When were you saved?
That is a question I am asked by fundamentalist friends who don't understand my Episcopal faith. Here is the best answer I have found:
"Can a person get 'saved' in the Episcopal Church?"
The answer is an absolute "YES!" Often, there is the follow up question, "When were you saved?" My response is "I was saved in the year 33AD by a man hanging on a cross between heaven and earth on a filthy hillside just outside of Jerusalem, and I am being saved as this same man, who rose in victory over the grave and death, lives to interceed for me at the right hand of God. And more, I will be saved when he comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead--pick one, but I live in all three catogories according to the Scriptures..."
Here are four aspects of an Anglican understanding of salvation, from A sermon given at The Episcopal Church at Princeton University,
The Rev. Dr. Stephen L. White, Chaplain
1. We believe salvation begins with baptism. In baptism we are reborn by the Holy Spirit. (So, if anyone asks you if you are born again, the answer can always be yes if you are baptized.
Baptism is the rite by which we are initiated as Christians. In it we turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as our Savior an we are sealed and marked as Christs own forever. [Read the Baptism service in the BCP] But far from completing the process of becoming a Christian, in baptism we are just beginning the journey.
2. The salvation process is nurtured by the Eucharist that great rehearsal and celebration of our salvation. The consecrated bread and wine are the food for the Christian traveler. Eucharist is central to our lives as Christian pilgrims because in it:
we hear the scriptures read and rehearse the history of our salvation
we hear the Gospel proclaimed
we pray for the church, the world, others, ourselves
we are reminded that our sins are forgiven if we ask for forgiveness
we celebrate the real presence of the risen Christ among us and we are fed with spiritual food in communion
we dedicate ourselves to serving Christ in the world as we prepare to depart.
In other words, we pray implicitly and explicitly Lord Jesus, be known to us as you were known to your disciples in the breaking of the bread.
3. As already mentioned there is continual growth. We stumble and fall, and then pick ourselves up again and keep on going. We stray and we return. As we receive communion we should say: Out with self, out with envy, out with anger and self-centeredness, out with greed. In with Jesus, in with love, in with compassion, in with patience, in with understanding, in with love. Our goal is to be able to say with Saint Paul: It is not I, but Christ who is within me.
4. Finally, honesty with ourselves is paramount. If life is a continuing process toward salvation, then continual repentance is key. And there is no true repentance without brutal honesty with oneself. You cant fake repentance.
We come now to the four steps of repentance:
To repent we 1.) We acknowledge our sins to ourselves; 2.) We confess our sins to God; 3.) We ask those whom we have harmed or offended for forgiveness and we make restitution or reparations where necessary and where possible; 4.) We resolve to amend our lives, asking Gods help.
Rather than asking if others are saved, Christians would be much better off to embrace that God's love is unconditional---Jesus never asked anyone if they were saved, but in his life and ministry he did ask those he encoutered "How can i help you?"
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)the fact that you are forgiven ...and have been since "the foundation of the world"<--- Yea that is a quote
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)is simply, in 33 ad.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)and forward on to all that ever will be. It was the only plan from the foundation of the world. Repentance as widely viewed is not always applicable ...take the event of the eunic who was only reading the old scripture when Philip encountered him. He wasn't in the middle of feeling remorseful ...he was curious ...also Silas was desiring to meet Paul to learn of the gospel and his whole family believed it. Not every conversion requires repentance as most know it. Repentance can mean simply a change of mind and heart upon being given the truth of the gospel. There is no balance between law and grace. It's by grace thru faith you are saved and not by anything you do. As soon as you start to DO you will be ensnared again by that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If salvation depends on what we do then we are all lost. I'll give a million dollars to anyone who can DO anything to stay saved. A free gift is free or it isn't a gift.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)well put, I agree. and I have also always liked the Philip/eunic passage from Acts. To me confession and repentance is something I do, not just because of Church tradition but it is me reminding myself and admitting to myself and God what I have done wrong or failed to do that is right.
But you are correct, there is nothing I can do to save myself.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)if you notice as the father runs out to the returning son ...the son was prepared to confess his mistakes/sins ...the father "didn't let him do that" but quickly embraced him and brought him home to dancing and feasting ...another great revelation as to His attitude is the ruler who sent out rsvp to all his friends for a huge dinner and his friends all had other things to do ...after sending out his servants to get anyone he decided there wasn't enough so he sent them out again to get the lame and underclass beggarly types.
...but then I could rant of this all night and day
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)and yeah the dinner party - to me it represents our Lords invitation to us all when the "religious" had better things to do. We are all invited! an example of Christ's invitation to the Way.
I taught a Sunday school lesson recently on the banquet - and I think you would have liked it.
God's Peace
seriously thanks for discussion - rare at DU, especially when it comes to Christianity
refrescanos
(112 posts)reply back, gotta love it!
Freddie
(9,687 posts)We think alike. My first thought on this was "I was saved the day I was baptized."
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)nt
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)arely staircase
(12,482 posts)markpkessinger
(8,558 posts). . . to say back to the person who asked, "I am redeemed." Unless, that is, I happen to be feeling cantankerous, in which case I respond with, "From what?"
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)nt
refrescanos
(112 posts)... waiting for one of the ministers to bring up a coupon analogy... I guess where I've been they don't have a sense of humor.
markpkessinger
(8,558 posts)TommyCelt
(850 posts)...in fear and trembling." - Phillipians 2:12
Sola gratia.
refrescanos
(112 posts)Having religious feelings when I was eight. Neither of my parents went to church. One of our neighbors was Catholic and that is where I found out some of the story. I asked for a child's textbook/story about the bible.I was baptised as an infant, but my dad has said that was more for additional records.
Jeff In Milwaukee
(13,992 posts)On his deathbed, Henry David Thoreau was supposedly asked, "Henry, have you made your peace with God?" and Thoreau supposedly answered, "I did not know we had ever quarreled."
Johnny Ready
(203 posts)It seems everyone has their own personal reason to believe in God or their own personal reason not to. It seems interpretation of the written word is the essence of religion regardless of your position or faith. I choose to believe, yet admittedly I am sinner. I was "saved" Sunday February 8th 1998 but I have sinned as recently as an hour ago. God I hope I make it to heaven.