set apart) at the same time. Made right with God and set apart to serve Him, what an awesome thing. Here though is where I believe we part ways. If I get down for a while and serve less or doubt God because of some tragic or even less then tragic event, I don't lose my justification or sanctification. In the Catholic view I am in danger of tipping the scales the wrong way and losing what was given me by my Faith in Christ. I believe it is possible for the Christian to doubt (Peter did) and I believe it is possible at times for the Christian to fail God (Peter and Paul did). I really believe and trust and cling to the fact that when I was saved God reached down and grabbed me, I did not reach up and grab Him. Because of that, I know that He is faithful, even if my faith waivers at times and my "works" diminish for a season, He will not let go of me, for He is perfect. My justification and sanctification were sealed at that very moment I went into His hand. I need to believe that because I know how I am and what I think, etc... I thank God all the time that He is faithful and Strong, because often in the battles with the world I am not. Hope that makes sense.

Would love to comment on Baptism but that would be off subject. Hopefully can discuss that at another time.

In Christian Love,
Brian [/quote]

Briguy, God Bless!

This is your most recent post, (and second) post of any substance pertaining to the argument. Your first post was addressed, and the above was your reply to my address. You did indeed post one quote from holy Scripture, and a post on infant baptism was also given in response, did you read it?

It seems to me that you have not yet proven anything, but to keep the record straight I will respond to the points of theology that you make in the above statement:

Your first mistake is in your understanding of "sanctification." To be Justified is to be made righteous before God, and to be Sanctified is to live with his Grace in your heart. Your definitions were sufficiently vague, in my humble opinion. In order to clear up this issue, I will address specific points specifically.

[quote]I don't lose my justification or sanctification[/quote]

This is where we disagree, and so it is where I will start. I maintain that a human being CAN "lose" their justification/sanctification, though the proper way to look at the subject is to understand that it is possible for a man to refuse God's Grace, and so kill the life of Sanctification in which he lives, and in doing so, the man is no longer justified in the eyes of God.

[quote]I believe it is possible for the Christian to doubt (Peter did) and I believe it is possible at times for the Christian to fail God (Peter and Paul did)[/quote]

As do I. All christians doubt and fall into sin, even after they have been baptised and saved in Christ. This is not really relevent to the issue at hand, however.

[quote]I really believe and trust and cling to the fact that when I was saved God reached down and grabbed me, I did not reach up and grab Him.[/quote]

If you are merely asserting that we are saved by Grace Alone, or [i]sola gratia[/i] then we agree entirely. If you are implying that you were utterly incapable of refusing God's Grace, then we disagree, for all men can chose to reject God's gift of salvific grace (for we have Free Will) however, if a man chooses to accept that gift, it is by Grace that he accepts. I would be glad to discuss this with you further in another thread.

[quote]I know that He is faithful, even if my faith waivers at times and my "works" diminish for a season, He will not let go of me, for He is perfect.[/quote]

God will never stop loving us, nor will he stop offering us the gift of forgiveness and salvation in the name of Jesus Christ. He will also never strip us of our humanity, and thus, of our Freedom. If you are implying that God will [i]force[/i] us to be in communion with Him, then we disagree again, for the nature of communion is one of mutally free self-giving. Christ has freely given Himself to us, and we must freely give ourselves to Him if we wish to be the adopted children of God. If this is not what you are implying, that we are in perfect agreement.

[quote]My justification and sanctification were sealed at that very moment I went into His hand.[/quote]

This kind of statement is not in line with scripture, for we are told "to work our [our] salvation in fear and trembling" and the above seems to indicate a doctrine of "once saved, always saved." We are called to always carry ourselves in Hope, and to always trust in Christ and the forgiveness of the Father. However, this is not the same as saying the above, which is saying that we lack the freedom to resist and reject God. We can, and do, kill the life of Grace that lives within us when we commit "those sins that are mortal" as Scripture testifies. Thus we must constantly strive for virtue, beg forgiveness, and seek atonement throughout the course of our lives. If we do these things, and we persevere in Grace unto the end of our days, we shall see the Glory of God.

