Remembrance Project Day 4: Paying it forward

It is not bad to have a look at the way how Roman Catholic teachings can make the lives of its believers oh so difficult and complicated.

They learn that there are 7 sacraments that RC kids can celebrate as they progress through their lives: Baptism, Confession, Communion, Confirmation, Marriage OR Holy Orders, and finally, the Anointing of the Sick, altogether with the goal to have a clean conscience when they die.

In lots of those Catholic Churches they do not take much time to study the Holy Scriptures, but lots of time is given in preparation of the first and second communion and offering their members all sorts of teachings which find their roots in human philosophy and writings from so-called theologists.

Very early in life, those Catholics are frightened with a waystation between our mortal body coil (purgatory)and a so called heaven, many not wondering why they always pray in our Lord’s prayer that God His Kingdom would come on earth as in heaven. Who would then be allowed to live on earth when everybody would go to heaven?

No wonder, many Catholics have difficulty coping with life and death. The writer is made to believe by her priests, that the way you get passage to the pearly gates is by the prayers of the friends and family, chipping away at any stain remaining on their soul, them believing that soul would be a second ‘me’ in themselves, another being that shall leave their body when they die. The writer also thinks that’s what All Souls’ is all about. Perhaps it is that what the Catholic Church wants them to believe. But All Souls, like All Saints, Halloween and the Day of the dead (Dia de los Muertos) are all heathen festivals the God of the Bible does not want to know about.

All lovers of God have to know that when we die our life comes to an end, and then is it finished, too late to do or say anything. Everything we have to do has to happen in this life, in the now and then before we fall asleep in the sleep of the dead.

“4 For him that is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also their love and their hatred and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun. 7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. 8 Let thy garments be always white, and let thy head lack no ointment. 9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which He hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity; for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labor which thou hast done under the sun. 10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest.” (Ec 9:4-10 KJ21)

That the writer doesn’t understand how their prayers are a good restitution for harm done she believes that if you die without having a final confession, you end up in Purgatory, which would mean that God would give those people another punishment after they received their first punishment for their sins, namely death. It also makes their god a very cruel one, loving his children once more being tortured, and this time even by an eternal burning fire.

And why should they pray for the souls in Purgatory as a whole, when it would just be a place of transition and not a permanent state or residence?

The writer questions:

“They can’t repent for their misguided ways anymore, so what if they don’t have anyone to intercede on their behalf?”

This makes us to questions if they do not believe Jesus is the best mediator for them, and why he did not judge them alright for entering the Kingdom straight ahead, when they paid already with their death for their sins, and Jesus also had paid for their sins, at the wooden stake?

 

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Find also to read

1. Are we taken up into heaven straight after we die?
2. Where do we go when we die?
3. Biblical Ambiguity on Death?
4. Realities concerning Human Life and Death
5. The Dead — Where Are They? 24 Stories, first death and heavens
6. What happens when we die?
7. Autumn, Life and death, grace, regeneration and sanctification
8. Halloween custom of the nations
9. Allhallowtide with Halloween, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day
10. Dia de Los Muertos – Day of the dead
11. Is God behind all suffering here on earth
12. In Coronatime thinking about death
13. All Souls’ Day
14. Thought for today November 4th Going to graveyards and people going to dust
15. Today’s thought “Not stopping doing what is right” (November 5)

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Related

1. November – a time to remember and a time for confidence rather than presumption
2. Make the Most of November: 7 Tips
3. Happy and Blessed All Saints’ Day
4. Holy Souls
5. All souls suffrage
6. From Depths Of Hades, My Relatives Cried To Me
7. Thought for the Day – 2 November – “Purgatory”
8. What does the word “purgatory” mean?
9. Quotes on Purgatory
10. Uncle Steve Explains Purgatory
11. Novena for the Holy Souls: Day 9
12. Devotion to the Souls in Purgatory
13. Devotion for the Month of November – The Holy Souls in Purgatory
14. All Souls Vigil Service with Novena and Chaplet for the Dead – Free Options
15. Thought for the Day – 3 November – The Pain of Purgatory
16. Prayer for the Faithful Departed
17. Prayers for the Holy Souls in Purgatory — Lumen Fidei Ministries
18. The shrine where you can send a card to the deceased
19. Two Purgatory Anecdotes by Saint John Vianney 
20. Why do we pray for the dead
21. Catholic prayer for the most forgotten soul in purgatory
22. Vatican again extends November indulgences
23. The truth concerning the holy souls in purgatory

Sweary Parent Chronicles

Photo by ozundunyasina on Pexels.com

I have to say, every year during Hallowtide, I have to look up the difference between All Saints and All Souls.

