What must one do to be saved?

[Pophead]

Once a Mormon apologete asked a very good question.

‘What must one do to be saved?’

The Mormon apologete added that he had heard so many different answers to the question, that he was hoping for a unified response from Christians, for surely there must be one right answer to the question. If not, then how could he be sure which one was right.

Contrary to the illusion that Christians are unified in their message of salvation, it seems Christians cannot agree.

These are some of the answers I got to this question over the years. Just observe how they contradict each other.

1. God is the Father of all and no-one is lost.
2. If you do good works and are baptised.
3. Only through the Church can you be saved.
4. You can still go to heaven without accepting Jesus.
5. God’s grant of salvation includes not only Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of good will.
6. All who live a just life will be saved even if they do not believe in Jesus Christ and the Church.
7. Heaven is open to all as long as they are good, even for those who ignore Christ and His Church.
8. The Spirit’s presense and activity affect not only the individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions. It will be in sincere practice of what is good in their own religious traditions and by following the dictates of their own conscience that the members of other religious respond to God’s invitation and receive salvation in Jesus Christ, even while they do not recognize or acknowledge him as their Saviour.

…what must one do to be saved

 

[mapleoak]

The Mormon apologete added that he had heard so many different answers to the question, that he was hoping for a unified response from Christians,

One cannot get a unified response from Christians, since there are thousands of Christian denominations. Each of these denominations possessing a certain portion of the truth, however lacking in some, or in many cases, a great deal of the truth.

for surely there must be one right answer to the question. If not, then how could he be sure which one was right.

He is correct, in that there is only one truth. Anything other than the truth is false. Many things can be false.

 

[Sarah245]

I think the Catholic answer is that everyone is saved through the Church. One must be in sanctifiying grace and a full member of the Church to be saved. It is possible for people to be saved without doing these things if they are somehow not able to (ie. if they never knew about Jesus, etc). But it is always through the Church and because of Christ’s crucifixtion that they are saved, even if they aren’t a full member for some innocent reason.

 

[Fidelis]

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter (said) to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.
(Acts 2:37-38)

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

**PENANCE (REPENT): **Interior penance: a conversion of heart toward God and away from sin, which implies the intention to change one’s life because of hope in divine mercy (1431). External acts of penance include fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (1434). The observance of certain penitential practices is obliged by the fourth precept of the Church (2043).

FAITH: Both a gift of God and a human act by which the believer gives personal adherence to God who invites his response, and freely assents to the whole truth that God has revealed. It is this revelation of God which the Church proposes for our belief, and which we profess in the Creed, celebrate in the sacraments, live by right conduct that fulfills the twofold commandment of charity (as specified in the ten commandments), and respond to in our prayer of faith. Faith is both a theological virtue given by God as grace, and an obligation which flows from the first commandment of God (26, 142, 150, 1814, 2087).

**JESUS CHRIST: **The eternal Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered crucifixion and death, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, and will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. “Jesus,” which means “God saves” in Hebrew, was the name given to him at the Annunciation; “Christ” is a title which comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah and means “anointed” (184 f.; 430, 436; cf. 727).

BAPTISM: The first of the seven sacraments, and the “door” which gives access to the other sacraments. Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification. Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist constitute the “sacraments of initiation” by which a believer receives the remission of original and personal sin, begins a new life in Christ and the Holy Spirit, and is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ. The rite of Baptism consists in immersing the candidate in water, or pouring water on the head, while pronouncing the invocation of the Most Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (977, 1213 ff.; 1275, 1278).

**HOLY SPIRIT: **The third divine Person of the Blessed Trinity, the personal love of Father and Son for each other. Also called the Paraclete (Advocate) and Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the divine plan for our salvation (685; cf. 152, 243).
GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: Permanent dispositions that make us docile to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The traditional list of seven gifts of the Spirit is derived from Isaiah 11:1-3: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, piety, fortitude, and fear of the Lord (1830).

continued…

 

[Fidelis]

Here is Fidelis’ Extremely Short Summary of How We Are Saved

An Extremely Short Explanation of How Are We Saved?:** It’s All Grace**

• Christ did NOT die on the Cross in our place (“Substitutionary Atonement” as taught by some Protestants is false)
• Christ DID die on the Cross to take away the sin (in general) of the world. This is what is called the Redemption.
  All men are redeemed, but each man needs to embrace salvation offered by God.
  · The Redemption made it possible for each of us to respond to God’s initiative (grace), place our faith in Jesus’ sacrifice and his promises, and be baptized.

