Perhaps you should read the lives of the Martyr,s and Saints and you will see that they DID struggle to merit their way to heaven.
Those struggles were God's Blessings and will for them, they embraced them because they loved God's will above their own ,even if it meant torture and death!
I wish you a Blessed Evening!
Perhaps you should read the lives of the Martyrs and Saints and you will see that they DID struggle to merit their way to heaven.
As you are doubtless aware, the issue of whether we can merit our own salvations is among the most contentious of issues between Apostolics and Protestants. My soteriology is based on what I consider to be inarguable, rock solid scriptural truths that all say that salvation is by grace and not earned through works (Eph. 2:8-9, and many others). I realize that Apostolics look strongly to James for scriptural support that free will works are required to merit salvation, but is there any indication within Tradition as to how many or what quality of works are required to be "enough" to get in?
I'm just trying to imagine myself as a person with this view, and since I would be very interested in getting into Heaven I would want to know what exactly I had to do. For example, would minding my own business and basically being a decent person, and following the sacraments, etc. be "good enough", or would it be more than that? I don't think any Catholic would say that we have to go through what the martyrs did to get in :), but there has to be a line somewhere, and I'm just trying to get a handle on where that line is.
I wish you a Blessed Evening!
Thank you. And, because of my unfortunate delay, I wish you a Blessed Morning! :)