So what is the actual difference between All Saints and All Souls? All Saints celebrates those who we believe are in heaven. All Souls is for those who haven’t gotten there yet. I’m not sure why my brain steadfastly refuses to store that information. I have far more useless information that bumps on up against the brain pan, and is stuck there for life. I tend to lump all three – Hallowe’en, All Saints’ And All Souls’ days – into the conveniently packaged Hallowtide, but if I’m going to find something pithy for us to chew on, I kinda need to know.

So here’s the thing. There are 7 sacraments that RC kids can celebrate as they progress through their lives: Baptism, Confession, Communion…

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Justification – salvation is by grace through faith – JI Packer

Today there is still lots of commotion about works and faith. Still too many Christians do think they do not need any works.
The Catholic church, we must say, has from the beginning seen that certain works were necessary. One can not become a Christian without putting the previous life of sin away by having regret, asking for forgiveness of sins and taking steps to show regret (an act to be taken), opening oneself for remission by going for a baptism (a work).

Not only Rome sees baptism as a channel of sanctifying grace, as the primary instrumental cause of justification, and the sacrament of penance, whereby congruous merit is achieved through works of satisfaction, as the supplementary restorative cause whenever the grace of God’s initial acceptance is lost through mortal sin.

Not only for the Roman Catholics believers save themselves with the help of the grace that flows from Christ through the church’s sacramental system. Several other denominations request that people change their life once baptised (which sometimes demands lots of works). Other protestants groups do forget that it is impossible that a Christian would keep living the same sinful life as before his or her baptism. It is an illusion to believe that we are saved by the blood of Christ and would not have to do any works any more because we would go to heaven or always will be allowed to enter God’s Kingdom.

First of all the Kingdom will be here on earth for most of us. And Jesus showed us with his parables the danger of loosing the entrance through the small gate of life in eternity.

Justification may be given free, like people can win a lottery, but if they do not do anything with the price, they will be nothing with it.

For example if I would give you a limousine you are nothing with it if you do not use the key and turn the motor on (a work). Before you can go into the traffic you have to learn the road code and have to learn to drive. Then you will have to drive (doing a job) and shall have to be careful in traffic (taking attention), going to some place (trafficking).

Also with faith we do need to come into the faith (a work), trafficking, having to keep our faith (demands work), read the Word of God regularly and study it (demands work) we have to be careful to keep the code of God, His regulations and ordinances (keeping to the commandments requires work). Jesus also gave the order to go out in the world to proclaim the Gospel of the coming Kingdom (which demands a work) and to come together regularly, i.e. meeting with each other, which demands also some work.

For those who think they do not have to have self-control (which demands work) we must disappoint them. If they keep lying, bullying, stealing, fornicating, murdering, they shall miss the entrance of the coming Kingdom.
If they think it will be so easy in this system of things, we also must disappoint them, because also when baptised there shall be temptations, suffering and so on, which demand stamina to continue (work) in the faith.

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To remember

Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” Galatians 3:11

=> =  we do have to be righteous to be able to live by faith

The author tells us:

• doctrine of justification, storm center of Reformation = major concern of apostle Paul = heart of gospel (Rom. 1:17; 3:21-5:21; Gal. 2:15-5:1) shaping both his message (Acts 13:38-39) + his devotion + spiritual life (2 Cor. 5:13-21; Phil. 3:4-14).
• > other New Testament writers affirm same doctrine in substance => terms in which Protestants have affirmed + defended it for almost five centuries are drawn primarily from Paul.
• Justification = judicial act of God pardoning sinners (wicked and ungodly persons, Rom. 4:5; 3:9-24) > accepting them as just => putting permanently right their previously estranged relationship with himself.  > => justifying sentence = God’s gift of righteousness (Rom. 5:15-17) = his bestowal of a status of acceptance for Jesus’ sake (2 Cor. 5:21).
• God’s justifying decision = judgment of the Last Day, declaring where we shall spend eternity
• necessary means, or instrumental cause, of justification is personal faith in Jesus Christ as crucified Savior and risen Lord (Rom. 4:23-25; 10:8-13).
• As we give ourselves in faith to Jesus, Jesus gives us his gift of righteousness, so that in the very act of “closing with Christ,” as older Reformed teachers put it, we receive divine pardon and acceptance which we could not otherwise have (Gal. 2:15-16; 3:24).

