"It is finished"

Cary writes: Christ sat down at the right hand of God after He was resurrected from death which upon dying He said, "it is finished". At that point, the washing was completed...sins were nailed to the cross. There is no "purgatory". From God's perspective, all our sin was thrown into the sea of forgetfulness to be REMEMBERED NO MORE. When did this happen? It was 2,000 years ago at the cross.......not at the point when we accept the sacrifice. Forgiveness for ALL sin was completed at that point.......all sin we (you and I-everyone) have completed in our life was future at that point and all was taken care of. I was washed, you were washed clean. Until we accept what Christ did, we are still forgiven "dead" people as far as our spirit goes......we are not yet reconciled to God. What brings our spirit to life is that acceptance of His finished work, the Holy Spirit coming to dwell within us to bring the life of God to us........to flow through us. Those works flowing through us are works that are "alive", that have merit. Until then any "good works" that are performed are meaningless because they are dead works without Spirit life........all the little religious acts we become so proud of are nothing to God......they are the dead works that needed cleansed away so we can serve the living God in Spirit and in Truth.

My response: I agree that Christ is seated at the right hand of God. But we disagree on what "it is finished" means. You see it as "the washing is complete" when Jesus said "it is finished" and seem to see this as a sort of justification to conclude there is no purgatory. The "it is finished" is Jesus saying He has finished his work on earth. He had fulfilled all the prophecy about Himself and could now be our Sacrifice on the cross to bring Salvation to those who truly make Him Lord of their lives. That does not mean that "the washing was complete" for every human being on earth. Human's are still sinning and our "washing" is not complete as long as we continue to sin. You say "all our sin was thrown into the sea of forgetfulness to be remembered no more", but that is not true of unrepentant sinners. Repentance is a requirement for our sins. We must repent, not only in our words but truly feel sorrow and regret in our hearts for our sins to be forgiven. You go on to say that "forgiveness of all sin was complete at that point" and that our sins past, current and future were forgiven then too, but you are forgetting the requirement: repentance. We MUST repent to receive that forgiveness. You say that "acceptance of His finished work" brings our "spirit to life". I disagree. A Christian is brought to life by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can bring an infant's "spirit to life" without the infant first having to "accept His finished work". That is part of the Grace of God. You then go on to the topic of "works" and have concluded that some "good works" are meaningless as "all the little religious acts we become so proud of are nothing to God". What "little religious acts" are those? If a person is doing a "good work" it is not meaningless to God. God sees all, and all acts of kindness and charity to others are "good". I once met a person, who told me only the "good" that Christians did mattered to God because everyone else didn't have the Holy Spirit so their "works/deeds" mean nothing and are as "filthy rags" to the Lord. Do you agree with that view? I don't. A true act of kindness or charity comes from a compassionate heart, someone willing to put themselves out there to help another (Matt.25 the "sheep" who fed, clothed, welcomed and visited others). That does not go unnoticed by God and is not "meaningless". Remember the story of the "Good Samaritan" (Luke 10:25-37)? Was that meaningless or like "filthy rags" to our Lord Jesus Christ? No it was not. The only "dead works" are those done only for a reward and not from a willingness to help others.

"Christless Crossless Gospel"?

Baptist Grandma returns with: There is one gospel ..it centers upon Christ and the cross and if you are not saved by THAT one you are not SAVED . period .I reckon for someone willing to accept the Christless Crossless Gospel of the Catholic church , such does not matter to you and you think it hateful of me and others who actually CARE enough to share the truth ..for the Record , I understand perfectly about saving faith or faith that has an action/works to it actually BELIEVES the word and works of God / trusts in HIM and walks in it without adding things they have to do to be saved (RCC's saved by works doctrine), as opposed to walking in their OWN actions ..It takes humility to actually put all you are in God's hands you Catholics deny the work of Christ and make it out to be of ZERO power to do anything or of ZERO importance if we do not add to it by some work of our own , or some obedience to your church ..you're parroting a basic Catholic ERROR ..whenever I see it I am going to correct it lest some come reading in here who do not know and believe a lie .

