The Church and Her Role in “Salvation”
(Part of the lecture delivered by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III at the Servants’ Meeting in the Cathedral on Thursday, July 27, 1978.)
The great salvation which our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross is conveyed by the Church to the people through at least three things:
(a) The ministry of the Word
(b) The ministry of the Sacraments
(c) The ministry of reconciliation and pastoral care.
The Ministry of the Word Brings Faith
No one among the people can be saved without faith. But “how then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14).
This faith, which is necessary for salvation, is offered by the Church through the ministry of the Word,
through preaching, which is a responsibility entrusted to the Church by our Lord Jesus Christ when He said to the Apostles:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19).
And He said to them: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
Through this preaching, the Church has conveyed faith to the people, and without it they could not have been saved. Therefore, they were saved through the Church:
They believed through the Church, and they were baptized through the Church. And they were saved through faith and baptism: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).
This is what happened on the Day of Pentecost, when three thousand men were saved. Peter preached the Word, and the Jews were cut to the heart and believed.
Then they received baptism (Acts 2:37–38). They received from the Apostles the ministry of the Word and the ministry of the Holy Sacraments. They received salvation through the Church.
This is the same thing Philip did with the Ethiopian eunuch: he preached to him and baptized him (Acts 8).
And this is the same thing Peter did with Cornelius: he preached to him and baptized him (Acts 10), and this was by divine guidance.
Among the Most Important Evidences of the Church’s Work in Salvation through the Ministry of the Word:
The angel’s words to Cornelius concerning Simon Peter: “He will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved” (Acts 11:14).
Likewise, the words of the Apostle Paul to his disciple Timothy, the bishop:
“Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Tim. 4:16).
This is the ministry of the Word carried out by the Church—the ministry of preaching, teaching, and making disciples—through which she conveys the faith for the salvation of the people:
Through this ministry the Apostle Paul labored and proclaimed the Gospel, saying, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:22).
The Ministry of Preaching Is Not Carried Out by Just Anyone, but by Apostles Sent by the Church
The Scripture says in this regard: “And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10:15).
And this sending is carried out by the Church, according to what the Holy Spirit said to the Apostles: “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2).
Then they fasted and prayed, laid their hands on them, and sent them away.
The act of sending is an act of the laying on of hands. The sending carried out by the Church is considered a sending from the Holy Spirit.
The Ministry of the Sacraments for Salvation
The Church Sacraments were instituted by the Lord for our salvation, especially Baptism, Holy Chrismation, Repentance, and the Eucharist, as well as the Sacrament of Priesthood, through which all these ministries are carried out.
Through the ministry of the Sacraments, the Church conveys to the people the merits of redemption.
In Baptism, she grants them salvation from original sin and from all sins committed before baptism.
In the Sacrament of Repentance, through the priest’s absolution, she grants them salvation from their actual sins through forgiveness.
As for the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the priest says of it in the final confession: “It is given for us for salvation, remission of sins, and eternal life to whoever partakes of it.”
And in the Sacrament of Holy Chrismation (Myron), the Church gives them the Holy Spirit, without whose work in a person there can be neither repentance nor salvation.
The Sacrament of Baptism and Salvation
Baptism is necessary for salvation, according to the Lord’s saying: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). Thus, the Lord made it a condition for salvation.
He also said: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
And on the Day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jews: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).
Therefore, Baptism is for the remission of sins, for salvation, and for entering the Kingdom of God.
And Baptism is a work carried out by the Church for the salvation of the believer.
We say in the Creed, concerning the importance of this Sacrament in the matter of salvation: “We believe in one Baptism for the remission of sins.”
One of the greatest examples demonstrating the importance of Baptism for salvation is what happened to Saul of Tarsus.
After he encountered the Lord, saw Him, and heard His voice, he believed. And the Lord chose him as a vessel to bear His name among the peoples and nations.
The Lord sent him to the Church, and Ananias said to him: “Brother Saul… why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16).
Therefore, the sins of Saul of Tarsus were not washed away except through Baptism.
And they were washed away only through the Church, despite his encounter with the Lord and his being chosen for the ministry. And the washing away of sins brings salvation to a person.
Among the Things That Demonstrate the Work of Baptism in Salvation:
The comparison of Baptism to Noah’s Ark, in which Noah and his sons were saved.
In this regard, the Apostle Peter says:
“While the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—Baptism” (1 Pet. 3:20–21).
There is another symbol of Baptism that also carries the meaning of salvation: the crossing of the Red Sea and the deliverance from the bondage of Pharaoh.
The Apostle says concerning this:
“For I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:1–2).
There is no doubt that the crossing through the waters of the sea was a great salvation for the people.
Moses said to them immediately beforehand: “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord… The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Ex. 14:13–14).
And because of the Church’s concern with the meanings of this salvation, she chants this story of the crossing in the First Canticle of the Midnight Praise every day. Let us contemplate this salvation which symbolizes Baptism.
In Baptism, the old man dies, so that a new man may be born in his place, in the image of God,
with a new nature, in the newness of life (Rom. 6). In Baptism, you are buried with Christ and rise with Him.
In Baptism, we receive adoption and become children of God and children of the Church. We receive the second birth of water and the Spirit, through the washing of the second birth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).
All these blessings are granted to us by the Church in Baptism.
It is the Church that has been entrusted with the mysteries of the New Covenant, through which she conveys the merits of redemption, the blessings of salvation, and the graces of the New Covenant.
The Church washes us in Baptism with water and the Spirit, and we become whiter than snow.
And we remember the Lord’s words to sinful Jerusalem:
“I saw you struggling in your own blood… and you were naked and bare. Then I passed by you and looked upon you, and behold, your time was the time of love…
Then I washed you in water, and washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil” (Ezek. 16:8–9).
“Then I washed you in water” is a symbol of Baptism, and “I anointed you with oil” is a symbol of Chrismation.
Both are connected with the salvation of this naked soul, trampled in her own blood.
Perhaps one of the most beautiful and profound expressions revealing the blessing a person receives in Baptism is the Apostle’s saying (Gal. 3:27):
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
Is there any greater honor than this—that we put on Christ in Baptism?
This is the renewal that we receive through this great Sacrament, the new nature that is in the image of God, with which the old man has died.
This is part of the Church’s work concerning “salvation”: a salvation accomplished by Christ and for which He paid the price, and which the Church conveys to the people.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in El-Keraza Magazine, Ninth Year, Issue 31, August 4, 1978.
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