1. Baptism
· *Initial justification *where our sins are washed away. As a Sacrament, baptism is an efficacious sign that really accomplishes what it signifies. We are “born again” to new life; sanctified and made holy and fit for heaven (this is called sanctifying grace). If we were to die in this state, we would go to heaven.

2. Sanctification· After baptism, we want to remain in sanctifying grace since if we die in any other state we will not go to heaven. We do this by relying on “prompting” graces (called actual graces) from God to do good (virtue) and avoid evil (sin). If we respond to God’s grace, we will remain in sanctifying grace. This is the sense in which we are “saved by our works”—it is entirely due to the grace of God with our cooperation. The more graces we respond to, the more we grow in holiness (sanctification), and the surer we are headed for heaven. In this, also, we are, by cooperating with God’s grace, being obedient to the commandments of Our Lord.
· If we fail to respond to God’s grace, especially if we fall into habitual venial sin, we run the risk of eventually falling into mortal sin. If we do, sanctifying grace dies in us and we are no longer “in a state of grace”—if we die in that state we cannot go to heaven.
· It is then that God sends us graces to urge us to repent and to confess our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We are then restored to sanctifying grace. This is how our justification can be seen as ongoing.

3. Final Perseverance· Finally, if through faith we remain faithful to God and respond to the graces he has given us through our lives and die in the state of sanctifying grace, we will be with God forever in heaven.

Thus,* (1) We have been saved (through baptism), (2) we are being saved (through responding to God’s continual graces); (3) and we will be saved (by final perseverance).*

One more…

 

[Fidelis]

Continued from above post…

Where do works fit in?

Protestants may point out the following:

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. John 3:16

Catholics say: “Amen!” But what does Jesus mean here by believe? Go down further in this chapter, and you will find out:

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.(John 3:36)

Disobeying God is not following his commandments. Both faith AND works (by God’s grace, not our own power) are necessary.

“Yeah, but what about…

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8,9

You know, of course, Paul is speaking here, not about good works in the sense of fulfilling the ten commandments and avoiding evil, but is talking about the Levitical Law. Please read the entire chapter in context. Same for the other famous “faith alone” proof-text, Romans 3:28.

"Well, if you’re really saved, you’ll just naturally do good works."

Consider this: If good works sprang up naturally out of faith, the whole New Testament (which was addressed to believers) would be useless, since it constantly commands believers to do certain good actions and avoid certain evil ones.

Works are not the direct cause of salvation; we aren’t saved by the works themselves, even ones done as a response to and under the power of God’s grace.

But we ARE saved by works in the sense that if we don’t do the good works that God has set before us to do, or do evil works (mortal sins) in defiance of God’s clear prescription, this is disobedience and, as Jesus said in the passage above, the disobedient cannot be saved.

[God] will repay everyone according to his works: eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness. (Romans 2:6-8)

Another, secondary, way doing good works saves you is that when you occupy yourself with walking in God’s ways, you leave less room to fall into sins. When you head off even venial sin, it is harder for it to become habitual and lead you into serious sin:

No one experiencing temptation should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15)

Occupy your minds with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill them with bad ones. Unoccupied, they cannot be. -St. Thomas More

Hope that helps…

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Once a Mormon apologete asked a very good question.

‘What must one do to be saved?’

The Mormon apologete added that he had heard so many different answers to the question, that he was hoping for a unified response from Christians, for surely there must be one right answer to the question. If not, then how could he be sure which one was right.

Contrary to the illusion that Christians are unified in their message of salvation, it seems Christians cannot agree.

These are some of the answers I got to this question over the years. Just observe how they contradict each other.