[quote]I thank God all the time that He is faithful and Strong, because often in the battles with the world I am not[/quote]

This is a beautiful and praiseworthy thing that should be done by all who seek to be disciples of Christ.

God Bless, and I hope that helps!

- Your Brother In Christ, Jeff

[Briguy]

Hi Jeff, thanks for the belated, but very good reply. The word sanctify by definition is :

sanc·ti·fy ( P ) Pronunciation Key (sngkt-f)
tr.v. sanc·ti·fied, sanc·ti·fy·ing, sanc·ti·fies
To set apart for sacred use; consecrate.
To make holy; purify.
To give religious sanction to, as with an oath or vow: sanctify a marriage.
To give social or moral sanction to.
To make productive of holiness or spiritual blessing.

I go by the common definition rather then trying to force a pre-conceived notion on the word. I do understand where you are coming from but think while debating a topic the basic definitions of words should be used.

Jeff, you say a man can reuse God's grace and lose his sanctification but offer no argument, scripture, object lesson, nothing. I say that once in God's hand His faith keeps us in his hand regardless of what we say and do because our faith and trust will always be weak, Which Paul points out as a theme in Romans when he discusses the battle between his flesh and spirit, also Scripture says nothing can pluck us from God's hand. (vague arguments but at least arguments)

Refusing God's grace can happen but not after sanctification/justification. What God sets apart is set apart indeed. John 17 says we are a gift from the Father to the Son. Are you saying God is an indian giver and will take back His gift, or that Jesus would let a gift from the Father go? Think hard about that because that really impacted me when I first mulled it over. Read towards the end of John 17 to get the flavor of what I am saying. Many refuse God's love, grace, and salvation but refusing is not an option once there is eternal salvation because eternal is eternal. (again quick hit argument but a good one!)

Freedom, yes we have freedom but only to the extent that God gives freedom. The actions of a heart bent toward God and one that places it's trust in God becomes a heart that God would liken to David when he called him a man after God's own heart. David sinned horribly but never became a man not after God's heart. God's sees the saved person like that. We are clean and pure washed by the blood of His Son. And in the words of Jesus after we drink of His water we will NEVER thirst. Never can only mean never.

Jeff, I turn it back to you. If I have missed refuting a point of yours please tell me so I can do so. If you can present arguments with your beliefs that would be great. Thanks for the charity that you post with.

Your brother in our great Lord,
Brian

Edited September 17, 2004 by Briguy

[Brother Adam]

Well Hello from the BB Briguy. Didn't even know you were posting here. I'll have to catch up on this thread.

[Brother Adam]

Greetings Briguy,

How is everything at the BB these days? As I'm sure you know, like most of us, I was banned as soon as I started to present logical arguments for the Catholic faith as a Catholic. They were so afraid of me that they immeadiately banned my wife too. Sad isn't?

First I'll address your weak "no man can pluck me away from God" argument:
"Refusing God's grace can happen but not after sanctification/justification. What God sets apart is set apart indeed. John 17 says we are a gift from the Father to the Son. Are you saying God is an indian giver and will take back His gift, or that Jesus would let a gift from the Father go? Think hard about that because that really impacted me when I first mulled it over. Read towards the end of John 17 to get the flavor of what I am saying. Many refuse God's love, grace, and salvation but refusing is not an option once there is eternal salvation because eternal is eternal. (again quick hit argument but a good one!)"

The Prodigal son was a member of the family of his father, yet was permitted to leave outside of the grace of his father. This story comes to us directly from Jesus. You say that we cannot refuse God's grace once we are Christians, yet I can cite thousands of cases where "born again baptists" have denied Christ after accepting him for the secular life. It's a real paradigm for the OSAS reformed Chrstian. If it is OSAS and when someone who believes they have been born again rejects God, then that means they never were really saved, which means of course, that no one could know that they are really saved since no one can know if they are capable of doing the same thing this person did, who at one point recieved Christ by prayer and acceptance as their personal Lord and Savior. Rather, Catholics are more realistic realizing that while a person can never remove themselves from a covenant relationship once it is established, they can indeed reject God even after the initial covenant relationship is established, and like the Prodigal son, remove themselves from the (F)fathers grace.

