Is Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church the only way to salvation?

[SIA]

If you know Jesus, then you will become a Catholic before you are saved - either here in this life, or else in Purgatory.

you are wrong totally. Sorry.

 

[jmcrae]

you are wrong totally. Sorry.

We will find out in due time, won’t we?

 

[sodak]

With Christian love (and the privilege that comes with a bit of age)

Privilege comes with demonstrating understanding and knowledge, not from age. You don’t get any moral high ground for being older, and the rest of us aren’t exactly kids either.

1. RCC, Jesus is God
2. Protestant, Jesus is God
3. Other (like me), Jesus is Messiah and rules as God, but not born God.
4. Jesus is not Messiah or God.

Couple of questions for opinion:

a. At what point is a person in danger of Hell?

b. If #4 was like a saint in all other ways – charity, never sinning, etc. – and #1 sinned all the time, adultery, stingy, etc. – who has a better chance of Heaven?

How about

1. RCC, Jesus is God, attends Church and the sacraments regularly, goes to confession regularly, does his best to follow Christ and love his neighbor.

I’ll vote for number 5. By a mile.

 

[Jimmy_B]

Is Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church the only way to salvation?

Your thoughs?

 

[Ghoti]

The simple answer…yes.

To answer in the affirmative means the opposite is true, i.e. there is no salvation *outside *the Church. Which seems to be supported by the statements of at least three Popes:

"There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all can be saved" (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215.) 

"We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff" (Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302.) 

"[The Holy Roman Church] firmly believes, professes and teaches that none of those who are not within the Catholic Church, not only Pagans, but Jews, heretics and schismatics, can ever be partakers of eternal life, but are to go into the eternal fire 'prepared for the devil, and his angels' (Mt. xxv. 41), unless before the close of their lives they shall have entered into that Church; also that the unity of the Ecclesiastical body is such that the Church's Sacraments avail only those abiding in that Church, and that fasts, almsdeeds, and other works of piety which play their part in the Christian combat are in her alone productive of eternal rewards; moreover, that no one, no matter what alms he may have given, not even if he were to shed his blood for Christ's sake, can be saved unless he abide in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church." (Mansi, Concilia, xxxi, 1739.) (Pope Eugene IV, The Bull Cantate Domino, 1441).

So there you go. Two bulls and an Ecumenical Council.

My personal take is thus:

1. Three Popes (at least) say no salvation outside the RC Church. The CCC seems to indicate otherwise, in some cases.
2. Me, I’m just John Q. Mick, I don’t get a say. I can’t say, “X is not a Catholic, so he’s not saved.” Only God gets to say who’s saved, and who isn’t. And He does so at His pleasure: we cannot earn salvation.
3. I don’t know if I am saved. I just try to do what God demands of me, and trust in Him. Living by Hope* seems to work better than living by Fear.

*And Faith and Love, of course, but they’re sort of included, like the Trinity. You can’t really have any unless you have all three.

Anyway, being the dumb layman I am, I am sure I will get a knock upside the head from some apologetic for not being correct enough or something enough or just plain wrong.

Again, I just muddle through and I hope.

John

Given the admonition made earlier by I can’t remember whom regarding some numpty layman like me interpreting Scripture on my own…

 

[Reuben_J]

**Is Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church the only way to salvation?

Your thoughs?**

I think it is yes and no.

Yes, because Jesus brought salvation to all. Yes, because the Roman Catholic Church is Jesus’ church and it has never changed.

No, because people are still being saved if they follow a life of goodness like the ones as taught by Jesus, but have never heard of him. These people are still saved by the grace of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Saudi Arabia as an Islamic country bans Christian worship to be performed there. Yet when the Holy Eucharist is celebrated there, its redeeming effect will reach the Muslims and the non-believers. Goodness and redemption proliferate and diffuse in the land whenever the sacrifice and the name of Jesus is being proclaimed.

 

[moondweller]

Is Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church the only way to salvation?

Your thoughs?

Your answer is in John 14:6 as you posted. Jesus Christ Himself is the ONLY way for salvation - and that’s through faith in Him. No “church” can save you. Nor can celebrating "Mass."Acts 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."That leaves out the name of Mohammad or any other so-called “prophet.” Jesus said:John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."The Phlippian jailer is the perfect example. He asked Paul and his companions, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said:"Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved."It is not God who has made salvation complicated, men have. It’s God who saves, and that through faith in His Son and the redemptive work He accomplished and finished on the cross on our behalf.John 3:14-15 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.Salvation is not through Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic church (or any church), but through Christ alone, through faith in Him alone. Anything else is a false gospel. God did not send any church into the world to save it, but His Son - alone. The church Christ is now building is made up of those who are saved through personal belief in Him alone.

Down through the centuries men have stumbled over the simplicity of it all.

 

[reteeks21]

Is Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church the only way to salvation?

Your thoughs?

I just have a quick question: When you quote John 6:52. do you think He may be talking metaphorically? I mean Jesus also said he was the “door”, but does that mean He is made of wood? I am not trying to deny or attack your faith, and I am not in any way a hater of Catholics. I just wonder why that verse is not examined more often. Just a thought.

 

[HannahLisa]

Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

I am not Catholic, so I obviously do not believe that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church.

I do believe God in His goodness and mercy has a plan for those who have never heard about Jesus, so that they are not condemned through utter ignorance. But for those who have heard about Jesus, they must follow Him in order to be saved.

