I can't believe we still didn't get to hope yet. I hope we get to that next week.
We discussed the reading in Luke 13:22-30 (covered in my last post), and then continued our discussions on faith.
Faith and its relationship to Trust
Trust is the verb and Faith is the affected noun.
Think of it this way: Trust is to faith as ‘working out’ is to fitness.
So, every time you speak with God, or thank him, or ask for advice or help, or intercede for someone else, you exercising trust in him; in your friendship with Him. These actions feed faith and feed the relationship. Also remember, your effort is only half the equation. The Holy Spirit completes the equation. It's kind of like a spiritual 401K match.
Theological Apologetics vs Pure Trusting Faith
My faith very much involves the intellectual, theological, reasoning process. At the end of the day, though, it’s not the intellectual answers that keep me in God's fold. It’s the relationship I value and trust. But, I can’t help myself. Perhaps it’s a luxury that I can have both, but I will probably never stop.
On the other hand, there are people who have faith with no theology, and no reasoning whatsoever behind it. My mother was one. None of this theological stuff mattered to her one bit; she just didn’t need it. If she were still around and I was to try and share some theological epiphany, she would have just said, “See, God is always right, I could have told you that.”
So, who is better off? I kind of think she was.
Story of the Great Blondin
Charles Blondin was a tightrope walker whose greatest stunt was walking on a tightrope across the raging Niagara Falls. Before he began, he asked the watching crowd if they believed he could do it, they all roared “Yes, we believe.” He not only did it but he crossed back as well! That’s 1100 feet (11 football fields) across, 16 stories above the water. Then his assistant brought him a wheelbarrow. Before he began, he asked the watching crowd, “Do you believe the Great Blondin can successfully cross high above this river on this tightrope while pushing a wheelbarrow?” They all roared “Yes, we believe!” He did it and the crowd went wild. Then he then asked if anyone would sit in the wheelbarrow as he pushed it along the tightrope. The crowd went silent. All that could be heard was the sound of the wind blowing.
The point is just saying that you believe, by itself, isn’t worth a whole lot. Catholics believe that action (relationship with God and good works) is the proof of one’s faith.
Faith vs Works, Catholics and Protestants
If perfect justice was applied to human beings tomorrow, the entire race would not survive. The atrocities humans have committed against each other throughout history are stupefying. Hate and destruction have followed in the humans wake from Cain and Abel to modern times with human trafficking, wars, genocide, etc. Individually, we are a microcosm of the problem with our daily petty judgments and unGod-like thoughts: Who does he think he is? What a jerk. I cannot stand that person. I wish she'd shut up. What am I getting out of this? Who put him in charge? Thank God I'm not like those clowns… More often than not, even when humans know the right thing to do, they don’t do it. I think we can say human perfection is out of the question.
The problem of course is the Fall. When mankind fell, we lost sanctifying grace (we need sanctifying grace to gain Heaven). What we now have instead is called “concupiscence,” which is a tendency to be self-centered (it is simply a lack of spiritual strength when sanctifying grace is missing).
How, then, do we have any hope of attaining heaven, since perfect justice must be attained? Ans: we ride on Jesus’ coattails. Because of what God (Jesus) did for us, our endless sinfulness (self-centeredness) is paid for and we are “justified” (perfect justice is met/restored).
What is Justification?
Justification is the application of Redemption to the individual, and the restoring sanctifying grace that was lost in the fall of the human race. This justification is what takes place at our Baptism.
I was asked to comment on how Protestants treat this topic differently, so let’s talk about that.
Protestants believe that they receive justification by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone. They also consider justification to be a one-time event, which occurs when they first express their faith in Jesus Christ as their savior. Some Protestants also believe that one’s salvation cannot be lost once you claim Jesus Christ as your savior, although there are other Protestants who believe that you can lose your salvation by losing your faith. Finally, Protestants consider “good works” to be something that all the faithful should do and will do, simply because they have faith and are saved; however, they do not see good works as being tied to salvation; in other words, good works are not necessary for justification, which is why they say “faith alone.” In Latin, this is formally referred to as “Sola Fides.”
For 2000 years, the Catholic Church has taught differently. We agree that salvation comes from God only through the redemption of Jesus Christ, that this is the prerequisite for justification, and that it happens at our Baptism. However, we also believe that our ongoing cooperation is required after Baptism, which continues for the rest of our lives.
Thus, the Church teaches that we receive our “initial justification" by the grace of God through our Baptism (which is tied to faith), at which time all past sins are wiped out and sanctifying grace (lost in the Fall) is restored to us. This is why Baptism is the entry point into Christian life. Then, as one’s life progresses, we need and receive additional graces to help us along the way; these comes from our “cooperation” with God in three ways: through the Holy Spirit directly, through the sacraments, and through good works – all three equally important. On this faith journey, our relationship with God continues to grow and mature in amazing ways.
Most Protestants think that Catholics teach that we can earn our way into heaven by good works. That is simply a myth that has never been taught by the Church. Good works alone are not enough to gain heaven; however, you could say that not doing good works may be sufficient cause for losing one’s salvation. So you could say salvation and good works are inked on the back end. (You can see why the Protestants may get this confused.) Since the time of Jesus Christ, faith without the cooperation of good works is useless. As the apostle James said, “Faith of itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17).
Another explanation – the Parable of the Life Preserver: You are at sea by yourself, a storm sinks your boat, you are left in the water badly hurt and treading water 100 miles from land. This represents mankind’s Fallen condition. Then, out of nowhere, a man on a boat appears and throws you a life preserver. Your life will be saved after all, although you did nothing to bring it about. This represents what God/Jesus did for us – you could say Jesus is the life preserver, and the man who threw it to you is God. Now, you still can die! You need to cooperate. You need to grab hold of the preserver and do your part until you get pulled to safety. Although your cooperation is an essential requirement to being saved, is isn’t the cooperation that saved you.
Infant Baptism
Some Protestants will say infant baptism isn’t valid because the child’s free will wasn’t in play. Doesn’t Baptism require free will? The answer is no. First of all, Baptism (and the justification and sanctifying grace that comes with it) is a gift from God, it is not something we earn. Second, faith has traditionally been a family affair; even in the gospels, entire households were saved at once, which no doubt included infants. Third, what parent would not want their child to start out their life justified? Fourth, it is traditionally, legally, and morally the parent’s responsibility to make the most important decisions regarding the well-being of their child, including its eternal well-being. The child still has free will and can always decide differently later on. In the meantime, heaven belongs to that child and it is his/hers to lose. There can be no greater gift of love under the sun (or, for that matter, beyond).
Peace!
Remember, we are skipping a week. Next meeting is Sept 7. Happy Labor Day!
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