I don't know MMD.
You kind of explaind it pretty well in that post of yours above.
Yet you still don't get it?
Justification and Sanctification CANNOT be gleened from the bible because Paul used the terms interchangeably.
There is distinction between Justification and Sanctification, as I already explained.
This is a concept or doctrine which must be studied.
I have studied it, as you can see from my previous posts.
If you believe sanctification is a one time event, YOU'RE REPEATING CATHOLIC DOCTRINE! oh no!
As I already explained in post #9079, initial sanctification in which believers are made holy in standing before God postionally in Christ is a one time event, yet progressive (ongoing) sanctification in which the reality of that holiness becomes more and more evident in our actions, words, thoughts, attitudes, and motives is not a one time event.
Also, there's no such thing as POSITIONAL in the bible.
Show me ONE VERSE that says we are POSITIONALLY anything.
The word "positionally" does not need to be specifically spelled out in the Bible in order to understand the concept of our positional standing in Christ, just as the word "Trinity" does not need to be specifically spelled out in the Bible in order to understand the concept of one God in three persons either.
JUSTIFICATION is a one time deal. Done by God. Salvation.
SANCTIFICATION is ongoing. It requires our CO.OPERATION, it requires our works.
Ongoing sanctification involves the work of the person, but it is still God working in the believer to produce more of a godly character and life in the person who has already been justified by faith. The justified person is actively involved in submitting to God's will, resisting sin, seeking holiness, and working to be more godly (1 Thessalonians 4:3,4; 5:14-18; James 4:7; Titus 2:12 etc..). Not in order to become or remain saved, but BECAUSE we already are saved. Once again, sanctification has no bearing on justification. That is, even if we don't live a sinless, perfect life (which we won't) we are still justified by faith in Christ (Romans 5:1).
There is no use in saying that God does NOT require works, or that they are a result of something, for instance our salvation.
Require works for what though? NOT to become saved but BECAUSE we already are saved. We are saved FOR good works and NOT BY good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Big difference.
Of course they're a result o our salvation. Do UNSAVED persons do works for God?
Without faith it's impossible to please God, so unsaved people do not do works for God. You can be "religious, but not right with God."
So it's CORRECT to say, and Paul said it many times, that we must CONTINUE in our faith and work out our salvation in fear and trembling.
Faith that saves continues and is not some shallow, temporary belief that has no root, produces no fruit and withers away. Continuing in faith and working out our salvation with fear and trembling is the mark of a genuine believer.
Also, I've taught in the Catholic Church just very recently - up till two years ago.
Yet with Catholics, it's more of a maintenance program to maintain salvation by works, yet so many Roman Catholics don't understand what saving faith in Christ is in the first place. For them, it's a mixture of faith and works for salvation.
FEAR of GOD is NOT taught.
When I attended the Catholic church several years ago, they taught fear, but it was more of an unhealthy fear of God.
How old are you anyway and which Catholic church did you go to that they made you hate is so much??
I'm sorry for this.
I'm 51 years old. I was baptized in Holy Cross Catholic church as an infant and attended there and Assumption Catholic church. I even attended a Catholic school for 5 years. I never once heard a clear gospel presentation in all the years that I attended the Roman Catholic church, but I heard all about salvation by works, purgatory, indulgences, false doctrine on Mary etc.. For me it was a cold, ritualistic church that left me empty and spiritually bankrupt.