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Lent Day 32: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXI

...g of your salvation Cyril closes this lecture by encouraging his students to remain “unblemished” in this gift, pressing on in the good works of the Spirit, “for this holy thing is a spiritual safeguard of the body, and salvation of the soul”....

The Reality of Sin

...se of our salvation (cf. Phil 2:5; Rom 12:2). As Irenaeus (and Athanasius) said: Jesus became what we are so that we might become what He is! In other words, we are to be renewed and transformed into the image of Christ so that, as Peter wrote, we “may become participants of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). Remember, judgement begins with the house of God! (1 Peter 4:17). We aren't spared from God's judgement simply by being Christians; no, if anything we will be judged more! We represent Christ on earth (2 Cor 5:20), we should be doing good works in the power and name of Jesus for the glory of the Father. God will judge those works and our lives as Christ...

8 Most Controversial Topics In The Church Today

...uired for salvation, but others don't appear to place much emphasis on it. Some churches baptize newborns as well, although not as evidence of salvation, but as a promise by the child's family and church body to raise the kid in the fear of the Lord. In this sense, infant baptism is similar to the dedication of the child. Other churches, on the other hand, only baptize individuals who are old enough to freely confess their religion. Christians also disagree on how and where baptisms should take place: by sprinkling, pouring water on someone, or complete immersion. 7. Politics from the Pulpit Should ministers discuss politics or advocate a certain political pa...

Why do bad things happen to 'good' people?

...ccept his salvation so you don't just perish in this life, but so you don't also perish in the next (cf. John 3:16; Rom 2:12; 1 Cor 1:18; 1 Pet 3:9). Whether Job's story actually happened in a historical sense or not doesn't matter. The principle behind it that God allows or sends Satan to mess with people may or may not be true in a general sense (in that every bad situation was allowed by God to personally test you) - it could be the way God operates sometimes, since Jesus seems to be saying in the Luke passage that basically, bad things happen and it's not divine punishment or that you were a "worse" sinner than others. And since Jesus is the 'visible ima...

Raised in the Heavenlies!

..., because salvation and redemption are based around this very concept. If anything, the fact that we, as Christians, look forward to a bodily resurrection says quite clearly that our future lies not in some distant, metaphysical realm, but in a very real and physical world, co-joined and redeemed with Heaven under God where He will be all in all (1 Cor 15:28). If you are still confused about the resurrection, or worried about death in general, then I want to finish with this “modern parable” if you can call it that. I’m not sure where it is from or what its source is, I’ve just had it written down for some time now, but I like the example of the faith i...

Lent: Day 13 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 12-23

...shment or salvation according to the value of his actions”. The point he's trying to make is that if everyone understood this, they should be more inclined to live a virtuous life before God, and that is what the Christians preach. They are not wrongdoers, but rather are trying to counter that behaviour, and if the Emperor honestly valued the truth and wanted to uphold his reputation for “piety and philosophy” he would act reasonably, unless of course he, “like the foolish, prefer custom to truth”! Justin didn't mince his words at all. A Rational Faith Continuing with the argument for acting rationally towards Christians, Justin outlines how the fai...