Salvation in the Roman Catholic Church

 

By: Moses Flores

 

            The doctrine of salvation is probably one of the bigger concerns that people have in dealing with Roman Catholicism.  The reason that we did not immediately dive into this topic is because it is important to see what by what authority Rome teaches their “gospel”.  This study will be approached from two different perspectives on salvation.  The first will deal with salvation for those who have been baptized within the Roman Catholic Church as infants.  The second will deal with the salvation of adults who were never baptized as infants within the Roman Catholic Church.

 

Original Sin and Infant Baptism

 

            The Roman Catholic Church teaches that all who are born descendants of Adam are born into “original sin.”  Catholicism portrays Adam and Eve existing in a state of holiness prior to their fall. As soon as they fell from that grace by eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they lost “the grace of original holiness [399].”  Through this sin, “death makes its entrance into human history [400].”  Humanity is now universally inclined to sin.  Thus, human nature is “wounded in the natural powers proper it; subject to ignorance, suffering, and the dominion of death; and inclined to sin – an inclination to evil that is called ‘concupiscence[1].’”  All children, without exception, that are descendant of Adam are born into this condition.

            Rome teaches that Christ came to remedy that fallen condition of man in “original sin”.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “after this fall, man was not abandoned by God.  On the contrary, God calls him and in a mysterious way heralds the coming victory over evil and his restoration from his fall.  This passage is Genesis is called the Protoevangelium…”[ 410].  Thus, Christ died for all men sacrificially, however, Rome says “but though he died for all, yet all do not receive the benefit of His death, but those only to whom the merit of His passion is communicated…”[2]  The initial way of communicating the merit and passion of the death of Christ is through baptism.

The Catechism says this about Baptism:

 

“Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. [1213]”

 

            Thus, because of what Baptism is, the Catechism elsewhere states that because infants are,

 

“Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called…The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth. [1250]”

 

            The act of baptism results in the regeneration of the infant.  This doctrine of infant baptism in the Roman Catholic tradition is also referred to, theologically, as “baptismal regeneration.”  Because the performance of this sacrament effects regeneration, the sacrament is also called “the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit,’ for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Spirit without which no one ‘can enter the kingdom of God’ (italics mine) [1215].”  Also, the bowl from which infants are baptized is often referred to as the “laver of regeneration”. 

There are two important effects, besides regeneration, that result from the infant being baptized.  The first is the removal of original sin[3].  The Church teaches that a baptized child is immaculate and guiltless before God (Thus, anyone who dies in an non-baptized state has no real hope of going to heaven [1261]).  “By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original and all personal sins…in those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam’s sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin…[1263].” 

            The second effect of Baptism is the infusion[4] of “sanctifying grace” into the soul.  The infusion of “sanctifying grace” is nothing more than the restoration of that which made Adam and Eve holy before God.  The Catechism says:

 

“Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte ‘a new creature,’ an adopted son of God, who has become a ‘partaker of the divine nature,’ member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit…The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification:  enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues; giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit; allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues.  Thus the whole organism of the Christian’s supernatural life has its roots in Baptism. [1265,1266]”

 

            The infusion of sanctifying grace makes the child spiritually alive[5] and thus places the infant in a state of grace.  “According to the Roman Catholic Church, with the infusion of sanctifying grace come the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the theological virtues, most notably charity [1812-1832].  Catholic theology, therefore, often equates being in a state of grace with having charity in one’s heart or soul.[6]”  The theological term that the Roman Catholic Church uses to describe this spiritual transformation is “justification”, hence, sanctifying grace is also called “justifying grace”.  The Council of Trent defined justification as “a translation from that state in which man is born a child of the first Adam, to the sate of grace and of the adoption of the sons of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Savior.[7]”  More will be said about the specifics of justification in dealing with adult justification.

 

Figure 1.

 

            Since Baptism is the instrument by which one is justified and made spiritually alive, it is absolutely necessary that an infant, and an adult, be baptized through the Roman Catholic Church.  “Baptism is the bath that purifies, justifies and sanctifies” [1227 cf. 1254, 1987, 1992], therefore, its necessity becomes obvious.  The only people exempt from the necessity of Baptism are those who are “baptized by death” (martyrs) and those who die with the “desire for baptism” from the Roman Catholic Church [1258].

 

Having been exposed to the Roman Catholic teachings on infant justification and baptism, it is no wonder that, practically speaking, some people profess to be Christian, and thus saved, on the basis of their baptism in the Roman Catholic Church.  However, Rome still says that Baptism does not deliver a child from “temporal consequences” of sin such as the weakness of human nature and an inclination to sin, neither does it guarantee eternal life (see 405, 978, 1254, 1264, 1426).  Baptism, and the justification proceeding it is merely the first step in a life long process of achieving final justification.  Baptism is merely “initial justification.”  More will be spoken on this in adult justification as well.  In the meantime, it will suffice to say that the Baptized infant must still undergo instruction into the Catholic faith [1231]. 

 

The Concept of Grace in the Roman Catholic Church

 

            Before we take on the topic of Adult Justification and the Roman Catholic concept of justification, I believe it is important to understand the concept of grace in the Roman Catholic Church.  It is my belief that that when the Roman Catholic uses the term “grace”, he or she is using in a different sense, or with different meaning, than the Protestant understands it to mean from the Bible.  The confusion that results from this is that it is believed that Roman Catholics and Protestants have a common ground when they both use this term in dialogue with each other.  Therefore, I believe it is necessary to define what the Roman Catholic Church’s understanding of “grace” is.

