SALVATION

VI. I Have Been Saved (past event)

Rom. 8:24 - for in this hope we were saved (but, again, why "hope" if salvation is a certainty?)

Eph. 2:5,8 - for by grace you have been saved through faith.

2 Tim. 1:9 - He saved us and called us through grace and not by virtue of our own works outside of His grace.

Titus 3:5 - He saved us in virtue of His own mercy, and not by our deeds.

VII. I Am Being Saved (present event)

1 Cor. 1:18 - for the word of the cross is folly to those perishing, but for to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Salvation is not a one-time event. It is a process of perseverance through faith, hope and love.

2 Cor. 2:15 - for we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved. Salvation is a continual process.

Phil. 2:12 - we are working out our salvation through fear and trembling. Salvation is an ongoing process.

1 Peter 1:9 - you obtain the salvation of your souls as the outcome of your faith. Working out our salvation in fear and trembling is a lifelong process.

VIII. I Will Be Saved (future event)

Matt. 10:22, 24:13; Mark 13:13 - again, Jesus taught that we must endure to the very end to be saved. Salvation is a past, present and future event (not a one-time event at an altar call).

Mark 16:16 – Jesus says whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.

Acts 15:11 - we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.

Rom. 5:9-10 - since we are justified by His blood, we shall be saved.

Rom. 13:11 - salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. How can we be only nearer to something we already have?

1 Cor. 3:15 - he will be saved, but only as through fire.

1 Cor. 5:5 - Paul commands the Church to deliver a man to satan, that he will be saved in the day of the Lord.

2 Tim. 2:11-12 - if we endure, we shall also reign with Him. This requires endurance until the end of our lives.

Heb. 9:28 - Jesus will appear a second time to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.

James 5:15 - the sacrament of the sick will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up.

IX. I Save (by participating in Christ's salvific work)

Rom. 11:13-14 - I magnify my ministry to make the Jews jealous and thus save some of them. Paul says that he is the one doing the saving, but he really means that he participates in Christ's work of salvation.

1 Cor. 7:16 - Paul indicates that a wife can save her husband and vice versa. We are lesser mediators in Christ's salvific work.

1 Cor. 9:22 - Paul says he has become all things to men that he might save some. Only God saves, but His children participate in their salvation.

1 Tim. 4:16 - you will save both yourself and your hearers. Christ is the only Savior, but He wants us to participate, for we are members of His body.

James 5:20 - whoever brings back a sinner will save his soul from death. We are saviors in the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jude 22-23 - we are instructed to save some people, by snatching them out of the fire. We participate in our salvation and in the salvation of others.

Prov. 16:6 - by love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for. We can participate in Christ's atonement through our love and faith.

THE PARABLE OF THE PERSISTENT WIDOW

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Featured, Prayer

People ask, “If the Lord’s return is a foregone conclusion (Matt. 24:36), why is it important for me to pray for it” In this study we will answer this question, using the Parable of the Persistent Widow as our guide.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ “

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1-8)

Let’s Put This In Its Proper Context

The background for this parable is found in Luke 17:20-37. A pharisee had asked the Lord, “When will the kingdom come?” This question established that the context for all that follows is the coming kingdom. In response the Lord told him that he shouldn’t think of the kingdom as something he could watch for, because the kingdom is “within you.”

When Luke wrote this, the Holy spirit prompted Him to use an interesting word for the one we translate “within” because it also means “in your midst.” In the general sense I believe Jesus was speaking of phase one of the Kingdom, the “invisible” phase that consists of born again believers all over the world.

But in the specific sense He was also speaking to the Pharisee, telling him that the personification of the kingdom was standing right there in front of Him.

Then He told His disciples that one day soon they would long to see one of His days (days like this one when He was with them) but would not see it (Luke 17:22). He continued with an abbreviated description of events leading up to the time of His return. The rest of Luke 17 is sometimes called “the little apocalypse” because it speaks of end times events like it’s a summary of Matt 24.

After that He told them the parable of the persistent widow. His point was that if even a corrupt judge could eventually be persuaded by the persistence of a widow, someone without standing or influence in their day, how much more likely would the Lord be to respond to the persistent prayers of His people?

It’s Not The Only Time We’ve Been Told That

“Pray without ceasing,” Paul wrote in 1 Thes. 5:17. Good advice. Earlier the Lord had given us similar instruction.

“Ask and it will be given to you;” He said,“Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt; 7:7-11)

It’s funny in a way, how the Lord longs for our participation in His plan. He knows what we need before we ask (Matt. 6:8) yet He wants us to ask. He knew we were going to pray for salvation before He created the world, yet He wants us to say the sinner’s prayer (Romans 10:17).

His return is a foregone conclusion, yet He wants us to keep praying for it, and to never give up till the day it happens. It’s almost as if He’s saying our prayers could influence the timing.

