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Im not a Catholic, Im a Baptist and I know there are non-Catholics wanting to give me an answer on this.....but I wanted to know if the Catholics knew this answer about salvation. Im curious to know if they have a different way than other Christians do.

2007-04-04 20:21:43 · 12 answers · asked by Ms DeeAnn 5 in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

12 answers

We believe Jesus died for our sins. We believe in the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Our Savior. We believe we will be saved by Gods grace.
For God so loved the world he gave His only begotten son and whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life. John 3:16

He has Risen. Alleluia! Happy Easter.

2007-04-04 20:32:40 · answer #1 · answered by ohbrother 5 · 2 0

The Catholic Church thus teaches that salvation to eternal life is God's will for all people, and that God grants it as a free gift, a grace, through the sacrifice of Christ. Man cannot, in the strict sense, merit anything from God. It is God who justifies, that is, who frees from sin by a free gift of holiness (sanctifying grace, also known as habitual or deifying grace). Man can accept the gift God gives. Man can also refuse the gift. Human cooperation is needed, in line with a new capacity to adhere to the divine will that God provides. The faith of a Christian is not without works, otherwise it would be dead. In this sense, "by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone," and eternal life is, at one and the same time, grace and the reward given by God for good works and merits. Faith, and subsequently works, are a result of God's grace - thus, it is only because of grace that the believer can be said to "merit" salvation.




Some Protestants hold to a similar Catholic "faith plus works" salvation theology. Others believe that the Bible proclaims a rigidly Sola Fide ("faith in Jesus Christ alone")-based salvation without works. There is a complementary Protestant doctrine that the Bible proclaims salvation by "grace alone" (see Five solas). Especially in some interpretations of Calvinism this is extended to mean that God saves people (or condemns them) by freely granting or withholding his grace. This view does not exclude faith or works, as one must have faith to be saved (though it is viewed as God-given), and true believers will do good works.

2007-04-06 18:05:43 · answer #2 · answered by cashelmara 7 · 0 0

You should know this, but your Baptist faith tradition has chosen to discount it.

Baptism is necessary for salvation.

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him: Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith to him: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born again?
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered: Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7 Wonder not that I said to thee: You must be born again.

There is no promise of unconditional salvation, either. St Paul explains that salvation can indeed be lost:

1Co 9:24 Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize. So run that you may obtain.
1Co 9:25 And every one that striveth for the mastery refraineth himself from all things. And they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown: but we an incorruptible one.
1Co 9:26 I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty: I so fight, not as one beating the air.
1Co 9:27 But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway.

If St. Paul could become a spiritual "castaway" due to unrepented sins, than anyone can.

Salvation is a process that begins at baptism, and is complete only once Jesus rules, on our day of judgment.

Once saved, always saved, is a myth, and a heresy.

Once baptized, a lifetime of full and active participation in the work, worship, sacraments, and devotions of the authentic, universal Church, is the surest way for anyone to get to heaven.

God remains the only judge.

2007-04-05 07:04:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2 0

I'm Catholic, and we believe that it is possible to fall out of God's grace and into sin if you are not vigilant. "How one is saved" is a fundmentalist Protestant way of looking at things. Sometimes I wish it were that easy. Just confess that you believe and that's it - you are set no matter what you do later on. You are going to heaven, no matter what horrible sins you commit later on - you have your "I'm saved get out of jail free card".

It says in Holy Scripture that you must be vigilant, because no one knows the day or the hour when our Lord will come again - he will come like a thief in the night, two will be working in the field, one will be taken, etc etc. Now why does it mention that we must be vigilant? If we've been "saved" as you put it, then who cares, right? On the other hand, if it's contingent on staying in God's grace, and keeping your personal ledger clean, as I believe, you must keep yourself clean in the eyes of God, because you don't know when you are going to meet Him.

2007-04-05 03:33:03 · answer #4 · answered by the phantom 6 · 1 0

The Athanasian Creed states,

Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all, keep the Catholic faith. For unless a person keeps this faith whole and entire, he will undoubtedly be lost forever. This is what the catholic faith teaches: we worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit.

