Daily Retreat 11/05/08
2008 Nov 5 Wed: Ordinary Weekday
Phil 2: 12-18/ Ps 26(27): 1. 4. 13-14/ Lk 14: 25-33
From today’s readings: “Be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.... The Lord is my light and my salvation.... Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple....”
“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling...”
Although the terms are sometimes used as synonyms, there is, in fact, a subtle but essential distinction between Christian “redemption” and “salvation.” When Christ died on the Cross, He redeemed mankind - He paid the price for all sins when He willingly laid down His life in universal atonement. So His sacrificial death is redemption for all people of all times and places.
Although the merits of Christ’s death are more than sufficient to redeem all those enslaved by sin, this redemption does not negate free will: each person still can choose whether or not to avail himself of the ransom of Christ’s death. When a person rejects Christ, he forfeits his salvation. So in spite of being redeemed by Christ, such a person, because of his free will, is not saved.
So when Paul urges, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling...,” he is not implying that a person can somehow redeem himself by accumulating enough good works to serve as a ransom for sin. But Paul is teaching that redemption by Christ still does not in itself guarantee salvation, since that always requires the cooperation of free will.
Having received the Truth of the Gospel, a person may either “hold on to the word of life,” or let it go. Because a person can easily change his mind, clearly, the acceptance of Christian redemption on the day of one’s baptism could be negated by a future mortal sin such as apostasy - it would be perilously presumptuous to consider that an impossibility! So you and I are to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” - even after having joyfully accepted Christian redemption, we must carefully and constantly strive to insure that our choices continue to embrace Christ and all His teachings.
Phil 2: 12-18/ Ps 26(27): 1. 4. 13-14/ Lk 14: 25-33
From today’s readings: “Be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.... The Lord is my light and my salvation.... Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple....”
“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling...”
Although the terms are sometimes used as synonyms, there is, in fact, a subtle but essential distinction between Christian “redemption” and “salvation.” When Christ died on the Cross, He redeemed mankind - He paid the price for all sins when He willingly laid down His life in universal atonement. So His sacrificial death is redemption for all people of all times and places.
Although the merits of Christ’s death are more than sufficient to redeem all those enslaved by sin, this redemption does not negate free will: each person still can choose whether or not to avail himself of the ransom of Christ’s death. When a person rejects Christ, he forfeits his salvation. So in spite of being redeemed by Christ, such a person, because of his free will, is not saved.
So when Paul urges, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling...,” he is not implying that a person can somehow redeem himself by accumulating enough good works to serve as a ransom for sin. But Paul is teaching that redemption by Christ still does not in itself guarantee salvation, since that always requires the cooperation of free will.
Having received the Truth of the Gospel, a person may either “hold on to the word of life,” or let it go. Because a person can easily change his mind, clearly, the acceptance of Christian redemption on the day of one’s baptism could be negated by a future mortal sin such as apostasy - it would be perilously presumptuous to consider that an impossibility! So you and I are to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” - even after having joyfully accepted Christian redemption, we must carefully and constantly strive to insure that our choices continue to embrace Christ and all His teachings.
posted by FrPitstick | 11/03/2008
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