If so, it wouldn’t be the only time. Through His disciples He told the Jews in Jerusalem that as the time for the Great Tribulation draws near, to pray that it will not begin on a Sabbath or in the winter (Matt. 24:20).

Does that mean He would alter the start date of the worst period of judgment ever to befall humanity to accommodate the needs of what will surely be a religious minority? Does prayer really have that kind of power?

To drive home the point He began in the widow’s story, the Lord closed with a question. “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Though His return is certain, will there be anyone left with the persistence to still be praying for it when He comes?

Prayer Power

The prayers of righteous people are powerful and effective, the Bible tells us (James 5:16), sufficient to forgive sins and heal the sick. And, if the above examples are any indication, to influence the timing of God’s plan as well.

But the lack of persistence in our prayers can indicate a lack of desire as well as a lack of faith. Do people not pray for the Lord’s return because they don’t really want Him to return yet, or because they don’t think He’s going to, or both?

The widow hounded the judge to a point where he thought her obnoxious, and he answered her request just to get her off his back. Jesus was telling us God rewards our persistence as well. And Paul said there’s a crown in store for all those who long for the Lord’s coming (2 Tim. 4:18).

Pray without ceasing. Ask and it will be given to you. Be persistent, especially when praying for His return. Let the Lord know that at least in some hearts, there’s still faith on Earth. Maybe if enough of us persist in this, we can hasten the day of His coming. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah 04-26-14.

PRACTICING CATHOLIC

What it really means to be a “Practicing Catholic”

by Stephen Spiteri

A few years ago, before I started this blog and before I seriously started getting into apologetics, I trekked cyberspace for an online Christian community to discuss all matters pertaining to faith. I came across one particular Christian forum (which shall remain nameless) and before learning that is was very, very anti-Catholic and filled with rabid-mouthed fundamentalists, I read their forum disclaimer and the administrators had something to say about Catholicism in particular. Apart from claiming that they believed Catholicism was not Christian, their disclaimer read something like this:

“… we are Christians who believe in the biblical message of Christ and that a personal relationship with Christ is the only way to get to Heaven. We don’t ‘practice’ our faith; we believe that your relationship with Christ is not something that has a set of rules, rituals or is something that is formulaic. We live our faith, preach it and desire others to come to the full biblical truth of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ …”

It’s the middle part that really caught my attention and got me thinking. Up until recently I’ve never really thought about what it truly means to be a “practicing Catholic” and dare I say there would have been a point in my life even as a Catholic that I would have agreed that being “practicing Catholic” meant going to church, receiving the sacraments, and more or less going just through the motions; attending, being present, and ticking boxes. How wrong I would have been; how wrong these fundamentalists are.

You could define “practicing” in terms of doing something frequently or habitually, true, but one someone describes themselves as a “practicing Catholic” without knowing it, they are professing sound deeply profound. I play the guitar and I have played the guitar since I was 12 going on 13 years old, and while the practice has slowed down these days, for years and years I practiced playing the guitar. Why did I practice? Because I wanted to get better.

When a Catholic says they’re a “practicing Catholic” what they really say is that they’re trying to become more like Christ; to be a better Catholic-Christian. Being a “practicing Catholic” means putting your faith into action. When the priest says to the congregation at the end of Mass, “Go forth, the Mass has ended”, “Go and proclaim the Gospel of the Lord” or “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life” he is indeed exhorting you to go out and be a practicing Catholic; to put your faith into action. We are not called to be Catholic-Christians once every week on the Lord’s day, but every day and in every moment in our lives.

We know that “faith without works is dead faith” (James 2:26), so in order for our faith to grow, as exercise strengthens muscles and improves our fitness, faith must be put into action and we must allow ourselves to be led by God’s grace. Christ himself tell us “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) and becoming more Christ-like and Christ to other requires practice. And this we all know, practice makes perfect.

Amen.

FAITH: A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A BALM FOR CHRISTIANITY

None of the theological virtues is more confused, distorted, publicized and mocked than the virtue of faith. Yet, it is the centerpiece of nearly every Sunday sermon throughout the world and is synonymous with piety and religion in our modern culture.

Centuries of heresy and a corrosion of religious teaching have wrecked havoc on the simple foundation of the Christian Way; but hope in modern society should not be lost since the average man still believes faith is necessary for a virtuous life. Instead, the real threat to modern Christianity is a distortion of the virtue of faith rather than obstinate refusal of it. An enlightening examination of faith is perhaps the best way to prevent oneself from sinking into the mire of unbelief and heresy so prevalent in today’s modern Church.

In an age that respects tolerance of beliefs over the value of objective truth, it is no wonder that so many people no longer believe in the necessity of the Christian faith. Indeed a common position held today is the following: “It doesn’t matter which religion you belong to as long as you are a good person. God doesn’t care which religion you join as long as you mean well”. This statement is an example of a modern heresy called indifference, and it has taken root throughout all levels of Christianity. If this heretical statement were to come from a Christian (and it very often does) and they were to be challenged by asking, “What about faith, isn’t it necessary for salvation?” the answer would probably be that faith only means you believe in some god.

