This is a good word and I appreciate it. That said I have a visceral reaction against the statement that through almsgiving we redeem our sins. If that's the case, for what did Christ die?
Great question. In Tobit 12:9 (part of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Old Testaments but not the Protestant collection) we read: "For alms does deliver from death, and shall purge away all sin. Those that exercise alms and righteousness shall be filled with life." A few Church Fathers' commentary here: litteraldotorg.wordpress.com/tobit-12/ This is a small start, and I'm not the best person to ask about this, but ultimately our obedience to Christ's commandments, including almsgiving, is necessary for our salvation but at the same time it is Christ Who saves us by His crucifixion and resurrection. There is a synergy and a statement like "by alms we redeem our sins" must be understood in the context of the synergy between God and man to accomplish a man's salvation.
Almsgiving is one of the good deeds we give to Christ to show our faith in him. We offer it up to Christ so he may forgive us our debts. St. James in the Epistle of James states “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead"
Just my two cents, but I think we give alms because he died for us. It depends on how you see it. If you think about it as regularly giving to the poor. Then it's the growth of our Lord an Savior that teaches us the importance of this, and how we should do it. It is Christ in us that gives. Not us.
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It's amazing to hear a Pope not in heresy. Glory to God!
This is a good word and I appreciate it. That said I have a visceral reaction against the statement that through almsgiving we redeem our sins. If that's the case, for what did Christ die?
Great question. In Tobit 12:9 (part of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Old Testaments but not the Protestant collection) we read: "For alms does deliver from death, and shall purge away all sin. Those that exercise alms and righteousness shall be filled with life."
A few Church Fathers' commentary here:
litteraldotorg.wordpress.com/tobit-12/
This is a small start, and I'm not the best person to ask about this, but ultimately our obedience to Christ's commandments, including almsgiving, is necessary for our salvation but at the same time it is Christ Who saves us by His crucifixion and resurrection. There is a synergy and a statement like "by alms we redeem our sins" must be understood in the context of the synergy between God and man to accomplish a man's salvation.
Almsgiving is one of the good deeds we give to Christ to show our faith in him. We offer it up to Christ so he may forgive us our debts.
St. James in the Epistle of James states “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead"
Almsgiving is a mechanism Christ uses to forgive us of our sins. He has instituted many methods: almsgiving, Confession, Holy Communion, and so on.
Just my two cents, but I think we give alms because he died for us. It depends on how you see it. If you think about it as regularly giving to the poor. Then it's the growth of our Lord an Savior that teaches us the importance of this, and how we should do it. It is Christ in us that gives. Not us.
Mark 8:37 says, "What can a man give in exchange for his soul?" This does not sound like salvation can be purchased.