SALVATION
The Catholic Church teaches that salvation from the eternal consequences of sin is a lifelong process. In the Catechism iof the Catholic Church (CCC - 1994), paragraph 161 they start by saying "Believing in Jesus Christ is necessary for our salvation" but they add, "nor will anyone obtain eternal life but he who endures to the end." In paragraph 162 they add that one way to persevere to the end is working through charity. There is never a point in time when they can be sure the work is finished, but their eternal state depends on the state of their soul at the moment of death.
If a Catholic dies with an unforgiven mortal sin upon their soul, he will go directly to Hell for eternity. Of course if he receivesthe sacrament of Extreme Unction (now called the Anointing of the Sick) in good dispositions, the mortal sin will be forgiven, but there is still punishment that has not been satisfied. Then he would go to Purgatory .
The only way in which he could be sure of going straight to Heaven would be to turn away from the dead works of Romanism and turning to the Lord Jesus Christ as your perfect Saviour. He is the only way. He Himself said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. Peter agreed with this truth when he said, Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Catholics believe salvation is attained by cooperating with grace through faith, good works and participation in the sacraments . But they must hear the Gospel, and respond to the Holy Spirit But let's back up a minute and go to our initial statement, that Catholics believe salvation is a lifelong process. A process is a continuing action leading to a desired result.
But for the Roman Catholic, salvation can be a life long process but still not attain the desired result. A person may attend to all his sacramental and devotional duties as a Catholic and, just before death, commit a mortal sin that would damn him forever. He has been conscientiously working on the process, but if he slips up at the end, he goes to Hell.
There is even more tragedy here. For we find the whole concept of a bit-by-bit, continuous progress in salvation is not a biblical concept. The Bible always speaks of a work that has already been completed. The merits of that completed work are the only thing that God will accept as payment for sin and entrance into eternal life. We know that man must stand before the throne of God and be admitted into Heaven on some basis.
Some Catholics I've talked to said they would be able to give Gods three reasons why He should allow them into Heaven. They would cite their Mass attendance, the sacraments they have participated in, and living a good life. But if God asked for three reasons, the Christian would have to say, "I'm sorry, God, I have only one reason. I want to go to Heaven because your Son my Saviour bled and died on Calvary's Cross. And God would say, "That satisfies me."
Many people are trusting their cooperation with grace, good works and sacraments.
But God would have to say it is not our cooperation with grace that saves, but our receiving grace through faith in Christ. It is certainly not our good works, because if we got into a Heaven by means of our goodness, we would get to a Heaven we deserve. And Christians know there is nothing that we deserve.
There is also a misunderstanding about the word faith. The Catholic Church teaches that faith is belief in God and the firm acceptance of all that the Church proposes for belief.
But the Bible tells us of those who believe in God and tremble They are the demons. The fact that one acknowledges there is a God is not the kind of faith the Bible talks about. The Bible talks not about a Catholic faith that believes certain facts, but a living trusting faith that relies upon Jesus Christ alone for receiving the merits that are necessary for eternal life. Because of this trust in Jesus Christ, the grace made possible by His sacrifice on Calvary is imputed to us - put on our account. It is His work alone that makes us acceptable, yes, even perfect, in the eyes of God. The Catholic Church teaches that it is sanctifying grace that perfects the soul; the sanctifying grace of which they speak is received through the will of man in baptism, is furthered by the other sacraments and good works, can be lost by mortal sin and regained through Penance. The Bible says, "For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified."
The Catholic Church teaches that initial grace cannot be earned. They could not say otherwise, for how could a baby earn grace? However, that initial grace is not enough - remember, they say salvation is a lifelong process. And in paragraph 2010 of the New Catechism is states after baptism that "we can then merit for ourselves the graces needed for the attainment of everlasting life." It seems always to come down to a single contrast. The Bible always speaks of the salvific work of Christ on Calvary as a work that was done; Roman Catholicism pays lip service to the sacrifice of Christ, but always gives man something he must DO.