[boatbums]

Re: post 174.

I don’t mind a little personal sharing. I gave the example using ‘a person’ term, but I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t think it applied to me as well, wouldn’t I? I would hope that in the forty years I have been saved I have grown in my faith and that others see Christ in me. That is certainly something I aim for. Do I ever mess up? Of course, I am a human after all. Like Paul, the flesh and spirit natures are in a wrestling match. Have I gotten wiser over time, has God deepened my faith by trials? Oh, yes, absolutely. I went through times in my youth where I did things I am not proud of, that cause me shame and that I will always regret. I never stopped believing, though. I never denied the Lord Jesus. But just like the prodigal son’s father, the Lord taught me that He never stopped loving me, never stopped waiting for me to return, never withheld His forgiveness and I never stopped being his child.

Do I still mess up? Yeah, but not like before. And I hope from what He taught me by allowing me to go through those trials I will not fall into the same traps again. When I sin, I know I can go directly to him at any time, and ask his forgiveness.

Did this help?

[bdeaner]

I don’t mind a little personal sharing. I gave the example using ‘a person’ term, but I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t think it applied to me as well, wouldn’t I?

Well, certainly -- although I did not mean to suggest or imply you are a hypocrite. I took your statement to imply that, just as another person's good works is a testimony of his or her faith, so your good works are a testimony of your faith. But when you frame it that way, even your good works are understood from the perspective of the other person -- as a testimony or as evidence of faith.

So, as a follow up question, I was asking about sanctification from a different perspective -- a first-person, "me" perspective -- regarding how sanctifying grace operating in one's life is also evidence that one's faith is true. If I find myself acting in ways that are Christ-like -- by the grace of God -- it is a testimony that my own faith is true. Right?

And a byproduct of that righteousness of good works through the grace of God, which follows upon my genuine faith, is a genuine, enduring and unshakeable joy. I think that's our taste of heaven in this life -- just a taste -- a mere shadow of the beatific vision.

I went through times in my youth where I did things I am not proud of, that cause me shame and that I will always regret. I never stopped believing, though. I never denied the Lord Jesus. But just like the prodigal son’s father, the Lord taught me that He never stopped loving me, never stopped waiting for me to return, never withheld His forgiveness and I never stopped being his child.

I can certainly relate to your story! What I find particularly interesting is the shame and regret you describe. Most truly evil people I know -- people who do not know God and have rejected the Lord as their savior -- do not feel regret or shame over sin. But those of us who are saved -- who are justified by our faith -- are called through grace to perform good works, which testify to our faith.

Yet, looking at my own life, I can often find myself like Peter who doubted Christ and began to sink into the waves after walking upon the water, When my faith falters, I can give in to temptation -- and I can become claimed instead by sin, because Satan is real and He wants us to fall so that He can claim us. However, when I do fall into temptation, because I am saved by Christ, the Lord gives me the grace to suffer as a consequence of the sin. I suffer the guilt and regret of having transgressed the will of Abba, who is the source of all that is Good and Worthy. And in fact, it is through that suffering that I often find myself on my knees, returning to an even deeper faith, having learned once again that I cannot do it on my own, but can only be sanctified by His blood, through His grace operating in my life.

What I just described is "Purgatory." I am saved; I am justified by my faith in Christ, and yet I am capable, as a result of temptation, of falling into sin. But, as someone who has faith, my sin has consequences -- the 'fire' that is the anguish of guilt and shame. This suffering is beneficent -- it is essentially a gift from the Lord that assists me in the process of growing closer to Him and aoviding further temptation by the Devil. It helps me to become more like Him, so that I can serve Him as a member of His Body, doing His will, and to the extent that I fulfill this testimony of my faith, I experience a heavenly joy -- the joy of obedience to His will.

The Catholic Church is neutral with regard to whether purgatory is a state or place. I'm inclined to believe it it primarily a state of mind, similar to what I have described: the fire of purification that the Lord uses to teach us the practical wisdom of learning good from evil, through the joy that comes from goodness and the anguish that follows participation in evil.

Hell, on the other hand, is a total loss of hope in redemption -- something that, as long as we are alive, is difficult to fathom, but horrible to contemplate.

How does this fit with your own walk with Christ? Similar, different? How?