- hace 1 año
Categoría
🛠️
Estilo de vidaTranscripción
00:00Good,
00:29So we return to conclude this extensive topic of salvation, which has to do on one hand with the faith that justifies me, but on the other hand with the works that, identified as in a man of faith, ultimately lead me to definitive salvation.
00:47And well, some people think that the teachings of Paul and James related to the topic of faith and works, as we already mentioned, contradict each other.
00:58But as I think has already become clear, the writing does not support such a conclusion.
01:05The main idea of Paul's writings is that faith opens the door to justification, not the works of the Mosaic law in particular, such as circumcision, keeping the Sabbath, etc.
01:18No. While James's main idea is that if we don't do good works, this proves that the faith we profess is not genuine.
01:30The faith that justifies is the faith that works.
01:34Now, as clearly seen in Galatians 5, 6, the works produced by living faith give proof that it is a genuine and living faith.
01:47We cannot simply declare that we have faith.
01:51We must show our faith by doing what God commands us, the exercise of faith, the obedience of faith, the obedience of the gospel.
02:02I believe in God, I believe in Jesus Christ, but I do nothing in relation to charity, I don't take care of my brothers, I don't take care of my parents, I live for myself.
02:14God, well yes, he's there in heaven, and the Bible, well, it's in my bedroom, and I had all my initiation sacraments.
02:22The Holy Spirit is alive in me, but I am still sitting, still paralyzed, still blind.
02:29And obviously the blind and the paralyzed in Holy Scripture represent the unconverted, the person who does not see and does not walk.
02:42And obviously, this will make things more difficult.
02:44No one knows who will ultimately be saved or not, but it will certainly make it more difficult for that person to achieve salvation.
02:53And Trich Bonhoeffer, an influential theologian who was martyred under the Nazi regime, says
03:00Faith is real only when there is obedience, never without it.
03:08And faith is only solid through obedience.
03:14However, we must keep in mind that doing something for God does not mean that we are obeying Jesus.
03:21And being an apostle doesn't always mean that I am obeying Jesus.
03:28There are people who are very apostolic, but who lead a life completely outside the Gospel.
03:36This is terrible in the church.
03:38How many people, even from the apostolate, how many people we should validate as leaders, leaders in our church,
03:53who do a lot of apostolic work, but who do not live a life consistent with the Gospel, who are not obedient to the faith.
04:01He is very specific about what he asks us to do.
04:04Jesus tells us, follow me, hold on to me.
04:10It doesn't say, follow me in some biblical principles, whichever ones suit you.
04:16Or, adhere to a certain doctrine.
04:20No.
04:21Jesus does not propose a positive thinking plan, nor does he provide seven easy steps to become his disciple.
04:29That doesn't exist.
04:31Jesus says, follow me.
04:34And that's what we must do.
04:39Bonhoeffer also says,
04:40Making the decision to follow Jesus Christ without having accepted him is meaningless and you will be rejected by Jesus.
04:53This is the faith that saves.
04:55It is the one that comes from the justification accomplished by Christ.
04:59In other words, that's where we really put our skills to the test.
05:05So, yes, they tortured me, but what was my faith?
05:10So, what did I believe in my whole life?
05:13What was the central decision of my life?
05:17In other words, if our faith doesn't correspond to our actions, then what kind of faith was that?
05:24In other words, I think that these texts, although they might be a little contradictory for some, make a lot of sense to me, because they present us with this reality that I believe is lacking in our church today.
05:37Today, in our church, we need to clearly understand what Paul preached, what James preached, what Jesus preached: that it is not about learning things, but about following a person and doing what that person has asked us to do, has commanded us to do.
05:58That is true faith, that is the path that leads us precisely to salvation, and that is why chapter 25 of Matthew is total, crucial, and definitive if we want to understand Paul's theology of justification.
06:13Otherwise, we will have completely outlandish ideas, people in Protestantism, people who belong to any of these churches, say, no, well I already accepted Jesus.
06:25And then what? What about your moral life? What about the exercise of your life? No, it's just that I am a pastor, I am a preacher, yes, and your family, your children, your parents, the poor, the sick, the Christian life is in your life.
06:42Finally they feel like martyrs because people attack them, question them, and then they say, I am dying for Christ.
06:49But, well, I don't think that's definitive at least.
06:55Where does this justification lead us, brothers?
06:59This justification leads us to gratitude, because it is a free work.
07:03In short, we can say that we are justified by faith; therefore, the authentic Christian, the Catholic, does not claim to have already been justified by his own strength, but rather gives all the glory to God.
07:20Justification is God's free gift to man; God is the one who justifies.
07:29The man has not won it, he has not won the victory by himself.
07:35This is a work of God.
07:37God's justification makes us entirely obliged to give thanks, because he is the cause, he is the one who paid the ransom for us.
07:49That is why we give him glory, that is why we praise him, that is why we glorify him, because he paid.
07:56The work is his.
07:57If we get to heaven, it's not because we behaved very well here on earth and did many good things, but because Christ died.
08:11He is the one who gave his blood in the most holy place of the cross.
08:18He is the one who poured out the Holy Spirit on us.
08:22Now, rescued by Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit, God expects us to act justly.
08:31obeying the law of love in its fullness, and that our works of charity, driven by the same Spirit,
08:39bear witness to our new relationship with God and to the hope we profess.
08:45We are called now, on the one hand, to give glory to the Lord.
08:52To testify that Christ truly lives in us, that our works may be the instrument of bearing witness to them,
09:01and may all this lead us to continuous gratitude to the Lord.
09:06A Christian should be a man in constant gratitude to God,
09:12because we continually have to acknowledge that we have been saved, justified by the undeserved grace of Jesus' death and resurrection,
09:23who has now given us his Spirit, so that by doing righteous deeds we may be saved.
09:30For Him, my brothers, be power, honor, glory, and gratitude forever.
09:34And we conclude this topic here, which completely closes this introduction.
09:43A very extensive introduction to these two letters, which focus their attention on these themes of justice, justification, and grace.
09:53and that we have, therefore, rounded off with the theme of faith.
09:58Thus we conclude this chapter, and we prepare to delve into the central themes of Galatians and Romans in our next classes.
10:09We will now see in our next classes, then, some elements that I think are important to revisit.
10:18Because some time has passed, we will make a brief summary of the introductions to Galatians and Romans.
10:25then we will move on to the truly interesting topics of exegesis.
10:32In this class, we will try to go a little deeper.
10:36So, well then, see you in our next class.
10:40Blessings to all, and I look forward to seeing you here in the Active Evangelization virtual classroom.
10:46Until next time.
10:55Thank you.
10:56Thank you.