We Will be Saved I Hope

Roman Catholic declarations concerning THE ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

Sister Mary Aloysius, England

(I had the opportunity of meeting this nun after corresponding with a R.C. priest she was caring for in a convent.) Her statement concerning the assurance of salvation was: "We will be saved I hope."

Rev. Anthony, Marianhill Fathers

In his annual letter from this society that prays for people in purgatory, Rev. Anthony said that it is the realization of Heaven's holiness that causes the departed soul to realize its unworthiness and opt for further cleansing in purgatory.

The Right Rev. G. P. Dwyer

"We can nevertheless have a well grounded hope that a Catholic who dies after receiving Extreme Unction, the Holy Viaticum and the priest's last blessing, in good dispositions, may go straight to Heaven. " (PURGATORY, Catholic Truth Society)

St. Peter Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1972)

"We sin by presumption when we trust we can be saved.... by God's help without our own efforts."

1 St. John 5:13

"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."

Hebrews 10:14

"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

John 5:24

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

Ephesians 2:8,9

"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."

Assurance of salvation is a vital biblical concept. Any uncertainty or denial is maligning the person of Christ, for if the Saviour is perfect, there is no cause for lack of assurance.

Sister Mary's statement is a synopsis of much Roman Catholic thought. The use of a positive verb and an unsure qualification keeps people near enough to make them want to be religious, but not to the point of really trusting.

A departed soul that realizes its own unworthiness does not understand Bible salvation. If we are accepted in Christ (Eph. 1:6), He is our worthiness.

After having done all we can, Rev. Dwyer still can only say that we "may" go straight to Heaven. How unlike the declaration of St. Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:8.

The catechism's definition of that sin of presumption indicates that our efforts can supplement Christ's work. If so, His work would be finite, not infinite.