"I would suggest that you might think of it this way:
"You and I are currently sinful. Nothing sinful shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, if you (or I if God is most merciful) shall be admitted to the Kingdom, there will be a process to adjust your status from sinful to sinless."
Yes, absolutely, I agree with this first paragraph. There is this blight on humanity called the "sinful nature" which permeates everything we do, think, feel. We are all, as David was inspired to report, "...conceived in sin." Ps. 51:5. Paul echos the same in Rom. 3 as he quotes David. However, if this were solved, we still would not be holy enough to stand in heaven.
The process, however, of adjusting our status from sinful to sinless is, according to the Scriptures, accomplished to solve these two problems. First, we are forgiven by Christ when we are adopted into His family. That is, as Paul wrote in Col. 2:13ff, "And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumsicision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled out the 'certificate of debt' consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."
This solves the first problem. Our evil nature is forgiven, once for all, just as the sacrifice of the Lamb of God was accomplished once for all. The, ..."death that He died, He died to sin once for all..." Rom. 6:10, Heb. 7:27, Heb. 9:12, Heb. 10:10, IPet 3:18.
But, it still would not have fit us for heaven. To stand before the Creator of Heaven and Earth, spotless and blameless, AND holy enough to bear the, "...unapproachable light" (ITim 6:16) in which God dwells, we had to be wrapped in the righteousness of His Son. Rom. 3:22. This is the solution to our second problem, not possessing righteousness, not being holy. Again Paul describes this when he tells the Philippians, "..I count all things to be loss in in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, NOT HAVING A RIGHTEOUSNESS OF MY OWN derived from doing the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,..." Phil. 3:8,9.
This fits one for heaven, second problem solved. Again, all done by God.
Here is where careful hermeneutics come in. In the early portions of the Scriptures, Israel is ordered, cajoled, disciplined to induce this in themselves (forgiveness and holiness). Even as Jesus spoke on earth (Sermon on the Mount and much of the three years), He was telling folks to solve these two problems themselves. "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Phar..." "You are to be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect."
Toward the end of His three years we find Him saying this self-help is impossible with man, but help is possible with God. Matt. 19:26 Here, unfortunately, is precisely where the RCC has wrongly focused its "works" oriented religion. It believes that Jesus is teaching the world to obey...but He is not. In the first place, He is breaking the back of the Jews who believed they could obey. Then He is telling those who give up...I will do it for you. And, He is still not talking to Gentiles.
Most of His so-called "earthly ministry" was to the Jews. Read Matt. 15:24. "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." His crumbs to us dogs was a kind and merciful toss. But, at the cross, all this changed.
At the cross, the entire world was grafted in...if they were among the elect. Eph. 2:11ff. "Remember, that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh (every non-Jew) ...remember that were at that time separate from Christ, excluded fron the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promis, having no hope and without God in the world. But NOW in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near BY THE BLOOD of Christ."
I find nothing in the Scriptures which intimate that man has a part in any of this, assuming that one reads the story consecutively, like a historical novel and not encyclopedic, as if all is directed to us. There is no Purgatory process.
How God makes His choice to elect some to His rescue and leave some lost in their sins, I don't pretend to know. If He has chosen me, it was certainly not due to my character.
Yes, absolutely, I agree with this first paragraph. There is this blight on humanity called the "sinful nature" which permeates everything we do, think, feel. We are all, as David was inspired to report, "...conceived in sin." Ps. 51:5. Paul echos the same in Rom. 3 as he quotes David. However, if this were solved, we still would not be holy enough to stand in heaven.
The process, however, of adjusting our status from sinful to sinless is, according to the Scriptures, accomplished to solve these two problems. First, we are forgiven by Christ when we are adopted into His family. That is, as Paul wrote in Col. 2:13ff, "And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumsicision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled out the 'certificate of debt' consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."
This solves the first problem. Our evil nature is forgiven, once for all, just as the sacrifice of the Lamb of God was accomplished once for all. The, ..."death that He died, He died to sin once for all..." Rom. 6:10, Heb. 7:27, Heb. 9:12, Heb. 10:10, IPet 3:18.
Very good. We have accord.
But, it still would not have fit us for heaven. To stand before the Creator of Heaven and Earth, spotless and blameless, AND holy enough to bear the, "...unapproachable light" (ITim 6:16) in which God dwells, we had to be wrapped in the righteousness of His Son. Rom. 3:22. This is the solution to our second problem, not possessing righteousness, not being holy. Again Paul describes this when he tells the Philippians, "..I count all things to be loss in in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, NOT HAVING A RIGHTEOUSNESS OF MY OWN derived from doing the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,..." Phil. 3:8,9.
This fits one for heaven, second problem solved. Again, all done by God.
We both agree. All is done by God.
I think that we might put our differences aside in terms of predestination and simply consider that since we are now sinful and must be sinless to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, there is a process whereby that sinfulness is transformed to sinlessness.
How God makes His choice to elect some to His rescue and leave some lost in their sins, I don't pretend to know. If He has chosen me, it was certainly not due to my character.
We will all face Him. St. Paul said that he was the greatest of sinners. I think that I would be a contender...