"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB
Faith without works is de...
Thanks @ImYour Huckleberry 🙏
Framing works as just the result assumes restoration is a single completed event we passively receive. The Catholic view doesn't separate it into a binary. We don't cause grace. We step into it, cooperate with it, respond to it. God's initiative is first, grace is unmerited at the start, but he commands us to respond. This to me is the good news of the Gospel, and it's hopeful. It's why it's worth sharing.
Restoration is a participatory event. Turning back to Christ, repenting, receiving the sacraments, cooperating with grace aren't downstream evidence of a restoration that already fully happened in a single moment. They are the ongoing restoration. Justification in Catholic theology isn't a one-time legal verdict, it's a journey of us being made righteous, which unfolds across a lifetime.
Framing works as just the result assumes restoration is a single completed event we passively receive. The Catholic view doesn't separate it into a binary. We don't cause grace. We step into it, cooperate with it, respond to it. God's initiative is first, grace is unmerited at the start, but he commands us to respond. This to me is the good news of the Gospel, and it's hopeful. It's why it's worth sharing.
Restoration is a participatory event. Turning back to Christ, repenting, receiving the sacraments, cooperating with grace aren't downstream evidence of a restoration that already fully happened in a single moment. They are the ongoing restoration. Justification in Catholic theology isn't a one-time legal verdict, it's a journey of us being made righteous, which unfolds across a lifetime.