Salvation 

We are very important to God, and God should be very important in our lives too. 

​

For a Christian, salvation is our hope for life with God in Heaven after death. This was God's plan from the beginning of time, for us to be for ever united with him. God sent Jesus to bring us to Heaven for this very reason. The cross on which Jesus died is very powerful in Christianity, as it reminds us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us in order for us to be saved. We couldn't be saved without the cross. Even though the cross represented death when Jesus died, it now represents new life to Christians because Jesus was raised from the dead. We must carry our own crosses throughout our lives, just as Jesus did. We will have to make some sacrifices in our lives. But we have hope that if we follow the Lord, we will be saved because Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

​

It is only through God that we can be saved. When we die, we will meet with God, and He will look at how we have served Him during our lives, and how we helped others through our love and faith in Him. 

​

When we place our trust and love in the Lord, through the sacrament of confirmation or at another time, we receive the Holy Spirit, who works in us and through us to strengthen us. Even though the Holy Spirit is our guide, we must still say yes to God's Will. Even if we have said "yes" to God before, we must continue to do so. The Holy Spirit and knowing about Jesus can help us in loving, but we must always put it into practice.

​

We are saved by our faith in God as well as our actions; we are saved by not only believing in Jesus, but also by doing good works for others and being compassionate. We cannot earn God's approval simply by doing good things; we must love God in our hearts and honour him with everything we have. Our actions must reflect our relationship with God. Everything we do should show our faith in God, rather than trying to impress or please others.

​

​

​

​

God will reward or punish every person for what he has done. Some people live for God’s glory, for honor, and for life that has no end. They live for those things by always continuing to do good. God will give life forever to them.

​

Romans 2:6-7

​

​

​

The Holy Spirit is very special and unique in our Christian faith. Despite not being able to see Him or know who or what the Holy Spirit is, He gives us understanding of who God is and empowers us to say yes to the Will of the Lord. There are 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit - meaning, there are 9 special and unique qualities of being empowered by the Holy Spirit that enables us to grow more Christ-centred. The 9 gifts are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self-Control. We need to use these qualities that we are given because they are good for our soul, and helps others too.

 

The Holy Spirit also gives grace to us. Grace is a free gift from God; we do not earn it. Grace helps us to bear the difficulties of everyday life. God loves us so much that He chooses to pour grace on His followers in order for us to know Him better and be renewed every day. Grace has the power to cleanse us of our sins. We are hopeless without grace, living without God's wisdom and encouragement.

​

We cannot do anything without the help from God. Everything that we do without the power from the Holy Spirit will fall apart, or not be of any value. We should always look forward to Heaven, because that is what is important in the long-term; and we must trust in God and let God help us, because we cannot save ourselves.

​

In the Catholic Church there are two kinds of Graces that we receive. The first one is called Sanctifying Grace, which cleans the soul for God and makes it holy. This Grace stays in the soul, giving it supernatural life. 

The other Grace is called Agape grace, and is the prompting from the Holy Spirit to encourage us to do what is right, and help us to say “yes” to God everyday.

​

We receive both graces by God freely through our faith in Jesus. We receive grace through our prayers, hope, receiving the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist, reading the scriptures, and attending Mass. 

​

Salvation is very important, and is the centre of our faith. It is the main reason for this story of our lives. Salvation is for us; we need to just say yes to God and do what He asks us to do. We also need to share this good news that we can be united with God with other people, so they can know too. 

​