Questions on Protestant Salvation

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aidanbradypop

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So I was in bed last night and a thought came to mind that kept me awake until 2am. I will run it by everyone and would love some feedback. Please be mindful of others.

As Catholics, we are told that we must confess our sins to a priest so that we may be forgiven. If we do not and die with mortal sin unconfessed, we do not inherit the Kingdom of God and we are lost in our sins. We are told that we must attend Mass every Sunday and if we do not then we sin. We have many beliefs and doctrine that effect our salvation and we humbly and faithful ( I hope and pray we do) submit to the will of God and carry them out. So a Protestant friend of mine asked me the other day, “If Catholics believe the must do all these things in order to go to Heaven, will a Protestant go to heaven if the do not repent to a priest?”

He believes in being “saved” and “one saved always saved.” Confession to a priest is like a sin to them lol, so where does that actually leave Protestants? I know many Popes have stated that our Protestant brethen can go to Heaven, but exactly how is that true? I know the tract about if they are ignorant of the Catholic Church and Her teachings, but what if they know of the teachings of the Church and reject them? He is a faithful Lutheran and reject everything the Catholic Church stands for. He believes his faith in Christ will save him. Does it? If so then why must we (Catholics) confess, attend mass and do all the things we are called to do by Christ and His Church in order to gain His Grace and salvation. Make sense or am I thinking to much into it? 😛
 
We catholics have the fullness of faith. We have over 2,000 years of tradition/experience, we have all 7 sacraments, we have the pope and bishops united to Him who have been given authority and knowledge to help keep us on the straight path…we are held to a much higher standard because we know better … in a sense. We have the responsibility to follow the truth as it has been revealed to us and submit to its authority.

Confession is the ordinary way we are forgiven sin (god knowing what we humans need for healing/forgiveness…invented the sacrament). But the church does teach of another way…you can be forgiven sin outside of confession IF an individual asks in complete sincerity AND does so not because he is worried of hell or fallout…but ONLY because he offended such an awsome God. This can be a hard state to attain (and confession has sooo many pluses…the assurance of forgivness, hearing you’re forgiven which we humans need, getting advice, getting penence, not wanting to go back to confession lol ) .

The church teaches that …IF it is no fault of their own…that an individual does not know any better…they may be saved through Gods mercy. HOWEVER…if they have a sense to further seek out TRUTH…they MUST follow their conscience and do so. AND…their salvation comes through Christ’s (and mystically …His body the Church) sacrifice.

That is why the church teaches that : “There is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church” …because the church is his mystical body and all it’s graces in our sacraments can be applied to those who are seeking truth with all their hearts through the state in life God permits them to be in …Christ said he is " the way , the TRUTH and the life" …anyone who sincerly searches for truth and lives it comes to Christ.

It is said the God “wills all men to be saved” …it’s God’s own desire for this to happen and the church teaches He can work outside the churches saving sacraments.
 
aidanbradypop said:
So I was in bed last night and a thought came to mind that kept me awake until 2am. I will run it by everyone and would love some feedback. Please be mindful of others.

As Catholics, we are told that we must confess our sins to a priest so that we may be forgiven. If we do not and die with mortal sin unconfessed, we do not inherit the Kingdom of God and we are lost in our sins. We are told that we must attend Mass every Sunday and if we do not then we sin. We have many beliefs and doctrine that effect our salvation and we humbly and faithful ( I hope and pray we do) submit to the will of God and carry them out. So a Protestant friend of mine asked me the other day, “If Catholics believe the must do all these things in order to go to Heaven, will a Protestant go to heaven if the do not repent to a priest?”

He believes in being “saved” and “one saved always saved.” Confession to a priest is like a sin to them lol, so where does that actually leave Protestants? I know many Popes have stated that our Protestant brethen can go to Heaven, but exactly how is that true? I know the tract about if they are ignorant of the Catholic Church and Her teachings, but what if they know of the teachings of the Church and reject them? He is a faithful Lutheran and reject everything the Catholic Church stands for. He believes his faith in Christ will save him. Does it? If so then why must we (Catholics) confess, attend mass and do all the things we are called to do by Christ and His Church in order to gain His Grace and salvation. Make sense or am I thinking to much into it? 😛
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The Church doesn’t believe that Christians from Protestant denominations are heretical for their beliefs, since they were influenced upon them with Christs love in mind by other good Christians.

It is only the original creators of these denominations who were the heretics. Many of them were excommunicated from the Church for one reason or another, and with that, they developed their own following.
 
aidanbradypop said:
So I was in bed last night and a thought came to mind that kept me awake until 2am. I will run it by everyone and would love some feedback. Please be mindful of others.

As Catholics, we are told that we must confess our sins to a priest so that we may be forgiven. If we do not and die with mortal sin unconfessed, we do not inherit the Kingdom of God and we are lost in our sins. We are told that we must attend Mass every Sunday and if we do not then we sin. We have many beliefs and doctrine that effect our salvation and we humbly and faithful ( I hope and pray we do) submit to the will of God and carry them out. So a Protestant friend of mine asked me the other day, “If Catholics believe the must do all these things in order to go to Heaven, will a Protestant go to heaven if the do not repent to a priest?”

He believes in being “saved” and “one saved always saved.” Confession to a priest is like a sin to them lol, so where does that actually leave Protestants? I know many Popes have stated that our Protestant brethen can go to Heaven, but exactly how is that true? I know the tract about if they are ignorant of the Catholic Church and Her teachings, but what if they know of the teachings of the Church and reject them? He is a faithful Lutheran and reject everything the Catholic Church stands for. He believes his faith in Christ will save him. Does it? If so then why must we (Catholics) confess, attend mass and do all the things we are called to do by Christ and His Church in order to gain His Grace and salvation. Make sense or am I thinking to much into it? 😛
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Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is a GIFT from God, NOT by works so that no one can boast.”

I emphasized those words to make a point. We are saved because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He paid the ultimate penalty once and for all for everyone who believes. That is it. We can not earn our salvation by going to church or doing anything else that might constitute as “good works”. If you believe in Jesus Christ and have asked Him to come into your life and forgive your sins then you are saved! Now, you can choose to walk away from that but ultimately if you accept it, you are going to heaven.

Which brings me to the subject of confession. When Jesus died on the cross there was a great earthquake that tore the massive and thick temple curtain in two. This curtain separated the holy of holies from the people. Only the priests were allowed to enter and then would come out and absolve the people of their sins. When this curtains was torn in two, God was saying it is finished! Jesus was the final mediator between us and God. We can now go directly to Him to repent. Confession is an Old Testament doctrine that holds people in bondage and is frankly a slap in the face to what Jesus did on the cross.
 
Cabo30 said:
Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is a GIFT from God, NOT by works so that no one can boast.”

I emphasized those words to make a point. We are saved because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He paid the ultimate penalty once and for all for everyone who believes. That is it. We can not earn our salvation by going to church or doing anything else that might constitute as “good works”. If you believe in Jesus Christ and have asked Him to come into your life and forgive your sins then you are saved! Now, you can choose to walk away from that but ultimately if you accept it, you are going to heaven.

Which brings me to the subject of confession. When Jesus died on the cross there was a great earthquake that tore the massive and thick temple curtain in two. This curtain separated the holy of holies from the people. Only the priests were allowed to enter and then would come out and absolve the people of their sins. When this curtains was torn in two, God was saying it is finished! Jesus was the final mediator between us and God. We can now go directly to Him to repent. Confession is an Old Testament doctrine that holds people in bondage and is frankly a slap in the face to what Jesus did on the cross.
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Thank you for your honesty and zeal! 👍

…but as Christians, why should we believe that the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised us would not follow after Him like He told us?

Surely there is no harm in belonging to a community of Christians who believe in the mysteries that Jesus proclaimed would come. You know what I mean?
 
Cabo30 said:
Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is a GIFT from God, NOT by works so that no one can boast.”

I emphasized those words to make a point. We are saved because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He paid the ultimate penalty once and for all for everyone who believes. That is it. We can not earn our salvation by going to church or doing anything else that might constitute as “good works”. If you believe in Jesus Christ and have asked Him to come into your life and forgive your sins then you are saved! Now, you can choose to walk away from that but ultimately if you accept it, you are going to heaven.

Which brings me to the subject of confession. When Jesus died on the cross there was a great earthquake that tore the massive and thick temple curtain in two. This curtain separated the holy of holies from the people. Only the priests were allowed to enter and then would come out and absolve the people of their sins. When this curtains was torn in two, God was saying it is finished! Jesus was the final mediator between us and God. We can now go directly to Him to repent. Confession is an Old Testament doctrine that holds people in bondage and is frankly a slap in the face to what Jesus did on the cross.
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Thank you for your Protestant take on it and I would also refer you to a passage in James about faith and work. I’m sure you know the chapter and verse;).

Once again thank you for the post, but let’s not hijack it in another direction please.
 
Hi cabo

a couple flaws from what you said from the catholic standpoint.

First off…wonderful scriptural passage describing how we are saved. In that it’s in Gods free gift of grace ( a sharing in His own blessed life!) which is necessary for our SUPERnatural end (that’s why just believing and being good dosen’t cut it) EXCELLENT!

But I think later in your post you put a little too much emphasis on faith/believing…let us remember that even the devil believes in God…he is very aware of his exhistence and yet he is dammed.

Lastly …your thoughts on confesssion:
Yes the temple curtain was torn in two and Christ is the only mediator between God and man…

However, confession is not an Old testiment tradition…we only find it in the new testiment :
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

He gave His authority upon the apostles in ths matter… "as the father has sent me so I send you "…why Did the Father send Jesus ??? to reconcile the world to Himself. Why does Christ mention that they have the ability to forgive or retain ??? because they were going to listen to individuals (confession) and make decisions.

It is not something that holds you in bondage but is actually very freeing!

God knows us better than we know ourselves and being human and physical…need physical/tangeble aids to help us. We also sometimes need to HEAR that we are forgiven to help us heal. Confession allows for all of this. Now, the church teaches that one CAN be forgiven without going to confession if we have COMPLETE repentence…meaning we are sorry for what we’ve done not out of fear of hell or disapproval…but because we’ve offended an awsome God worthy of so much better. But why not use confession! It has sooo many pluses…we get to hear we are forgiven and are assured of it (we don’t need a complete sense of repentence with confession because we are under the authority of the priest’s gift Jesus gave him) . , we get grace to get stronger, we recieve the blessing of the church (christs body) , he get to have a spiritual father offer council, we get a penance…something from the priest that will help us atone and avoid future sin, soooo much! Not to mention the proof is in the pudding…all the awsome saints we hear about like mother theresa and such ALL frequented confession VERY often…so there must be some merit to it.
In John 20 :
 
MichaelHowling said:
Hi cabo

a couple flaws from what you said from the catholic standpoint.

First off…wonderful scriptural passage describing how we are saved. In that it’s in Gods free gift of grace ( a sharing in His own blessed life!) which is necessary for our SUPERnatural end (that’s why just believing and being good dosen’t cut it) EXCELLENT!

But I think later in your post you put a little too much emphasis on faith/believing…let us remember that even the devil believes in God…he is very aware of his exhistence and yet he is dammed.

Lastly …your thoughts on confesssion:
Yes the temple curtain was torn in two and Christ is the only mediator between God and man…

However, confession is not an Old testiment tradition…we only find it in the new testiment :
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

He gave His authority upon the apostles in ths matter… "as the father has sent me so I send you "…why Did the Father send Jesus ??? to reconcile the world to Himself. Why does Christ mention that they have the ability to forgive or retain ??? because they were going to listen to individuals (confession) and make decisions.

It is not something that holds you in bondage but is actually very freeing!

God knows us better than we know ourselves and being human and physical…need physical/tangeble aids to help us. We also sometimes need to HEAR that we are forgiven to help us heal. Confession allows for all of this. Now, the church teaches that one CAN be forgiven without going to confession if we have COMPLETE repentence…meaning we are sorry for what we’ve done not out of fear of hell or disapproval…but because we’ve offended an awsome God worthy of so much better. But why not use confession! It has sooo many pluses…we get to hear we are forgiven and are assured of it (we don’t need a complete sense of repentence with confession because we are under the authority of the priest’s gift Jesus gave him) . , we get grace to get stronger, we recieve the blessing of the church (christs body) , he get to have a spiritual father offer council, we get a penance…something from the priest that will help us atone and avoid future sin, soooo much! Not to mention the proof is in the pudding…all the awsome saints we hear about like mother theresa and such ALL frequented confession VERY often…so there must be some merit to it.
In John 20 :
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Thanks Michael for that (name removed by moderator)ut. Not sure if he/she will agree but you stated it so well!👍
 
MichaelHowling said:
We catholics have the fullness of faith. We have over 2,000 years of tradition/experience, we have all 7 sacraments, we have the pope and bishops united to Him who have been given authority and knowledge to help keep us on the straight path…we are held to a much higher standard because we know better … in a sense. We have the responsibility to follow the truth as it has been revealed to us and submit to its authority.

Confession is the ordinary way we are forgiven sin (god knowing what we humans need for healing/forgiveness…invented the sacrament). But the church does teach of another way…you can be forgiven sin outside of confession IF an individual asks in complete sincerity AND does so not because he is worried of hell or fallout…but ONLY because he offended such an awsome God. This can be a hard state to attain (and confession has sooo many pluses…the assurance of forgivness, hearing you’re forgiven which we humans need, getting advice, getting penence, not wanting to go back to confession lol ) .

The church teaches that …IF it is no fault of their own…that an individual does not know any better…they may be saved through Gods mercy. HOWEVER…if they have a sense to further seek out TRUTH…they MUST follow their conscience and do so. AND…their salvation comes through Christ’s (and mystically …His body the Church) sacrifice.

That is why the church teaches that : “There is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church” …because the church is his mystical body and all it’s graces in our sacraments can be applied to those who are seeking truth with all their hearts through the state in life God permits them to be in …Christ said he is " the way , the TRUTH and the life" …anyone who sincerly searches for truth and lives it comes to Christ.

It is said the God “wills all men to be saved” …it’s God’s own desire for this to happen and the church teaches He can work outside the churches saving sacraments.
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Nice summary!

To look at it another way, it comes down to how genuinely the Protestant in question seeks after God. If he or she is sincere, then having perfect contrition for sins would definitely be possible (though still not something that can be assumed). Pray that your friend might become Catholic someday 🙂
 
MichaelHowling said:
Hi cabo

a couple flaws from what you said from the catholic standpoint.

First off…wonderful scriptural passage describing how we are saved. In that it’s in Gods free gift of grace ( a sharing in His own blessed life!) which is necessary for our SUPERnatural end (that’s why just believing and being good dosen’t cut it) EXCELLENT!

But I think later in your post you put a little too much emphasis on faith/believing…let us remember that even the devil believes in God…he is very aware of his exhistence and yet he is dammed.

Lastly …your thoughts on confesssion:
Yes the temple curtain was torn in two and Christ is the only mediator between God and man…

However, confession is not an Old testiment tradition…we only find it in the new testiment :
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

He gave His authority upon the apostles in ths matter… "as the father has sent me so I send you "…why Did the Father send Jesus ??? to reconcile the world to Himself. Why does Christ mention that they have the ability to forgive or retain ??? because they were going to listen to individuals (confession) and make decisions.

It is not something that holds you in bondage but is actually very freeing!

God knows us better than we know ourselves and being human and physical…need physical/tangeble aids to help us. We also sometimes need to HEAR that we are forgiven to help us heal. Confession allows for all of this. Now, the church teaches that one CAN be forgiven without going to confession if we have COMPLETE repentence…meaning we are sorry for what we’ve done not out of fear of hell or disapproval…but because we’ve offended an awsome God worthy of so much better. But why not use confession! It has sooo many pluses…we get to hear we are forgiven and are assured of it (we don’t need a complete sense of repentence with confession because we are under the authority of the priest’s gift Jesus gave him) . , we get grace to get stronger, we recieve the blessing of the church (christs body) , he get to have a spiritual father offer council, we get a penance…something from the priest that will help us atone and avoid future sin, soooo much! Not to mention the proof is in the pudding…all the awsome saints we hear about like mother theresa and such ALL frequented confession VERY often…so there must be some merit to it.
In John 20 :
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You may be right in some aspects. But I can’t imagine living with the fear of not going to heaven because you haven’t made it to confession in a while. I do understand that it is freeing to admit your sins to someone but I also know that most of us are guilty of some pretty bad things that we would never admit to anyone other than Jesus! 🙂 Maybe my view is a bit small but the Catholics that I know have always laughed when discussing confession because they have never told the priest their “real” sins.

On another note, thank you for being so kind to me in your response! My Dad’s family is Catholic along with all my cousins, the school I went to growing up, and now my husband’s family. All I have ever felt is strong tension between our beliefs. I feel like my beliefs are always discounted because I’m a “heathen Protestant”. It’s frustrating because Jesus is everything to me. He is the only reason I’m where I am today. I love Him so much and it breaks my heart and angers me at the same time that we as the body of Christ, cannot get along. Rarely can I have good conversations about the differences in our beliefs because both sides are so passionate. But anyway, I guess I was expecting heated remarks in response to my post, so thank you for being kind.
 
Cabo30 said:
You may be right in some aspects. But I can’t imagine living with the fear of not going to heaven because you haven’t made it to confession in a while. I do understand that it is freeing to admit your sins to someone but I also know that most of us are guilty of some pretty bad things that we would never admit to anyone other than Jesus! 🙂 Maybe my view is a bit small but the Catholics that I know have always laughed when discussing confession because they have never told the priest their “real” sins.

On another note, thank you for being so kind to me in your response! My Dad’s family is Catholic along with all my cousins, the school I went to growing up, and now my husband’s family. All I have ever felt is strong tension between our beliefs. I feel like my beliefs are always discounted because I’m a “heathen Protestant”. It’s frustrating because Jesus is everything to me. He is the only reason I’m where I am today. I love Him so much and it breaks my heart and angers me at the same time that we as the body of Christ, cannot get along. Rarely can I have good conversations about the differences in our beliefs because both sides are so passionate. But anyway, I guess I was expecting heated remarks in response to my post, so thank you for being kind.
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YOU HEATHEN!! lol There does that make you feel better? 😛 On a serious note, it is nothing to argue or fight about. We are all striving to live for Christ in all our doings. I caution you when listening to “Catholics” on forming an opinion of the Church and her teachings. Even take caution when reading this forum. If you have questions about the faith or teachings of the Catholic Church, then I suggest maybe purchasing a Roman Catholic Catechism to read or maybe 😉 attending RCIA. I have no fear of not going to Heaven. A Lutheran friend of mine made that statement once. He stated that it must be crazy thinking that you have not done everything or confessed everything. It is not crazy at all. In the end, God is the final judge of my life and how I lived it. I try my very best to live as a faithful and God-loving Catholic. I try to keep His Commandments and live as Christ. What more can a person do? God knows our hearts and minds! He alone knows if we are confessing with our hearts and love for him or in vain.

I am on the opposite side of the track than you. I am the only Catholic person in my family and my wife is the same. My side of the family is Baptist/Anglican and my wife’s side is Methodist/Episcopalian.

My advice to you, as I gave to my friend, is to forget everything anyone has ever told you about the Catholic Church and research it for yourself. Read the RCC or join RCIA. Get the fact from the source. Peace of our Lord be with you always!
 
Hey Cabo! I’m soooo sorry you get that resentment from my catholic brothers and sisters! I am sooo sorry! I will say a prayer today that they will change their hearts.

The church teaches that anyone who is validly baptized IS a part of the catholic church in a sense …(catholic simply means : universal). You like ALL your members of your family around you ARE a part of the church through baptism and are ALL on different levels about knowing the doctrines and such…so please don’t feel completly cut off or “heathen” because we are ALL on different levels of spiritual growth and I bet if I quized some of your loved ones…they would have lots of issues/misconceptions of what the church teaches! The only BIG difference between you and them…is that they participate in the catholic sacraments (which sometimes is judgement on them if they do so unworthily or without proper knowledge).

So don’t feel too bad.

I love the protestants…lol, Although we disagree on some doctrinal issues I find many of you in love with Jesus (which is a sad testament to many of us catholics…although there are MANY of us that are awsome in that respect as well).

now in regards to worrying about going to confession:

It says that we are to daily “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” lol. As I stated before, its not necessary to go to confession to be forgiven of sin…it’s just the ordinary way we catholics do because it was instituted by Christ and because…somethings are true whether we CHOOSE to believe in them or not…no matter how scary they are (and yes, eternal seperation from God is VERY scary).

Yes…you don’t want to admit serious things to a stranger… but I think that’s part of the awsomeness of confession! It causes you to reach out in trust by going through the act of confession AND helps u realize your guilt as your walking to the confessional (I know my hands are always sweaty as I approach the priest) . … i think it’s all part of the process Jesus instituted cause He knows what we need.

ANd yes…you’re unfortunatly right. Many catholics don’t take it seriously or choose not to accept it at all! It’s very sad. What a special gift God has given us …and what we catholics do to many of His gifts…shame!

But …that STILL does not take away from the fact that Christ instituted it and instituted it for us to use it!

On a personal note…I can tell you that confession has changed my life!

God bless you in your Journey with Jesus OUR brother! Where He leads you and what truths He shows you in your state in your life that you are able to come to understand …follow with a sincere heart and your salvation can be assured just like any catholic.

I guarentee you there are not only catholics and protestants in heaven…but also in hell.

One quick joke:

An interfaith religious bus falls off a cliff and everyone dies… they go up and meet st. peter who gives them a tour…“over here is the angels choir rehersal are” … " this space is where we look down at earth" …“this is our worship space” …"…that building is where we play board games together"…peter motions with a finger to the mouth for everyone to be very quiet…and the group tip-toes passed a beutiful building…after they pass…st. pete continues the tour …“and that’s where we take gifts for jesus” and …one guy in the tour says: “Whoah…what’s that building we just passed over there ???” Peter says: “oh, that’s where all the catholics hang out…they think they’re the only ones up here”

lol

The church teaches god wishes “all men to be saved” and is able to deal with people through no fault of their own who do no have the fullness of the faith revealed by God. However, if you feel something is true or you are still searching for more…you must follow your conscience.

This journey of faith we’re all in together!

Michael
 
aidanbradypop said:
So I was in bed last night and a thought came to mind that kept me awake until 2am. I will run it by everyone and would love some feedback. Please be mindful of others.

As Catholics, we are told that we must confess our sins to a priest so that we may be forgiven. If we do not and die with mortal sin unconfessed, we do not inherit the Kingdom of God and we are lost in our sins. We are told that we must attend Mass every Sunday and if we do not then we sin. We have many beliefs and doctrine that effect our salvation and we humbly and faithful ( I hope and pray we do) submit to the will of God and carry them out. So a Protestant friend of mine asked me the other day, “If Catholics believe the must do all these things in order to go to Heaven, will a Protestant go to heaven if the do not repent to a priest?”

He believes in being “saved” and “one saved always saved.” Confession to a priest is like a sin to them lol, so where does that actually leave Protestants? I know many Popes have stated that our Protestant brethen can go to Heaven, but exactly how is that true? I know the tract about if they are ignorant of the Catholic Church and Her teachings, but what if they know of the teachings of the Church and reject them? He is a faithful Lutheran and reject everything the Catholic Church stands for. He believes his faith in Christ will save him. Does it? If so then why must we (Catholics) confess, attend mass and do all the things we are called to do by Christ and His Church in order to gain His Grace and salvation. Make sense or am I thinking to much into it? 😛
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Faith must lead to obedience. Jesus said, “If you love Me you’ll obey My commands” (John 14:15). We all believe that in one way or another. The question is, ‘What does Jesus command, what behavior or response on our part constitutes obedience?’ Is faith, alone, really all He expects? I’d read Matt 25:14-46, Mark 12-28-34, and Luke 12:48 to get an idea what Jesus commands and how He expects us to use the grace and opportunites we’ve been given.
 
Cabo30 said:
Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is a GIFT from God, NOT by works so that no one can boast.”

I emphasized those words to make a point. We are saved because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He paid the ultimate penalty once and for all for everyone who believes. That is it. We can not earn our salvation by going to church or doing anything else that might constitute as “good works”. If you believe in Jesus Christ and have asked Him to come into your life and forgive your sins then you are saved! Now, you can choose to walk away from that but ultimately if you accept it, you are going to heaven.

Which brings me to the subject of confession. When Jesus died on the cross there was a great earthquake that tore the massive and thick temple curtain in two. This curtain separated the holy of holies from the people. Only the priests were allowed to enter and then would come out and absolve the people of their sins. When this curtains was torn in two, God was saying it is finished! Jesus was the final mediator between us and God. We can now go directly to Him to repent. Confession is an Old Testament doctrine that holds people in bondage and is frankly a slap in the face to what Jesus did on the cross.
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Regarding the torn curtain, and Christ’s issues with the Hebrew Priesthood, Temple caretakers. Don’t you see that Christ’s plan/ solution to that matter …was to start his own Temple …one that he built, his Church !!!

Yes, the Jewish Temple was utterly destroyed in 66 AD, as Christ prophesied, but in its place is the Universal Catholic Church, which will never fall/fail …as it was built on Peter, to whom Christ gave the Keys for binding/loosening. And, it has the true Priesthood, passed on from the Apostles, with the Eucharistic Lord’s Supper, served at every Mass, in accordance with Christ’s command to the Apostles !!
 
fhansen said:
Faith must lead to obedience. Jesus said, “If you love Me you’ll obey My commands” (John 14:15). We all believe that in one way or another. The question is, ‘What does Jesus command, what behavior or response on our part constitutes obedience?’ Is faith, alone, really all He expects? I’d read Matt 25:14-46, Mark 12-28-34, and Luke 12:48 to get an idea what Jesus commands and how He expects us to use the grace and opportunites we’ve been given.
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As Michael stated earlier, if Faith is believing then the devil has faith because he believes in Christ. In that line of thought, Satan “could be saved” but we know that not to be true. Yes you are so right that we must LIVE our faith. I am a firm believer in having faith and expressing that faith as Christ command us. Our faith should and will produce fruit if we live that faith to the fullness. Thanks for posting!
 
aidanbradypop said:
So a Protestant friend of mine asked me the other day, “If Catholics believe the must do all these things in order to go to Heaven, will a Protestant go to heaven if the do not repent to a priest?”

He believes in being “saved” and “one saved always saved.” Confession to a priest is like a sin to them lol, so where does that actually leave Protestants?
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Well, the fact that a bunch of other people are disregarding the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and living under the material heresy of sola fide, does not alter the divinely revealed truths that Holy Church preserves and teaches to her faithful children.

Surely God will be merciful with those who under a more or less invincible ignorance lived under heretical doctrines that disregarded some or all of the sacraments and never even received the true Holy Eucharist. Surely, as St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, Deus non alligatur sacramentis. The story is much different from a Catholic who falls into formal heresy and is excommunicated, than from a fellow Christian who is born and baptized into a community not in full communion with Holy Church. The Church even expresses high hopes for non-Christians based on the light and under the guidance that the Holy Spirit has been giving her.

However, let us make no mistake: a doctrine that is not Catholic contains errors to some lesser or greater degree. And we don’t know how God will deal with Christians not in full communion with Holy Church, but we certainly know that we are doing what God wants us to do, and that anyone who says that we are doing something wrong or that we shouldn’t be doing something is gravely mistaken and does not know what he is talking about.

Please do understand that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not merely for the forgiveness of sins. In fact, a perfect contrition along with the desire to confess as soon as possible already remits mortal sins and restores sanctifying grace in our souls. The Sacrament is much more profound, and rooted in the very essence and mystery of the Incarnation and of Christ’s High Priesthood - something that can only be understood (or at least grasped) under the light of Sacred Tradition preserved in its fullness solely by the Church.
 
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