            The Catechism defines grace as “favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life [1996].”  This grace, essentially, is the work that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished in his death and the merit that it has before the Father.  It is God’s initiative to have a plan of salvation and to provide Christ.  Rome calls this grace “initial grace” and because of the work that Christ did and the fact that no man could do the work and because nothing we could have done could move God to choose to have a plan of salvation, Rome, therefore, says that “no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification” [2010].    

            What this “grace” then does is that is allows man to be able “to respond” to God.  What does man respond to God with?  Merit.  “God’s free initiative demand’s man’s free response, for God has created man in his image by conferring on him, along with freedom, the power to know him and love him [2002].”  The Catechism says that, “the term ‘merit’ refers in general to the recompense owed by a community or a society for the action of one of its members, experienced either as beneficial or harmful, deserving reward or punishment [2006].”  Also,

 

“The merit of man before God in the Christian life arises from the fact that God has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace.  The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man’s free acting through his collaboration, so that the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful.  Man’s merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit[2008].”

 

            From this paragraph, grace may be defined as the free action of God to associate himself with man and thus enable him to merit his own eternal salvation.  That is, once the grace of God is received through conversion and Baptism (the reception of sanctifying grace) the person in the state of grace is able to do “good works” that are “worthy of obtaining ‘the promised inheritance of eternal life’” [2009].  The Catechism goes on to say that “the merits of our good works are the gifts of divine goodness.”  The person who is in the state of grace, Rome teaches, “can merit for [themselves] and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life [2010].” 

            The issue of the necessity of grace between the Roman Catholic Church and the Reformers was never the issue.  Obviously Rome has never denied a role to the grace of God in salvation.  Anyone who argues that they deny it certainly has not paid attention to Roman Catholic liturgy.  The issue, as James White points out, is the sufficiency of grace[8].

            White rightly perceives that “the issue is whether grace is sufficient in and of itself to accomplish the salvation of God’s people – or if something else must by added to grace to complete that salvation.[9]”  The Roman Catholic Church teaches that grace is necessary for salvation and that along with the merit of man salvation is accomplished.  The Reformers, however, responded with the Reformed battle cry, “sola gratia” – grace alone and not grace mixed with merit, or charity, or good works – simply God’s grace alone is sufficient to save the sinner.  In 2008 of the Catechism, we can see that Rome believes God’s grace to be necessary because it is what initiates the plan of salvation.  Although God’s grace (in the Roman Catholic sense) is necessary[10] it does not, in and of itself, effect anything.  Instead, “man’s free acting through his collaboration” is what effects the salvation of man[11].  This is also what our merit is:  it is our free action in collaboration with God’s grace.

            So in dialogue with Roman Catholics, the reader should recognize that they will admit that salvation cannot take place apart from God’s grace (cf. 1996) but the whole story is that God’s grace enables man to merit his own salvation.  So grace is necessary, but not sufficient for salvation.[12]  Here is an illustration to help.

 

Figure 2.

            The grace of God, in the illustration, is nothing more than the merit of Christ that is necessary for salvation.  That is, it was still necessary to have a sin bearer for our sins.  However the sufficiency of that sin-bearer is in question and will be dealt with in the topic of the Eucharist (Mass).  The means by which we channel that grace into us is through the sacraments (seven total) which then infuse an according “grace” into the soul of man which enable him to achieve merit before God that is really his own merit.  William Webster summed up the Roman Catholic concept of grace by saying that “grace is a supernatural quality, infused into the soul of man through the sacraments, enabling him to do works of expiation and righteousness.[13]”  Those works done in the state of grace, then, become the basis of God’s final pronouncement of justification.

 

Adult Justification

 

            All those who are not baptized as infants in the Roman Catholic Church will be dealt with under this category.  The process for adult justification is much more tedious than infant justification as we shall see.  In fact, one could come to the conclusion that it is far easier to be saved as an infant in the Roman Catholic Church than as an adult! 

            As was discussed above, baptism is justification and those wanting to be saved are, essentially, seeking baptism.  All those seeking justification (salvation) must undergo an extensive training process and time of preparation.  The Catechism states:

 

“From the time of the apostles, becoming a Christian has been accomplished by a journey and initiation in several stages.  This journey can be covered rapidly or slowly, but certain essential elements will always have to be present: proclamation of the Word, acceptance of the Gospel entailing conversion, profession of faith, Baptism itself, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and admission to Eucharistic communion.” [1229]

 

“This initiation has varied greatly through the centuries according to circumstances.  In the first centuries of the Church, Christian initiation saw considerable development.  A long period of catechumenate included a series of preparatory rites, which were liturgical landmarks along the path of catechumenal preparation and culminated in the celebration of the sacraments of Christian initiation.” [1230]

 

            This process, today, is known as the “Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults” (RCIA). 

            First, the sinner must respond to God’s intervening grace, also known as “actual grace” [2000] because its purpose it to produce “action” or a response from the one to whom it is given.  This grace is a “predisposing grace[14]” whereby the sinner is called to believe the Gospel, namely through the preaching of the Word.  This grace can be rejected by his “free will.”  Thus, the sinner always has the freedom to accept God’s “predisposing grace” here, or to reject it.  Rejection will lead the sinner to eternal damnation.  Cooperation with the grace, however, will lead the sinner to perform “salutary acts.”  Salutary acts are “human actions performed under the influence of grace that lead to justification.[15]”  The first of these is “faith” and it is acquired in the first phase of the RCIA known as the “inquiry stage.”  This is a period in which the unbaptized person begins to learn about the Catholic faith and begins to decide whether to embrace it.[16]” The faith that is required here is a “theological” or “confessional” faith that believes in God and all that the He has revealed which includes Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.  Teachings like the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption of Mary, Papal Infallibility and other Dogmatic teachings found in the Council of Trent and Vatican I and II must[17] be accepted.  They must also become familiar with the practices of the Catholic faith, liturgy and worship during this time.  The formal process of entry to this phase is called the “rite of reception into the order of catechumens” where the person seeking justification expresses their desire and intention of becoming a Christian.  The “seeker” is then referred to as a “Catechumen”.  This period of inquiry may vary from catechumen to catechumen.  James McCarthy says that the usual period is about eleven months[18] but it can take up several years[19].  The variable is how much the catechumen has learned and whether or not he or she feels ready to progress to the next step.  During this period, Trent says that when the persons seeking justification,

