Two part question,
- This part’s partially for myself, partially for a facebook debate. What exactly does it say? Is it correct to say that we don’t say non-Catholics are going to Hell? (By don’t say they’re going to Hell, I just mean that we don’t make judgements on where anyone ends up, unless they’re canonized)
- Whatever it says about the possible salvation or lack thereof for non-Catholics, can you give me Biblical references? The other side in the debate is Baptist.
I’m not sure if this analogy fits your situation, but I’ll give it a try. The other aspect of the acceptance of Jesus is what aspects we reject. A father tells his son, “I’ll loan you the car to hang out with your friends tonight and allow you to have some freedom, but I want you home by midnight. The son accepts the offer of the car but ignores (rejects) the curfew. Did he obey his father?
Biblically speaking, try to avoid conversations that involve discourse comparing Jews and Christians (those accepting Jesus as Savior and those that reject Him), and directly “dropping them” into situations that compare Catholics and Protestants (where both accept Jesus as Savior). Instead, a more fruitful example may be to look at teachings themselves. For instance, Catholics believe in and practice 7 sacraments while Baptists, generally speaking, reject all of them. They acknowledge 2 “ordinances” of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism, but reject that these impart any grace, only regarding them as symbolic in one form or another.
Luke 9:57-62 might be an appropriate starting point. This conveys the idea that certain people profess to follow Jesus, but when they are further challenged with all that this statement will entail to be true followers (Christians), they find themselves unwilling to embrace all of His message.
So, if as a Christian, you say, “Jesus, I accept your sacrifice for my redemption and wish you to be my Savior…but… that bit about ‘unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood’… I don’t think I’ll follow that one; and the part about ‘unless you are baptized by water and the Spirit…’well, how about I just do this instead…etc., etc”—you get the idea. If you have knowledge and refuse to believe or insist on “building your own faith” contrary to the teachings of the Church, then you are being willfully disobedient to God. So no, without repentance, you will likely not be saved.
Hope that’s helpful. God Bless your journey.
