The Salvation of Non-Believers and the Immaculate Conception
The General Idea of the Lecture
The lecture addresses two main doctrinal issues: the salvation of non-believers and the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, presenting the Coptic Orthodox position based on the Holy Bible and Church tradition, and rejecting any teaching not founded on clear scriptural evidence.
Second: The Salvation of Non-Believers
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that Christian faith is not a general or merely moral concept, but a defined faith that includes belief in the Holy Trinity, in the person of Christ and His redemption, in the Gospel, and in the holy sacraments, especially Baptism and the Eucharist.
He affirms that the teaching of the salvation of non-believers is a recent doctrine with no biblical foundation, relying more on human reasoning and emotion than on divine revelation.
The Holy Scripture clearly declares that salvation is connected to faith in Christ and living according to this faith, and that whoever does not believe in the Son does not have life. Good works without faith do not save, because salvation is only through the blood of Christ.
Third: Faith and Works
Orthodox teaching stresses that true faith is not a dead intellectual belief, but a living faith bearing fruits through works. The believer is judged or rewarded according to both faith and deeds, while the non-believer gains no benefit from his works, regardless of how good they may appear, due to the absence of faith in Christ.
Fourth: Natural Law and the Written Law
Before the Christian faith, humanity was judged according to the natural law implanted in conscience. After the coming of Christ, faith in the Gospel became the revealed path of salvation, and the natural law must not be placed above the Gospel law.
Fifth: The Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception
His Holiness then explains the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, clarifying that it is a modern Catholic teaching claiming that the Virgin Mary was born without original sin.
The Coptic Orthodox faith teaches that the only One conceived without sin is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Virgin Mary is holy and pure in her practical life, yet like all humanity she was born bearing original sin and was in need of salvation through the blood of Christ.
Sixth: The Testimony of the Virgin Herself
He refers to the Virgin’s own words in her hymn: “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” as a clear scriptural testimony of her need for salvation, since salvation is granted only through the blood of Christ, with no exception for anyone in past, present, or future.
Seventh: Universal Salvation through Christ’s Blood
The teaching concludes that all prophets and saints before the Cross awaited the salvation accomplished by Christ’s blood, and no one received salvation apart from it. Any doctrine claiming salvation without redemption empties the Incarnation and the Cross of their true meaning.
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