That which divides Protestants from Catholics

The question(s) that divide us are how Christ justifies us, how He sanctifies us and how He saves us? Can He use us humans (you and I) to do so in these processes of justification, sanctification and salvation? Are these done completely outside of us or through us? How does grace work in our human nature and let us not presuppose (as Van Til would like to say) total or radical corruption in man either. And what about merit? These questions and/or differences are not solely between Protestants and Catholics, but TRs vs Fed. Vision advocates and Calvinists vs. Arminians as well I must remind you. (Maybe that’s why Arminians are increasingly becoming friendly to Catholics on social issues but that’s a conversation for another time.)

I would grant to you that our division (between Protestants and Catholics) is also rooted in questions about authority which leads to questions about eccesiology. It’s not that God is not sovereign, on this issue of God’s sovereignty we agree, but how does God emphasize his sovereignty in this world? How does God exercises His authority in the world through us fallible human beings? Through primarily or only His written word? Or through His word (both written and oral) and His personally appointed leaders of His Body on the earth, the Church, the New Israel?

And what about the sacraments? What are they? Does anything actually occur or happen in baptism? How about the Eucharist?

The answers to these questions are that which divides us.