Salvation and Catholicism

26th October 2012

A) WHAT IS SALVATION AND WHY DO WE NEED IT?

IN THE BEGINNINGAdam and Eve created without defectwith freedom from disordered desires, immortal, freedom from suffering; with gifts of knowledge.

with grace, enabling them to enjoy an intimate friendship with God.

this relationship was to culminate in the perfect and lasting vision of God.

these gifts and graces should have been passed on to the whole human race

SO WHAT HAPPENED? -THE FALL

Our 1st parents freely choose to disobey God

choice given to humans was to make one simple act of loyalty to God(Genesis 2: 16-17)

the serpent tempted our first parents with a lie, and they disobeyed God

as a result suffered serious consequences for themselves and all subsequent generations.

EFFECTS OF THE FALLAdam and Eve lost:- their special gifts and perfect state, their intimate relationship with God the promise of future glory in heaven.we inherit original sin-the guilt of his sin as our fore- father the selfish human desire for an object, or persona life of suffering, ignorance and discontent

ending in death; a state without grace-a life without union with

God and with no promise of heaven.

ANY HOPE AFTER THE FALL?The human race was not to be lost forever.

God loves us too much. He promised in his mercy, a means of salvation from sin and death.

Through a series of covenants, God gradually re-established the relationship

prepared for the coming of the messiah-total salvation

Salvation history is the progressive unfolding of God’s plan to save the human race from sin and death after the fall.

Covenant: A covenant is a solemn agreement to engage in or refrain from a specified action

OUR SALVATION HISTORY

After Adam & Eve, human race became more sinful.

God commanded Noah to built an ark and was saved from the flood.

God then established a covenant with Noah, promising to preserve life until the end of time, giving us an opportunity to be saved.(Genesis 6- Genesis 9)

God’s promise to Noah is fulfilled in Christ who is with us ‘ to the end of Time’( Mathew 28:20). Noah’s ark prefigures Christ’s church that carries the faithful to salvation.

COVENANT WITH NOAH

God called Abraham to leave his own country, promising him a land; to make him a nation and to bless the whole world through him (Genesis 12-17).

God’s promise to Abraham was perfectly fulfilled in Christ. through him, God has established a redeemed nation, the church, giving us an everlasting homeland, heaven and blessed all peoples.

COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM

Jacob (Abraham's grand-son), had 12 sons who became the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel.

moved to Egypt because of famine. Egyptians later enslaved them. God raised up Moses to free his people, teach

them his law and return them to their promised land.

God’s work through Moses was perfectly fulfilled by Jesus who freed us from slavery of sin and gave the new law of grace. He founded the church, the new Israel, on 12 apostles to bring us to the promised land of heaven.

COVENANT WITH MOSES

Israel conquered their promised land but broke the 10 commandments, falling into sin.

demanded the judge Samuel for a king. after the unfaithfulness of Saul, their 1st

king, God chose David as king. God promised David that one of his

descendants would reign forever. God’s promise to David was perfectly

fulfilled in Jesus, son of David and king of the new Israel, whose reign will never end.

COVENANT WITH DAVID

David’s son Solomon built the temple but broke the commandments.

the kingdom was divided in to two, Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians

God sent prophets such as Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. They called people to repentance. They prophesied a future salvation, a new and everlasting covenant, a Messiah or Christ, ‘the anointed one’ and a ‘suffering servant’, who would bear the sins of many.

God’s promise of salvation, was perfectly fulfilled in the kingdom proclaimed by Jesus.

COVENANTS WITH OTHER PROPHETS

although the Jewish people returned from Babylon, there was no new Jewish king.

they remained at the mercy of the Persians, the Greeks and eventually the Romans.

finally a last prophet appeared, John the Baptist, calling people to repentance and to prepare for the imminent coming of the messiah. ‘prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight!’ (Mathew 3:3)

JOHN THE BAPTIST

‘the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most high will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God.’-Luke 1:35

At the time of a census called by Emperor Augustus, Jesus was born in Bethlehem,. ‘ the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped her in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger’-Luke 2: 4-7

THE ANNUNCIATION & THE BIRTH

Conception and birth ( 6 BC)

His miraculous conception and his birth in Bethlehem

Hidden life ( to 24 AD)

30 years living in Nazareth, as the carpenter’s son

Public Ministry ( to 27 AD)

3-years preaching the kingdom of God, working signs and miracles and establishing the church

Death, resurrection, Ascension (27 AD)

submission to a cruel execution on a cross as a sacrifice for sin; his resurrection and Ascension into glory

THE LIFE OF CHRIST

the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ by which he heals us from sin

Passion of Jesus: the sacrificial suffering and death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion on Mount Calvary. He died between two thieves.

