가톨릭 신앙생활 Q&A 코너

Dear Christine,

Christine, you give the impression that Catholics go out of their way to violate Scriptural teaching. Such is not the case. We may understand certain important passages differently than Fundamentalists who have borrowed heavily from Luther and Calvin, but we regard the bible in high esteem as divine revelation.

Regarding sin, you claim that Catholics and Protestants are in agreement. While it can be contended that such is the case between Catholics and St. Paul, such is not entirely the case with many Protestant sects. The Fundamentalist contends that original sin utterly destroys the divine image in the human person. Thus, nature, in no way whatsoever, can witness to God. Catholics, on the other hand, have a deeper appreciation of the enduring good of creation as reflective of the Creator. Thus, man still possesses the “Imago Dei” and nature testifies to its Creator, God. This is not to say that there have not been pietistic elements in Catholic devotion which resonate with the Protestant notion of man’s utter depravity and wretchedness. Martin Luther, himself a wayward Augustinian priest, was very much influenced by the Brethren of the Common Life who accented man’s unworthiness as no more than a miserable worm. Luther would take this stance so far that regeneration itself becomes nothing more than juridical imputation.

Regarding justification and grace I believe you fail to properly understand the Catholic position; indeed, part of the confusion may be in that you make no distinction between “sanctifying or saving” grace and “actual” grace. Sanctifying grace is precisely that “Amazing Grace” about which we sing in chorus and which brings believers in Christ to the gates of heaven. It is here that your words are a bit confusing. You state that “Nowhere in Scripture are there any qualifications on God’s grace.” However, our acceptance and participation with grace, our profession of faith itself, is a qualification. Such things are well grounded in the bible. You quote Ephesians 2:8-9 as if Catholics would find it repulsive; we do not: “For by grace [this is sanctifying grace] you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God — not because of works, lest any man should boast.” The subsequent mention of circumcision puts this text in its proper context. We are not saved by the external works of the Jewish Law, but by the saving activity of Christ.

The universal catechism gives this definition of grace: “Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is FAVOR, the FREE AND UNDESERVED HELP that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life (cf. John 1:12-18; 17:3; Romans 8:14-17; 2 Peter 1:3-4)” [CCC #1996]. Regarding justification it says the following: “The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us ‘the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ’ and through Baptism (Romans 3:22; cf. 6:3-4): ‘But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves as dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 6:8-11)” [CCC #1987]. “Justification DETACHES MAN FROM SIN which contradicts the love of God, and purifies his heart of sin. Justification follows upon God’s merciful initiative of offering forgiveness. It reconciles man with God. It frees from the enslavement to sin, and it heals” [CCC #1990]. “Justification is at the same time THE ACCEPTANCE OF GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS through faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness (or ‘justice’) here means the rectitude of divine love. With justification, faith, hope, and charity are poured into our hearts, and obedience to the divine will is granted us” [CCC #1991]. “Justification has been MERITED FOR US BY THE PASSION OF CHRIST who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men. Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life: ‘But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus’ (Romans 3:21-26)” [CCC #1992].

Note that the Catholic Church does not rebaptize those who fall into serious sin and who later return to the sacramental life. Neither do we rebaptize those who were legitimately baptized in various Protestant faiths. This practice illustrates a distinction between the one-time sacrament of faith which brings us into the righteousness of God and the life-long process of sanctification. Confusion in this regard is often the crux of the tension between Catholics and Evangelicals.

While you do not mention it, faith is also defined differently in the Catholic and Evangelical mind. Fundamentalists view faith as a trust in God’s Word which assures salvation through Christ’s atonement. Faith “alone” is the Lutheran formula, although he admitted to perjuring his bible translation to insure this interpretation, exclaiming that he would not change it even if “an angel from God” told him to do so.

Touching upon the matter of good works, Catholics traditionally understand faith as loving obedience, the surrender of our very selves to God who has revealed himself in his creation and in human history. Faith, which is itself a divine gift, requires our participatory “free” involvement of the mind and will. Necessarily expressed in good works, faith is actualized by the life of charity. We might say that Christ, who lives in us, is the true source of merit. We do not see any tug-of-war between faith and works. Rather, ours is a lived faith of which charity is a practical element. The universal catechism is quite good on this point: “With regard to God, there is no strict right to any merit on the part of man. Between God and us there is an immeasurable inequality, for we have received everything from him, our Creator” [CCC #2007]. It goes on to say: “The merit of man before God in the Christian life arises from the fact that GOD HAS FREELY CHOSEN TO ASSOCIATE MAN WITH THE WORK OF HIS GRACE. The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man’s free acting through his collaboration, so that the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful. Man’s merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit” [CCC #2008]. Ultimately all merits arise from grace, the abiding charity of Christ.

The Catholic does not live under the weight of the Law like his Jewish predecessor. Indeed, Jesus came as the fulfilment of the old dispensation and reminded his people that they should be most concerned about the “spirit” of the law which is love of God and love of neighbor. Catholic Christianity sees herself as the family of God which places abiding faith and trust, not in a philosophy but in a person, our Lord Jesus Christ. It may be that outsiders and Catholics poorly catechized never really catch on to this truth.

Remember that I want to keep this forum sympathetic to the Catholic Church and to her teachings. Know that I am also asking God’s blessing upon your search for truth.

Have a happy and holy Easter season,

Fr. Joe Jenkins

Postscript:

Throwing a final “fly into the ointment” and understanding works as our free acts of surrendering our lives to God in response to the saving activity of Christ and to his call for holiness, the following passages are interesting:

WORKS COMMANDED BY JESUS— (Taken from The Living Word in the Living Church by Rev. Daniel A. Murray)

>Jesus acknowledges those who hear the Word of God and keep it (Mark 3:35).

>Do not get angry or use abusive language (Matthew 5:21-26).

>Do not look at a woman lustfully (Matthew 5:27-30).

>Do not divorce your wife (Matthew 5:31-32).

>Do not divorce your husband (Matthew 10:12).

>Do not swear at all (Matthew 5:33-37).

>Do not take revenge, but turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-42).

>Love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).

>Give alms (Matthew 6:1-4).

>Pray (Matthew 6:5-15).

>Fast (Matthew 6:16-18).

>Feed the hungry / Give drink to the thirsty / Welcome the stranger / Clothe the naked / Care for the sick / Visit the imprisoned (Matthew 25:31-46).

>God rewards good works and punishes evil (Romans 2:6-11; 12:9-21).

>Holy Spirit helps Christians to live as the Lord commands, and to do what pleases him (Col. 1:9-10).

>Christian is justified by good works and not by faith alone (James 2:24).