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Preceding articles

Luther’s misunderstanding

January 27, 417, Pope Innocent I condemning Pelagius about Faith and Works

Our life depending on faith

Romans 4 and the Sacraments

Is Justification a process?

Letter to the Romans, chapter 3

Letter to the Romans, chapter 4

Additional comments to the 3rd Letter to the Romans

Additional comments to the Letter to the Romans 4

Comments to James remarks, about Faith and works

Restitution

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Additional reading

1. The business of this life
2. A god who gave his people commandments and laws he knew they never could keep to it
3. Believing in the send one and understanding that one does not live by bread alone
4. Faith Alone Does Not Save . . . No Matter How Many Times Protestants Say It Does
5. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
6. People Seeking for God 3 Laws and directions
7. People Seeking for God 5 Bread of life
8. Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness
9. Christ’s ethical teaching
10. Being Justified by faith
11. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
12. Faith and works
13. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #8 Prayer #6 Communication and manifestation
14. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #16 Benefits of praying
15. Observing the commandments and becoming doers of the Word
16. The first on the list of the concerns of the saint
17. Running away from the past
18. Malefactors becoming your master
19. Be holy
20. She who sows thistles will reap prickles
21. Love for each other attracting others

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Further related articles

1. No Regrets
2. Day 19: Things to regret
3. Access: Denied
4. Giving our regret to God
5. Reminisce
6. Life is like a river
7. Questions & Answers About Lent
8. Godly Sorrow Leads Us on to a Glorious Celebration of the Gospel
9. A Threefold Malice
10. Reconciliation
11. Penance – Chapter One
12. Wednesday of Septuagesima week: O, Merciful God! Have Mercy On Me The Fallen One!
13. CFP: Discipline and Excess (Cambridge Friday, April 15, 2016)
14. That kind of Franciscan
15. The Savior of the World
16. (01/07/2016) Salvation Only Through Christ?
17. My Take on the Gay Marriage Bill.
18. Missing the Mark
19. Leading people astray!
20. Tips for Gracious Living: Bad Driving
21. Unfaithful fornicating adulterating Christians will perish
22. We don’t meet God 1/2 way.
23. The Salesman
24. Actions are the Megaphone of Words
25. The Justification of Abraham
26. (01/13/2016) How To Treat Unbelievers?
27. Tuesday Devotional: Revelation 2
28. Fashion advice?
29. (12/31/2015) By Faith, Not By Interpretation?
30. Faithfulness
31. Seeing Christ
32. Faith in Action

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Related articles

• “Saved by Race Alone:” Great riposte to Vatican’s Judaizing stand
• First-ever meeting between Pope, Russian Orthodox patriarch ‘prepared for 20 years’
• Roman Catholics vs. Sola Scriptura Pt.1
• Not satire: Pope and head of Russian Orthodox Church to meet for first time in 1,000 years… in Communist Cuba
• Pope Francis, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill To Meet In Historic First
• New Vatican Document on Catholic-Jewish Relations
• ~ Public Notice ~
• Pope to Meet Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch in Cuba
• The field is the world: Evangelizing the secular world

Verlore seun

Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” GALATIANS 3:11

The doctrine of justification, the storm center of the Reformation, was a major concern of the apostle Paul. For him it was the heart of the gospel (Rom. 1:17; 3:21-5:21; Gal. 2:15-5:1) shaping both his message (Acts 13:38-39) and his devotion and spiritual life (2 Cor. 5:13-21; Phil. 3:4-14). Though other New Testament writers affirm the same doctrine in substance, the terms in which Protestants have affirmed and defended it for almost five centuries are drawn primarily from Paul.

Justification is a judicial act of God pardoning sinners (wicked and ungodly persons, Rom. 4:5; 3:9-24), accepting them as just, and so putting permanently right their previously estranged relationship with himself. This justifying sentence is God’s gift of righteousness (Rom. 5:15-17), his bestowal of a status of acceptance for Jesus’ sake (2…

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Romans 4 and the Sacraments

In our series looking at “Faith and works” yesterday (January 28) we looked at the letter from Paul to the Romans, chapters 3 and  4. the 4th chapter often being referred to to support the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Luther’s work

In our previous posting we saw how the German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation Martin Luther gave enough food for the Antitrinitarians. He is one of the most to go against their idea we still have to do works to be able to enter the Kingdom of God.