Atonement: The word implies both a repayment for our sins (to atone) and a reunion of God and humanity (making at-one).

Only a person who was truly divine, human and innocent could make such an effective sacrifice on our behalf.

THE PASCHAL MYSTERY

Repays our debt of guilt

‘the son of man came…and to give his life as a ransom’-Mathew 20:28

Gains mercy for us and repeals our punishment

By his wounds, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). ‘ This is the blood-which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ (Mathew 26:28)

Defeats the claims of the devil over us

‘Now shall the ruler of this world be cast out’(John 12:31); deliver those…subject to lifelong bondage (Hebrews 2:15)

Reconciles us to God

In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself (2 Co 5:19)

WHAT DOES ATONEMENT DO FOR US?

atonement also teaches us the seriousness of sin by the bitterness of its remedy and manifests the extent of God’s love for us,- ‘Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’ (john 15:13)

The soul of Jesus descended to the dead in the period between his death and resurrection…‘preaching to the spirits in prison’(1Peter 3:18-20). In other words, Jesus released those just souls who had died before his coming and opened heaven for them.

WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO DIED BEFORE CHRIST?

ARE CATHOLIC SAVED?HOW DO I GET SAVED?

CAN I BE SAVED WHILE AM STILL ALIVE?

WHAT ARE THE TEACHINGS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH ON THE

SUBJECT OF SALVATION? IS THERE SALVATION OUTSIDE THE

CATHOLIC CHURCH?

# 816 of the CCC, "The Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism explains: 'For it is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God.'" (C.C.C. # 816)

SALVATION ONLY IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?

"However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these community (that resulted from such separation) and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers... All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church." (C.C.C. # 818)

WHAT ABOUT OUR SEPARATED BROTHERS AND SISTERS?

today's members of other denominations can’t be held guilty for the Church division

through faith in Jesus and the proper administration of the Sacrament of Baptism, our separated brothers and sisters are justified (reconciliated with God by the Blood of Christ),

although they are not members of the physical Catholic faith, they meet the conditions to be admitted into the spiritual Body of Christ.

IN OTHER WORDS?

NOThe Sacrament of Baptism does not

guarantee one's salvation-it is the door into the spiritual Body of Christ that leads towards salvation.

one must maintain one’s righteousness.

To maintain one’s righteousness, one must have access to the Sacraments of Confession and the Holy Eucharist

SO IS BAPTISM ALONE ENOUGH?

"Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, …, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it." (C.C.C. # 846)

DO I NEED A CHURCH? CAN’T I WALK IT ALONE?

SACRAMENTS-TOOLS TO SALVATION

In order to get saved, we must maintain the righteousness we received at Baptism.

Ongoing righteousness is maintained through Confession and the Holy Eucharist.

non-Catholics, once they have committed mortal sins, they possess no means of reinstating the righteousness that originally received at baptism.

"If (mortal sin) is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back." (C.C.C. # 1861)

WHAT ABOUT INFANTS WHO DIE UNBAPTISED?

God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments." (C.C.C. # 1257)

He can and does make exceptions under certain circumstances.

The inherited original sin, children should be baptized as soon as possible.' Because of this certainty of faith, the Church baptizes for the remission of sins even tiny infants who have not committed personal sin." (C.C.C. # 403)

"As regards children who have died without Baptism, non- Catholics or those from Catholic families, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: 'Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,' allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism." (C.C.C. # 1261)

SO WHO IS GUARANTEED SALVATION?

A baptized Catholic who:a) has reached the age of reason, and

b) who is in a state of grace because he/she c) has received the Sacrament of Confession on a regular basis and

d) received the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist during Sunday attendance at the Holy Mass as required by the Precept of the Church, (Canon Law # 1247) will be assured salvation upon death.

BAPTISMS OF BLOOD AND DESIRE?

"For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament." (C.C.C. # 1259)

"The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ." (C.C.C. # 1258) As such, martyrs are saved through their Baptism by blood.

MORTAL SIN-SURE WAY TO HELL?

those who die in a state of mortal sin, shall be excluded from the Kingdom of God. (C.C.C. # 1861)

"Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Gal. 5:19-10; C.C.C. # 1852)

"Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers - none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God." [1 Cor. 6:9-10]

“..But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death." [Rev. 21:7-8]

IS IGNORANCE DEFENCE? 'Those who, through no fault of their own, do

not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.'" (C.C.C. # 847)

“…Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity." (C.C.C. # 1260)

IN SUMMARY? for one to be saved, one must,

(A) Have faith in Jesus,(B) Be properly baptized, and(C) Die in a state of righteousness.OR(D) Have faith in Jesus and the intent of converting to the Catholic faith prior to dying. While he may not have been baptized by water, he would have received the Baptism of blood or of desire.