After all, if God is good why would he burn someone in hell for picking the wrong religion? Here it can be seen that the proponent of indifference has struck a chord of truth: why punish the ignorant for not knowing the facts? This is the very bane of modern Christianity: a distortion of Christian doctrines with half-truths, confusion of facts and ignorance. Modernism is so insidious because it resonates with half-truths. Perhaps an examination of what faith really means is necessary to obviate religious indifference.

Faith means believing in the teachings of God without the need for direct evidence or rationalizations. Christians believe in the articles of faith because God has told us they are true, and we need no other evidence in order to live our lives according to those articles. It needs to be emphasized that faith is not a warm sensation we have in our hearts that tells us we are right. Faith is not defined as simply believing that God exists. Faith is not even a warm, gooey emotion that lets us know God loves us. In its essence, faith is intellectual and virtuous. C. S. Lewis noted in Mere Christianity that faith is considered virtuous because it sustains us in periods of trial when our beliefs are in doubt.

Faith does not force us to believe something irrational; rather it allows us to hold true to our Christianity during periods when irrational doubt assails us. Indeed, faith is not irrational or contrary to reason, hence no Christian believes the articles of Christianity to be contrary or opposed to reason. Given this definition of faith we can understand why religious indifference is contrary to true Christianity. A man cannot have true Christian faith unless he is willing to accept and believe the articles of faith. Here we arrive at the crux of the problem: what are the Christian articles of faith and how are we to know they are those of Jesus Christ?

The source of the Christian articles are those teachings that come from God. Christians and Jews believe that God first communicated his truths to men through the Jewish prophets beginning with Abraham, father of the Jewish nation. God adopted the descendants of Abraham as his chosen people and in doing so helped to forge the first seed of salvation throughout the ancient world. It was the Jews who first received the Ten Commandments and the law of God.

The Jews became the bulwark of truth in a confused, pagan world. They were the first major religion to embrace monotheism, a radical notion at the time (although it seems very orthodox and obvious today). This is not to say they were a perfect people, in fact they very often rebelled against God and turned to polytheism and it’s pantheon of false gods. It took nearly four thousand years for the Jewish people to reach the point were they could go no further.

Their religion was wholesome and good in that it reinforced the law of God that is written in our hearts, it encouraged prayer, and most importantly it offered an imperfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. Unfortunately, it could go no further. The Jewish faith was very stagnant and had become mired in hairsplitting over interpretations of the Mosaic law.

No attempt was made to evangelize to those outside the Jewish faith because the Jews believed their religion to be hereditary: they believed the truth was meant only for Abraham’s children. Finally, the imperfect sacrifices offered by the Jewish High Priests was not enough to atone for the scandal of man’s sins. It was then that the God-man Jesus appeared from the obscure town of Nazareth and did things shocking, outrageous and wondrous.

Himself a Jew, Jesus spoke and preached like one of the great prophets. He could cure the sick, heal the broken, raise the dead, prophesize the future, multiply bread and fish, and walk on water. Even more remarkable, he claimed to be able to forgive a man’s sins. Such a statement from a Jew was considered blasphemous and outrageously conceited. The Jews must have fumed! How can a mere man claim to forgive a person’s sins? For his seemingly blasphemous statements and growing popularity with the common man, the Jewish leaders had Jesus crucified.

What many of the Jews did not realize however, was that this was no mere man. On the third day following his crucifixion, the followers of Christ testify to his resurrection from the dead. It was the resurrection that provided the proof that Jesus was in fact God in the flesh, and from this miraculous event Christianity was born.

Many readers have heard the story of the birth of Christianity countless times, and the point of reiterating it is to show what the basis of our faith is. We have faith in Christianity because this man Jesus proved himself to be more then a man by his deeds, words, prophetic fulfillment, and resurrection from the dead. We believe his teachings are true because we believe he is God, and his teachings and practices constitute the fulfillment (not the replacement) of the Jewish religion.

Although Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after his resurrection from the dead, he did not abandon his flock. He instituted a living, visible Church lead by his apostles and guided by the Holy Spirit. The leader of the infant Church, Peter (whose original name was Simon until Christ changed it), was chosen by Christ, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18)”. The Church, lead by Peter and his successors, has always been the guardians and teachers of the doctrine of Christ for, “the household of God [is] built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone (Ephesians 2:20)”.

God has given us the church to instruct and interpret Christ’s teachings. No man is left to private interpretation of the Bible; rather the Church protects the original creeds of the apostles and shepherds us to the truth. One of the first leaders of the church, St. Paul instructed the early Christians to reject private interpretation of the doctrines of Christ, “ no prophecy in Scripture is the subject of private interpretation.”

