Catholic Definition of Salvation

[pablope]

The definition of salvation seems to be the same among all protestants - Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we repent, we are forgiven.

Thank you for explaining and sharing the link! I’ve been attending the Catholic Church for some time and now I’m trying to understand the beliefs and discern everything. I just want to follow the truth and God’s word but sometimes it’s difficult to work through everything. I know that God will guide me, though. It just might take some time to figure everything out.

This journal contrasts the Protestant and Catholic understanding, and I think would be of great benefit to you…chnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/salvation.pdf

I like the article by Dr. William Marshner, here is an excerpt:

Stages of Justification
Catholic and Protestant views on the respective roles of grace, faith and works cannot be compared meaningfully, unless one specifies what stage of the justificational process one is talking about. In the preparatory stage, for instance, in which prevenient graces first stir a person towards an interest in religious truth, towards repentance, and towards faith, Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists are at one in saying “sola gratia.”2 A second stage is the very transition from death to life, which is the first stage of justification proper. Here the parties are at one in saying “sola fide,” though they seem to mean different things by it. Protestants tend to mean that, at this stage, by the grace of God, man’s act of faith is the sole act required of him; Catholics mean that faith is the beginning, foundation and root of all justification, since only faith makes possible the acts of hope and charity (i.e. love-for-God) which are also required.3 However, since most Protestants have a broad notion of the act of faith, whereby it includes elements of hope and love, it is often hard to tell how far the difference on this point is real and how far it is a matter of words. Finally, however, there comes a third stage, that of actual Christian life, with its problems of growth and perseverance. The man justified by faith is called to “walk” with God, to progress in holiness. It is at this stage that the parties sharply diverge. Catholics affirm, and Protestants strenuously deny, that the born-again Christian’s good works merit for him the increase of grace and of the Christian virtues. As a result, Protestant piety has no obvious place for the self- sacrifices, fasts, and states of perfection which are prominent features of Catholic piety. At each stage, neither the apparent agreements nor the apparent disagreements can be understood without looking at certain metaphysical quarrels, the chief of which is over the very existence of what
Catholics call “grace.”

 

[Stilldreamn]

For cooperation with grace of salvation you need:

1. Conversion, and baptism, if it isn’t already applied.
2. If baptism is present, then Confession for remission of, at least, mortal sins.
3. If baptism isn’t present, then get baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
4. Once you gained, or regained, the state of sanctifying grace, you are open to receiving actual graces.
5. If one looses sanctifying grace, looses salvation, repeat no.2.
6. Daily immersion in grace, through: prayer, sacraments, prayer, good works, prayer, acts of mercy, even more prayer and of course prayer.
7. Sacraments guarantee grace, if no.4 is true. If no.4 is not true, repeat no.2.

I’m sure I missed something, but this is a small list as to getting yourself saved by the salvific grace of the Cross.
God extends his hand, you need to grab it, and never let go.

I can picture this made into an awesome flow chart!

 

[Faith1521]

Yes. It’s the same confession. During Confession, the priest acts in persona Christi like he does when consecrating the Host every Mass. It’s still God forgiving the sins or consecrating the Host. It’s just that he acts through the priest to do so. To relate it to the events of the Bible, it’s a similar concept to the miracles the apostles worked in Acts. Paul didn’t have the power to raise Tabitha from the dead. Instead, God worked through Paul to do so.

So now onto the actual question, of how Catholics define and view salvation.

First off, salvation. Believe it or not, Catholics agree that you can’t lose your salvation. The difference, though, between you and I saying that, is that Catholics don’t say a person is saved until they’re through the pearly gates. (Okay, technically in Purgatory, but that’s a different debate)

Instead, what you would call salvation is probably closer to what Catholics would call justification. When a person is baptized, they’re justified, meaning they’re cleansed of any sin (original or actual) and begin receiving God’s saving grace. Of course, however, they’re still a sinner. We’re still in this fallen world we like to call Earth. So our random John Doe messes up and sins. Now if it’s a venial sin, he’s still in the clear. But if it’s a mortal sin, then he just cut himself off from God’s grace. But, of course, God is infinitely forgiving, so he can confess his sins and begin receiving that grace again. This is called being in a state of grace.

