Saved. Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J.

      Mary, the Immaculate Conception

      The sinful mass of humanity excludes the sinless mother, the Virgin Mary, who, being “full of grace” (Lk 1:28), was given a gift of the redemption — from her Immaculate Conception — in anticipation of Jesus’ saving work on Calvary (which she witnessed in John 19:25: “But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”). For that reason, the Blessed Virgin could speak truthfully in her Magnificat, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lk 1:47).

      Study

      Jesus as the New Adam includes two elements: (1) he removes the original sin and its punishment of death that the first Adam passed on as a heritage to all of his descendants, as well as any other sins committed by any individual person; and (2) he is the New Adam, who restores the image and likeness of God to all who accept him in faith, hope, and love as their Savior.

      First, we examine the ways in which Jesus Christ, the New Adam, removes the sin of the old Adam, who introduced disobedience and original sin to the human race.

      Stop here and read Romans 5:15-21 in your own Bible.

      The second element of being the New Adam is seen in Jesus’ role as restoring the image and likeness of God to all of humanity who come to him and accept his offer of salvation, especially as seen in Ephesians 4.

      Stop here and read Ephesians 4:11-16 in your own Bible.

      Investigate

      A Complete Change in Lifestyle

      Not only does Jesus Christ the New Adam establish the norm of mature human living and stature, but following him also means rejecting the ways of the world.

      Read the following verses and indicate how following Jesus involves a complete change in lifestyle.

PASSAGE	NOTES
Matthew 5:48
Luke 6:36
2 Corinthians 5:17
2 Corinthians 7:1
Galatians 6:15
Ephesians 2:10
Ephesians 4:17-19
Ephesians 4:20-24
Ephesians 5:1
Philippians 3:12
Colossians 3:9-10
1 Peter 1:14-15

      Consider

       How Does Jesus Redeem Sinners?

      We have already asserted the New Testament teaching that saving grace comes only through Jesus Christ because he is truly infinite God, truly human, and sinless. He is the one source and foundation of salvation, holiness, and righteousness.

      Stop here and read 1 Corinthians 1:30, 3:11 in your own Bible.

      We now indicate that the way that he chose to save sinners was not easy. He accepted the fact that justice required him to take on the punishment for sin, which from the beginning was stated by God to be death, in Genesis 2:16-17: “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Eve had learned of this commandment from Adam, since she was able to relate it to the serpent at the beginning of his temptations. Since God had decreed from the outset that death was the punishment for sin, at the time when he passed judgment on Adam’s sin, from that point on, God’s revelation demonstrates that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23).

      Investigate

      More Info About “The Wages”

      To learn more about death being the punishment for sin, read the following passages. Note the number of times “death” or “die” is mentioned.

PASSAGE	NOTES
Ezekiel 18:4-20
Ezekiel 33:7-11
Romans 6:16-21
Romans 8:6-13
James 1:15
Revelation 21:8

       Death on a Cross

      From the beginning of sin by Adam and Eve until the end of time and the Last Judgment, sin will be punished by death. For that reason, it is appropriate that the Savior should take on not only sin but death by himself dying on a cross so as to fully reconcile the human race with God.

      Jesus Christ was well aware that he had been born to die for the sake of sinful human beings so that they may have forgiveness and reconciliation for their sins as well as victory over death, itself the decreed punishment for sin. He knew that he came to fulfill the prophecies about the suffering, dying, and rising Messiah, and he made known to his disciples that his mission required him to die and then be raised from the dead.

      Stop here and read Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:18-19, 20:28 in your own Bible.

      Study

      In John’s Gospel, while teaching that he is the Good Shepherd, Jesus makes known the necessity of laying down his life for his sheep (Jn 10:11-18). His understanding that he must die for his sheep flows from his knowledge that he is on a mission from his Father to redeem sinful human beings. His depth of understanding his mission from the Father is especially developed on the occasion of having healed a paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda and then ordering him to sin no more (Jn 5:1-16).

      In these actions, Jesus gave a clear indication of his divinity through showing lordship of the Sabbath and by an explicit assertion of his mission. While his compassion for a suffering paralyzed man led him to heal and forgive the man, his opponents saw only sin and blasphemy. In response to their being scandalized by him, he set forth more information about his relationship to his Father and his mission to redeem humanity, which we do well to hear and learn.

      Stop here and read John 5:19-24 in your own Bible.

       Infinite Love

      On one hand, the Son is completely dependent on the Father, and everything he does is itself a gift of the Father. On the other hand, the Father holds back nothing of his own infinity and gives all to the Son, who can receive it all only because he, too, is as infinite as the Father. The Father’s total and infinite self-gift corresponds to the Son’s total and infinite acceptance of all that the Father gives — such is the nature of the infinite love between them. In that context, the Son mentions the gifts that are specifically related to the salvation of human beings: the power to raise the dead and give life, and the authority to judge human hearts and souls for the final judgment based on whether a person has faith in the word of the Son and in the Father who sent him. In this way, Jesus accomplishes the Father’s will.

      Stop here and read John 5:25-30 in your own Bible.

      Jesus then makes it clear to his hearers that the purpose of his words is that they may be saved. In fact, the testimony of John the Baptist (“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” [Jn 1:29, 36]) is accepted by Jesus so that people may be saved by accepting that testimony.