Saving Grace/Predestination/How Saved

Saving Grace:

1. May believe that God gives sufficient grace to all, but gives efficient grace only to some. Only efficient persevere. 

Or

2. Believe that what makes sufficient grace efficient is the free acceptance by the will, and what makes sufficient grace not efficient is the free rejection by the will.

Or 

3. He can use both: May believe that God gives sufficient grace to all, but gives efficient grace only to some. Some get Efficient grace (Mary), some get sufficient Grace (work out by cooperation).

Predestination:

1. The Church teaches definitively that some people are predestined to heaven through grace.

2. She also teaches that some are destined to hell, on the basis of their foreseen sin and free rejection of God, as just retribution for their sin.

(All are predestined go heaven by grace and hell for sin) 

A. if cooperate w grace -Heaven. 

B. If reject grace-Hell. 

3. But she teaches that no one is predestined to sin. (but everyone does choose to – God is not cause)

4. Grace is resistible.

5. No one perishes because he is unable to be saved, but because he is unwilling to be saved. God desires all men, without exception, to be saved. God gives sufficient grace [for salvation] to all men, yet not all men are saved.

How we are saved:

Our choice:

God willed, with a genuine will that even after the sin of Adam all should be saved, Therefore, there is no reprobation on account of original sin.

But in a way and with means suited to the condition of our nature; that is,

1. He willed the salvation of all who would give consent to the graces and favours which He would prepare, offer, and distribute for this purpose.

2. Now among those favours, He willed that the call be first, and that it be so tempered to our freedom that we at our good pleasure could accept or reject it.

3. And to those whom He foresaw would accept, He willed to give the sacred movements of repentance;

4. and to those who would follow those movements, He decreed to give holy love;

and to those who would have love He planned to give the means needed to persevere;

5. and to those who would use these divine helps, He decreed to give final perseverance and the glorious happiness of His eternal love.

 

God Prepared Heaven for those he Foresaw:

Without doubt, God prepared heaven only for those whom He foresaw would be His . . . 

But it is in our power to be His:

for although the gift of being God's belongs to God,

yet this is a gift which God denies to no one,

but offers to all,

and gives to those who freely consent to receive it.

But the very consent or acceptance of grace is the effect of grace.