I, of course, reference 1 John. In 1 John 5:16-17, there’s mention of sin which leads to death, and sin which does not lead to death. Mortal sin is the former. (And indeed, the RSV even translates it that way) It cuts us off from God’s grace. Venial sin is the latter. It doesn’t cut us off, but it’s still sin. It can still lead us to mortal sin. Think of venial sin as the gateway drug of the sin world. Is it bad? Yeah. Is it entirely deadly? Not really. Is it still going to lead you to do the more hardcore stuff like mortal sin? Yeah.

So finally, what happens when our John Doe dies? If he’s in a state of grace, he goes to Heaven (with a side trip through Purgatory). If he’s not… Well the Catholic Church will never actually say someone’s going to Hell. There’s always the chance that God saves more people than just those in a state of grace. Such as the invincibly ignorant, those who never heard of Jesus.

And finally, Purgatory. I begin with two questions for you. On earth, is humanity in a sinful, fallen state? Yeah. Now when we get to Heaven, are we in a sinless, perfected state? Yeah. Well wait, what happened? We went from being sinful to being sinless. I am positive you agree some sort of event happens after we die to cleanse us completely of sin, and make us perfect enough to be in Heaven. That’s what Catholics are saying with belief in Purgatory. We’re merely giving that final cleansing, or purgation, a name.

In regards to salvation, I’m curious to know why the Catholic Church doesn’t believe someone can know they’ll enter the kingdom of Heaven. If you have accepted Christ as Savior, been baptized, and see the fruits of that salvation in your life (i.e. good works), then surely that is evidence of your salvation and the work of God in your life. I apologize if I come off as sounding condescending, I’m just really having a difficult time wrapping my mind around that one. I do agree that we have to be purified before entering Heaven, which I’ll elaborate on in the next paragraph.

In regards to your view on sin 1 John 5:18 says, “We know that whoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that the wicked one toucheth him not.” So while 1 John 5:16-17 states the difference between sins (I won’t argue that as it’s made perfectly clear), it would seem that verse 18 might be referencing the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit. So while I do think there is a difference between sins, I do believe that God is forgiving as His word also says, and that if someone prays with a repentant heart, they will be forgiven.

In regards to your statements on purgatory, as I previously stated, I do believe in purgatory. Based on what I’ve read in the Bible, though, I believe it’s a process rather than a place (I hope I made sense). So I agree with what you said - there definitely needs to be a purification process before we can be in the presence of the LORD!

Thank you so much for your reply! God bless you!

 

[Faith1521]

This journal contrasts the Protestant and Catholic understanding, and I think would be of great benefit to you…chnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/salvation.pdf

I like the article by Dr. William Marshner, here is an excerpt:

Stages of Justification
Catholic and Protestant views on the respective roles of grace, faith and works cannot be compared meaningfully, unless one specifies what stage of the justificational process one is talking about. In the preparatory stage, for instance, in which prevenient graces first stir a person towards an interest in religious truth, towards repentance, and towards faith, Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists are at one in saying “sola gratia.”2 A second stage is the very transition from death to life, which is the first stage of justification proper. Here the parties are at one in saying “sola fide,” though they seem to mean different things by it. Protestants tend to mean that, at this stage, by the grace of God, man’s act of faith is the sole act required of him; Catholics mean that faith is the beginning, foundation and root of all justification, since only faith makes possible the acts of hope and charity (i.e. love-for-God) which are also required.3 However, since most Protestants have a broad notion of the act of faith, whereby it includes elements of hope and love, it is often hard to tell how far the difference on this point is real and how far it is a matter of words. Finally, however, there comes a third stage, that of actual Christian life, with its problems of growth and perseverance. The man justified by faith is called to “walk” with God, to progress in holiness. It is at this stage that the parties sharply diverge. Catholics affirm, and Protestants strenuously deny, that the born-again Christian’s good works merit for him the increase of grace and of the Christian virtues. As a result, Protestant piety has no obvious place for the self- sacrifices, fasts, and states of perfection which are prominent features of Catholic piety. At each stage, neither the apparent agreements nor the apparent disagreements can be understood without looking at certain metaphysical quarrels, the chief of which is over the very existence of what
Catholics call “grace.”