 

“Understanding themselves to be sinners, they, by turning themselves from the fear of divine justice, by which they are salutarily aroused, to consider the mercy of God, are raised to hope, trusting that God will be propitious to them for Christ’s sake; and they begin to love Him as the fountain of all justice, and on that account are moved against sin by a certain hatred and detestation, that is, by that repentance that must be performed before baptism; finally, when they resolve to receive baptism, to begin a new life and to keep the commandments of God.[20]”

 

            That is, the sinner is moved to turn away from their sins and perform good works with the hope that in doing so, “God will be propitious to them”.  Upon having “faith” and reaching this point of repentance that Trent describes, one is able to “resolve to receive baptism.”

            This leads to the second step in the RCIA: the rite of election.  The names of the catachumenates are written down in a book of those who will be receiving the “sacraments of initiation” (which are Baptism, immediately followed by Confirmation and the Eucharist).  This usually occurs on the first Sunday of the Lent season in preparation for Easter, when the Catechumens will be baptized.

            During this period, the catechumen undergoes a period of “intense reflection, purification and enlightenment, in which they deepen their commitment to repentance and conversion to the Christian faith.[21]”  At this point, they catechumens are now referred to as “the elect” as well.  Also, during this period, the “elect” are presented the Apostle’s Creed and the Lord’s Prayer which they will have to recite upon initiation.  They also undergo “scrutinies” which are “rites for self-searching and repentance.[22]” 

            Finally, on the Easter Vigil, the day before Easter, the candidates receive their baptism, become justified, and are able to receive the other sacraments of Confirmation and finally the Eucharist.  And thus, salvation, after an extensive period of time, has been initially acquired. 

 

Justification in the Roman Catholic Tradition

 

            At this point it is necessary to discuss in further detail the Roman Catholic teaching on Justification.  To best understand the Roman Catholic concept of justification, we should understand that it is a process that is achieved throughout one’s entire lifetime and even beyond in purgatory (which will be dealt with later).  Justification is divided up into three phases: initial justification, progressive justification and final justification.  Also, embedded within this is a re-justification. 

            First, is the role of the work of Christ in justification.  As was mentioned above, Christ, through His death on the Cross, is said to have merited justification, or righteousness, and this work becomes to us a “predisposing” or “prevenient” grace.  Because no man can earn this righteousness, this is said to be a gracious act of God. Trent says that justification is by grace because “none of those things that precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification.[23]”  This “predisposing grace” is offered to all who hear the Gospel and makes it possible for man, by a free act of his will, to be able to respond and cooperate with this grace.  When man does cooperate with this grace, he desires to be baptized and upon undergoing the Sacrament of Baptism, he becomes regenerated and initially justified.  Therefore, justification is a cooperative effort between God and man.

            Justification, again, is dogmatically defined by the Council of Trent as “a translation from that state in which man is born as a child of the first Adam, to the state of grace and of the adoption of the sons of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Savior (italics mine).[24]”  By “translation” we are to understand that justification is a “transformation.”  In other words, the sinner ontologically[25] becomes righteous in his being.  This is not to be confused with “merely a legal righteousness[26]” nor with “behavioral righteousness.[27]”  That is, the sinner actually becomes righteous in his very being so that the righteousness that he now possesses becomes his very own.  The sinner becomes “inwardly just” [1992] and man becomes detached from sin which is contradictory to the love of God and actually purifies his heart of sin [1990].

            The way by which this righteousness comes to him is through “impartation” also referred to as “infusion” in Roman Catholic theology.  To “infuse” simply means to “pour into”, thus, righteousness is poured into, or infused, into the soul of man in the form of the “theological virtues” (faith, hope and charity)[28].  Charity is the supreme virtue [1826] so sometimes justification is equated with the infusion of divine charity into one’s heart.  Because righteousness (often referred to by Rome as “justice”) is infused into the soul of man, justification entails not only the remission of sins, “but also the sanctification and renewal of the inner man [1989].”  Thus, when God makes his pronouncement of initial justification his pronouncement is not based on the behavior of the sinner (behavioral righteousness), or an alien or forensic righteousness (legal righteousness) only, but the basis that the believer has actually become and acquired righteousness in his very being (ontological righteousness).  Justification then “establishes cooperation between God’s grace and man’s freedom [1993].”

            This concept of imparted, or infused, righteousness becomes important in Roman Catholic theology with regards to the character of God.  In Exodus 23:7, God declares, “I will not justify the wicked.”  From here, Rome says that because God will not pronounce the wicked to be just.  Rome believes that God would be lying if he were ever to make a mere legal pronouncement upon the wicked to be just with no real righteousness within that person.  Thus, the concept of legal righteousness alone, as asserted by the Reformers, is often referred to as “legal fiction” by Rome.  Rome does not deny that justification involves a legal declaration, but they do not believe it that justification is only that.  Instead, the legal pronouncement is based on the possessed, or infused, righteousness of Jesus Christ to the believer.