ARE YOU SAVED?“God, I know that I have sinned

against You and deserve punishment. But I believe Jesus Christ took the

punishment I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. I receive Your offer of

forgiveness and place my trust in You for salvation. I accept Jesus as my

personal Savior! Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness—

the gift of eternal life! Amen!”

JUST ACCEPT JESUS AS PERSONAL SAVIOUR & LORD…Savedees behave as if they have absolute

assurance of salvation. ‘all i have to do is "accept Christ as my

personal Savior," and it’s done’. ‘we might well live exemplary lives

thereafter, but living well is not crucial and definitely does not affect my salvation…’

For many savedees, it makes no difference—as far as salvation is concerned—how you live or end your life.

‘You can heed the altar call at church, announce that you’ve accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, and, so long as you really believe it, you’re set’.

‘From that point on there is nothing you can do, no sin you can commit, no matter how heinous, that will forfeit your salvation’.

‘You can’t undo your salvation, even if you wanted to. A sort of pre-destination!’ 

‘THERE IS THEREFORE NO CONDEMNATION’-WILSON EWIN (1980)

He writes that "the person who places his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his blood shed at Calvary is eternally secure. He can never lose his salvation. No personal breaking of God’s or man’s laws or commandments can nullify that status." 

"To deny the assurance of salvation would be to deny Christ’s perfect redemption," argues Ewin,

‘THERE IS THEREFORE NO CONDEMNATION’-WILSON EWIN…Ewin, "no wrong act or sinful deed

can ever affect the believer’s salvation. The sinner did nothing to merit God’s grace and likewise he can do nothing to demerit grace.  

But is that the TRUTH?

THE TRUTH! Ewin clearly confuses the redemption that

Christ accomplished for us objectively with our individual appropriation (adapting/accepting/embracing) of that redemption.

In a sense, we are all redeemed by Christ’s death on the cross—Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists(1 Tim. 2:6, 4:10, 1 John 2:2)—but our individual appropriation of what Christ provided is contingent on our response. 

YOU CAN’T LOSE HEAVEN? If person gives us a gift—it in no way

follows that our actions are irrelevant to whether or not we keep the gift. We can misplace it, destroy it, give it to someone else. We may even forfeit something we were given by later displeasing the one who gave it

Adam and Eve, who received God’s grace in a manner just as unmerited as anyone today, most definitely did demerit it—and lost grace not only for themselves but for us as well (cf. also Rom. 11:17-24).

THE BIBLE SAYS…"See then the kindness and the

severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off" (Rom. 11:22; see also Heb. 10:26–29, 2 Pet. 2:20–21). 

IS IT THEN POSSIBLE TO BE SAVED?One can be confident of one’s present

salvation. Sacraments provide visible assurances that he is invisibly providing us with his grace

examine one’s life and see whether one has committed mortal sin.

many saintly men and women who have long lived the Christian life. look forward with confidence to their reception in heaven. 

FINALLY: ARE YOU SAVED?Neither ‘Yes’ nor ‘No’ is the right

answer.‘YES’ does not seem right- there are

so many things I wish to be saved from: my fears and worries, my bad habits, my judgmental attitudes and then death! I need a lot of fixing…

‘NO’ does not sound right either. I am baptized. I love Jesus and try to live his word. I pray often and know that God is near.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?As the Bible says, I am already saved

(Rom. 8:24, Eph. 2:5–8), but I’m also being saved (1 Cor. 1:18,

2 Cor. 2:15, Phil. 2:12), and I have the hope that I will be saved

(Rom. 5:9–10, 1 Cor. 3:12–15). Like the apostle Paul, I am working out

my salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), with hopeful confidence in the promises of Christ (Rom. 5:2, 2 Tim. 2:11–13)." 

Salvation does not happen in one moment but a life-long process.

salvation is the whole process that starts at the moment of believing in Jesus and receiving baptism, goes on throughout one’s life and is complete only in heaven.

I was saved. Am being saved. I will be saved.

REFERENCES‘Are Catholics Saved?’-Wolfgang

Schonecke, M.Afr. (Paulines publications Africa, 2002).

‘The catholic faith explained’, CREDO, Fr. Marcus Holden, Fr. Andrew Pinset,2008, CTS publications.

http://www.catholicdoors.com http://www.ewtn.comhttp://www.catholic.com