To Catholics?

Question

How many good works must I do, in order for my good deeds to outway my bad deeds so that I can get to heaven? By the way, I lost track of how many bad deeds I have done.

Answer 1

--Is Catholic--

Your good deeds CANNOT outweigh your bad deeds. You cannot merit justification. Justification is a free gift from God that you co-operate in. When you become justified, which is through baptism and only through baptism, you begin the path of salvation, through which faith and works are mandatory.

The Protestant notion is that GOOD WORKS are the fruits of faith. This is not Catholic Doctrine. Catholic Doctrine teaches that GOOD WORKS can occur when faith is not present. Catholic Doctrine also teaches that GOOD WORKS are meritious and pleasing to God even when faith is not present. (See Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ott)

The Catholic understanding of Salvation is also radically different. Salvation is seen as a 3 fold thing: something that occurred, is constantly occurring, and will occur in the future. "As the Bible says, I am already saved (Rom. 8:24, Eph. 2:5–8), but I’m also being saved (1 Cor. 1:8, 2 Cor. 2:15, Phil. 2:12), and I have the hope that I will be saved (Rom. 5:9–10, 1 Cor. 3:12–15). Like the apostle Paul I am working out my salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), with hopeful confidence in the promises of Christ (Rom. 5:2, 2 Tim. 2:11–13)."

In addition, for Catholics, justification is not the same thing at all as salvation.

For a Catholic, justification occurs as a result of a free gift from God that the person cannot earn or merit. HOWEVER, this free gift must be accepted on the part of the individual. Catholic doctrine teaches that the instant of justification of the individual is the instant of baptism. No matter what "stirrings of the heart", it is only baptism that justifies. This justification is seen as a permanent ontological change in the soul of the individual and the individual is adopted into the family of God.

For a Catholic, salvation is a process of sanctification and conformity of the individual to Christ through the sacraments of the Church and the life of the Church. Without the Church, the process of salvation does not occur (as Vatican II said) or as the early councils said, "Outside the Church, there is no salvation".

As salvation is a process, GOOD WORKS are required, first and foremost because God commands that we do good. If we do not do good, then we do not have a knowing relationship with God. If we do not have a knowing relationship with God, then we do not have Faith. That is why scripture says that Faith without Works is non-existent (ie dead).

This however, does not mean that GOOD WORKS without Faith is dead. On the contrary, Catholic doctrine teaches that one may do Good Works without faith and that these good works are meritious and benefitual. In other words, God is pleased at the good things that non-Catholics (pagans, atheists, other religions) do and these things will be rewarded by God.

Why is this? This is because Catholic Doctrine teaches that God is the cause of man's goodness and goodness is not simply an attribute that God is pleased at.

Because of this fundamental understanding, the Catholic Church teaches that GOOD WORKS are mandatory for the salvation of the individual. The Council of Trent teaches that for the justified, eternal life is both a gift or a grace promised by God and a reward for his own good works and merits. The saying goes that God crowns His own grace.

Let me close now with some De Fide dogmatic statements on the topic
The Doctrine of Grace
1. There is a supernatural intervention of God in the faculties of the soul, which precedes the free act of the will.
2. There is a supernatural influence of God in the faculties of the soul which coincides in time with man's free act of will.
3. For every salutary act internal supernatural grace of God is absolutely necessary.
4. Internal supernatural grace is absolutely necessary for the beginning of faith and of salvation.
5. Without the special help of God the justified cannot persevere to the end in justification.
6. The justified person is not able for his whole life long to avoid all sins, even venial sins, without the special privilege of the grace of God.
7. Even in the fallen state, man can, by his natural intellectual power, know religious and moral truths.
8. For the performance of a morally good action Sanctifying Grace is not required.
9. In the state of fallen nature it is morally impossible for man without Supernatural Revelation, to know easily, with absolute certainty and without admixture of error, all religious and moral truths of the natural order.
10. Grace cannot be merited by natural works either de condigno or de congruo.
11. God gives all sufficient grace for the observation of the Divine Commandments.
12. God, by His Eternal Resolve of Will, has predetermined certain men to eternal blessedness.
13. God, by an Eternal Resolve of His Will, predestines certain men, on account of their foreseen sins, to eternal rejection.
14. The Human Will remains free under the influence of efficacious grace, which is not irresistible.
15. There is a grace which is truly sufficient and yet remains inefficacious.
16. The sinner can and must prepare himself by the help of actual grace for the reception of the grace by which he is justified.
17. The justification of an adult is not possible without Faith.
18. Besides faith, further acts of disposition must be present.
19. Sanctifying grace sanctifies the soul.
20. Sanctifying grace makes the just man a friend of God.
21. Sanctifying grace makes the just man a child of God and gives him a claim to the inheritance of Heaven.
22. The three Divine or theological virtues of faith, hope and charity are infused with sanctifying grace.
23. Without special Divine Revelation no one can know with the certainty of faith, if he be in the state of grace.
24. The degree of justifying grace is not identical in all the just.
25. Grace can be increased by good works.
26. The grace by which we are justified may be lost, and is lost by every grievous sin.
27. By his good works the justified man really acquires a claim to supernatural reward from God.
28. A just man merits for himself through each good work an increase of sanctifying grace, eternal life (if he dies in a state of grace) and an increase of heavenly glory.

Answer 2

You can't outwiegh your evil deeds with good deeds. What you should do, is go to Confession and have a priest hear you out, and give Christ's forgiveness.

If you want a religion where you can outwiegh your bad deeds, check out Hinduism or Bhuddism.

Answer 3

No good works at all. For none of our Works please The Father. Only Jesus has done it. Look onto the Cross. Jesus has made them ALL. U are the Righteousness of GOD. GOD BLess.. Sister Andrea. Remember don't condenm yourself.

Answer 4

Oh my god you shouldn't put so much thought into such things, you will cause your self a heart attack or something!

Answer 5

http://www.reformation.org/holocaus.html
http://www.rickross.com/groups/clergy.html

Answer 6

One "Aw, sh*t" wipes out 1,000 "atta-boys".

Answer 7

CATHOLICS SUCKS MAD *****