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LESSON 8 The Redemption
"I believe ... in Jesus Christ ... who ... suffered under Pontius Pilot, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead ..."
90. What is meant by the Redemption?
By the Redemption is meant that Jesus Christ, as the Redeemer of the whole human race, offered His sufferings and death to God as a fitting sacrifice in satisfaction for the sins of men, and regained for them the right to be children of God and heirs of heaven.
91. What were the chief sufferings of Christ?
The chief sufferings of Christ were His bitter agony of soul, His bloody sweat, His cruel scourging, His crowning with thorns, His crucifixion, and His death on the cross.
92. When did Christ die?
Christ died on Good Friday.
93. Where did Christ die?
Christ died on Golgotha, a place outside the city of Jerusalem.
94. What do we learn from the sufferings and death of Christ?
From the sufferings and death of Christ we learn God's love for man and the evil of sin, for which God, who is all-just, demands such great satisfaction.
95. What do we mean when we say in the Apostles' Creed that Christ descended into hell?
When we say that Christ descended into hell we mean that, after He died, the soul of Christ descended into a place or state of rest, called limbo, where the souls of the just were waiting for Him.
96. Why did Christ go to limbo?
Christ went to limbo to announce to the souls waiting there the joyful news that He had reopened heaven to mankind.
97. Where was Christ's body while His soul was In limbo?
While His soul was in limbo, Christ's body was in the holy sepulchre.
98. When did Christ rise from the dead?
Christ rose from the dead, glorious and immortal, on Easter Sunday, the third day after His death.
99. Why did Christ rise from the dead?
Christ rose from the dead to show that He is true God and to teach us that we, too, shall rise from the dead.
100. Will all men rise from the dead?
All men will rise from the dead, but only those who have been faithful to Christ will share in His glory.
101. When did Christ ascend into heaven?
Christ ascended, body and soul, into heaven on Ascension Day, forty days after His Resurrection.
102. Why did Christ remain on earth forty days after His Resurrection?
Christ remained on earth forty days after His Resurrection to prove that He had truly risen from the dead and to complete the instruction of the apostles.
103. What do we mean when we say that Christ sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty?
When we say that Christ sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, we mean that Our Lord as God is equal to the Father, and that as man He shares above all the saints in the glory of His Father and exercises for all eternity the supreme authority of a king over all creatures.
104. What do we mean when we say that Christ will come from thence to judge the living and the dead?
When we say that Christ will come from thence to judge the living and the dead, we mean that on the last day Our Lord will come to pronounce a sentence of eternal reward or of eternal punishment on everyone who has ever lived in this world.
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