Subject: Do Jesus and Paul agree on salv by faith |
Bible Note: Nivlac5, "Please explain the following statements. Is one saved and justified by Christ alone, faith alone, grace alone or does one need additional "help" i.e sacraments, works that can only be given by one church body?(Actually the Catholic Church recognize the Trinitarian baptism of other Christian groups.) The bible is clear, one is saved by Christ alone and not by any church or institution." You did not read far enough in the Catechism. If you had your would have read the following (emphasis mine, so you do not miss the main point): " The Sacramental Economy 1076. "The Church was made manifest to the world on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.[Cf. SC 6; LG 2.] The gift of the Spirit ushers in a new era in the 'dispensation of the mystery' the age of the Church, during which Christ manifests, makes present, and communicates his work of salvation through the liturgy of his Church, 'until he comes.'[1 Cor 11:26 .] In this age of the Church Christ now lives and acts in and with his Church, in a new way appropriate to this new age. He acts through the sacraments in what the common Tradition of the East and the West calls 'the sacramental economy'; this is the communication (or 'dispensation') of the fruits of Christ's Paschal mystery in the celebration of the Church's 'sacramental' liturgy. It is therefore important first to explain this 'sacramental dispensation'. The nature and essential features of liturgical celebration will then appear more clearly ."... 1116. "Sacraments are 'powers that comes forth' from the Body of Christ,[Cf. Lk 5:17 ; Lk 6:19 ; Lk 8:46 .] which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are 'the masterworks of God' in the new and everlasting covenant." 1119. "Forming 'as it were, one mystical person' with Christ the head, the Church acts in the sacraments as 'an organically structured priestly community.'[LG 11; cf. Pius XII, Mystici Corporis (1943).] Through Baptism and Confirmation the pRiestly people is enabled to celebrate the liturgy, while those of the faithful 'who have received Holy Orders, are appointed to nourish the Church with the word and grace of God in the name of Christ.'[LG 11 # 2.]" The Sacraments of Salvation 1127. "Celebrated worthily in faith, the sacraments confer the grace that they signify.[Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1605; DS 1606.] THEY ARE EFFICAIOUS BECAUSE IN THEM CHRIST HIMSELF IS AT WORK: IT IS HE WHO BAPTIZES, HE WHO ACTS IN HIS SACRAMENTS IN ORDER TO COMMUNICATE THE GRACE THAT EACH SACRAMENT SIGNIFIES. The Father always hears the prayer of his Son's Church which, in the epiclesis of each sacrament, expresses her faith in the power of the Spirit. As fire transforms into itself everything it touches, so the Holy Spirit transforms into the divine life whatever is subjected to his power. " 1128. "This is the meaning of the Church's affirmation[Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1608.] that the sacraments act ex opere operato (literally: 'by the very fact of the action's being performed'), i.e., BY VIRTUE OF THE SAVING WORK OF CHRIST, ACCOMPLISHED ONCE FOR ALL. It follows that 'THE SACRAMENT IS NOT WROUGHT BY THE RIGHTEWOUSNESS OF EITHER THE CELEBRANT OR THE RECIPEINT, BUT BY THE POWER OF GOD'[St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 68, 8.] From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them." 1129. "The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation.[Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1604.] 'Sacramental grace' is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. The Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature[Cf. 2Pet 1:4.] by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior." Emmaus |