YOUCAT Lesson 337
YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth
337 How are we saved?
No man can save himself.
Christians believe that they are saved by God, who for this purpose sent
his Son Jesus Christ into the world. For
us salvation means that we are freed by the Holy Spirit from the power of sin
and have been brought back from the realm of death to a life without end, a
life in God’s presence. [1987-1995, 2017-2020]
Conversion of Saint Paul by Michelangelo
Buonarroti. …..337
Paul observes: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin cannot exist in the presence of God, who
is justice and goodness through and through.
If sin is worth nothing, what about the sinner, then? In his love, God found a way by which he
destroys sin but saves the sinner. He
makes him “right” again, that is to say, righteous or just. That is why from ancient times salvation has
also been called justification. We are
not made just by our own power. A man
can neither forgive his own sins nor rescue himself from death. For that, God has to act on our behalf—out of
mercy, not because we could deserve or merit it. In Baptism, God grants us “the righteousness
of God through faith in Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:22). Through
the Holy Spirit, who is poured out into our hearts, we take part in the death
and Resurrection of Christ—we die to sin and are born to new life in God. The divine gifts of faith, hope, and charity
come over us and make us able to live in the light and to obey God’s will.
Justification—a central concept from the “doctrine about
grace”. It means the restoration of the
right relation between God and man.
Since only Jesus Christ achieved this right relation (“righteousness”),
we can come again into God’s presence only if we are “justified” by Christ and
so to speak, enter into his intact relationship with God. To believe therefore, means to accept the
righteousness of Jesus for oneself and one’s life.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is
not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, least any man
should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
[1987-1995,
2017-2020]
CHAPTER THREE
GOD'S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE
ARTICLE 2
GRACE AND JUSTIFICATION
I. JUSTIFICATION
1987 The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power
to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us
"the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ" and through
Baptism(Romans 3:22; compare Rom 6:3-4.)34 –Catechism of the Catholic
Church, Second Edition
1988 Through the power of the Holy Spirit we
take part in Christ's Passion by dying to sin, and in his Resurrection by being
born to a new life; we are members of his Body which is the Church, branches
grafted onto the vine which is himself(Compare 1 Corinthians 12; John 15:1-4.)36 –CCC
1989 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."( Matthew 4:17.)38 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.( Council of Trent (1547):
Denzinger-Schonmetzer 1528.)39 –CCC
1990 Justification detaches man from sin which contradicts the love of God, and purifies his heart of sin. Justification follows upon God's merciful initiative of offering forgiveness. It reconciles man with God. It frees from the enslavement to sin, and it heals. –CCC
1991 Justification is at the same time the acceptance of God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness (or "justice") here means the rectitude of divine love. With justification, faith, hope, and charity are poured into our hearts, and obedience to the divine will is granted us. –CCC
1992 Justification has been merited
for us by the Passion of Christ who
offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and
whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men.
Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us
to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his
mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life(Cf. Council of Trent
(1547): Denzinger-Schonmetzer 1529.)40 –CCC
When
God touches man's heart through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, man
himself is not inactive while receiving that inspiration, since he could reject
it; and yet, without God's grace, he cannot by his own free will move himself
toward justice in God's sight.( Council of Trent (1547):
Denzinger-Schonmetzer 1525.)42 –CCC
1995 The Holy Spirit is the master of the
interior life. By giving birth to the "inner man,"( Compare Romans 7:22; Ephesians 3:16.)44 justification
entails the sanctification of
his whole being: –CCC
2017 The grace of the Holy Spirit confers upon us the righteousness of God. Uniting us by faith and Baptism to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, the Spirit makes us sharers in his life. –CCC
2018 Like conversion, justification has two aspects. Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, and so accepts forgiveness and righteousness from on high. –CCC
2019 Justification includes the remission of sins, sanctification, and the renewal of the inner man. –CCC
2020 Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ. It is granted us through Baptism. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who justifies us. It has for its goal the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life. It is the most excellent work of God's mercy. –CCC
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