            The person who is justified is now in a “state of grace” is now able to do merit, or good works, to further increase the amount of righteousness they have.  This is known as progressive justification.  The Council of Trent declares that those who are justified are now able “through the observance of the commandments of God and of the Church, faith cooperating with good works, increase in that justice [righteousness] received through the grace of Christ and are further justified…(italics mine).[29]” This “increase of justification” is accomplished through merit. “The term ‘merit’ refers in general to the recompense owed…[2006]”  The merit of man, is “man’s free response” [2009] to the grace of God in justification.  These good works also serve for the purpose of maintaining the righteousness that one already has as well.  James McCarthy has noted that “the amount of merit earned is proportional to:  The kind of work performed; the quantity of the work accomplished; the difficulty of the work; the duration of the work; the amount of sanctifying grace already in the soul; the intensity or fervor with which the work is performed.[30]”  Rome, however, does not provide, in any source, the minimum amount of time or the best works to perform.

            Thus, the council of Trent teaches that “to those who work well unto the end and trust in God, eternal life is to be offered, both as a grace mercifully promised by God Himself, to be faithfully given to their good works and merits.[31]”  Clearly, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that salvation is accomplished by a combination of faith and merit.  It is through this instrumentality of faith combined with merit that causes the believer to increase their righteousness before God. 

           

Justification and the Sacraments

 

One of the means that God has given his people to maintain and increase in grace, that is, to help the Catholic with their merits are sacraments.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

 

“ ‘Seated at the right hand of the Father,’ and pouring out the Holy Spirit on his body which is the Church, Christ now acts through the sacraments he instituted to communicate his grace.  The sacraments are perceptible signs (words and actions) accessible to our human nature.  By the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit they make present efficaciously the grace they signify.” [1084]

 

“Sacraments are ‘powers that comes forth’ from the Body of Christ, which is ever-living and life-giving.  They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church.  They are ‘the masterworks of God’ in the new and everlasting covenant.”  [1116]

 

            Roman Catholic theologian, Alan Shreck, has defined the sacraments as “channels though which the grace of God, flowing from the cross of Jesus, comes to us.[32]”  Rome asserts that there are seven total sacraments which are:  baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist (also known as the Mass), penance, matrimony, holy orders and the anointing of the sick (also called “extreme unction”). 

The purpose of these sacraments is “to sanctify men[33]” by infusing a particular “grace” in the believer.  The Catechism says, “celebrated worthily in faith, the sacraments confer the grace that they signify.[1127]”  It also states that they are efficacious because Christ Himself is at work in each sacrament [1127].  Thus, Rome says that the sacraments work “ex opera operato”, which means “by the very fact of the action’s being performed”.  This means that merely participating in a sacrament will effect within the partaker the particular grace signified in it. However, Rome still says that “the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them [1128].”  That is, they infuse more “sanctifying grace” into the soul of the believer to in which the believer must then cooperate with that grace that was infused into them which then helps them achiever merit toward their eternal salvation.  These sacraments help the believer to maintain their state of grace so that the good works that they perform are performed with more sanctifying grace in the soul, thereby, increasing the quality of merit earned by a good work. 

            Because the sacraments are the primary channels whereby God infuses grace into the soul of many, the sacraments are NECESSARY for salvation. The Catechism says, “the Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation [1129].” Thus, any who say otherwise, are to be considered “anathema” according to the infallible Council of Trent [34]. 

 

Justification and Sin

 

Even though the believer has become “ontologically righteous” in himself, it is still the case, because of his “free will” and the temporal consequences of sin that the believer must deal with, the believer is still able to commit sins which effect their state of grace and charity within their heart.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

 

“Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us ‘holy and without blemish,’ just as the Church herself, the Bride of Christ, is ‘holy and without blemish.’  Nevertheless the new life received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls concupiscence, which remains in the baptized such that with the help of the grace of Christ they may prove themselves in the struggle of Christian life…” [1426] (Italics mine)

 

Rome’s main distinctions of sin fall under the categories of “mortal sin” and “venial sin.”

            Mortal sins are those sins which “[destroy] charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns away man from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. [1855]”  The Roman Catholic Church teaches that mortal sin attacks the “vital principle within us” which is “charity”[35].  Committing mortal sin results in the “loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. [1861]”   Therefore, mortal sin “necessitates a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation (Italics mine) [1856].”  If a person dies in mortal sin without having repented and been forgiven of it, then they remain eternally separated from God in hell[36]. 

            For a sin to be a mortal sin, three conditions must be met:  “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent [1857][37].”  Rome uses I John 5:16-17 as a proof text for the distinction between “mortal sin” –which they say is “the sin leading to death”- and “venial sin” which are the sins that do not lead to death.  Some examples of “mortal sin” that Rome offers can be found in I Corinthians 6:9-10 which include fornication, idolatry, homosexuality, theft, drunkenness, and extortion.  However, it is very difficult even with such a list of sins to give an exhaustive list of what sins are considered mortal and which are not[38].  Rome even says that sins that appear to be mortal may not be if they are committed in “unintentional ignorance.[39]”  Thus, as I have been going through Catholic sources, it is very difficult to find a list of sins that are always mortal and even in asking Roman Catholics personally for a list of mortal sins, some answer by saying that “breaking any of the Ten Commandments” is mortal sin, while others answer very generally and say “any sin that is deliberately committed against God.” 

