From what I can tell, one difference between Catholics/Orthodox and many classical Reformed Protestants (as opposed to later Wesleyan Protestants) seems to hinge on what happens with Christ's the atonement.
For those Protestants of Lutheran and Calvinist bent, it seems that Christ cannot ever heal; he can only cover. The fall has so damaged us that nothing--not even the blood of Christ--can undo our sin. It can be hidden, but it can't be eradicated. Ontologically, we are a new creation only insofar as God chooses to view us as such. This naturally follows the Reformation understanding of God primarily in terms of his volition, and nicely preserves their hermeneutic of divine sovereignty. Only God is holy, only God is good. If human beings were to become holy as He is, or good as He is, it would be an affront to his soveriegnty. Theosis is a threat to the distinction between Creator and creature.
However, for Catholics/Orthodox, Christ not only covers, He heals. His work isn't superficial. Atonement not just a matter of how God regards us. His work actually penetrates into the very core of our being, so that when God sees us as righteous because of Christ, he isn't just "pretending" that we are righteous. We are in a process of metaphysical change. Sanctification--in the sense of such a healing and change-- becomes not only a possibility but an actuality. And it shouldn't be surprising if such deep surgery should cause us pain.
Calvinists regard this with horror, and sometimes I wonder if it isn't because they unconsciously are making the distinction between Creator and creature on the basis of sin, rather than Being. Having thrown out the metaphysics that would explain atonement in terms of a substantial change in human beings, the only grammar left is that of the will.
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