Let us discuss more this covenant relationship. For Baptists who put extra emphasis on the Bible beyond even what the Bible says, I would think the covenants would be of extreme importance (this is what "catholicconvert" from the BB tried to explain to the self-righteous anti-Catholics). God's relationship with us is a covenant relationship. From Adam and Eve, to Moses, to Abraham, to Jesus. God establishes covenant promises with His people. The New Covenant is absolutely essential to our salvation. It was instituted by Christ at the Last Passover meal and the first Eucharist. So what is the nature of the New Covenant, and thus the nature of our salvation?

The New Covenant, like all the covenants has a beginning. In the old covenant, circumcism which is strongly paralleled to baptism was the beginning of a persons journey in the Old Covenant. Baptism is the beginning of that journey in the New Covenant. In baptism we are "adopted as children of God" we enter into a familial relationship with God, not a solely induvidual one as ultra-reformed Protestants assert. This familial relationship is established forever as already discussed, however, just as a Jew could break the covenant he was in, we too can break the covenant bond we are in. God however, can never do so. St. Thomas Aquinas discusses this in depth. I suggest his Summa of the Summa.

Next, in each covenant relationship, there is a set of obligations. Our main obligation is obedience. Paul, in Romans, begins and ends the book with a call to obedience. Romans 1:5, 16:27. Christ gave us many commands and the Apostles call us to hold fast to the tradition which has been handed down. Unless we have very good reason not to do so (and we never do) we are obligated to hold fast both to the commands of Christ and the traditions passed down to us.

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught
by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 2 Thes. 2:15 (ESV)

St. Paul is explicitely clear that our justification is established through the atonement of the blood of Christ, and that through obligating God to repay us for our works, brings only condemnation. We can never justify our covenant relationship is established on the idea of faith+works, and Catholics never have claimed that. We claim only that justification is not solely by "faith alone" as James tells us. But is by "faith working in love".

Col. 1:24 (ESV)
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church

Matthew 25:31-46
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: [32] And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: [33] And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. [34] Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: [35] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: [36] Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. [37] Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? [38] When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? [39] Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? [40] And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. [41] Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: [42] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: [43] I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. [44] Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? [45] Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. [46] And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

1 John 3:21-24
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. [22] And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. [23] And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. [24] And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Luke 8:10-17
And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. [11] Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. [12] Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. [13] They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. [14] And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. [15] But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
[16] No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. [17] For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

1 John 3:7
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

Hebrews 10:26-29
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, [27] But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. [28] He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: [29] Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

2 Peter 1:5-11
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; [6] And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; [7] And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. [8] For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. [10] Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: [11] For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

1 Cor. 4:4-5
For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. [5] Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
1 Cor. 9:27
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Not even Paul considers himself assured

Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Edited September 17, 2004 by Brother Adam

[Paladin D]

I feel so dumb.

What is Justification?

What is Sanctification?

I forgot the definitions and in what order these go in.

[Guest JeffCR07]

Thanks so much, Bro. Adam, that was a phenomenal response!

- Your Brother In Christ, Jeff

[StColette]

[quote name='Paladin D' date='Sep 17 2004, 11:23 AM'] I feel so dumb.

What is Justification?

What is Sanctification?

I forgot the definitions and in what order these go in. [/quote]
Justification

The transforming of the sinner from the state of unrighteousness to the state of holiness and sonship of God. Considered as an act (actus justificationis), justification is the work of God alone, presupposing, however, on the part of the adult the process of justification and the cooperation of his free will with God's preventing and helping grace (gratia praeveniens et cooperans). Considered as a state or habit (habitus justificationis), it denotes the continued possession of a quality inherent in the soul, which theologians aptly term sanctifying grace.

[url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08573a.htm"]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08573a.htm[/url]

Sanctification is the fruit of Justification

[Theoketos]

Peace and Blessings!

Do not give up on us Catholics, I hope that you stay long enough to see that Brother Adam is in good hands!

Have you ever read any N.T. Wright? You should, he is the primere Pauline, protestant, scholar. He reminds us that St. Paul ment by justification that by which we are brought into God's family. Let us keep this in mind that we are brothers in Christ!