1. God is the Father of all and no-one is lost.
2. If you do good works and are baptised.
3. Only through the Church can you be saved.
4. You can still go to heaven without accepting Jesus.
5. God’s grant of salvation includes not only Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of good will.
6. All who live a just life will be saved even if they do not believe in Jesus Christ and the Church.
7. Heaven is open to all as long as they are good, even for those who ignore Christ and His Church.
8. The Spirit’s presense and activity affect not only the individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions. It will be in sincere practice of what is good in their own religious traditions and by following the dictates of their own conscience that the members of other religious respond to God’s invitation and receive salvation in Jesus Christ, even while they do not recognize or acknowledge him as their Saviour.

…what must one do to be saved

For those who have heard the Gospel, Peter answers:

Acts 2:38 But Peter said to them: Do penance: and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the
remission of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

 

[tabcom]

Once a Mormon apologete asked a very good question.

‘What must one do to be saved?’

1. God is the Father of all and no-one is lost.
2. If you do good works and are baptised.
3. Only through the Church can you be saved.
4. You can still go to heaven without accepting Jesus.
5. God’s grant of salvation includes not only Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of good will.
6. All who live a just life will be saved even if they do not believe in Jesus Christ and the Church.
7. Heaven is open to all as long as they are good, even for those who ignore Christ and His Church.
8. The Spirit’s presense and activity affect not only the individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions. It will be in sincere practice of what is good in their own religious traditions and by following the dictates of their own conscience that the members of other religious respond to God’s invitation and receive salvation in Jesus Christ, even while they do not recognize or acknowledge him as their Saviour.

For the sake of brevity . . .
1 no
2 no
3 no
4 no
5 no
6 no
7 no
8 no

Why the nays?

Jesus says He is THE way. Not a way.

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

 

[Jorgio47]

This is exactly what you must do to be saved.
No exceptions.
Jesus said I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE,
No one can come to the Father but by ME (Jesus)"
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Rm 3:23
For the Wages of sin is death. Rm 6:23
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Rm 10:13
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. John 3:16

That is it in a nutshell. We are saved by Grace and not by works through our faith.
But without faith, it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Heb 11:6 .
Have a Blessed Faithful day seek Him through whom Life is.

 

[Fidelis]

We are saved by Grace and not by works through our faith.
But without faith, it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Heb 11:6 .
Have a Blessed Faithful day seek Him through whom Life is.

**
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision: but faith that worketh by charity. (Gal 5:6, DRV)

[God] will repay everyone according to his works: eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness. (Romans 2:6-8)

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10).

“You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone,” (James 2:24) and " . . . so also faith without works is dead," (James 2:26).
**

 

[rien]

Continued from above post…

Where do works fit in?

Protestants may point out the following:

Catholics say: “Amen!” But what does Jesus mean here by believe? Go down further in this chapter, and you will find out:

Disobeying God is not following his commandments. Both faith AND works (by God’s grace, not our own power) are necessary.

“Yeah, but what about…

You know, of course, Paul is speaking here, not about good works in the sense of fulfilling the ten commandments and avoiding evil, but is talking about the Levitical Law. Please read the entire chapter in context. Same for the other famous “faith alone” proof-text, Romans 3:28.

…

Catholic apologists erroneously use this verse to claim Paul was speaking only of Levitical Law.

That is picking one verse and taking it out of context and sense.

Paul indeed includes the moral law in saying man is not saved by peforming or obeying the law.

In many texts Paul uses the work law not to mean a written code of ethics or religious preactices but an unwritten law. See Romans 2: 14-15.

Paul uses law or works of the law to refer to the moral law of God - in addition to the ceremonial law.

Read Romans 2:17

"Now you, if you call yourself a Jew, if you rely on the law. You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery. Do you commit adultry?

No ceremonial law here. Paul is referring to moral laws as he references the Decalogue.

In Romans 7:6-8 Paul is talking about the moral law when he states on cannot be saved by the law. “…we have been released from the law…” He then talks about coveting which is from the 9th and 10th Commandements. Part of the moral law. By saying we have been relesed from the moral law against coveting Paul is saying the moral law cannot save us.

Catholics seem to be too eager to glean onto this popular, among Catholic apologists, claim that by law Paul was only referring to the ceremonial law. That is simply not the case if you read Scripture in context.