The inevitable conclusion is that the Church plays the vital role of teacher, interpreter and protector of the Scriptures. This is why any attempt to break from the church’s teachings by abandoning the Church, starting a new denomination or railing against “the institution of the Church” is pure folly. Here is why so much confusion and error has infected “Christianity”, not because the Church has gone astray but because people have gone astray and left the true apostolic Church.

Now there can be no doubt that the Catholic Church of today is the same church as that instituted by Christ nearly 2000 years ago. Does this seem shocking? It should not, for we can see that Christ clearly instituted a church lead by St. Peter in the scriptures. The name Peter is the English translation of the Greek word “Petros” which translates to “kepha” in Aramaic, the language of Christ.

Kepha means rock in Aramaic, and it is clear in Matthew 16:18 that Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter (rock) in order to show that Simon was the rock on which the church would be built. Additionally, Christ said that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church; we thus have an assurance that the Church cannot fail or fall away. It makes sense that the Church would remain infallible in doctrine and teaching, even though it’s own leaders are still vulnerable to sin.

The Church cannot fail in correct teaching and interpretation of doctrine because this would undermine the basis for all Christian faith. How could we ever be assured of the truth without an infallible, everlasting church? The Protestant reformers, no matter how good their intentions, erred seriously in defecting from the church. Although, they had good reason to protest the corruption and sins within the hierarchy of the church leadership at the time, they had no right to break from the infallible church of God. Without the Catholic Church’s councils and papal definitions of doctrine, Protestantism quickly lost its way in a sea of conflicting doctrines and practices.

The original Protestant Lutheran denomination, Anglican denomination, and Anabaptist denomination fractured into thousands of competing sects within a few hundred years after the original Reformation. Protestantism, despite the good intentions of its adherents, is nothing less than a heresy and it has lead millions from the true Church.

Does the reader still need evidence that any given Protestant church is not the original church of Christ? Simply look at the doctrines of any Protestant denomination and compare it to the teachings of the original Church Fathers. The Church Fathers lived a mere fifty to three hundred years after Christ’s birth. Who better to study when confirming a given denomination’s orthodoxy? I’ll leave it to the reader to do their own research, but here are two critical examples:

· Infant baptism—Origen wrote in the 3rd century, “the Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving baptism also to infants.” Yet nearly every Baptist, evangelical and fundamentalist Protestant denomination rejects this vital doctrine.

· Sacrifice of the Mass—Clement of Rome wrote about the bishops’ offering of masses in the 2nd century, “from the episcopate who blamelessly and holily have offered its sacrifices”. Unfortunately, only the Orthodox and Anglicans make any pretense to offer a sacrifice of the mass.

The list could go on and on, but the fact remains that Christ would not come to earth and leave his teachings without any authorized guardian and teacher. Those who claim the Holy Spirit helps each individual person correctly interpret scripture without any need for a single, authoritative church needs to open their eyes. Protestantism has tried this theory and failed: witness the countless denominations that preach conflicting doctrines.

Only the Catholic Church can make any valid claim to being the historical Church, because only Catholics can attribute the succession of leadership from St. Peter through the chain of popes. So it seems that Christian faith is tied to belief in the teachings of Christ as well as membership and loyalty to the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has often been called the “ark of salvation” because the Church’s protection of Christ’s doctrines is necessary for the perpetuation of the faith.

Nonetheless, there are still those who do not understand why faith is necessary for eternal salvation. After all, what’s so great about believing a list of teachings? Isn’t being good so much more important? The Church has always recognized that three virtues are necessary for salvation: faith, hope and charity. Faith helps us to properly conform our consciences to the law of God and reinforces our loyalty to him during the best and worst of times. Without faith, a man might believe his actions are permissible when in fact they are evil (such as those who fool themselves into believing abortion, mercy killing, or promiscuous sex is not sinful.)

Hope is necessary because it gives us utter reliance and longing for God. Without virtuous hope, a man would lose sight of God and pursue a lesser good, or he would believe God is no longer necessary for salvation. Finally, charity, also known as love, is necessary because it brings us into communion with God, the one being who loves us more than anyone else. St. Paul tells us charity is the greatest of all virtues, but hope and faith are also necessary for salvation, “faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13)”. Hope and faith sustain a Christian and fuel a Christian’s love for God.

At last we finally understand why faith is so misunderstood and so needed in today’s modern church. True faith helps us conform our lives to God’s will, and without faith guided by the Catholic Church, we are doomed to languish in manmade religions. If faith is to become the balm of the modern world rather than a stumbling block, the Christians of today must enter into the one, holy, unified, and apostolic church. For, “the church of the living God [is] the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Timothy 3:15)”.