 

[moondweller]

Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

I am not Catholic, so I obviously do not believe that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church.

I do believe God in His goodness and mercy has a plan for those who have never heard about Jesus,

Which then would be a belief apart from divine revelation.

But for those who have heard about Jesus, they must follow Him in order to be saved.

Scripture doesn’t say “follow,” but “believe” for salvation. As a disciple one “follows,” but for salvation one must “believe” in Him.

 

[sjmelton]

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” It doesn’t say anything about church. It is about a relationship with Christ and accepting his free gift of grace. You can never be good enough to earn it. No church, no priest, no minister can give you that gift nor take it away. It is only through the blood of Christ that one can be saved. To say otherwise is false teaching.

 

[sjmelton]

Which then would be a belief apart from divine revelation.Scripture doesn’t say “follow,” but “believe” for salvation. As a disciple one “follows,” but for salvation one must “believe” in Him.

I’m not trying to defend anyone but belief in the greek is an action word not passive. Your belief compels you to do something and in this case follow with your life would be a natural step. Just my thoughts.

 

[jmcrae]

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” It doesn’t say anything about church. It is about a relationship with Christ and accepting his free gift of grace. You can never be good enough to earn it. No church, no priest, no minister can give you that gift nor take it away. It is only through the blood of Christ that one can be saved. To say otherwise is false teaching.

The conduit by which the blood of Christ on the Cross passes through time and space to reach us and cleanse our souls is the Church, and particularly the Sacraments of the Church. That’s why Jesus established the Church. There are frequent references to the Church throughout the New Testament, and of course there is nothing in the New Testament that was just put there for “filler” - every word of God is necessary for salvation; not just one or two verses here and there.

 

[sjmelton]

I agree that the NT is God breathed as Timothy states but with that being true God is eternal and does not need anything to help him get the blood of Christ to us today. I’m not sure where in scripture you would find that without twisting the intent of what scripture means. Maybe you could show me.

 

[sodak]

Which then would be a belief apart from divine revelation.Scripture doesn’t say “follow,” but “believe” for salvation. As a disciple one “follows,” but for salvation one must “believe” in Him.

This is the crux of our disagreement, actually, Scripture does call for action. Jesus talks about people who don’t feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc., but say, “Lord, Lord”. Jesus is quite clear that he will deny them entrance to heaven.

The Catholic Church is the Bride of Christ, at least that is our belief. Following the Church’s commandments, while they might be more strict than we like, will guarantee us to be following the will of Christ.

For Catholics, it’s not an or, but an and. Christ and his Church. We trust the Holy Spirit to keep us on the straight and narrow, since Christ explicitly promised that it will never fail.

 

[ErikaA]

Allow me to pose another answer to this question.

The pursuit of personal pleasure is the path to salvation. How so you ask? Well, by pursuing pleasure, I’m seeking that which I see as good since pleasure is desirable. Now, this may conflict with traditional morality, but what better way to keep myself spiritually humble and ever mindful of my own fallenness than by indulging every hedonistic desire? Certainly, such a person will have no illusions about their own sanctity and thus will be even more dependent upon Jesus’ redemptive sacrifice for their salvation. You might try to throw the “sin so that grace should abound” argument at me. However, I am not sinning so that grace should abound. I am sinning because I enjoy it. The fact that grace abounds is just a convenient and wonderful benefit, not the motivation for my pursuit of pleasure. I think I’m onto something here.

 

[jmcrae]

I agree that the NT is God breathed as Timothy states but with that being true God is eternal and does not need anything to help him get the blood of Christ to us today. I’m not sure where in scripture you would find that without twisting the intent of what scripture means. Maybe you could show me.

Let me put it back to you: Why did Christ establish the Church? What is its purpose?

 

[moondweller]

I’m not trying to defend anyone but belief in the greek is an action word not passive. Your belief compels you to do something and in this case follow with your life would be a natural step. Just my thoughts.

To “believe” in someone is passive. Such as: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved….” This is a passive faith. Similar to saying to someone, “I believe in you.” Or, “I believe you.”

Believing in Christ is personally accepting the message of the cross, that there He accomplished and finished the work needed for my salvation. Upon belief in Him (which is passive), it is God who then takes action and saves the believer:Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,…”

As I said in a previous post, it’s men who complicate salvation, not God.

 

[moondweller]

This is the crux of our disagreement, actually, Scripture does call for action. Jesus talks about people who don’t feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc., but say, “Lord, Lord”. Jesus is quite clear that he will deny them entrance to heaven.

The Catholic Church is the Bride of Christ, at least that is our belief. Following the Church’s commandments, while they might be more strict than we like, will guarantee us to be following the will of Christ.

But does it guarantee belief in Christ?

For Catholics, it’s not an or, but an and. Christ and his Church. We trust the Holy Spirit to keep us on the straight and narrow, since Christ explicitly promised that it will never fail.

Then, ultimately, you believe in your church, and salvation is through it’s ability to keep you on “the straight and narrow.”

 

[Jimmy_B]

But does it guarantee belief in Christ?Then, ultimately, you believe in your church, and salvation is through it’s ability to keep you on “the straight and narrow.”

Hello moonweller,

*Nice post, I like this quote of yours - *

"you believe in your church, and salvation is through it’s ability to keep you on “the straight and narrow.”.

*Can I steal it? *