Thank you for sharing! I’ll read over this article.

 

[Razanir]

In regards to salvation, I’m curious to know why the Catholic Church doesn’t believe someone can know they’ll enter the kingdom of Heaven. If you have accepted Christ as Savior, been baptized, and see the fruits of that salvation in your life (i.e. good works), then surely that is evidence of your salvation and the work of God in your life. I apologize if I come off as sounding condescending, I’m just really having a difficult time wrapping my mind around that one. I do agree that we have to be purified before entering Heaven, which I’ll elaborate on in the next paragraph.

In regards to your view on sin 1 John 5:18 says, “We know that whoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that the wicked one toucheth him not.” So while 1 John 5:16-17 states the difference between sins (I won’t argue that as it’s made perfectly clear), it would seem that verse 18 might be referencing the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit. So while I do think there is a difference between sins, I do believe that God is forgiving as His word also says, and that if someone prays with a repentant heart, they will be forgiven.

You can know you’ll enter Heaven, insofar as we should be able to judge when we’ve sinned. The two likely differences between our theologies here:

1. Baptism is not a guaranteed ticket into Heaven. Nor are good works. If you sin too badly (referring to sin which leads to death), you can lose that gift of grace.
2. Not being baptized is not necessarily a ticket to Hell. Of course, not being in a state of grace is an easy way down there, and we’ll certainly assume you’ll go there. But we won’t proclaim so-and-so is in Hell, because judgment does belong to God.

But yes, of course Catholics agree we can be forgiven of any sin. As I describe it, the only sin that can’t be forgiven is the sin you won’t let be forgiven.

In regards to your statements on purgatory, as I previously stated, I do believe in purgatory. Based on what I’ve read in the Bible, though, I believe it’s a process rather than a place (I hope I made sense). So I agree with what you said - there definitely needs to be a purification process before we can be in the presence of the LORD!

Eh… Is it a place? Sorta? Could it be a metaphorical front porch to Heaven? Sure. Could it take place in Heaven and just be like a boot camp or orientation? Sure. The one thing it’s NOT is a third destination in the afterlife, like CARM and anti-Catholics would have you believe. If you make it to Purgatory, you have made it into Heaven. It’s just the last stop, be it its own place or not.

(Of course, this debate is somewhat pointless. What is “location” in the spiritual world, anyway?)

And you actually just proved why I describe Purgatory that way. It’s a lot easier to defend in debate (even if not necessary in this case) if you divorce it from the concept of a third destination. Because from that point, the only other detail I’d add is that whether or not it takes time from an earthly perspective, Catholics still believe that it takes time from the souls’ perspective. Hence the existence of the Church Penitent alongside the Church Militant and Church Triumphant.

 

[KathleenGee]

Hi Faith21…

It would be good to get a Catholic catechism and they can be pretty cheap…check out Amazon…

You would need to read the Prologue first that gives you the perspective of our faith and Scripture.

Ours is a journey…we have ups and downs, tepid times and others, quite profound. We cannot control these times, as they are of the Lord and when He choses to bless us in special times.

We focus on the living relationship with Christ…that is more a way of life, a pilgrimage.

RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation begins in the Fall and you are totally free – to ask any question…any question you want and be assured they will not be intimidated or afraid or whatever else. And you are totally free to leave at any time you want without any reaction whatsoever.

We want people to be truly honest. The Church really does have so much to explain about our faith that I sense that whatever questions you would bring, they would have heard them many, many times.

God bless you for your sincerity and openness.