My response: Welcome back Baptist Grandma. I am sure you think you explained yourself and maybe you did to others, but for the life of me, I unfortunately do not and can not understand what you mean by "Christless Crossless Gospel of the Catholic Church". The Catholic Church is neither "Christless" nor is it "crossless" as we have crucifixes in all our parish churches and Christ is the very center of our mass and worship. If you care to further explain what you mean, my email is always available or you may comment at the end of this post. You also mention "RCC's saved by works doctrine", "Catholics deny the work of Christ" and ironic in my opinion you tell me about "humility". Then, your last comment insinuates I am lying about something. Let me assure you I am not lying, I am sharing my faith and responding to misconceptions about my faith to the best of my abilities. Now if a Catholic who knows the faith better than I (and I am sure there are hundreds of thousands who do) sees an error I hope they will let me know as it is not my intention to post any Catholic belief in error. I welcome their correction and likewise when someone writes to me with something in error I am going to correct them.
In response to all you've said above, I will begin with what you THINK Catholics believe about "works". Number one, we do not believe we are saved by "works". Salvation comes by the Grace of God. Period. Number two, if you read Matt. 25 about the "sheep and the goats" you will see that action "works" is part of our faith and it is a requirement for all Christians. We can't just pay lip service to our Lord, we also need to show that we truly love and care for others as He did by serving others. Christ came to bring salvation and while he was here he helped and served others. He didn't ignore those in need and neither should Christians. THAT is what "works" is about, following the actions of Christ. We are not earning our salvation, we are living out our faith as Christ did. Can you understand the difference in that and what you erroneously called "saved by works doctrine"? How are the sheep and goats separated may I ask you? Are they separated by their faith or by their actions "works"? Where do those who do works spend eternity? Where do those without works spend eternity? You need to answer those questions and then re-evaluate your views on "works". A few scripture verses for you to consider while thinking about the faith and works in our salvation is James 2:24 "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." - James 2:26 "As the body without spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." (NIV Bible)
Next you mention "Catholics deny the work of Christ". I have to ask "How?". Jesus Christ brought salvation to the world. Christ was sacrificed for our sins. Catholics do not deny the work of Christ in anyway. If you have something specific in mind, would you clarify what it is? We look upon the image of Christ's death on the cross each and every time we look at a crucifix or go to mass. Catholics do not make Christ out to have "zero power" or "zero importance". Like I said before, Christ is the very center of our worship. Christ is our Savior and Lord of our lives. He is the King of Kings. I truly have no idea where you get this "zero" theology view from but I assure you, it is not part of our Catholic faith in any way.
And for the record, here is the definition of "humility" from my Webster's desk dictionary: "modesty in self-estimation; humbleness."
I'd like to suggest, that if you truly want to know what Catholics believe you get yourself a Catholic catechism and take a look for yourself. I believe you are picking up anti-Catholic views and erroneous information about the Catholic faith from anti-Catholic sources. And as always, you are welcome to write to me or comment here on this blog, it's open to anyone who wishes to share their thoughts and opinions on Catholic beliefs.

Abiding in Christ

We've all heard that Jesus is the Vine and believers are the branches and that we must 'abide' in the vine. How does a person "abide" in the vine; that is to say, how do Christians abide in Jesus Christ our Savior? Do we abide by having faith? We all need faith in our daily journey towards our heavenly reward but that's not it. Do you abide by prayer? Prayer is important, no doubt about it. We need prayer but that's not exactly it either. Do we abide by participating in our faith? Now we're getting closer to the answer. In John 15 Jesus tells us He is The Vine and that we are the branches and that we must bear good fruit (good works) to remain part of The Vine. If we fail in this, holy scripture says the branch will be cut out and tossed into the fire. In Matt. 25:31-46 Jesus talks about the Sheep & the Goats. What separated the Sheep from the Goats was their works. The Sheep did good works, they fed the hungry and clothed the naked and visited those in prison and gave water to those who were thirsty. The Goats did none of these things, they were devoid of good works and Jesus said to them "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."-(Matt.31:45-46). Clearly we need not only to have faith but to act out our faith with good deeds. Jesus is saying you can't sit in the boat and say you have faith, you need to take action and show your faith as Peter did when he stepped out of the boat onto the water. When Peter wavered in his faith, his actions began to sink him but Jesus was there beside him. Jesus is still here beside us now, offering us support when we waver and fall short. One place to find this support is in our sacraments, namely Penance (Confession). If you fall, go to Confession and make things right again. We need to hold tight to our faith and bear good fruit so that we are not cut off and tossed into the fire. We should desire to abide in Christ above all things and live our lives pleasing to God. Not just our words but also by our actions (deeds or works). Jesus says the way to abide in him is by Holy Communion (John 6:56). If we eat His Flesh and drink His Blood we abide in Christ. This is the very core of our Catholic mass. This is why attending mass is so very important for Catholics. The sacraments are vital to us abiding in Jesus Christ. These are not to be taken lightly or treated as valueless 'options' to take or leave. For Catholics they are essential. Attending mass is essential. Going to Confession is essential. We need to understand the sacraments and their importance to us and our Lord. If we fail to abide in Christ we will have put our very salvation in jeopardy. He is The Vine and we are the Branches only if we abide in Him.

John 15
The True Vine
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."

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John 6:50 "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me."