You made humanity-We fell
You saved some (Adam, Eve, Abraham & descendants)
You left the rest
People so evil you flooded
Saved Noah & descendants
You choose Israel to bring out of slavery to learn to worship
You left the rest
Even your own people rebel
Because of disbelief you let them fall
You left the rest
Jesus came
Opened to all people
Belief is access
Unbelief is left the rest
Believe:
You are the only God
You are Absolute Perfect Good, Love, Mercy, Righteous, Sovereign, and Faithful
All your ways of holiness is for our good because you made humanity and know how we will be happy (our soul)
If we worship you and submit to your way, and not the world’s, and stay in communion with you, we will be living the way we were meant to be before the fall and be at peace with joy even in the midst of the evil around us.
Jesus is now our righteousness, our life, & our salvation. He paid for our sin, through Him we have access to God. (We must live in with and through Jesus, absolutely submitted to the Holy Spirit who prays for us and guides us, or we are not in God the Father.
You give grace to believe and submit, we can reject
Some are so overwhelmed with grace they will not fail to be saved
Some fall by unbelief (even those closest to the family because the have not submitted-just acknowledged)
You left the rest
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Choose some
You leave the rest
You are Absolute Perfect Good, Love, Mercy, Righteous, Sovereign, and Faithful
I believe and submit
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There is an elect chosen
In short, Catholic doctrine holds that God elects some and continually pursues them with grace, urging them to accept and live the truth; meanwhile, those who are not elected are left to the free, ongoing decision to reject the grace that God offers to all. This synthesis preserves both the “hard truth” of election and the universal salvific will that the Church continually proclaims.
This universal will is not negated by the fact that some are elected; rather, election is the particular expressionof God’s universal love, while those who reject grace do so of their own volition.
The Catholic Church teaches that God freely elects some persons to the fullness of His saving grace and that, in the mystery of salvation, He continually offers that grace to the elect, inviting them to cooperate and thereby “overcome” any resistance they may feel. At the same time, the Church affirms that those who are not elected are left to the freedom of their own will, and their final destiny follows the persistent, free rejection of the grace that God continually makes available to all.
• Predestination belongs to God’s will, not to human merit – In the Disputed Questions on Truth Aquinas argues that “the cause of predestination… is nothing other than God’s goodness” ( 24†L1-L3 ). He rejects the idea that fore‑knowledge of merits causes God’s will ( 26†L1-L5 ). The truth of God’s election is therefore grounded in divine goodness, not in any human calculation. Election flows from God’s goodness – Aquinas argues that “the cause of predestination… is nothing other than God’s goodness” ( 24†L1-L3 ). The elect are chosen because God, in His perfect love, wishes to bring them to the “last end” of beatitude. He explicitly rejects the idea that God’s will is caused by fore‑knowing a person’s merits ( 26†L1-L5 ). The elect are chosen independently of any merit they might later acquire; merit is a fruit that grows after the election, not its cause
On the Predestination of the Saints Augustine insists that the gifts of God are given “according to His foreknowledge” and not because of any merit on our part ( 16†L1-L4 ). He repeatedly affirms that “the grace which is not given to us in respect of our merits” is the very ground of predestination ( 19†L1-L3 ). Thus, while the truth of the Gospel is freely offered, it is God who disposes the heart to receive it. He warns against attributing conversion to human effort, reminding us that the truth of the Gospel is God’s work, not a matter of human convenience. Augustine explains that God “predestinated… because He foreknew that He would give them to believe”. The election is therefore an act of divine will, not a reward for any merit we have earned.
Reprobation is the result of a free, persistent rejection, not a divine decree
Augustine repeatedly warns that those who “refuse the call… bear the responsibility” ( 22†L1-L4 ). Aquinas rejects the idea that God’s fore‑knowledge of merit causes predestination; instead, he says that God foresees the choice a person will freely make and permits the consequence ( 15†L1-L5 ). Thus, the “rest” who fall away do so because they freely turn away, not because God actively predestines them to damnation. The Catechism confirms this: “God does not predestine anyone to go to hell; for this a willful turning away… is necessary” (CCC 1037; doc 8) and “God’s will is that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (CCC 601; doc 22).
What this means for the faithful
1 Believe that God has truly chosen an elect; this election is an act of divine love, not of human merit.
2 Accept that the elect are continually invited—through prayer, the sacraments, and the Church’s teaching—to cooperate with the grace already given, so that they may “overcome” any personal resistance.
3 Recognize that those who are not elected are left to their own freedom; their final separation from God follows a deliberate, persistent rejection, not a divine decree of damnation.
4 Participate in the Church’s pastoral mission: by proclaiming the Gospel faithfully and lovingly, you join the “relentless pursuit” that the Church is called to exercise on behalf of the elect, while also praying for those who have turned away.
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His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if any one should confess him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. (John 9:22, RSV2CE)
People feared to tell the truth to be out of church family.
I must tell the truth no matter if I’m thrown out of the church! MARTIN LUTHER
Reformed theology tells the truth of what is happening. God has an elect he has come to get and the rest are rejecting him and allowed to. We do not save anyone the Spirit is saving those He has chosen.
Catholic comes with a pastoral approach instead of hard truths so you submit to it.
I need truth so I know what to do and believe, not soft talk so as to be lost.
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