 

[banjo]

When speaking of the moral law it might be good to keep in mind Christ’s summary of the Ten Commandments; love of God above all else (the first three Commandments) and love of neighbor as yourself (remaining seven Commandments). I cannot agree that we are free to disregard the moral aspects of the Decalogue becasue the heart of Christ’s teaching is love and how does love express itself but through action, deeds, works. If that is not the case to what purpose did Christ recount the story of the Good Samaritan or the story of Lazarus and the rich man? One would have to excise from the Bible all references to love if we are not called to live in it and express it in our lives.
If you love someone, you must do something for that person. You cannot separate faith and works any more than you can separate the front of a coin from the back. As St. Paul himself put it in Gal 5:6 “*For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love.” *Eph 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Lastly, in Rm 13:10 *“Love does not wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” *

Christ came to fulfill the law not to abolish it.

"Christ is the end that completes, not the end that destroys, for the details of the Law were shadows that prefigured his coming (St. Augustine, Against the Adversary of the Law and the Prophets 2, 26-27)."

Peace to all here.

 

[NotWorthy]

Once a Mormon apologete asked a very good question.

‘What must one do to be saved?’

The Mormon apologete added that he had heard so many different answers to the question, that he was hoping for a unified response from Christians, for surely there must be one right answer to the question. If not, then how could he be sure which one was right.

Perhaps because there is no ONE answer.

For Jesus said: “To the one who is given much, much will be expected”.

This implies that someone who has received many gifts of the Holy Spirit will have to do much more with these gifts than someone who is lacking.

Notice that the King was no less happy with the man who double 3 talents as he was with the man that doubled 5 talents.

Notice that Jesus was more praiseworthy of the woman who gave her last penny than with the wealthy man who gave so much more.

I guess I need to change my answer:
All someone needs to do to be saved is to do the Will of God.

 

[NotWorthy]

Once a Mormon apologete asked a very good question.

‘What must one do to be saved?’

The Mormon apologete added that he had heard so many different answers to the question, that he was hoping for a unified response from Christians, for surely there must be one right answer to the question. If not, then how could he be sure which one was right.

On a different note:

What must one do to become saved? That’s easy. For adults, Peter makes it pretty clear in Acts: “Repent and be baptized, for the forgiveness of your sins…”

But:

What must one do to remained saved? * Feed the hungry, clothe the sick, forgive one another, love one another as Christ has loved you, Confess in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, obey the Commandments, be poor in spirit, be meek, by humble, mourn your sins, hunger and thirst for righteousness, be merciful, be pure in heart, be a peacemaker, be persecuted for the sake of righteousness, love your enemies*, confess your sins, receive the sacraments, etc, etc, etc.

In other words, “Do the Will of God”!

 

[jpjd]

No one has mentioned receiving the Eucharist as part of what must one do to be saved.

From NAB, John 6:53-54

*53 **Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. *
*54 *Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.

 

[guanophore]

Once a Mormon apologete asked a very good question.

‘What must one do to be saved?’

The Mormon apologete added that he had heard so many different answers to the question, that he was hoping for a unified response from Christians, for surely there must be one right answer to the question. If not, then how could he be sure which one was right.

Contrary to the illusion that Christians are unified in their message of salvation, it seems Christians cannot agree.

These are some of the answers I got to this question over the years. Just observe how they contradict each other.

1. God is the Father of all and no-one is lost.
2. If you do good works and are baptised.
3. Only through the Church can you be saved.
4. You can still go to heaven without accepting Jesus.
5. God’s grant of salvation includes not only Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of good will.
6. All who live a just life will be saved even if they do not believe in Jesus Christ and the Church.
7. Heaven is open to all as long as they are good, even for those who ignore Christ and His Church.
8. The Spirit’s presense and activity affect not only the individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions. It will be in sincere practice of what is good in their own religious traditions and by following the dictates of their own conscience that the members of other religious respond to God’s invitation and receive salvation in Jesus Christ, even while they do not recognize or acknowledge him as their Saviour.

…what must one do to be saved

1 Tim 2:15
Yet woman will be saved through bearing children, if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

 

[guanophore]

Catholic apologists erroneously use this verse to claim Paul was speaking only of Levitical Law.

That is picking one verse and taking it out of context and sense.

Paul indeed includes the moral law in saying man is not saved by peforming or obeying the law.

In many texts Paul uses the work law not to mean a written code of ethics or religious preactices but an unwritten law. See Romans 2: 14-15.

