How are we saved?
Every Christian is aware of the good news, however, what we believe in its wake becomes something of a debate. What must I do to attain eternal life? Then, the next question is, do I have an obligation to do more than the theoretical minimum? These questions are every bit important as they are deep and profound. Some believe nothing, some everything, and others somewhere in between. Speaking from the Catholic Tradition, it would seem that God neither saves us without us nor does He apathetically leave us to decide for ourselves with only our abilities. God neither saves us in a moment suddenly proclaiming the sins we commit justified nor does he force perfection at every turn. Rather, God brings grace into our lives to make us free to choose Him or to walk away, through willful cooperation with this grace we are transformed from the inside out, through such transformation we are made capable to atone for our own sins and those of others, and our lives have become a meritorious echo of the Passion, evocative of the infinitude of Divine Mercy which was the source and driving force of every moment prior.
God has been given the title"The Hound of Heaven". He is meritorious of such a title because knows the sinner down to the forces that hold the atoms together which make Him up and sustains such.[1] God spares nothing in His pursuit of even the worst of sinners. Christ met every force of evil in the manhood He assumed and through His passion revealed the true gravity of sin. It starts with just not choosing God and eventually in the height of deception seeks to destroy the good not even stopping short of the most innocent, not even God. Through so extreme and clear a display of love, that God stops at nothing to change our hearts, he breaks through the veil that sin creates. God thus breaks into our hearts with his grace as we realize "But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."(Romans 5:8). Suddenly, God steps between the lies we once believed of Him and He fully reveals Himself to us(cf. Hebrews 1:2-3). It is thus that our hearts of stone are broken and our personal apocalypse(the removing of the veil) takes place(cf. Luke 7:47). It is thus that God brings grace into our lives to make us free to choose Him or to walk away.
Once God has our attention, His beautiful love and grace are poured out and becomes incarnate through us.[2] Through willful cooperation with this grace, we are transformed from the inside out.[3] "Justification establishes cooperation between God's grace and man's freedom."[4] Thus, justification is not defined for the Church the same way it is for a secular society. Rather, for the Church, justification is meant as the deepest part of conversion the "out with the old, and in with the new" concept.[5] Justification is a fundamental aspect of metanoia.[6] "The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion, effecting justification in accordance with Jesus' proclamation at the beginning of the Gospel: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high. "Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man."[7]
God's grace is a participation of his very life. It is this participation that draws us to become what we were created to be: human living, and "it to the full"(John 10:10). Through such transformation, we are made capable to be made perfect as we are given merit. We are able to do this because God wants us to participate in His works. God's infinite loving care united with man's cooperation merits the fruit being firstly attributed to God and then to man[8]. Merit thus is a gift from God, each and every good work grows man in virtue, beatitude, and receptivity to both God's love and grace. In it, we become coheirs with Christ. By ever-increasing in sanctification, we not only please God but come to satisfy Him. it is thus, we don't just capitalize on God's mercy and love but also our actions, disposition, and self becomes a gift for Him. We evoking God's infinite love thereby merit forgiveness and salvation.[9] Thereby, God's Mercy the source and sustainer of the whole process, allows us "to become His children" with Christ as our lives become an echo of Christ's life, Passion, and Resurrection(John 1:12).
In conclusion, salvation is not as much a question of what I should believe or do, but the greatest love story ever. So many waste time arguing about what salvation is or is not, but just as only something can be the reality, it is simple but unexplainable. Words hath not the power to convey the beauty and joy of the Christian life. It is Christ's action that brought the possibility of salvation not just in the sacrifice but also His life. Where Christ went we could not go but through the consummation of the New Covenant, we were given grace and example to be made worthy for eternal life and not just subjectively considered so by God. So much depth to this topic, always more to discover.
"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus."(Romans 3:21-26).
"For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end"(Hebrews 6:10-11).
"Moses said to the people: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. “When the LORD, your God, brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give you, a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner, with cisterns that you did not dig, with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant; and when, therefore, you eat your fill, take care not to forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. The LORD, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-13)
FN:
- cf. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2567.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 460.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1996-2005.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1993.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1995.
- cf. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1989.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2008.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2006-2011.
