GOD THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love God destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. EPHESIANS 1:3-10
INTRODUCTION
No one saves himself. Only by the mercy of God are we saved. Grace is a gift from God to the sinner and the righteous, earned for us by our Savior, Jesus Christ. “What is impossible for human beings is possible for God.” Luke 18:27
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
1989 The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion…Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high.
1996 Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life.
Jesus is our Savior, revealed by the Father and foretold by the Prophets. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” GENESIS 3:15
The Law and Old Testament covenants are specifically fulfilled in Christ, Christ fulfills the law by offering himself in love for us. At his Last Supper, Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” John 13:34
While Jesus is Savior of all, does that mean that all will be saved? Of course not! What if I refuse and reject Jesus and His commandments? Many Christians believe that they are saved by making one single act of faith at one single point in time in their lives. Nowhere does Scripture say such a thing. As Catholic Christians, we believe that salvation is a process which begins with our Baptism and continues throughout our lifetimes,
Jesus warns us, “Enter through the narrow gate;* for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13
Jesus is asked directly what one must do to have eternal life. “…young man asked, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” MATTHEW 19:16-17
Did Jesus say, accept me into your heart once and that’s it? No! Jesus said, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
COMMENTARY
For by grace you have been saved through gift of faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast. —Ephesians 2:8-9. Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification.
Sin is a debt. Jesus’s death dissolves the “debt” humanity owed to God. Atonement refers to “delivering a person from death by means of a payment, that is, a ransom.” Hebrews 8:5. Jesus pays the price. Jesus not only frees us from the debt of sin but also its consequences: “slavery to sin” Romans 6:6-7.
Salvation is not simply about being forgiven of our sins or escaping the fires of eternal damnation. It is, also about being united to God. To be saved is to be united to God in Christ and to be “conformed to the image of his Son” Romans 8:29
Salvation involves even more than just communion with God, in Christ. It also means union with all others who are united to Christ. Christ is now acting in the Mystical Body, the Church. What Jesus did in his personal body, he now does in his mystical body. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” Matthew 25:40.
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. For, just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” James 2:14-26
To be in Christ is to be more than “forgiven;” it is to be elevated and transformed. Being saved means not living in sin; it means living as Jesus told us, “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” Matthew 5:48.
According to the biblical authors, saving faith also entails participation in Christ’s own suffering. Faith involves submitting to God’s will. Christ himself is the model of this; he was “obedient unto death” (Philippians 2:8).
St. Paul writes, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” Colossians 1:24. St. Thomas Aquinas explains, this writing of St. Paul should not be misinterpreted that Christ’s passion was not sufficient for our redemption.
Instead, the passage indicates that Christ’s body, the Church, must participate in the work of her head, Christ himself. What is “lacking” according to Colossians 1:24 is not Christ’s sufferings on the cross, but the Church’s full participation in his redemptive work.
CONCLUSION
Then we will say with St. Paul, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, Which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day And not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. and persevered to the very end” 2 Timothy 4:7-9
KEEP OUR EYES ON THE PRIZE!
JESUS CHRIST!
THOUGT FOR THE DAY
HOW DO WE SPEND ALL ETERNITY FOREVER AND EVER WITH GOD IF WE DON’T SPEND TIME WITH GOD ON EARTH!