Paul uses law or works of the law to refer to the moral law of God - in addition to the ceremonial law.

Read Romans 2:17

"Now you, if you call yourself a Jew, if you rely on the law. You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery. Do you commit adultry?

No ceremonial law here. Paul is referring to moral laws as he references the Decalogue.

In Romans 7:6-8 Paul is talking about the moral law when he states on cannot be saved by the law. “…we have been released from the law…” He then talks about coveting which is from the 9th and 10th Commandements. Part of the moral law. By saying we have been relesed from the moral law against coveting Paul is saying the moral law cannot save us.

Catholics seem to be too eager to glean onto this popular, among Catholic apologists, claim that by law Paul was only referring to the ceremonial law. That is simply not the case if you read Scripture in context.

There is a vast difference between the idea that a person cannot be “saved” by moral law, and saying that it is irrelevant. The Catholic Church teaches that we are saved by grace, through faith. We are bound by the moral law because this is what Jesus taught. We are only able to comply with moral law by God’s grace.

Jer 31:33-35
33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD:** I will put my law within them,** and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

 

[apophasis]

There is a vast difference between the idea that a person cannot be “saved” by moral law, and saying that it is irrelevant. The Catholic Church teaches that we are saved by grace, through faith. We are bound by the moral law because this is what Jesus taught. We are only able to comply with moral law by God’s grace.

You present a contradiction (see Gal. 3:23-26).

Jer 31:33-35
33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD:** I will put my law within them,** and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

This is regeneration. One is not saved through/by regeneration, but it is the saved (by grace through faith in Christ) who are regenerated (made alive by the Spirit).

There are many answers for how one gets saved when the cross of Christ is circumvented. When the substitutionary value of His sacrificial death alone is denied. It’s men who make salvation difficult, not God. Unbelief presents itself in many forms and always misses the mark.

 

[Fidelis]

Catholic apologists erroneously use this verse to claim Paul was speaking only of Levitical Law.

That is picking one verse and taking it out of context and sense.

Paul indeed includes the moral law in saying man is not saved by peforming or obeying the law.

In many texts Paul uses the work law not to mean a written code of ethics or religious preactices but an unwritten law. See Romans 2: 14-15.

Paul uses law or works of the law to refer to the moral law of God - in addition to the ceremonial law.

Read Romans 2:17

"Now you, if you call yourself a Jew, if you rely on the law. You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery. Do you commit adultry?

No ceremonial law here. Paul is referring to moral laws as he references the Decalogue.

In Romans 7:6-8 Paul is talking about the moral law when he states on cannot be saved by the law. “…we have been released from the law…” He then talks about coveting which is from the 9th and 10th Commandements. Part of the moral law. By saying we have been relesed from the moral law against coveting Paul is saying the moral law cannot save us.

Catholics seem to be too eager to glean onto this popular, among Catholic apologists, claim that by law Paul was only referring to the ceremonial law. That is simply not the case if you read Scripture in context.

In the passages you quoted (from Romans 2 and Romans 7), St. Paul is indeed talking of, respectively, natural law and the moral law. However it is the passages from the chapters of the books I cited (Romans 3-4, Ephesians 2) which many Protestants erroneously use as proof texts to try and show that St. Paul condemns works as having anything to do with our salvation, but it is these passages that **ARE **speaking of works of the (Jewish) law. **These are the passages that Sola Fide adherents rely on and cite in their arguments against Catholics, and that’s why I (and other Catholic apologists) respond to them.

Thank you for allowing me to clarify.

 

[grandfather]

I have a little penny catechism that asks, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer it gives is, “In order to be saved I must woship God in faith, hope and love”.

On essential difference between Protestants and Catholics is that Protestants hold that “faith alone” is necessary. Faith and love are not the same thing. They may work together, one leading to the other, but they are different. Can one be saved without the love of God? What does it mean to love God? John writes: “The love of God consists in this; that we keep His commandments”.
Jesus says, “If a man LOVES me He will keep my commands”.
He says to the pharisees that the love of God is not in them and they will die in their sins (without repentance). This is a horrifying thought.

If love of God means keeping His commandments what are His commandments? He gives us two, but they are essentially the same, love God and love neighbor.