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It is thanks to his marvellous work of translating of the Bible into the vernacular (instead of Latin) that so many more people could read and find out what was really written in the Holy Scriptures, which had a tremendous impact on the church and West European culture.

From 1510 to 1520, Luther lectured on the Psalms, the books of Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians. As he studied these portions of the Bible, he came to view the use of terms such as penance and righteousness by the Catholic Church in new ways. He became convinced that the church was corrupt in its ways and had lost sight of what he saw as several of the central truths of Christianity.

The most important for Luther was the doctrine of justification – God’s act of declaring a sinner righteous – by faith alone through God’s grace. He taught that salvation or redemption is a gift of God’s grace, attainable only through faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

Looking at Paul’s teachings

The blog “Washed, sanctified and justified” also looks at Paul’s teachings in the knowledge that lots of protestants refer to Romans 3:26-28 as their conclusion that a man is justified by faith. Some will say

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from works. {Analysis of St. Paul’s Teachings on Justification and Faith}

Many Christians forget to notice “of the law” which indicates something more and something different than just the “Blood of Christ” or “the Blood of the Lamb“.  The Jewish scholar knew very much the importance of “The Law” or the “Torah” in God’s Plan. And these words are very important to the idea that the apostle Paul is expressing. In the previous articles we have seen that the apostle is speaking of works of the law because that is what he was speaking of in the last chapter.

He didn’t suddenly change subjects. However, he has omitted the words of the law at this point. {Analysis of St. Paul’s Teachings on Justification and Faith}

Some Catholics may say the Jews did not have ‘Sacraments’, but they had a Covenant and arrangements (or sarcaments in the wider interpretation), also having their own religious signs or symbols and practices as forms of worship.

Paul was very well aware how men of God were justified in the past. Abram (Abraham), born way before God made the covenant with the Israelites, had come in the faith. When he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. (Genesis 12:1-4; Hebrews 11:8; Romans 4:3) He also had not forgotten, like today many Christians do, that Abraham became the father of many, justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar. (James 2:20-22)

Covenants given to man

The Abrahamic Covnenant may have been interchanged with the Messianic or New Covenant this did not make done with The Law. Too many people forget the terms of the New Covenant.

De Maria in “Romans 4 and the Sacraments” looks further at the misunderstanding of Faith without works.

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We remember from it:

Romans 4 = a dissertation on justification by the Sacraments.

1. Abraham = our father, according to the flesh
2. if Abraham > justified by works = he hath whereof to glory > not before God.
3. if Abraham justified himself = more power to him => it is not of God.
4. Abraham believed God => counted unto him for righteousness.

=>  that means.

1. him that works = reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt > obey God’s voice + keep His covenant => a peculiar treasure unto God above all people
2. to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly > faith is counted for righteousness.
3. Abraham was => did not work for debt
4. Abraham did work for faith

He also looks at David, one of the circumcised =>  covenant of reconciliation

• No one can deny David did many works <= all he did was believe in God’s mercy

reconciliation not only offered to Israelites (Abraham not an Israelite + not even circumcised yet) ===> God saw his faith at work => reckoned in uncircumcision to receive sign of circumcision=  seal of the righteousness of the faith

=> = prophecy which showed that even gentiles would be justified by faith.

=> We, like Abraham, believe and are imputed righteousness, in the Sacraments of Jesus Christ.

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St. Paul contrasting Old Testament with New Testament.

• Old Testament = the Law.
• New Testament = the Faith.

no ministry of reconciliation in Old Testament. ~~~ David’s reconciliation exception = foreshadowing of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

=> Just as it is imputed to the Catholic, who believing the promises of God, approaches the font of grace and submits to the Sacraments, calling on His name.

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Preceding articles

Luther’s misunderstanding

January 27, 417, Pope Innocent I condemning Pelagius about Faith and Works

Our life depending on faith

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CatholicBibleTalk

 Romans 4 is frequently used to support the doctrine of justification by faith alone. But it is actually a dissertation on justification by the Sacraments.  Let’s go through it.

King James Version (KJV)

1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?Abraham is our father, according to the flesh. The Apostle asks, “what has he found”?

2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

Now, he asks, “did Abraham justify himself?” If he did, then more power to him, but it is not of God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Now, he quotes Gen 15:6, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

and he begins to explain what that means.

4 Now to him that…

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