Salvation_Justification

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SALVATION / JUSTIFICATION

Q. Have you been saved? Is this the same as having been baptized and confirmed?

Q. We are often asked "Are you saved?"

Q. Being saved. Some people believe that once they accept Christ they are saved.

Salvation is not the same as baptism and confirmation. Baptism and confirmation will be discussed further in the chapter titled "SACRAMENTS." To properly answer questions concerning salvation, we must first define the terms. We Catholics and our separated brethren have different definitions for the words we commonly use.

Salvation. Catholics use this term to refer to the whole process, from its beginning in faith, through the whole Christian life of works in love on earth, to its completion in heaven. To our separated brethren this term means the initial step--climbing aboard the ark of salvation--not the entire journey to the final destination. As you can see, the Catholic has a much broader meaning for the term "salvation" or "saved" while our non-Catholic brethren have a much smaller view.

Faith. To the Catholic, this is one of the three theological virtues [faith, hope and charity (love)]; faith is intellectual belief. To our separated brethren it is accepting Jesus with your whole heart and soul. In this case it is the Catholic who has the much smaller view while our non-Catholic brethren use it in a much broader sense.

With these definitions in mind, if someone asks you "Have you been saved?" you can answer "Yes, by the grace of God." This will answer the question from the point of view of the non- Catholic who asked it. A more correct answer, from the Catholic perspective would be "I have been saved from the penalty of sin by Jesus' death and resurrection, I am being saved from the power of sin by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and I will one day be saved from the presence of sin when I go to be with the Lord."

Recommended reading:

• ●  Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 161, 169

• ●  Currie, David B., Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, 1996, pages 109-

  141

• ●  Kreeft, Peter & Tacelli, Ronald K., Handbook of Christian Apologetics, InterVarsety Press, Downers Grove, IL

  60515, 1994, pages 320-321

• ●  No "Assurance of Salvation", A Catholic Answers Tract, P.O. Box 17490, San Diego, CA 92177