[quote]Refusing God's grace can happen but not after sanctification/justification. What God sets apart is set apart indeed. John 17 says we are a gift from the Father to the Son. [b]Are you saying God is an indian giver and will take back His gift, or that Jesus would let a gift from the Father go? Think hard about that because that really impacted me when I first mulled it over.[/b] Read towards the end of John 17 to get the flavor of what I am saying. Many refuse God's love, grace, and salvation but refusing is not an option once there is eternal salvation because eternal is eternal. (again quick hit argument but a good one!)[/quote]

This would only be true if Humans do not have free will. In other words God lets us freely love Him. Part of being free is that we are able to say no. This means that if we reject God, it is not God who would be the "indian giver" (which might be an unchristian term btw) but us.

Now I know that it is only through God that we are able to be saved, but it is only through our actions that we choose to go to Hell.

I think that what you are really arguing against is absolute assurance, which really does not make sense, because then, as a baptist recently put it to me, Grace can be hideous. What I mean by that is a person can honestly give his whole self to Jesus, but then have something really bad happen, flip out kill 400 people out of vengence, or in a biblical case, betray Jesus, and still go to heaven, even if they feel no remorse for there sins!

That would make God unjust! But the Bible says that God is perfect, perfectly just! so this can not be.

The Prodical son was apart of the Family, totally rejected it, then came back with full and geniune remorse, and was welcomed back...mmm

Now in the case above there are really two options that I must admit to: One being that the person loses his justification or Two: they were never really justified in the first place.

This Begs the question: How do we know if we are justified. Luther's answer, which is similar to the Catholic Answer, is that the evidence will be in the works that are done. Birguy I assume that you have been "saved", but have you only done good works since then? I would place money, because of orginal sin, that you have not. I would sincerely like for you to reconcile this.

The next question that arises is if we can loose that assurance, how do we get it back? 1 cor 5, Mat 16 and Mat 18 all point to the Churches power to for forgive sins by the authority of God. It is also good to note that it some extreme cases, all that is necessary is a sincere repentance to God at the time of Death...

It is so awesome to trace the History of penance from the Early Church to the Persent, but if you are honest I think that you come up with a sacrament: A visiable sign of invisiable grace. The Didacade, the Letters of Clement and Polycarp, And St. Cyprian all are great resources preserved from the Early Church.

[Cure of Ars]

[quote name='Briguy' date='Aug 25 2004, 07:48 AM'] I do believe justification and sanctification are one time events in terms of our salvation but they are more then that in terms of how our actions effect how we are seen by others. [/quote]
What's up. I have a question.

If justification (and sanctification) is a one time event in a Christian's life then shouldn’t the Bible only refer to justification in the past tense when speaking to Christians?

[phatcatholic]

briguy, ur response?

[Briguy]

Hi Adam, Hope you are well. BB is a little boring since you and others were kicked out. I assume some may have left in protest as well. I mostly just beat up on pentecostals now(ha ha). If you are happy in your faith then I am happy for you. In all honesty I had not realized that you had become Catholic. I thought, like me, you embraced some of the ideas but had enough disagreements that you couldn't fully go to the Catholic side of the arguments, but I see i was wrong. Many on the BB would think I am nuts for wishing you well but I am not like them. Anyway, your response was so big I may only be able to hit some highlights as I do most of my posting from work, when I need a break.

The argument about being plucked from God's hand may seem weak to you but look at it from a logical/practical point. Fist you must get the first part right. When you placed your faith in Christ what happened? Did you reach up your hand to the father and take his or did he reach down and take yours? (for the sake of arguing apples for apples lets just say we are discussing adult conversions and leave the baptized infant that grows up Catholic out of this one). This is crucial to my point and how I personally view God and grace. If you think you reached up and grabbed him then you would have to believe you saved yourself and that you are worthy of grabibg God's hand. For me, no worth to grab God so I know God reached down and grabed me. When he grabed me he then gave me to His son for eternity. God is perfect and therefore full of perfect mercy, faithfulness, etc... -- To reject God is to sin, to argue with my wife is sin, to say a white lie is sin. To say God would grade the sins and when I got to a certain one, open His hand and let me jump out defies perfect faithfulness. It all denies that he sees me different once I have faith. I was washed with the very blood of Christ. I am clean and perfect in the fathers sight. "There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus". Any sin I now commit does not stick and no longer has eternal implications, relational perhaps, but not eternal (I will expound on that later if need be). As long as we have flesh we will sin. God will not let go of us for doing what we can't avoid.