--S.M. Miranda

HOW TO CONQUER THE WORLD THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL

TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM

John of the Cross wrote the following "Precautions" for the nuns in Beas while he lived at El Calvario (1578-79), after he had escaped from prison in Toledo. Traditional Catholic spirituality, rooted in Scripture, spoke commonly of three spiritual enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. (Emphasis throughout is mine)

THE PRECAUTIONS

The soul must practice the following instructions if it wishes to attain in a short time holy recollection and spiritual silence, nakedness, and poverty of spirit, where one enjoys the peaceful comfort of the Holy Spirit, reaches union with God, is freed of all the obstacles incurred from the creatures of this world, defended against the wiles and deceits of the devil, and liberated from one's own self.

It should be noted, then, that all the harm the soul receives is born of its enemies, mentioned above: the world, the devil, and the flesh. The world is the enemy least difficult to conquer; the devil is the hardest to understand; but the flesh is the most tenacious, and its attacks continue as long as the old self lasts.

To gain complete mastery over any of these three enemies, one must vanquish all three of them; and in the weakening of one, the other two are weakened also. When all three are overpowered, no further war remains for the soul.

Precautions Against the World

To free yourself from the harm the world can do you, you should practice three precautions.

The first precaution against the world

The first is that you should have an equal love for and an equal forgetfulness of all persons, whether relatives or not, and withdraw your heart from relatives as much as from others, and in some ways even more for fear that flesh and blood might be quickened by the natural love that is ever alive among kin, and must always be mortified for the sake of spiritual perfection.

Regard all as strangers, and you will fulfill your duty toward them better than by giving them

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SALVATION THROUGH FAITH AND GOOD WORKS

by Helen Keeler and Susan Grimbly

The Church has seesawed between an emphasis on faith — that you achieve salvation through private worship of the Lord — and stress on good works. Clearly, it takes a combination of both things to be a good Catholic and to live life as Christ wished us to do. But how can we achieve this balance.

What Is Salvation?

Salvation means overcoming sin and the basic flaws of the human condition and returning to the ultimate, longed-for state of spirituality. The example we have of salvation is Christ's Resurrection, in which he was transformed into a new mode of existence. That transformation is what we are all striving to achieve.

While there is a strong judgmental quality to this idea — that the wicked will be punished — we must also remember that it is tempered by Jesus' compassion. So we trip and fall, ask forgiveness, and soldier on again.

It is every Catholic's individual responsibility to work out his or her salvation, and the framework of the Church provides plenty of help for every Catholic to reach that goal. As the bishops proclaimed at Vatican II, the values that we cherish on earth, “human dignity, brotherly communion, and freedom,” are of “vital concern to the kingdom of God.”

A Full Catholic Life

To be a Catholic, it is not enough to observe the outward signs of worship, such as going to Mass and confession and having sacramentals around your house. That falls short of achieving the state of inner worship that is critical to becoming one with the Lord. It is not enough to only do good works. No matter how generous you are with your time, you must still observe the obligations of worship that membership in the Church requires.

It is the Catholic's responsibility to permeate society, strengthened in purpose by faith, and to try to be a force for good. As the Catholic Catechism attests, “If a bad apple affects the good ones, cannot we as Christians and Catholics reverse the procedure and be the good ones that affect the bad?” We want to help those systems of justice whose aim is to save humanity from its sometimes misguided cultural and temporal interests.

FAITH

And Jesus, hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed Him: Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel.--Matt. Viii. 10.

Dear Catholics, Our Lord came down from the Mount of the Beatitudes, healed a leper at the foot of the hill, and started on His way towards Capharnaum. As He approached the town there came to Him messengers, begging that He would heal the servant of a Roman centurion. This Roman officer had command over one hundred soldiers in the garrison at Caphamaum, and, although a Gentile, was a devout proselyte, and had built a synagogue for the Jews. So great was his faith in our Lord that when he heard the Saviour was coming to cure his servant, he came out and told Him not to inconvenience Himself by going all the way to the house of the sick man, but only to say the word and the servant would be well. This Gentile looked upon the power which Christ had over life and death, over sickness and health, in the same way as upon his own power and authority over the soldiers under him: it was only necessary to say a word, to give a command, and obedience would follow.

This admirable faith of the Roman centurion, so highly praised by our Lord Himself, has been considered throughout the centuries as a model for all true believers.

Faith is a supernatural, theological virtue by which, relying on the authority of God, we firmly believe whatever God has revealed and the Church proposes for our belief. Faith is called a virtue because it is a habit inclining us to good; it is supernatural, because it is not acquired by our own efforts, but is infused into our souls by God Himself; it is termed theological, because it has God for its immediate object; its motive is the authority of God, because only God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived, is the author of the truths of faith. God delivers His word to us, not directly, but through His infallible Church (Matt. xxviii. 19; Rom. x. 17). Scripture and tradition, without an authoritative interpreter, are not reliable guides in matters of faith, as is proved by the numerous mutually contradicting Protestant sects. Faith differs, from opinion, which is doubtful assent; from knowledge, which rests on experience or reason; from human belief, which depends on the authority of men. The object of faith is not some, but all of the truths that God has revealed and proposes to us through the Church. The Church proposes the teachings of revelation to us mainly in the Apostles' Creed, and in the definitions of the Popes and Councils.

