Redemptive suffering Redemptive suffering Redemptive suffering is the Christian belief that human suffering, when accepted and offered up in union with the Passion of Jesus, can remit the just punishment for one's sins or for the sins of another, or for the other physical or spiritual needs of oneself or another. Like an indulgence, redemptive suffering does not gain the individual "forgiveness" for their sin; forgiveness results from God’s grace, freely given through Christ, which cannot be earned. After one's sins are forgiven, the individual's suffering can reduce the "penalty" due for sin. Christians believe that God loves mankind so much that
Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament word Christ is so closely associated with Jesus that it is apparent that for the early Christians there is no need to claim that Jesus is Christ, for that is considered widely accepted among them. Hence Paul can use the term "Christos" with no confusion as to whom it refers to, and as in and he can use expressions such as "in Christ" to refer to the followers of Jesus. Symbols for representing Christ (i.e. Christograms) were developed by early Christians, e.g. the "Chi Rho" symbol formed by superimposing the first two Greek letters in Christ ( Greek : "Χριστός"