            The other category of sin that Rome distinguished between is called “venial sins.”  Venial sins are those sins which allow charity to continue to exist in the heart, even though it is offended and wounded by such sins[40].  “One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent [1862]. ”  The effects of venial sins are that they weaken charity, impede the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of moral good, as well as merit temporal punishments [1863].  Venial sins may be forgiven through the observance of the Eucharist[41].  However, even though venial sins do not destroy the grace of God in the life of a believer, the more venial sins that one commits, the more susceptible one becomes to committing mortal sin[42].

            With this distinction in mind, when the believer commits venial sin it is not necessary that they confess these sins (though it is still recommended [1458]) but only that they partake of the Mass and restore the grace that is lost through committing venial sins.  However, when the believer commits a mortal sin, it is necessary that he be re-justified since he has lost all sanctifying grace and charity in his heart and soul.  The way that a person is re-justified is through the sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as the sacrament of penance[43].  The Council of Trent stated that, “those who through sin have forfeited the received grace of justification, can again be justified when, moved by God, they exert themselves to obtain through the sacrament of penance the recovery, by the merits of Christ, the grace lost.[44]”

            According to the Catechism,

 

“Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church:  above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion.  It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers new possibility to convert and recover the grace of justification.” [1446][45]

 

 When the catechism says that sinful members of the Church have “wounded their ecclesial communion”, we are to understand that not only has the sinful believer become “unreconciled” to God, but “unreconciled” with the Catholic Church as well.  Thus, reconciliation is an essential part of being reconciled with God as well.  The Catechism itself teaches that “Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God [1445].” 

Penance requires three things from the penitent:  Contrition, Confession and Satisfaction[46].  Contrition is “sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again [1452].”  Two types of contrition are “perfect” – in which contrition is prompted by love to God (this kind of contrition remits venial sins as well) – and “imperfect[47]” –which is contrition that is “born out of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (contrition of fear) [1453].”  The latter cannot, in and of itself, obtain the forgiveness of mortal sins but it begins the process and is completed in absolution by the priest, while the former may obtain forgiveness of mortal sin “if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible [1452].”

Following the act of contrition is the Confession of sins to a priest.  This involves the confession of every known mortal sin that is on the conscience and in the memory that can be conjured up.  This is an essential element of the sacrament of penance [1424,1456]. 

Because of the involvement of the priest in this sacrament, a word is in order about their role.  The Roman Catholic Church acknowledges that only God can forgive sins [1441], however they believe that Christ “entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry which he charged with the ‘ministry of reconciliation’ [1442, John 20:19,22-23; II Cor. 5:18].”  This is especially true of Peter and the primacy that Rome says that he was given when Jesus told him that He would give Peter the “keys of the kingdom” and the “power to bind and loose” [cf. 1444, 1445,1461] which includes the forgiveness of sins.  The Roman Catholic Church, nor its priests, claim to be the “masters of God’s forgiveness” but rather its “servants” [1466][48].   

Upon hearing the confession of the believer, the priest determines whether or not the one confessing their sins is truly penitent and is determined not to commit the sin anymore.  With this information, the priest then decides whether or not to forgive the sinner or not[49].  If the priest decides that the sinner is truly penitent, then he ministers absolution.  To “absolve” means to “set free from an obligation or the consequences of guilt.  Hence, when the priest absolves the sins of the penitent, they are completely forgiven of every mortal sin that they confessed and from the eternal punishments as well.  James McCarthy points out that Rome claims “this absolution is not simply a declaration that God has forgiven the sinner, but a judicial act of the priest.[50]”

Finally, following the confession of sins to the priest and the absolution of sin is Satisfaction, also know as “Penance”.  Because many sins wrong other people, “one must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries).  Although “absolution takes away sin…it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused [1549].”  The sinner must “make satisfaction for” or “expiate” his sins [1459]. 

In order to assist the person in making satisfaction for their sin, the priest usually assigns some act of penance, usually selected “in keeping with the nature of the crimes and the ability of the penitents[51] [cf. 1494].”    Normally, these penances consist of an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial (such as fasting), sacrifices or the more common prayers such as the “Our Father” or the “Hail Mary”.  The Catechism teaches that the spiritual effects of performing this sacrament of penance include:

 

·        reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers grace

·        reconciliation with the Church

·        remission of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins

·        remission, at least in part, of temporal punishments resulting from sin

·        peace and serenity of conscience, and spiritual consolation

·        an increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle   [1496]

 

“Individual, integral confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church, unless physical or moral impossibility excuses from this kind of confession [1484].” 

In summary, when the believer commits a venial sin, he only “wounds” the grace of God and charity in his heart, but the committing of mortal sin destroys charity in the heart and depletes the believer of sanctifying grace, thus, rendering them as “unjustified” and “unreconciled” to God and the Church.  The way to become “re-justified” is to undergo the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation.  Here the sinner undergoes contrition, confession, receives absolution by a priest or bishop, and satisfaction is imposed upon him.  This sacrament then restores the believer, or reconciles him, back to God and to the Church.  However, he still has the temporal consequences of their sins of which satisfaction, or expiation, must be made.

 

Indulgences

 

            Despite the fact that many people believe that the practice of indulgences is no longer part of Roman Catholic teachings, several Roman Catholic doctrinal documents reveal that the practice is still alive and well in the Roman Catholic Church.  Indeed, even Roman Catholic apologist point out that “Indulgences are part of the Church’s infallible teaching.[52]”  The Council of Trent “condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them[53].”  Even the latest Catechism affirms that “the Doctrine and practice of indulgences in the Church are closely linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance [1471],” therefore, it is important that we deal with them here. 