The Apostles' Creed contains the fundamental truths which we are to believe. It is necessary to believe all the truths the Church teaches, but it is not necessary to know them all explicitly. The truths absolutely necessary to be known by all are: that there is a God; that there is a future life of reward and punishment (Heb. xi. 6 ff.). Since the preaching of the Gospel, it is also required to know and believe the mysteries of the Trinity and of the Incarnation and Redemption (John xiv. 6; xvii. 33). Anyone ignorant of these essential truths cannot be absolved in confession. Parents should instruct their children in these important doctrines from their earliest years. Truths that all are bound to know, as far as they are able are: the Articles of the Creed; the Commandments; the Sacraments, at least those that a given person needs to receive; the Lord's Prayer, the acts of the various virtues, such as, the acts of faith, hope, charity, contrition.

Faith must be firm, i.e., it must exclude all doubt, hesitation, or disbelief. It must be blind, i.e., we must not seek any other reason than the authority of God for what we are asked to believe (John xx. 29). The reason for this latter quality is that faith, being concerned with supernatural truths, is above the natural grasp of our finite minds. The fact that we cannot understand the truths of faith is no reason for rejecting them; because they have God for their author; because the natural world is filled with mysteries which we accept but cannot understand; because constantly we blindly trust the authority of scientists, historians, doctors, lawyers, etc. Faith is reasonable, i.,e., we can establish on rational grounds all the foundations of faith, namely, the existence, knowledge, and truthfulness of God, the divinity of Christ and of the mission of the Church. Faith should be entire, i.e., it must extend to every dogma without exception.

Faith is necessary for salvation (Heb. xi. 6), for it is the root and foundation of our justification. Without faith it is impossible to perform works that are meritorious of life eternal, although one may do many things that are naturally good. Faith imposes a two-fold obligation: a negative obligation, which always binds, of never sinning against it; a positive obligation of making acts of faith before God and of professing our faith before men. Sins against faith are: infidelity, i.e., the total rejection of the Christian religion by those who remain outside the true faith, although they know it sufficiently well to embrace it; apostasy, i.e., the rejection of the Christian religion for a false one; heresy, i.e., the obstinate denial of an Article of faith by a baptized person; deliberate doubt concerning a matter of faith; exposing one's self to the danger of losing the faith by keeping bad company, reading injurious literature, etc. We are obliged to make acts of faith from time to time, especially when in danger of losing our faith. It is never permissible to deny the faith before men, even in appearance (2 Mach. vi. 21 ff.), or by silence; on the contrary, a person is bound to profess his faith publicly whenever God's glory or our neighbor's good requires it (Matt. v. 16).

The knowledge derived from faith is infinitely superior to that which comes from human wisdom, and is at the same time far easier and more secure. How highly then should we appreciate the gift of faith! We should carefully avoid all things by which faith is lost, such as, wilful doubt or denial of Articles of faith; or imperiled, such as, neglect of religious duties, bad books or company, mixed marriages, Godless education, joining secrete societies (ex.Freemasons), etc. We should pray for a great and living faith.

PAUL & JAMES ON FAITH & WORKS

by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.

Many readers of the New Testament misinterpret both Paul and James, thus concluding that their statements about faith and works contradict each other. That is simply not true! There are differences in emphasis, but no contradictions in teaching, if one understands both properly.

Paul and James agree that both "faith" and "works" are essential parts of Christian life, although they have different roles. Paul and James also agree that salvation ultimately comes from God and from Jesus Christ, not from us or anything that we do.

However, since Paul and James wrote to different audiences in different situations about different problems, their letters have different presuppositions and different emphases. To combat the opinion of some people that circumcision and other "works of the law" were necessary for Gentile converts to early Christianity, Paul stresses that the foundation of our salvation is the death of Jesus, not the laws of Moses. To combat the opinion of other people that professing faith in God is enough for salvation, James stresses that Christians must put their faith into concrete action.

What Paul and James actually wrote:

Galatians 2:16 - "Yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in/of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in/of Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law." (see all of Gal 2:15—3:14)
Romans 3:28 - "For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law." (see all of Rom 3:21—4:25)
James 2:24, 26 - "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone... For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead." (see all of James 2:14-26)

The common but incorrect interpretation, leading to an apparent contradiction between Paul and James:

• Paul supposedly said: Justification comes not by our good works, but by our faith in Jesus alone.
• James supposedly said: Justification comes by our good works, not by our faith in God.

