Regeneration? Please Explain, Grace Alone?

[freegrace]

Ezekiel 36:24-27

[24] I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. [25] I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. [26] And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

I was wondering what the catholic understanding of this old testament prophecy regarding the new covenant would be.

It seems to me that God washes us clean with water (obviously not physically, because we are not physically dirty its our sins that have made us unclean job 14:4). So first God cleanses us of sin

Then v.26 he takes out our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh and puts his spirit within us. (God still being the actor)

v.27 "And cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" .. again God is the actor causing us to obey his rules. Could this be what James is talking about in James 2? or Paul in ephesians 2:10

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Again the emphasis is on God's action.

Even before that in ephesians 2:1

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

How dead is dead? Can a dead person make himself alive? no God does

Ephes. 2:4-7

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— [6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Titus 3:5

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

He saved us, how? not by works.. but by the washing of regenration and renewal of the holy spirit.

That was kind of a lot but It seems to me that all our works are filthy rags isaiah 64:5) apart from God working in us first. We love because he first loved us 1john 4. How can we do good works unless we first have a new heart and The holy spirit (ezekiel 36:26) even more so be alive in christ.. and how are we alive? through his grace, alone.

And this was actually a teaching of the catholic church, look into eusebius, augustine and even paul the apostle.

My goal isn't to attack or condemn, ive just never heard a catholic apologists view on these verses.

as Paul said "By grace you have been saved"

[cappie]

My "good works" come from my faith and not vice versa.True charity is a gift from God received by all Christians at the time of their baptism. Willingness to love and serve God and to love and respect and serve others every day comes from my baptism.

Grace is God's love for us. It is primarily God giving himself as a gift, and secondarily the change in ourselves, oue character,actions, attitudesetc, brought about by this presence of God within us.