Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

To: Natural Law
but never once mention the Beatitudes

You must have missed some of my "10,000 posts" because I often mention Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Especially when urging Roman Catholics to give up "vain repetitions" and pray as Jesus instructed us to pray."

But who is Jesus talking to on the Sermon on the Mount? He's talking to believers and He's telling them how believers are to live their lives. This is not a sermon on salvation; it is a sermon on sanctification.

Take for example...

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." -- Matthew 5:10

Jesus is not saying men MUST be persecuted in order to be saved. He is saying most likely Christians WILL be persecuted.

He's tellling Christians how to live their lives now that they've turned from their sins to follow Him.

This is certainly not the first thing RCs get wrong, but sadly, it probably won't be the last.

608 posted on 04/21/2010 4:25:58 PM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg ("I don't think they want my respect; I think they want my submission." - Flemming Rose)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 567 | View Replies ]


To: Dr. Eckleburg
" because I often mention Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. "

Then you agree that the The Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus' preaching. That they take up the promises made to the chosen people since Abraham. The Beatitudes fulfill the promises by ordering them no longer merely to the possession of a territory or a single people, but to the Kingdom of heaven and all believers?

You agree that the Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity, that they express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; that they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; that they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; that they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints?

You believe the Beatitudes reveal the goal of human existence, the ultimate end of human acts: God calls us to his own beatitude. This vocation is addressed to each individual personally, but also to the Church as a whole, the new people made up of those who have accepted the promise and live from it in faith?

If we agree on these then all of our other differences are superficial.

609 posted on 04/21/2010 5:00:46 PM PDT by Natural Law
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 608 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson