What must I do to be saved?

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gracelife said:
Gotta run. Will be back. For now, please keep me in prayer.
Again, thank you for your time. I’m listening.
It’s been quite the day! 🙂
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God bless… and I will be praying for you this evening.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of my co-worker, Mike. He passed away yesterday morning from complications of brain cancer.

And, I’m always a PM or email away if you need to ‘talk.’

God Bless,
Dan
 
One more thought before we go… I love your quote from Isaiah, but you’re reading a bit more into it than is warranted. Is the word of God limited to the Bible (John 20:30, John 21:25, 2 Thessalonians 2:15)?
 
djrakowski said:
Peace be with you!

And the proper response is, “Et cum spiritu tuo,” which is “And with your spirit!”

🙂
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OOOPS, big goof here!

Not “peace be with you,” but “the Lord be with you.”

(I’m still learnin’) :o
 
gracelife said:
My “gut” reply:
Because of all the other “side” issues (discussed above) that they have allowed to distract from the central teaching of salvation … because of the scars of CC history … because some of the things they bind in canon law seem like something the Pharisees would do/say…

So I ask,can they be trusted?
Does their fruit show me they are the one true church?

I know you don’t see them as side issues but as “completing”. Maria, said it well earlier, I don’t remember her exact wording, but it was beautifully said.

This scripture also comes to mind: Isaiah 40:7-8
You see, I KNOW I trust his word. I’m not sure I can trust the church.

I realize you trust the scriptures too. 🙂
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The problem is that the Catholic Church has NOT allowed those side issues to distract. Protestants have focused on those issues instead of the central teachings of Christ and they have become a distraction. I think that there is a difference.

Practicing Catholics see the centralness of Christ and use these “side issues” to help better understand Christ. Whereas Protestants or those who left the Church focus on the side issues taking their eyes off Christ.

One has to keep ones eyes firmly on Christ when looking into the other issues or they will in fact be a distraction to understanding rather than a completion of understanding.

But I see where you are. You trust His word. So let’s take some time, to look at scripture and how it relates to the authority Christ gave to the Catholic Church. (yes probably again, but we can always learn new things everytime we read scripture:) ) As already said by Veritas and Dan (and me:p ), you don’t have to have all your questions answered but that one. If you can believe that scripture does in fact show the authority of the Catholic Church, you can then trust what Church says because you trust scripture, understanding the difference between perfectly proclaiming the gospel message and perfectly practicing it.

Did you already start a new thread on it or did you want to start a new thread on the authority of the Catholic Church or just do it here?

Your sister in Christ,
Maria
 
MariaG said:
But I see where you are. You trust His word. So let’s take some time, to look at scripture and how it relates to the authority Christ gave to the Catholic Church. (yes probably again, but we can always learn new things everytime we read scripture:) ) As already said by Veritas and Dan (and me:p ), you don’t have to have all your questions answered but that one. If you can believe that scripture does in fact show the authority of the Catholic Church, you can then trust what Church says because you trust scripture, understanding the difference between perfectly proclaiming the gospel message and perfectly practicing it.
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Bingo! This is the difference between impeccability (perfect behavior) and infallibility (teaching without error). But that’s probably a subject for another thread 🙂
 
I briefly looked at what other threads you’ve started been in and I think your question, “what do I need to believe to be Catholic” at it’s basic for you, as has been stated, is to come to understand the and accept the divinely given authority of the Catholic Church.

Once you accept that, everything else falls into place. Then one can pray things like, “Please, God show me why it is fitting to honor your mother and ask her to pray for us?” Because one KNOWS the Church is teaching the right things, as surely as you KNOW scripture is true. It is a matter of conforming one’s conscience instead of trying to decide which way God wants you to go and whose interpretation you should beleive.

Good news is that this CAN be done through scripture alone, and the Holy Spirit of course;)

Okay, now I am being pushy trying to get you to start a thread or agree to do it here all the wonderful scripture about the authority of the Catholic Church. I pray you’ll see it for what it is, excitement at wanting to share scripture and new understanding with a fellow believer:)

Whatever you decide, understand that many of us here know exactly what you are going through and will be praying for you no matter what.

God Bless,
Maria
 
gracelife said:
I see where you are coming from, but how come I just can’t “buy” it? kwim?
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I cant pretend to know it because I am a cradle Catholic, but usually when we have difficulty accepting something (despite being able to see where it comes from) it is because we - knowingly or unknowingly - have attachments to something else which prevents us from accepting it. One example is the belief that the Bible is the word of God apart from any concrete reason to believe it. Have you ever really thought deeply about why, exactly, you believe that it is the word of God? And that the Koran, or Book of Mormon, or Bhagad Vita is not the word of God? I doubt it was a personal revelation from God. How can one come to accept such a belief without first attaching an equal (or superior) status to the person or institution from which they learned it?
 
Philthy said:
I cant pretend to know it because I am a cradle Catholic, but usually when we have difficulty accepting something (despite being able to see where it comes from) it is because we - knowingly or unknowingly - have attachments to something else which prevents us from accepting it. One example is the belief that the Bible is the word of God apart from any concrete reason to believe it. Have you ever really thought deeply about why, exactly, you believe that it is the word of God? And that the Koran, or Book of Mormon, or Bhagad Vita is not the word of God? I doubt it was a personal revelation from God. How can one come to accept such a belief without first attaching an equal (or superior) status to the person or institution from which they learned it?
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I, too, don’t truly know where you’re coming from because I was also born and raised Catholic. But, since I haven’t anything good to say, I’ll just say a few prayers for the Holy Spirit to bestow on you the grace of faith.

Dominus vobsicum.

and you, gracelife, would answer?
 
gracelife said:
What must I do to be saved?
What are the minimal requirements?

I’m not asking “minimal requirements” to try to circumvent anything, simply, what do you believe the gospel teaches us regarding the above questions.
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A protestants opinion on the steps to follow in order to become a true Christian, to be Saved & Have a real relationship & genuine experience with the real God

Read, understand, accept and believe these verses;

All men are sinners and fall short of God’s perfect standard

Romans 3: 23 states that

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Sin - which is imperfection in our lives - denies us eternal life with God. But God sent his son Jesus Christ as a gift to give us freely Eternal Life by believing on Jesus Christ.

Romans 6: 23 states

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

You can be saved, and you are saved by Faith in Jesus Christ. You cannot be saved by your good works, because they are not “good enough”. But God’s good work of sending Jesus Christ to save us, and our response of believing - of having faith - in Jesus Christ, that is what saves each of us.

Ephesians 2: 8-9 states

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

God did not wait for us to become perfect in order to accept or unconditionally love us. He sent Jesus Christ to save us, even though we are sinners. So Jesus Christ died to save us from our sins, and to save us from eternal separation from God. Romans 5:8 states

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God loved the world so much that He sent his one and only Son to die, so that by believing in Jesus Christ, we obtain Eternal Life.

John 3: 16 states

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

If you believe in Jesus Christ, and in what he did on the Cross for us, by dying there for us, you know for a fact that you have been given Eternal Life.

I John 5: 13 states

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

If you confess your sins to God, he hears you take this step, and you can know for sure that He does hear you, and his response to you is to forgive you of those sins, so that they are not remembered against you, and not attributed to you ever again.

I John 1: 9 states

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
 
myfavoritmartin said:
A protestants opinion on the steps to follow in order to become a true Christian, to be Saved & Have a real relationship & genuine experience with the real God
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It is notable that this is a Protestant’s opinion (Thanks for being honest with us, MFM! 👍). I find the use of the word ‘opinion’ particularly interesting, considering that God promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, and clearly, truth isn’t dependent on our opinion of it.
 
irishmac said:
Good, but in Latin.

Just getting you ready for the Latin Mass!😃
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lol mac, please don’t hold your breath on that. 🙂 I’d hate to see you expire in the event that doesn’t happen.
Bless you.

Is this better? Et cum spiritu tuo
 
I mean no offense, I keep hearing more at CA forums “church this and church that”. Because the “church says so”.
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If what we need for salvation is in Christ, why do we not speak more of what HE has done for us on the cross. THAT is the central issue of the gospel; i.e. Christ’s death and resurrection. And our response to that message through God’s grace.
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Because Our Lord does not beam knowledge of Himself into our heads–we learn about Him through the Church that He gave authority to teach in His name. Even though Paul got direct revelation from Our Lord, note that one of His first orders to Paul is to seek out the Church. To say that the Church can be wrong about the so-called “periphery” things runs us directly into the implication that it can also be wrong about the central teachings about Our Lord. There is no dichotomy between Our Lord and His Church–He is its head. And for one to come along and say “ok, just the Jesus things and chuck all the rest” is to set one’s self up as the head. It really is all or nothing.
 
gracelife said:
lol mac, please don’t hold your breath on that. 🙂 I’d hate to see you expire in the event that doesn’t happen.
Bless you.

Is this better? Et cum spiritu tuo
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:clapping: Bravo! :clapping:

Don’t worry about me. I can hold my breath for like … I don’t know… a minute or so. 😃
 
djrakowski said:
Here’s another point I mentioned in an earlier post, but I think it may’ve been lost in all my wordiness.

It was the Catholic Church who, over the centuries, took care to translate, preserve, and canonize the various works of early Christian literature into what we now know as the Bible. If the Catholic Church is to be trusted in the process of canonizing the Bible, then why is it not to be trusted in interpreting it?
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If God can form the universe out of nothing God can keep his Word straight in spite of humans. <><
 
gracelife said:
What must I do to be saved?
What are the minimal requirements?

I’m not asking “minimal requirements” to try to circumvent anything, simply, what do you believe the gospel teaches us regarding the above questions.
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I believe what Jesus said when the young man asked him that exact same question.
 
But seriously though, pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you and totally give up of your will and allow His will for you to come. Don’t give up. I am absolutely positive that there are a multitude of people in your court, praying for you. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide.
 
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