Errors with these interpretations:

Paul is not talking about "good works" in the sense of "charitable acts"; rather, he says "works of the Law" (Galatians 2:16; 3:2-12; Romans 3:28), which refers to the Jewish/Mosaic laws on circumcision, sacrifices, dietary restrictions, etc.
When James says "works," he means acts of charity = care for widows, orphans & the poor, love for neighbors, etc. (James 1:27; 2:8; 2:15-16)
Paul is not opposed to "good works" or "charitable actions"; he sees them as necessary consequences (although not the foundation) of authentic Christian living (see Gal 5–6; Rom 12–15).
Conversely, James is not opposed to faith; he presupposes it, and then stresses that authentic faith must be put into action (James 2:14-26).
Paul is not talking primarily about our "faith in Jesus," but rather the "faith of Jesus" in God (i.e., Jesus' own trusting in God; see Gal 2:16, 20; Rom 3:22, 26); based on this foundation, our faith in God/Jesus is a necessary (but secondary) response.
In contrast, James does mean people’s faith, primarily believing in God (2:23) but also believing in Jesus (2:1).
Paul does not presuppose the same definition of "faith" as James does; for Paul, "faith" means "trusting" God, or "entrusting oneself" to God's plans (Rom 4:3-22).
For James, "faith" is more of an intellectual assent to theological truths, e.g., "believing that God is one" (2:19; even demons can "believe" in God's existence).
Paul did not write the word "alone" in Rom 3:28; Martin Luther was the one who added the word "allein" in his German Bible translation.
James does not write "by works alone" but stresses "not by faith alone"; he maintains that both have to go together.

The Example of Abraham,

Interestingly, to argue their points, both James and Paul appealed to the example of Abraham in Gen 15:6, but in a different way.

• Genesis 15:6 - "And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness."
• Galatians 3:6-9 - "Just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,' 7 so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.' 9 For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed."
• Romans 4:1-3, 10-12 - "What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.' ... 10 How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, 12 and likewise the ancestor of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but who also follow the example of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had before he was circumcised." (see all of Rom 4:1-25)
• James 2:21-23 - "Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? (cf. Gen 22:9-18) 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,' and he was called the friend of God.
• In other words, Paul argues that Abraham was justified (in Gen 15) before he was circumcised (in Gen 17),  while James argues that Abraham's faith/trust in God was completed and evidenced by his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac (in Gen 22).

Summary:

Rather than contradicting or disagreeing with each other, it seems that James (probably written after Paul's letters) intended to correct some misinterpretations of Paul's teachings that seem to have arisen in some circles of early Christianity.

Definitions of Key Terms:

Paul: "faith" = trusting acceptance of God's will (cf. Rom 4:3-5)
"works of the law" = regulations of the Jewish Torah (cf. Rom 3:28-31)

James: "faith" = intellectual assent to theological truths (2:19)
"works" = good deeds; putting religion into action (1:22-27)

Foundation of Justification,
Reason for Salvation:

PAUL: Jesus' actions: the "faith of Jesus" in God (cf. Rom 3:22, 26)
(i.e., Jesus' trust, that led to his death on the cross)
not our actions: not fulfilling the "works of the Law" (cf. Rom 3:28)

JAMES: adoption: God gave us birth by the word of truth (1:18)
and election: God chose the poor to be heirs of the kingdom (2:5)

Consequences for People,
Results of Being Saved:

PAUL: 1) We need to have faith/trust in Jesus (Rom 1–11)
and
2) We need to live ethically, doing good not evil (Rom 12–15) 1)

JAMES: Our faith in Jesus, and 2) our works of charity;
both are necessary together (2:14-26)

Example of Abraham:

PAUL: Abraham was justified by faith (in Gen 15)
already before he was circumcised (in Gen 17)

JAMES: Abraham's trust in God (declared in Gen 15) was shown
and completed by his willingness to sacrifice Isaac (in Gen 22)

HOW ARE WE SAVED?

BY JEFFREY MIRUS

How are we saved? The best way to know is to look at the teaching of the Church, which Christ instituted to safeguard the doctrine that He gave to the apostles, and which was completed through the revelation of the Holy Spirit to the apostles after Jesus’ ascension. We cannot pick and choose what we believe about faith and salvation.

The Church clearly teaches that we are justified by the free gift of God’s grace. If we do not resist this first grace when it is given, we are immediately justified. Along with this grace we are given the three theological virtues. Faith in the Pauline sense encompasses all three of these virtues. Faith in the more specific sense is the first theological virtue. This means belief in what God has revealed.

Thus the first theme of Christ’s teaching when he began his public life (Mark 1:15) was, “Repent and believe the good news.” The Greek word for repent is “metanoeo.” It carries the root meaning “to change one’s mind.” This can only refer to the acceptance (i.e. non-rejection) of the saving grace offered by God, whereby the mind is turned away from sin, to God. Notice that it comes before belief, or faith.

So first we turn to God by accepting grace, and immediately after that we believe the “good news of the kingdom of God.” This good news encompasses all the teachings of Christ. By the close connection of repentance and belief which Jesus makes, we see that to refuse to believe these teachings is to reject grace.

