[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on Christianity/Islam
According to Paul, every human being on earth is born in sin, having inherited original sin from ancestor named Adam. You see, Adam sinned and thus got both him and any descendants he might have damned as well. Such a conception of justice would be considered valid nowhere except one must expect in heaven. Sin Paul tells us is found in the flesh. It is inherited through sinful flesh. Somehow, we are not told exactly how this happened, but by one act of disobedience and one man's sin the flesh became totally sinful and corrupted.
Christ having once died and risen, the Redemption is completed in law and in principle for the whole human race. Each man makes it his own in fact and in act by faith and baptism which, by uniting him with Christ, causes him to participate in His Divine life. Faith, according to St. Paul, is composed of several elements; it is the submission of the intellect to the word of God, the trusting abandonment of the believer to the Savior Who promises him assistance; it is also an act of obedience by which man accepts the Divine will.
Such an act has a moral value, for it "gives glory to God" in the measure in which it recognizes its own helplessness. That is why "Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.” The spiritual children of Abraham are likewise "justified by faith, without the works of the law.” Hence it follows: (1) That justice is granted by God in consideration of faith. (2) That, nevertheless, faith is not equivalent to justice, since man is justified "by grace,” (3) That the justice freely granted to man becomes his property and is inherent in him. Protestants formerly asserted that the justice of Christ is imputed to us......
