Painting: "Throne Room in Heaven" by Ouida Tanner Song: "No Tears in Heaven" by C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Some Things Catholics Believe About Salvation

Almighty God, out of His overwhelming goodness, freely created man to live forever and to share in his own blessed life. The purpose of man is to be loved and to be happy. The quest for this love and happiness is expressed by God in His blessings to man, and in man in his desire to find and worship God.

Mankind was created in holiness, but the first humans, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God's command for them and lost the special blessings of God for themselves and all their descendants. In addition, human beings commit individual sins, which make them personally guilty before God.

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Romans 8:16-17 "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."

John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Matthew 7:21 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

Romans 2:13 "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Philippians 2:12 "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling."

John 3:5 "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."

Luke 10:27-28 "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." And he said unto him, "Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live."

Romans 2:14 "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Titus 2:11 "For the grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared to all men, "

Matthew 16:18 "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Matthew 28:18-20 "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

Matthew 16:19 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

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."

John 20:22-23 "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained."

John 6:53-54 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

Acts 8:17 "Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost."

Acts 6:5-6 "And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them."

Matthew 19:6, Mark 10:9 "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

James 5:14 "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:"

Catholics absolutely reject the idea that Salvation, once achieved, is guaranteed no matter how one subsequently lives. We believe that it is necessary constantly to strive for perfection by prayer, faith, good works and growth in the love of God.

Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

John Lindorfer

* In coversations with other Christians, I find that they usually agree with me up to this point, that Salvation is a free gift of God. But then they say, "all you have to do is...." Catholics maintain that you don't have to do anything to get Salvation. It's free! If one shows that he or she wants it (by obeying the Law given to them [by God Himself] in the case of the Jews, or by Muslims following the teachings of the Koran, or by Hindus or Taoists or Bambuti pygmies doing whatever they do, for example, or by giving up one's life for whomever his God is), he is likely blessed by God with Salvation. The Church baptizes infants (who don't do much except cry, eat, sleep and mess themselves) because we believe that the sacrament of baptism confers Salvation all by itself, by the doing of the deed. What the recipients do with it afterward is up to them, but its initial reception is a specific, public event, with a minister and witnesses and a touching little ceremony. They don't have to write the date they were saved in their bibles (but they can, of course, if they want); we give them a little certificate that tells them.

** This seems to be one of the principle disagreements between Catholics and other Christians. Jesus said that he IS the way, the truth and the life, not that confessing that makes one his disciple. (In several of his letters to new Christians, St. Paul suggests that they need to acknowledge that, but not that everyone does.) Indeed, Jesus was very specific about how the saved would be separated from the damned, and he didn't say anything about taking him as their savior. Read Matthew 25:31-45. and John 13:34.

*** Not everyone gets the free gift of Faith, which is why not everyone takes Jesus Christ as his personal savior. For reasons He has not chosen to reveal to us, God bestows Faith only to some. But Salvation is available to all!

For a compendium of the teachings of the Catholic Church, you may download the complete Catechism of the Catholic Church from my server or from the Vatican website or you can purchase a copy from Amazon.com or any catholic book store.

Note: Bible references are taken from the King James Authorized Version, used by many Protestant Christians.

John Lindorfer