Much more later, Thanks all for the posts!!

In Christ,
Brian

[Briguy]

C of A, I think I know what you are getting at. You feel the Bible should only say Justified when speaking of the believer, right? You may want to show examples in context so I can explain them but let me say this. We are justified (proved righteous) to God by trust, through faith in Jesus and His death and resurection. We are justified (again proved righteous) to others by our works (our actions in Christ). "Let your light shine before others that THEY may see your good works....." I think the word justification and justified can work in my meaning without being in past tense (in all honesty that was an off the cuff answer and it probably shows - with me its all concept, which you are probably starting to see)

More to come on Adam's good, but large post!!!!!!

In Christ our Lord,
Brian

[Brother Adam]

Briguy,

I'm glad to find you in good spirits! Yes, I did indeed become Catholic. While I am "officially" Catholic I am waiting for next Easter vigil to become confirmed. My wife is in RCIA right now, but can't wait to get to go to confession and recieve communion. It's an exciting time in our lives. I will be attending Franciscan University for theology this Spring (you may remember Carson Weber from BB, he graduated from that school).

I've had to go around with this illustration (God reaching out to us) many times now with my best friend who is Baptist, so I think I have a handle on explaining it now! I guess we will see though. (feel free of course to add more on my last post even though I am answering what you have written so far).

[quote]When you placed your faith in Christ what happened? Did you reach up your hand to the father and take his or did he reach down and take yours?[/quote]

Unfortunately we have to come to a screeching halt right here, because for me to answer "God reaches out to us" just would not do justice to two different concepts at play here.

Baptists typically believe that faith is to "believe in, trust in, or put intellectual acceptance to". Basically, faith is "an action" reserved for those who can intellectually respond to the gospel message, and those who cannot accept it (extreme retardation, infants) are either 1) damned or 2) left to the mercy and love of God.

To understand faith as a Catholic sees it you must understand it in a covenant relationship. CatholicConvert on the BB tried to yell at the top of his lungs these concepts for a long time, but honestly, I don't think he really had a grasp on how to explain it to a fundamentalist and thus failed.

Unfortunately I don't tonight have a great deal of time to put into looking up every scriptural reference, but I'm sure many verses will sound familiar to you. Basically, Dr. Bob would say that baptism, as Catholics see it, is a work of man (we bring the baby, or the adult brings themselves to the font, the priest baptizes). Catholics however see it as God's grace reaching us in baptism because we are totally unworthy and can never do ANYTHING to strictly merit salvation. We see God in his majesty, first welcoming us as adopted children of God in the New Covenant through baptism. We literally enter a familial relationship by the grace of God alone. Certianly a child cannot do any good works or reach to God on his/her own accord!

We are regenerated in baptism, or born anew into the family of God. We become members of a covenant. Then we grow in faith. We have been saved! And now we are "being saved". That is because our salvation is "a liberation from evil" (Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Faith). We haven't been totally liberated from evil or the inclination to sin after our salvation. We still sin. as you know. So we are in the process of going from being saved members of God's family to entering heaven and claiming our inheritance. Between that time though the Bible admonishes us not to fall away, not to commit "sin unto death" (also translated as mortal sin).

Do my works add to the cross and therefore defame it? My works can never atone for my sin. It is only through the one mediator between God and man can we be saved. However, condignly, my works are united to the cross (at St. Paul explains). My works count condignly, after I become a child of God, to edify the Church and become treasures stored away.

By God allowing us, after we enter his family, to choose to come and go, does not mean God is not perfectly faithful. It means he is a Father who gives free will to his child. His child, like the prodigal child, is allowed to leave the household, to reject the grace of the Father, and not to wish to enter into eternal happiness. And God will grant that wish. It would not be a covenantal relationship otherwise. However, God is always faithful and always will be there to recieve the son back into the fold when he returns. No works required. The son only needs to come home.

God Bless,
Bro. Adam