2 Cor 5:15) can, through his Spirit, give man the light and the strength to be able to respond to his highest calling, nor is there any other name under heaven given among men by which they can be saved (cf. Chloe was an important member of the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:11), and Phoebe was a deacon and a benefactor of Paul and others (Romans 16:12). , ins+ired scri+ture, 6is selfrevelation, 6is +lan. For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. Salvation is only in Jesus Christ because there are two conditions that, no matter how hard we try, we can never meet. legis et prophet., 1, 20, 39: CCSL 49, 70. Subscribe to the CompellingTruth.org Newsletter: Jesus' fundamental mission on earth was to fulfill God's plan "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). Since in Pauls view Gods plan could not be frustrated, he concluded that it would work in reverse sequencefirst the Gentiles, then the Jews. 0000001596 00000 n (94) Second Vatican Council, Declaration Nostra aetate, 2. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all (1 Tim 2:4-6). . also St. Irenaeus, Adversus haereses, III, 3, 1-3: SC 211, 20-44; St. Cyprian, Epist. Interested in joining the Ligonier team? (77) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 14; cf. 33, 1: CCSL 3B, 164-165; St. Augustine, Contra adver. Christ's whole earthly lifewords, deeds, silences, sufferingsis a Revelation of the Father. Building the kingdom means working for liberation from evil in all its forms. 0000096430 00000 n Such a position has no biblical foundation. (6) Cf. The result is a distortion of the meaning of the kingdom, which runs the risk of being transformed into a purely human or ideological goal and a distortion of the identity of Christ, who no longer appears as the Lord to whom everything must one day be subjected (cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 4. Sister Aimee, St. Patrick and the Triune God: Where Are We From? od sim+l continues 6is goodness towards them in ho+es that the. In him, in whom God reconciled all things to himself (cf. The intention of the present Declaration, in reiterating and clarifying certain truths of the faith, has been to follow the example of the Apostle Paul, who wrote to the faithful of Corinth: I handed on to you as of first importance what I myself received (1 Cor 15:3). (57) Second Vatican Council, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 3. Jesus assured us that suffering would accompany missions, but God uses even suffering for good (Romans 8:28). The expository language of the Declaration corresponds to its purpose, which is not to treat in a systematic manner the question of the unicity and salvific universality of the mystery of Jesus Christ and the Church, nor to propose solutions to questions that are matters of free theological debate, but rather to set forth again the doctrine of the Catholic faith in these areas, pointing out some fundamental questions that remain open to further development, and refuting specific positions that are erroneous or ambiguous. The Second Vatican Council has recalled to the consciousness of the Church's faith this fundamental truth. Therefore, the fullness of Christ's salvific mystery belongs also to the Church, inseparably united to her Lord. 1 Cor 10:4; 1 Pet 1:10-12). John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint, 13. This book is an intellectual masterpiece; it is first rate scholarship a theological and historical gem It is the theological apologetic to act out Gods truth in every sphere of life in 21st century Britain and beyond This book is changing lives. The Salvation of Man. Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Instruction Dialogue and Proclamation, 9: AAS 84 (1992), 417ff. Thus, we must believe in no one but God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.20, For this reason, the distinction between theological faith and belief in the other religions, must be firmly held. (60) Cf. (96) Catechism of the Catholic Church, 851; cf. Bible Videos - The Life of Jesus Christ. St. Augustine, who wrote that Christ is the way, which has never been lacking to mankind and apart from this way no one has been set free, no one is being set free, no one will be set free De civitate Dei 10, 32, 2: CCSL 47, 312. In particular, Christians are called to serve the poor by reaching out, by listening with the heart. Recognizing that Jesus, the Liberator is just one of the facets of the ministry of the Incarnate Son to humanity, we will in the next sections attempt to give an idea of the history of this title and its theological place in the manifold life of the Church. What should be the relationship between church and state? As the royal Heir of the new creation, He will lead us into a kingdom of eternal light and love. (39) Cf. God the Father sent God the Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. These and many other passages reveal the essence of the Christian message: (1) God sent his Son; (2) the Son was crucified and resurrected for the benefit of humanity; (3) the Son would soon return; and (4) those who belonged to the Son would live with him forever. St. Irenaeus, who wrote that it is in the Church that communion with Christ has been deposited, that is to say: the Holy Spirit (Adversus haereses III, 24, 1: SC 211, 472). (35) Cf. The Mission of God is a clarion call for Christians and Gods church to awaken and recover a full-orbed gospel and comprehensive faith that recognizes and applies the salvation-victory and lordship of Jesus Christ to all creation: from the family, to education, evangelism, law, church, state and every other sphere. Over His church He reigns by means of His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3033). Jesus put it this way in Luke 19:10: "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.". also ibid. For since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery.37. Jesus' original message has lost much of its shattering quality; it No claim is made that it covers all Biblical truth, only that it covers our need as to these fundamental doctrines. (82) Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad gentes, 2. 