            Before getting into what exactly an indulgence is, we should understand a bit more about what Rome teaches what happens when a person sins.  “When a person sins, he acquires certain liabilities:  the liability of guilt and the liability of punishment.[54]”  Rome goes on to say that there are two types of punishments[55]: eternal and temporal (see figure 3).  Eternal punishment is the everlasting condemnation of hell, while temporal punishments are lesser penalties created by an unhealthy attachment to the things of this world. 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3.

 

 

            Rome teaches that when a person’s sins are forgiven, the liability of guilt and the eternal consequences of sin are removed by Christ and his work.  However, the temporal consequences of their sins still remain and it is up to the believer to expiate, or offer satisfaction, for these temporal consequences.  One way that this is done is through penance, as was mentioned above, but another way is through indulgences.

            An indulgence is “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven...[56]”  Simply stated, an indulgence is what a person receives when the Church lessens the temporal consequences of their sins.  They can be either plenary, which is to say an absolute removal of all temporal punishments, or partial which removes some of the temporal punishments.  The way that these temporal punishment are remitted is by drawing from the merits of other faithful Christians and the merits of Jesus Christ.  This is referred to as the “treasury of the Church” which is,

 

“the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ’s merits have before God.  They were offered so that the whole of mankind could be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father.  In Christ, the Redeemer himself, the satisfactions and merits of his Redemption exist and find their efficacy.  This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even pristine in their value before God.  In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission the Father entrusted to them.  In this way they attained their own salvation and at the same time cooperated in saving their brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body.” [1476, 1474]

 

Thus, the “merits” of others are applied to a person’s temporal punishments thus resulting in less penance or, as will be discussed later, less time in purgatory. 

An indulgence is obtained “through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Jesus Christ and the saints…”  These merits can be applied to one’s self or on behalf of someone who has died.  In the Handbook of Indulgences[57] list several things that may be done to obtain an indulgence.  They include:

 

·        An act of spiritual communion, expressed in any devout formula whatsoever, is endowed with a  partial indulgence

·        A partial indulgence is granted the Christian faithful who devoutly spend time in mental prayer

·        A plenary indulgence is granted when the rosary is recited in a church or oratory or when it is recited in a family, a religious community, or a pious association.  A partial indulgence is granted for its recitation in all other circumstances.

·        A partial indulgence is granted the Christ faithful who read sacred Scripture with the veneration due God’s work and as a form of spiritual reading.  The indulgence will be a plenary one when such reading is done for at least one-half hour [provided the conditions are met[58]].

·        A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who devoutly sign themselves with the cross while saying the customary formula:  “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.[59]”

 

In summation, indulgences help the believer to purify themselves and make satisfaction for the temporal consequences of their sins whether mortal or venial.  The practice is encouraged because it “spurs [believers] to works of devotion, penance, and charity [1478].”  There are also many myths about indulgences that the reader should take the time to become aware of as well.[60]

 

Purgatory

 

            When a person dies in the Roman Catholic faith, he or she does not immediately go to heaven.  Instead, because the Roman Catholic believes that he or she has “temporal punishments” of sin, which amount to impurities in their soul, and because of their firm belief that “nothing impure shall enter heaven,” the Roman Catholic Church teaches that they must undergo purification, or a purging, in order to expiate, or make “satispassio” (atonement of suffering) for these temporal consequences of their sins.    The Catechism says:

 

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation’ but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

            The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned…” [1030, 1031]”

 

            The Encyclopedia of the Roman Catholic Church defines purgatory as

 

 “the state, place, or condition in the next world, which will continue until the last judgment, where the souls of those who die in the state of grace, but not yet free from all imperfection, make expiation for unforgiven venial sins or for the temporal punishment due to venial sin and mortal sins that have already been forgiven and, by so doing, are purified before they enter heaven (Italics mine)”[61]. 

 

Rome believes this to be the teaching of the Bible, especially from  passages like I Corinthians 3:15 which says, “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire,” and I Peter 1:7 which says, “…that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  Moreover, Rome finds support for this teaching the deuteron-canonical work of 2 Maccabees 12:39-45 in which Judas Maccabee makes prayers for some fallen soldiers and offered atonement for the sins of these dead men in the hope that they might be purified and able to partake in the resurrection of the dead.  The doctrine also finds support in the tradition of the Church in the first and second Councils of Lyons, as well as the Council of Florence (1304) and is reiterated and dogmatically defined in the Council of Trent (1545-1562). 

            Purgatory is a place for those who have died in a state of grace and who still have temporal consequences of sins that they must atone for.  It is not a “second chance” to do good works or make satispassio to try to attain merit for eternal life as many non-Catholics tend to believe.  It is a place only for those who have “died in God’s grace and friendship.”  In this way, Purgatory is the final cleansing of the sinner from all the effects of sin in their lives, especially their love for it.  Roman Catholic theologians view it as the “final phase of Christ applying to us the purifying redemption that he accomplished on the cross.[62]”

            The purpose of this suffering is threefold as was mentioned in the Encyclopedia.  The first is to remove the guilt of venial sins through satispassio.  Remember that sin incurs two things:  guilt for sin and punishment.  The “cleansing” in purgatory is able to remove the guilt.  The second thing that this suffering does is to remove the inclination toward sin.  Remember that even though the believer is infused with righteousness they, nevertheless, retain “concupiscence” for sin and constantly inclines them to it. “Persistent habits of sin or uncontrolled desires may have left deep spiritual scars on the faculties of the soul…before a person is fully ready to enter heaven and face the unspeakable holiness and majesty of God, all of these must be removed.[63]”  Undergoing suffering, however, is able to remove this love for sin and replace it with a longing for the “beatific vision” of the Lord.  Finally, the suffering of purgatory expiates the temporal punishments that are due to either forgiven venial sins or forgiven mortal sins.