However, it is also easy to see that a mere intellectual belief in the teachings of Jesus does not sufficiently express the meaning of His words in Mark 1:15. When Jesus tells us to “believe the good news of the kingdom of God,” something more is implied. To believe the good news means to believe that salvation has indeed arrived for men--that through Jesus we are rescued from sin and death and made adopted children of God.

Christ promised His followers that they would not die forever, but that He would raise them up on the last day. Belief that He spoke truly, i.e., trust in His promises, is also called Hope. This, then, is the second of the theological virtues, the second aspect of the belief in the good news.

But there is still something missing. The good news of the kingdom, as preached by Jesus, also includes the moral law, summed up in the law of charity. If we truly believe the good news, we must have charity, or love: the third theological virtue.

Thus Jesus says in Matthew 22:37ff: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. . . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two [commandments] the whole law and the prophets depend.”

Later, He explains again what this love means (John 14:21): “He who keeps my commandments, and observes them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father . . . .” In other words, belief (faith in the narrow sense) is not enough. Hope is not enough. In order to receive the Father’s favor, we must love, and this includes keeping the commandments. As James says (James 2:26), “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

In sum: How are we saved? Not by faith alone, but by grace alone, as I believe Fr. Most has said. This grace it is that makes us participate in the very nature of God himself, so that we become his adopted children. In other words, this adoption, and it alone, is what justifies. But to avoid being disinherited, as it were, we must act as sons, and so God give to all those in the state of grace the capacities for supernatural acts of faith (again in the restricted sense), hope, and charity.

Unless we practice these virtues, we shall lose that sanctifying grace, that divine adoption; we shall no longer be justified. If I refuse to believe what my Father has told me about himself and his plan for me, I certainly cannot participate in that plan. Thus without the gift of Faith, i.e. belief (insofar as I am informed and capable of believing), I cannot be adopted.

If I later reject the faith, I shall be disinherited. Also, if I refuse to trust in the promises that my Father has made to me, then too I show myself to be truly unworthy of them. Thus if I refuse or reject the gift of Hope, I cannot be a son of God. Finally, if I do not act in a way proper to a child of God, if I do not will in conformity to and and in response to the divine will of my Father, I cannot retain my adoption. That is, if I reject the gift of Charity, which as we have seen involves the keeping of the moral law, I cannot be saved.

If you look carefully at the above, you will find that the three theological virtues, faith, hope, and charity, correspond perfectly to the three aspects of Pauline faith. And this is not at all surprising, because St. Paul, as has the Catholic Church for 19 centuries after him, read the Gospels as an elucidation of that first teaching of Christ. For Paul, faith is our response to the original mandate to believe the good news of the kingdom of God, which, as we have seen, includes all three aspects which Paul explains in his epistles.

Grace comes first. Faith necessarily accompanies it. Faith shows itself under the three aspects of theological faith, hope, and charity. This is the pure teaching of Jesus Christ, the good news of the kingdom of God.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Mirus, Jeffery A. “How are We Saved?” Trinity Communications (February 14, 1999).

Published with permission of Jeffery A. Mirus and Trinity Communications.

THE AUTHOR

Jeffery A. Mirus is President of Trinity Communications.

WHAT IS GRACE?

Amazing Grace, so sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now, I see.
T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares we have already come. T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far and Grace will lead us home.

The Lord has promised good to me His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess within the veil, a life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years bright shining as the sun. We've no less days to sing God's praise then when we've first begun."

So what is grace, and how do we get more of it? We are very lucky in the Catholic Church because our priests dispense sanctifying grace each and every day to the faithful in the sacraments, especially Holy Communion and Confession.

In this very busy and lustful world that we live in today, there is a need for more and more grace in our lives if we want to overcome the evil one and get to heaven. Grace is an absolute necessity in our day-to-day activities. But how many people realize that?

How many people live out their existence and never even once ask God to send more grace?

Grace is a free gift from God to man. There is nothing man can do to merit grace, because it is a gift, after all. Faith is also a free gift AND a response to grace - From the Catechism:

#162: Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man.

#166: "Faith is a personal act - the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself."

In the Bible, St. Paul is struggling with personal sin, in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10:

"And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

From the above statement of Paul, we see that God gives each one us sufficient grace to overcome sin, even when it seems like we are struggling with overcoming sin. And when we are the weakest, that is when we are the strongest, because that's when God's power is made perfect in us. How many people, when things get so bad in their lives, fall down on their knees in tears and ask God to fix things?

A lot, and that is exactly what God means when he says "my power is made perfect in weakness." The acknowledgment of God as our loving Father over our own strength and power is the beginning of our relationship with God, and the beginning of the end of our pride. The prideful and strong who are always in charge of their affairs never do this, so God can't work in them as powerfully as someone who is humble and acknowledges God in their distress.

MORE GRACE!!