I don't think I'm the only one to spot that blaring contradiction.
Roman Catholic double-speak that says we are "saved by grace" but then "judged according to our works". Being Catholic doesn't help, in fact, it hinders a person from knowing and responding to the truth of the gospel. I thank Almighty God for revealing the gospel to my heart fifty years ago that salvation is not based on my works but by the grace of God through FAITH and I believed on him and still follow him to this day. Catholicism has perverted the gospel and preaches an accursed version.
No, you were not the only one. That post was so full of inaccuracies, I lost count, after about 10. Where on earth do these false doctrines come from? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way. If they don’t come from the Holy Spirit......Well, you can make your own mind, where they come from. 😊
I can't speak for the rest of y'all, but there was always something nagging my heart - that I remember even as a little kid - that I was not hearing the whole truth. I thank God that He allowed me to find Him and the gospel of grace.
For us ex Catholics, and other friends as well. Yes, BB. I can relate. Perhaps what we are referring to here, is almost the same. It’s sometimes difficult to put into words, exactly what we feel in our hearts.
With me, it was maybe partly that I didn’t think I was hearing the whole truth. I think it was also an inner frustration, an inner emptiness, that I knew was there, but I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I felt like, OK, here I was, in the one true church, outside of which, no one can be saved, and yet why did I feel like “something” was still missing from my life? Later, I found out it wasn’t “something” missing from my life. It was “someone” who was missing from my life.
Thank God, His grace, got me, forever off the Roman Catholic hamster wheel of guilt. At that time, 2 Tim 3:7 applied to me. I was “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” From my experience as a Roman Catholic, you can probably figure out, that I am not real sympathetic to false religions. 👍😇
That is what the Holy Scripture says; send your complains to St. Matthew and St. Paul:
Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee? Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me. (Matthew 25:34-40)
But God, (who is rich in mercy,) for his exceeding charity wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, (by whose grace you are saved,) And hath raised us up together, and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus. That he might shew in the ages to come the abundant riches of his grace, in his bounty towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God; Not of works, that no man may glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus in good works, which God hath prepared that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10)
That statement by itself is not a contradiction, as indeed the believer is saved by grace thru but then "judged according to our works" as testifying to whether one was of true salvific faith in life and in his death.
Roman Catholic double-speak is that of saying they believe in being "saved by grace" while meaning that by the grace of God one actually becomes good enough in heart and life to be with God*, versus being accounted righteous by heart-purifying faith in the washing of regeneration.
And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. (Acts 11:13-14)
To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Acts 10:43)
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. (Acts 15:7-9)
Such as one is washed, sanctified and justified (1Co. 6:11) and accepted in the Beloved, and seated with Him in Heaven (Eph. 1:6; 2:6) wherein he has access with boldness into the holy of holies to meet with God. (Heb. 10:19)
And who will go to forever with the Lord at death or at His return, (Lk. 23:43 [cf. 2Cor. 12:4; Rv. 2:7]; Phil 1:23; 2Cor. 5:8 [“we”]; 1Cor. 15:51ff'; 1Thess. 4:17) And the next transformative experience that is manifestly taught is that of being like Christ in the resurrection. (1Jn. 3:2; Rm. 8:23; 1Co 15:53,54; 2Co. 2-4)At which time is the judgment seat of Christ, which is the only suffering after this life, which does not begin at death, but awaits the Lord's return, (1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Timothy. 4:1,8; Revelation 11:18; Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Peter 1:7; 5:4) and is the suffering of the loss of rewards (and the Lord's displeasure) due to the manner of material one built the church with, which one is saved despite the loss of such, not because of. (1 Corinthians 3:8ff)
Of course, such a believer is only one who dies in effectual faith, one which manifests "things that accompany salvation," (Heb. 6:9) versus denying the faith, (cf. 1Tim. 5:8)
However, while the effect of faith is the basis for declaring one to be a believer, (Mt. 7:20; Ja. 2:18; 1 Thessalonians 1:4) and fit to be recompensed in grace, (Mt. 25:32-40) the effect is not the cause of justification as one accepted in the Beloved, which is on His account, appropriated by faith. And who will be conformed to Christ in the resurrection.
In contrast, is RC Purgatory in which, besides atoning for sins one did not receive enough chastisement for, one becomes actually good enough to be with God. which premise either requires perfection of character in this life (and which merely being made clean in baptism would actually not effect) or postmortem purifying torments.
The Catholic Encyclopedia states that St. Augustine "describes two conditions of men; "some there are who have departed this life, not so bad as to be deemed unworthy of mercy, nor so good as to be entitled to immediate happiness" etc.
And thus by the close of the fourth century was taught "a place of purgation..from which when purified they "were admitted unto the Holy Mount of the Lord". For " they were "not so good as to be entitled to eternal happiness". - CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Purgatory
Likewise Catholic professor Peter Kreeft states,
"...we will go to Purgatory first, and then to Heaven after we are purged of all selfishness and bad habits and character faults." Peter Kreeft, Because God Is Real: Sixteen Questions, One Answer, p. 224