Have you ever had someone ask "if you were Saved"

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I once spent a long cross-country flight on an airplane seated next to an evangelical of some variety who apparently was very involved in evangelizing to people in whatever protestant sect he was a part of. I believe he might have even been going to some kind of conference to meet other people like him and learn more about how to go around “saving” people. I’m rather introverted, and I usually like to sleep on planes and not really talk to anybody so you can imagine what my first reaction was when he started talking to me about it, at least in my head.

At the time, I was far less equipped to get into theological debates with anybody, but I will admit the experience left me with a strong desire to learn more about Catholic theology and Catholic apologetics, so that I could be better prepared for next time. I actually ended up enjoying the conversation I had with the man quite a bit. He wasn’t so in-your-face about it, and though I’m sure he would have wanted me to rave about whatever protestant sect he was in and promise to convert right away, he was at least respectful and didn’t give me a hard sell. I did tell him very early on that I was a Catholic, but he said very little that I didn’t agree with at least in the broad strokes, and I was happy to let him know that which I’m sure made him happy. His primary concern seemed to be that I believed in Jesus Christ and read the Bible, which I certainly do on both counts. His heart was in the right place, and he seemed like a nice man, so I didn’t see any reason to be rude or refuse to talk to him. Mostly I just asked him questions about his work, which he was happy to talk about at length, which took pressure off of me to defend my Catholicism. I think asking a lot of questions is the best way to go about responding to somebody like that.

Actually, as an introvert, I pretty much have mastered the art of making polite non-confrontational responses to extroverts, asking open-ended questions, and guiding them into talking as much as they like while my mind wanders. Some people just like to talk.

Anyway, like I said, the experience was overall a positive one, and made me more interested in my own religion. God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes he sends an evangelical preacher to drive you closer to the Catholic Church.
 
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When I was in college I had a friend and we used to say if anyone asked us if we were born again, we were going to answer “nope, I got it right the first time.”
 
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Time out…I just joined the forum last night to ask a question about praying but now I’m just cruising around this forum to see what all it entails and stumbled on this. I am not a Catholic, fyi. I thought Catholics believed in salvation? So as a disclaimer yes I DO think you are to ask for salvation to be born again . So the person that asked this question is technically asking about a person like me. Which is fine! I just apparently have a misunderstanding, Catholics don’t believe in salvation?
 
Just through the comments , which maybe I’m misunderstanding!
Like “im working on it” and another response was “i don’t know how someone can be 100% sure.” Even yours about getting it right the first time 🙂 it comes across like that to me. Am I wrong?
 
We do but not the same as Protestants. We basically believe you can “loose your salvation” so to say and the question “are you saved?” is pretty redundant. Jesus did indeed redeem all of humanity once and for all and indeed by faith we get the grace to accept Him but we can latter reject that grace, comit grave sins and turn against the Lord. A Protestant may say such a person (who does a grave sin after finding Christ) never really received Christ’s grace but we’d say he did and the turned away from it (and can thus also turn back).

*also we are not yet in Heaven (as living persons) and thus not yet in God’s full presence so since we are not in Heaven we can sin. Since we can (in theory) still sin or choose not to be friends with God we could loose Heaven, but once in Heaven we cannot sin or loose Christ.
 
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Please read the third post in this thread. Catholics believe in salvation, but not that we must be “born again” in the way that some Protestant denominations believe.
 
Gotcha! So that then is where the “good works” comes in? You get salvation and then complete good works and confess your sins in order to maintain it?
Sorry for the very elementary grade explanation lol it is easiest.
 
I was asked this by a co worker and I said I was. I know this through private revelation.
 
Kinda. I would add that “good works” don’t help you maintain your salvation.

That is why salvation is (in this context) pretty useless as a concept.

Think about it like a relationship. Say you have a wife and she told you she hates you, asked you to leave, killed your child and did a bunch of horrible things. Some years after you come back to the wife, help her get over her guilt and extend an invitation to resume the relationship.

The wife can say “Yes” or “No.”

If the wife says “yes” she can still do things that harm the relationship like not do her part of chores (venial sins) or really bad things (like wake you up in the morning, yell at you and ask you to get out/ aka mortal sins in this analogy). If she does these really bad things (mortal sins) you, as a good husband, will accept her request and leave. Once you do leave the wife may feel empty without you, realize her wrong and ask you to forgive her and come back (Confession).

Good works are different. They are your wife buying you a box of chocolate. They strengthen the relationship (and also help other people, our brothers and sisters which we should feel moved to help anyways no matter if that gives us any benefit or not) but if your wife doesn’t really give you much special attention yes, the relationship feels unnatural, but it isn’t broken. You don’t need to do good works for your “salvation”.

Furthermore, you don’t really need to do anything for your salvation at all. God’s the one extending the invitation and taking care of the broken piece that is the wife. All the wife has to do is accept the husband’s invitation.

The husband is Jesus and the wife is humanity in this analogy.

*I know you were just simplifying the concept but it never hurts to expand upon it
 
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There’s also, of course, the practical concept of habituation. That’s just human psychology of virtue - like, if you practice being honest in smaller things, you’ll be less tempted to tell a major lie. So if you make a habit of being obedient to God in your day-to-day life, you’re less likely to be tempted to walk away entirely.
 
frettr00 said:
I was asked this by a co worker and I said I was. I know this through private revelation.
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Sorry but that is not true. Nobody knows before death if they will be saved or not. Anyone who believes in salvation assurance puts themselves into a state of mortal sin and commits heresy. Such a belief that anyone knows in advance contradicts Church teaching.
 
I would quote what Paul has said about himself.

(1Co 4:3 ESV) But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

(1Co 4:4 ESV) For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

(1Co 4:5 ESV) Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
 
I would say that I certainly hope to be, by the grace of God in Christ, with the intercession of Mary.

We can have no absolute certainty of salvation this side of Heaven. We know that we are promised it if we repent, are baptized into Christ, and keep His commandments. Salvation is an ongoing process that can be forfeited by unrepentant mortal sin. Keep in mind that most of us will undergo time in Purgatory to make amends and reparation for the remaining effects and scars of sin before Heaven, as Scripture teaches.

But we have Christ, His Mother, the Church, the Sacraments, the Saints…to me that is reassuring and the source of my hope. Not my righteousness and faith alone.
 
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Ok I have faith that I will be saved because I believe what I’ve been told has come from God.
 
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