But the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one divinity, equal glory, and coeternal majesty. What the Father is, the Son is, and the Holy Spirit is.

The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated. The Father is boundless, the Son is boundless, and the Holy Spirit is boundless. The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal.

Nevertheless, there are not three eternal beings, but one eternal being. So there are not three uncreated beings, nor three boundless beings, but one uncreated being and one boundless being. Likewise, the Father is omnipotent, the Son is omnipotent, the Holy Spirit is omnipotent.

Yet there are not three omnipotent beings, but one omnipotent being. Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.

However, there are not three gods, but one God. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord. However, there are not three lords, but one Lord. For as we are obliged by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person singly to be God and Lord, so too are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords.

The Father was not made, nor created, nor generated by anyone. The Son is not made, nor created, but begotten by the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is not made, nor created, nor generated, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. There is, then, one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits. In this Trinity, there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less. The entire three Persons are coeternal and coequal with one another. So that in all things, as is has been said above, the Unity is to be worshiped in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity.

He, therefore, who wishes to be saved, must believe thus about the Trinity. It is also necessary for eternal salvation that he believes steadfastly in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man. As God, He was begotten of the substance of the Father before time; as man, He was born in time of the substance of His Mother. He is perfect God; and He is perfect man, with a rational soul and human flesh. He is equal to the Father in His divinity, but inferior to the Father in His humanity. Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ. And He is one, not because His divinity was changed into flesh, but because His humanity was assumed unto God. He is one, not by a mingling of substances, but by unity of person. As a rational soul and flesh are one man: so God and man are one Christ. He died for our salvation, descended into Hell, and rose from the dead on the third day. He ascended into Heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. At His coming, all men are to arise with their own bodies; and they are to give an account of their own deeds. Those who have done good deeds will go into eternal life; those who have done evil will go into the everlasting fire.

This is the Catholic faith. Everyone must believe it, firmly and steadfastly; otherwise He cannot be saved. Amen

2007-04-06 18:16:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

As a recovering Catholic I can tell you without a doubt, that there is a difference between "being a Catholic" and being "born again"...in that when you are born again, its a way of life not just something you practice on Sunday mornings or holy days of obligation.

The scripture about being saved is:
John 3:17

2007-04-05 03:39:49 · answer #6 · answered by akablueeye 4 · 0 2

We believe that baptism with water -- by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling -- in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, cleanses us from original sin and personal sin (and their punishments) and initiates us into the life of the Church. It is more than merely symbolic; it's more than an expression of belief of the one being baptized (or his parents); it is a Sacrament, both a sign and medium of sanctifying grace. Baptism does something; it remits sins:

Ezekiel 36:25
[Prophecy] Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 22:16
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Like all Sacraments (the other 6 being Eucharist, Confession, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Matrimony, and Unction), Baptism is not a work of man; it is a work of Christ, an act of His grace:

Titus 3:5-7
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
It is through Baptism that we are "born again" (or "born from above") of "water and of the Spirit" (John 3:3-5). Read the entire chapter of John 3 which speaks of being "born again" and please note that it is all about Baptism. Despite what some Protestants believe, being "born again" doesn't mean "having an emotional high" or "making a decision for Christ," though these are fine and good, the latter being necessary after the age of reason; being "born again" very clearly refers to Baptism of water and of the Spirit. This regeneration of water and Spirit is necessary to enter the Kingdom of God:

John 3:3-5
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God

2007-04-06 18:19:27 · answer #7 · answered by Isabella 6 · 0 0

You are going to say by baptism but i have know people who have been baptized who lost their belief in god . That disavowed god. do you think they are in heaven. On the other hand Christians believe in a salvation method mentioned it John 3:16. God bless.

2007-04-05 03:33:09 · answer #8 · answered by swindled 7 · 0 1

One obvious one is Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

There's also the "When did we see you hungry..." jazz in Matthew 25. And then there's the entire letter of James, especially the part about faith without works being dead.

2007-04-05 03:49:58 · answer #9 · answered by skepsis 7 · 2 0

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!!!!
That'll be interesting. This is getting a star.

2007-04-05 03:32:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

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