Need for a Savior?

[Ark]

Why do we need a Savior? 

[Ark]

Let me break this done to one aspect of this. Why can't a person advance themselves spiritually by prayer, fasting, meditation, good deeds, etc. to supplicate before God and grow closer to Him? Why is a Savior necessary a person must believe in, in order to be saved?

[Luigi]

The wages of sin is death.

Now in Old Testament times, before Jesus, priests/Levites at the temple did offer sin offerings. These involved the killing of an animal, burning (destroying) part of it and eating the rest. Those offerings forgave only the sins of the people who brought the animal and participated in its sacrifice.

Jesus' death on the cross is suitable sacrifice for anyone anywhere and for any sins.

As to your specific question, I don't know. I guess you could try to go it alone - pray, fast, meditate, do good deeds, beg forgiveness - and maybe your sins would be forgiven. But maybe not. Why ignore the guaranteed-successful method?

[CatholicFangirl]

 

Does our salvation rest on checking items off of a list, or is it because of a personal relationship with God? If it is the former, then I think the question is at most debatable, but if the latter, then we needed Jesus to come down to earth and die for us without question. The former puts him as a road map, very important yes, but one could theoretically do without. Our Lord isn't Just the way, He is also the truth we need to tell between good and evil and the life we must live to be in heaven.

Jesus is both 100% God and 100% man. He and his sacrifice are the bridge between heaven and earth. His physical nature alows for the establishment of the sacraments,and through the sacraments, we enter into the body of Christ.To be a joined with Christ is to be joined with the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This mystery is the basis of our faith, and one can reasonably predict, the basis of life in heaven. This is a feat we could not produce ourselves, but we can receive by accepting the love of the cross.

I hope this helps.

 

[BarbTherese]

On ‎3‎/‎01‎/‎2016‎ ‎3‎:‎21‎:‎15‎, Ark said:

Why do we need a Savior? 

I think today, here in Australia it's (Easter Saturday), tells the story.  We see Jesus after His death descend into death and Hades, which is separated by a vast abyss from Gehenna. Those is Hades are to be released into Heaven as The Gates open -  and those in Gehenna with Satan will very sadly need to stay where they are.

With the sin of Adam and Eve, the whole human race is affected and the Gates of Heaven are closed to the whole human race.  Those who die without deadly sin go to Hades and the other type sadly go to Gehenna or Hell.  With the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus, the Gates of Heaven are open to all mankind once more.

Yes, we needed a saviour.

I don't think of The Father as having willed the death of Jesus so much (permitted it: yes) as that Jesus entered into our human condition including fully in every way including cause and effect.   Cause: Jesus embraced The Mission The Father had given Him to communicate to mankind His Love and Mercy and everything related to His Love and Mercy.  It was the perseverance of Jesus in that Mission and refusal to in any way back away from it in His life on earth that brought about His Death.  Jesus enters fully and absolutely into the human condition and perseveres with absolute obedience to the Mission He is given even though He knew that eventually it would cost Him a terrible death. 

Effect: Jesus is crucified. 

Total perfect obedience of a very human person (Jesus) and come what may even shocking torture and slow terrible death - correcting completely, cancelling it and transcending the disobedience of Adam and Eve in what, insofar as we are aware probably, was not a terribly difficult request  or mission assigned to Adam and Eve (do not eat fruit of a particular tree) in a magnificent garden, where I imagine every incredible tree with delightful fruit abounded.

I rather think it might have had to have been a human being to correct things (and so God becomes fully human to save His creation), since human beings brought about the situation in the first place - a situation which did mean that no human could live under original sin as we all do and be free of all sin, faults and failings.  Well do we call Jesus "The New Adam".  We all have an assignment, a mission, and we all live it out imperfectly to some degree or other.

 

Gehenna : Catholic Catechismhttp://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_P2O.HTM

1034 Jesus often speaks of "Gehenna" of "the unquenchable fire" reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost.⁶¹² Jesus solemnly proclaims that he "will send his angels, and they will gather . . . all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire,"⁶¹³ and that he will pronounce the condemnation: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!"⁶¹⁴

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

You can advance yourself spiritualy with these things but the only way to the father is through the son. I often ask the question as to whether God speaks to everyone on the planet now as he died for absolutely everyone and therefore no one is exempt from grace anymore and the spirit convicts all as to whether they do wrong or right and that everyone has a choice to listen to Jesus or not. But yes following the way is the only assured way into heaven if you follow it till the day you die but not so for those whom are outside of the way, though not impossible according to the grace of God. What Baptism and following the way 100% to the best of your knowledge and understanding does is soften your heart and attune your spiritual ears to hearing more cleary the convictions of the spirit of God, it shrinks our egos and we overtime begin to desire to do Gods will and not our own.

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

and there is also the question of morality and sin. you can pray, meditate, do works of charity in word and deed and read an umteenth degree of spiritual books and encourage others to do the same, and at the same time believe abortion in moderation is not bad just don't go overboard. But what about morals and sin?