0000021804 00000 n If they fail to respond in thought, word, and deed to that grace, not only shall they not be saved, but they shall be more severely judged.93 One understands then that, following the Lord's command (cf. (52) Cf. startxref the sake of Jesus Christ." If the angels ask, it is the same answer, "we exist for the sake of Jesus Christ." If the entire universe were suddenly to become articulate, from north to south and east to west, it would cry out in a chorus, "we exist for the sake of Christ." The name of Jesus would issue from the seas and The Divine Mission of Jesus Christ God sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, into the world so that all of God's children would have the possibility of experiencing joy and peace in this world and everlasting life in the world to come with their families. The roots of these problems are to be found in certain presuppositions of both a philosophical and theological nature, which hinder the understanding and acceptance of the revealed truth. Council of Trent, Decretum de sacramentis, can. Children's Bible Videos. In fact, the mystery of Christ has its own intrinsic unity, which extends from the eternal choice in God to the parousia: he [the Father] chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love (Eph 1:4); In Christ we are heirs, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will (Eph 1:11); For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers; those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified (Rom 8:29-30). also 849-856. From the beginning, the community of believers has recognized in Jesus a salvific value such that he alone, as Son of God made man, crucified and risen, by the mission received from the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit, bestows revelation (cf. Some of these can be mentioned: the conviction of the elusiveness and inexpressibility of divine truth, even by Christian revelation; relativistic attitudes toward truth itself, according to which what is true for some would not be true for others; the radical opposition posited between the logical mentality of the West and the symbolic mentality of the East; the subjectivism which, by regarding reason as the only source of knowledge, becomes incapable of raising its gaze to the heights, not daring to rise to the truth of being;8 the difficulty in understanding and accepting the presence of definitive and eschatological events in history; the metaphysical emptying of the historical incarnation of the Eternal Logos, reduced to a mere appearing of God in history; the eclecticism of those who, in theological research, uncritically absorb ideas from a variety of philosophical and theological contexts without regard for consistency, systematic connection, or compatibility with Christian truth; finally, the tendency to read and to interpret Sacred Scripture outside the Tradition and Magisterium of the Church. Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad gentes, 9, where it speaks of the elements of good present in the particular customs and cultures of peoples; Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 16, where it mentions the elements of good and of truth present among non-Christians, which can be considered a preparation for the reception of the Gospel. B. Jesus Christ enriches us through the Church. Cf. THE CHURCH AND THE OTHER RELIGIONSIN RELATION TO SALVATION. (8) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et ratio, 5: AAS 91 (1999), 5-88. The necessary and absolute singularity of Christ in human history is well expressed by St. Irenaeus in contemplating the preeminence of Jesus as firstborn Son: In the heavens, as firstborn of the Father's counsel, the perfect Word governs and legislates all things; on the earth, as firstborn of the Virgin, a man just and holy, reverencing God and pleasing to God, good and perfect in every way, he saves from hell all those who follow him since he is the firstborn from the dead and Author of the life of God (Demonstratio apostolica, 39: SC 406, 138). 16:2526). "The Lord thy God," Moses declared in Deuteronomy 18:15, "will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken" (KJV). 0000022266 00000 n The teachings and Atonement of Jesus Christ are central to His gospel. Women were frequently among the major supporters of new religious movements, and Christianity was no exception. The Christian dispensation, therefore, as the new and definitive covenant, will never pass away, and we now await no further new public revelation before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. All Christians, however, have the mission of reconciliation. In heavenly places, He remains our constant Intercessor and Advocate (Rom. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 55: AAS 83 (1991), 302-304. (PDF) Jesus' Way of Doing Mission: Christian Mission Revisited (Luke 10:1-11) Jesus' Way of Doing Mission: Christian Mission Revisited (Luke 10:1-11) January 2012 Publisher: CISRS,. (74) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 18. The mission of the church is the task given by God for the people of God to accomplish in the world. To see Jesus is to see his Father (cf. Reformed theology affirms that Scripture and its teaching on grace and faith emphasize that salvation is solus Christus, "by Christ alone"that is, Christ is the only Savior (Acts 4:12). (37) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 22. Jesus Threefold Office as Prophet, Priest, and King. (89) Cf. They constitute one of historys most remarkable personal contributions to religious thought and practice. (97) Cf. Jesus Iesous (Greek) or Yeshua (Hebrew) means "Yahweh is salvation". In the second, he died so that the believers may die with him and consequently live with him. Request the classic book and Stephen Nichols companion teaching series. Jn 1:12; 5:25-26; 17:2) to all humanity and to every person. (21) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et ratio, 13. Mt 16:18; 28:20) and that he would guide her by his Spirit (cf. Finally, Christ is the King, ruling over all things. Cf. 17:5). TALK 2 WHO IS JESUS CHRIST. 14. He preached the death, resurrection, and lordship of Jesus Christ, and he proclaimed that faith in Jesus guarantees a share in his life. He is therefore not an alternative to Christ nor does he fill a sort of void which is sometimes suggested as existing between Christ and the Logos. This consonance in EG, TTL, and CTC is significant given the dissonance on theological and missiological perspectives across the representing ecclesial bodies since the mid-20th century. 31). 3. In accord with ancient sacrificial theology, Jesus death substituted for that of others and thereby freed believers from sin and guilt (Romans 3:2325). This is one of the reasons why the differences between Christianity and the other religions tend to be reduced at times to the point of disappearance. The 1689 London Baptist Confession, for instance, puts it this way: "Christ, and Christ alone, is fitted to be mediator between God and man. Fortunately, after his death one of his followers collected some of the letters, edited them very slightly, and published them. As Carl Braaten says, they "are returning to a form of the old bankrupt nineteenth-century Christological approach of Protestant liberalism and calling it new,' when it is actually scarcely more than a shallow Jesusology." It could be said that the fundamental mission of Christ's time on earth was to fulfill God's plan of saving the lost. Cf. (81) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 10. 16:27). At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed.18 Faith, therefore, as a gift of God and as a supernatural virtue infused by him,19 involves a dual adherence: to God who reveals and to the truth which he reveals, out of the trust which one has in him who speaks. Union with Christ is the only way of salvation. Through the sacraments beginning with Baptism; The Hebrew prophets, he wrote, had predicted that in days to come God would restore the tribes of Israel and that the Gentiles would then turn to worship the one true God. Do you love Him in His person, offices, natures, and benefits? Adam and Eve, perfect in creation, chose to disobey God's special orders not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil ( Genesis 2:16-17 ). As a remedy for this relativistic mentality, which is becoming ever more common, it is necessary above all to reassert the definitive and complete character of the revelation of Jesus Christ. "The soul that has given himself to Christ is more precious in His sight than the whole world. 0000022371 00000 n Paul taught that those who died in Christ would be raised when he returned, while those still alive would be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:1418). The fundamental contents of the profession of the Christian faith are expressed thus: I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. (78) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 9; cf. 2: DS 3006. In him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him, God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself, on earth and in the heavens, making peace by the blood of his Cross (Col 1:13-14; 19-20). In the words of the 1689 London Baptist Confession, "because of our estrangement from God and the imperfection of our services at best, we need his priestly office to reconcile us to God and render us acceptable to him" (8.10). In a word, the kingdom of God is the manifestation and the realization of God's plan of salvation in all its fullness.75. Written to Thessalonica in Macedonia possibly as early as 41 ce and no later than 51thus no more than 20 years after Jesus deaththe letter states (1 Thessalonians 1:910). (38) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 28. Moreover, Paul thought that the purpose of this revelation was his own appointment to preach among the Gentiles (Galatians 1:16). Christian Truth. 2. Thus, theological faith (the acceptance of the truth revealed by the One and Triune God) is often identified with belief in other religions, which is religious experience still in search of the absolute truth and still lacking assent to God who reveals himself.
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