Posted on 03/13/2019 6:40:19 AM PDT by Antoninus
In part one of this post, I looked at the vision of Perpetua—one of the earliest authentic Christian documents to describe directly a Purgatory-like state and to highlight the efficacy of prayer petitions for the dead.
Others writing during the patristic age also expounded upon this idea in more or less detail, among them St. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, St. Augustine of Hippo, and St. Caesarius of Arles. One of the most clear references to Purgatory appears in a late 4th century work by Saint Gregory of Nyssa, entitled: “On the Soul and the Resurrection”. St. Gregory writes:
“For [God], the one goal is this: the perfection of the universe through each man individually, the fulfillment of our nature. Some of us are purged of evil in this life, and some are cured of it through fire in the after-life, some have not had the experience of good and evil in life here….The different degrees of virtue or vice in our life will be revealed in our participating more quickly or more slowly in the blessedness we hope for. The extent of the healing with depend on the amount of evil present in each person. The healing of the soul will be purification from evil and this cannot be accomplished without suffering…”Building upon this notion about 200 years later, another Gregory—Pope Saint Gregory the Great—was the first to set forth the notion of Purgatory as Catholics now understand it. As part of his famous Dialogues, he wrote:
“…It is plain that in such state as a man departs out of this life, in the same he is presented in judgment before God. But yet we must believe that before the day of judgment there is a Purgatory fire for certain small sins: because our Savior says, “That he which speaketh blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, that it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come [Matthew 12:32].”Here we see Gregory offering a scriptural proof for Purgatory, out of the mouth of Jesus Himself. He elaborates on this point, citing Saint Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 3:
“Out of which sentence we learn, that some sins are forgiven in this world, and some other may be pardoned in the next: for that which is denied concerning one sin, is consequently understood to be granted touching some other. But yet this, as I said, we have not to believe but only concerning little and very small sins, as, for example, daily idle talk, immoderate laughter, negligence in the care of our family (which kind of offenses scarce can they avoid, that know in what sort sin is to be shunned), ignorant errors in matters of no great weight: all which sins be punished after death, if men procured not pardon and remission for them in their lifetime: for when St. Paul said, that “Christ is the foundation:” and by and by added: “And if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: the work of every one, of what kind it is, the fire shall try. If any man's work abide which he built thereupon, he shall receive reward; if any man’s work burn, he shall suffer detriment, but himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.”Gregory then goes on to explain St. Paul’s meaning, drawing a distinction between what we would later call mortal and venial sins:
“For although these words may be understood of the fire of tribulation, which men suffer in this world: yet if any will interpret them of the fire of Purgatory, which shall be in the next life: then must he carefully consider, that the Apostle said not that he may be saved by fire, that buildeth upon this foundation iron, brass, or lead, that is, the greater sort of sins, and therefore more hard, and consequently not remissible in that place: but wood, hay, stubble, that is, little and very light sins, which the fire doth easily consume. Yet we have here further to consider, that none can be there purged, no, not for the least sins that be, unless in his lifetime he deserved by virtuous works to find such favor in that place.” [Dialogues, Book 4:39]
You poor thing, where did I reject The Nicene Creed? Rave on, son ...
Keep striving to obtain that which God gives by His Grace not your merits. Hell ain’t half full is how they say it around here ...
Keep striving to obtain ...
Action, active, working ...
***
To quote the Apostle Paul: “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”
Paul says very clearly in Ephesians 2 that works are the result of salvation, not the cause.
Please stop accusing us of the antinomian heresy right now.
I dunno; I confess the Nicene Creed every week.
Stop telling falsehoods about me.
Then admit that I preach and teach that people should obey God’s Law even if they’re saved by grace, and stop accusing me otherwise.
So who has done that? ... Try to be truthful
Question is not an answer, but I really did not expect you to be honest after making your not so vague accusation.
Repeating a creed is a nice way to 'get everyone on the same page', it does not save you. Repeating a creed to which you give mental agreement is not an act of the will but can prompt the will to action. Jesus told folks who claimed to have even cast out demons in His name 'Depart from Me, I never knew you.'
When the will turns to God in Christ our Savior it is then that we are known of Him, and the change will show in the behavior of that man or woman.
I would caution you regarding creeds and rituals which soothe the mind and emotions but are not from the will:
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you
You recite The Nicene Creed and believe with your will that Faith in Christ has birthed you from above, you do well. You repetitiously chant creeds and rosaries and incantations believing that your doing warrants salvation ... and you are lost and in the disposition Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7 above.
Except for your religions assertion that the last Apostle(s) passed Apostleship to your agreed upon by your religion's leadership, well except for that assertion you have no living member of the twelve.
“Please stop accusing us of the antinomian heresy right now.”
I’m not antinomian.
I’m be necronomian.
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