Does baptism complete our salvation?

[DL82]

A priest leading our RCIA class said to me that baptism accomplishes around 80% of our salvation, and the rest we have to work at. I get the priest’s point, after baptism some remainder of our initial inclination to sin remains, and we have to keep fighting against it for the rest of our lives, but it is easier to fight with the aid of the graces bestowed by baptism than without them. I realise he was just trying to explain in simple terms what the Church teaches, but it seems to me this approximation is unsafe teaching.

This statement, that our salvation is not completed by baptism, has got me questioning Catholic teachings on salvation. Are we saved completely at baptism? i.e. if you were baptised and then died immediately, you would go to heaven, right?

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

The Church does not speak about our salvation in terms of percentage. Our salvation is the result of His passion and death. Baptism incorporates us into Christ. Through the saving waters of Baptism we die with Christ that we might rise with Him.

Our salvation is a process. Catholics don’t speak of being saved by this action or that action. Salvation for us is a process which is only complete when we meet the Lord after we die. Up until then, we can forfeit heaven by not choosing Christ. We have the opportunity to choose Him or not throughout our life.

Baptism is essential to this process. Through it we receive sanctifying grace through which we live on a spiritual level we could never achieve on our own. If we should die immediately after being baptized, we would go to heaven because there would be no sin on our soul. But if we continue to live, it is likely that we will sin. Then we have to repent and be absolved of our sins. I hope this helps.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.