            The nature of the punishment that is undergone in purgatory is still in question.  Some teach that a “pain of loss” is imposed by the consciousness of the separation that exist between God and the not fully purified believer.  This causes suffering in seeing that He is so close and yet so far.  These sufferings are intensified by the knowledge that one could have done acts of contrition, prayer and other good works in their lifetime and, thus, avoid suffering in purgatory.  Another theory is that suffering is caused by “the awareness of the temporary postponement of the beatific vision[64].”  However, in the Latin Church, it has been pretty much held that the suffering and pain in purgatory are caused by “real fire[65]”.  However, none of these theories are certain nor are they essential for belief in purgatory according to Rome.

            The Roman Catholic Church teaches that those who are in purgatory can be helped by those who are still alive.  Rome teaches that the living can speed along the suffering or time of those believers who have died and are in purgatory (though they now make no stipulations on how long or how much time) by offering prayers, alms, fasting, indulgences[66] and Masses for the dead[67].  It is not uncommon for Roman Catholics to request that a Mass be conducted in the memory of a loved one who has passed away in order to assist the deceased in purgatory.  The Catechism states that “from the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God [1032].” 

            There are some people, however, who do not ever have to go to Purgatory.  Baptized infants who die before they reach the “age of accountability” are able to enter heaven immediately.  Also, those who have lived their life in such a way that they always remain in state of grace and do not have any temporal consequences in their account at the time of their life are able to go immediately into the presence of God.  They have lived their life in a state of suffering usually and have done plenty of good works.  However, these are far and few and are usually those that have died in such a state of being are declared saints. 

            It should also be noted, concerning purgatory, that Rome makes no guarantees about the length of time that one must spend in purgatory undergoing punishment for the purpose of purification.  Therefore, there is no way to offer assurance about a length of time that one will spend in there.  But it is certain that they will be in there for as long as it takes to make satisfaction for the temporal punishments of ones sins.

 

Final Perseverance & Assurance of Salvation

 

            So far we have seen that the Roman Catholic way of salvation is heavily immersed in the sacraments and doing good works in order to obtain merit before God so that one can be accepted into heaven.  With such a system of salvation, what guarantees do Roman Catholics have that they will be saved?  Listen to these Roman Catholic statements on final perseverance and assurance of salvation.

 

“But though it is necessary to believe that sins neither are remitted nor ever have been remitted except gratuitously by divine mercy for Christ’s sake, yet it must not be said that sins are forgiven or have been forgiven to anyone who boasts of his confidence and certainty of the remission of his sins…since no one can know with the certainty of faith, which cannot be subject to error, that he has obtained the grace of God.[68]”

 

“No one, moreover, so long as he lives this mortal life, ought to regard to the sacred mystery of divine predestination, so far presume as to state with absolute certainty that he is among the number of the predestined…For except by special revelation, it cannot be known whom God has chosen to Himself.[69]”

 

“if anyone says that he will for certain, with an absolute and infallible certainty, have that great gift of perseverance even to the end, unless he shall have learned this by special revelation, let him be anathema[70]”

 

It is very clear that Rome believes that nobody can have any “assurance” that one is saved.  However, the Roman Catholic can “hope” that they will be saved.  Now, it may not seem that there is a too much of a difference in the language here, but Rome makes this distinction.  “Assurance,” in Roman Catholicism, implies that the person has some sort of guarantee that they will be saved[71].  This, obviously, no Roman Catholic can have because mortal sin is always real possibility for the believer because of his “free will.”  Roman Catholic theologian, Alan Shreck, concurs that “this teaching is based on the recognition that any of us, at any point in life, can turn away from God and lose the hope of heaven.[72]”

Instead, the Catholic has a “hope” that he or she will be saved.  This is not like assurance, because this “hope” is not based on a guarantee.  Instead, it is based on the hypothetical formula:  “If I keep cooperating with the grace of God through the Catholic Church, then I will probably be saved.”  The hypothetical is appropriate because, as has been mentioned before, mortal sin is a possibility for everybody including those members of the Magisterium, even the Pope.  If one ceases to cooperate with the grace of God through the Church and its sacraments, then they cannot have a hope of salvation because they are neglecting those things that are necessary for salvation.

So when does the Roman Catholic find out if they are saved?  Physical death is the defining moment for the Roman Catholic.  It is at that point that “each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul[73]” and is either granted “entrance into the blessedness of heaven – through purification or immediately, or – immediate and everlasting damnation.[74]”  What determines this is the state of the soul at the moment of death.  If one dies in a state of grace, then they are assured, at that point, of going to heaven, even though they will have to undergo purification in purgatory before they can finally reach heaven and attain the “Beatific vision.” 

The only way in which a Roman Catholic can be guaranteed, prior to physical death, that they will finally persevere in a state of grace is by a “special revelation” from God.  Unfortunately, no Roman Catholic sources that I appealed to defined what this “special revelation” is or what the nature of it is like.  Even some Roman Catholics that I talked to about this were not sure what I was talking about.  There are not even any recorded historical instances in which a person received this “special revelation.[75]”

            Hence, when a Roman Catholic is asked, “are you saved?” they cannot answer that in any type of eternal sense.  Instead, they can only say that they are “being saved” as they cooperate with the grace of God through good works and the sacraments.  Shreck comments on this situation:

 

“Evangelical Protestants will sometimes ask a Catholic acquaintance “Have you been saved?”  Many Catholics find this a puzzling question.  On the one hand, a Catholic wants to say “of course I’ve been saved.  Why do you have to ask?”  But on the other hand, the question seems to suggest that a person’s salvation is a once-and-for-all event that happens in a single moment, rather than a process or a ‘race’ that continues throughout our lives.

            I believe that a Catholic can adequately answer the question “have you been saved” by giving three different answers.  The Catholic can say that, ‘I have been saved’; ‘I am being saved’; and ‘I hope to be saved.’

            First, a Catholic can say ‘I have been saved.’  It is an objective fact that Jesus Christ already has died and been raised to save me from my sin.  The salvation of the world has been accomplished by Jesus Christ.  This salvation has already begun to take effect in the life of everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ and been baptized.  As St. Paul said, ‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation’ (2 Cor. 5:17).  In this sense, I can say, ‘Yes, I have been saved.[76]’

            Secondly, Catholics need to say that ‘I am being saved.’  We must realize that we are still ‘running the race’ to our ultimate destiny of heaven.  We must turn to the Lord each day for the grace to enter more deeply into his plan for our lives and to accept his gift of salvation more fully. ‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18).  In this sense, I can say, ‘I am being saved.’

            Thirdly, Catholics say that ‘I hope to be saved.’  We must persevere in our faith in God, love for God, and obedience to his will, until the end of our lives.  W have hope and confidence[77] that God will give us that grace, and that we will respond to it and accept his gift of salvation until the day we die.  In this sense, ‘I hope to be saved.’[78]”

 

Despite the lack of certainty for salvation, Rome does not believe that its followers should live their lives in the fear of committing mortal sin.  However, it is certainly a reasonable fear since no one is exempt from committing such sin and shipwrecking their faith[79].    

 

Salvation outside of the Church of Rome

 

            The final topic that I wish to address regarding salvation and the Roman Catholic Church is the issue of salvation outside of the Roman Catholic Church.  The “Decree concerning Justification” of the Council of Trent concludes its teaching on salvation/justification with this statement:  “After this Catholic doctrine on justification, which whoever does not faithfully and firmly accept cannot be justified…[80]” After this, the council proceeds to pronounce “anathemas” on those who accept or reject certain doctrines that are in contradiction with the Roman Catholic teachings on Justification.  One such anathema comes from Canon 33 which says that

 

“if anyone says that the Catholic doctrine of justification as set forth by the holy council in the present decree, derogates in some respect from the glory of God or the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, and doe not rather illustrate the truth of our faith and no less the glory of God and of Christ Jesus, let him be anathema.[81]” 

 

Clearly, from this infallible decree, anybody who does not believe the doctrine of Justification as taught by Trent, or says that it takes away from the glory of God CANNOT be saved.  Thus, belief in the Roman Catholic doctrine of salvation becomes a pre-requisite for salvation.  Rome also claims that there are other beliefs that are absolutely necessary for one to be saved.  For example, we have seen that in regards to the Roman Pontiff, the infallible teachings of Vatican I affirms that those who reject their teachings about the office of the Papacy and the infallibility of the Pope are to be considered “anathema[82]” and those who do not regard the Pope in the light that Rome teaches endanger their faith and salvation[83].  At the Council of Trent, Rome also pronounced many other “anathemas” on those who explicitly reject those doctrines that were dogmatically and infallibly defined by that Council.  Things like the rejection of the Canon of Rome which includes the Apocrypha[84], affirming the doctrine of Justification by faith alone[85], denying that the Eucharist becomes the actual body and blood of Christ[86], along with many other doctrinal propositions all result in being “anathematized” by Rome and, thus, not have the chance for salvation because of the explicit rejection of the revealed teachings of the Church. 

            In my experience, most Roman Catholics do not follow the logical conclusions of these infallible pronouncements of the Magisterium, but rather make room for non-Catholics to be saved.  However, this position is not consistent with the fact that Protestant explicitly rejected, and still do reject, Rome’s view of imparted righteousness into the soul of man which helps man to do good works in order to be able to merit their eternal salvation, and thus, incur the anathemas of Rome.  That is, they have no hope of salvation as long as they are in rebellion to the explicit and infallible teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.   Many Catholics tend to think that Vatican II changed all that, but that is not the case.  Vatican II explicitly teaches:

 

“This Sacred Council wished to turn its attention firstly to the Catholic faithful.  Basing itself upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition, it teaches that the Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation…Whosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or remain in it, could not be saved. (Italics mine)[87]”

 

            Clearly, we can see that all those who reject the teachings of the Catholic Church do NOT logically have hope for salvation according to the infallible teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.  Their only hope is to abandon whatever faith they are currently holding and seek Justification through the Roman Catholic Church, who alone, is the distributor of the Sacraments of Christ through the priesthood instituted by Christ through the Apostles.  This is obviously a radical sounding position.  A group of Roman Catholics known as Feeneyites holds this position.  However, it would seem to be the case that much of the Ecumenism of Vatican II does not wish to go this far with regards to the “separated brethren” in the Protestant communities.  Nonetheless, Rome cannot be consistent and faithful to Councils like Trent and Vatican I if they begin to allow for non-Catholics to be saved[88].  The Council of Florence (1441) clearly and explicitly stated

 

It firmly believes, professes, and proclaims that none of those outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can become participants in eternal life, but will depart "into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels" [Matt. 25:41], unless before the end of life the same have been added to the flock; and that the unity of the ecclesiastical body is so strong that only to those remaining in it are the sacraments of the Church of benefit for salvation, and do fastings, almsgiving, and other functions of piety and exercises of Christian service produce eternal reward; and that no one, whatever almsgiving he has practiced, even if he has shed blood for the name of Christ, can be saved, unless he has remained in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.

 

 

            The only exceptions that Rome makes for salvation outside of the Church now are those who die as martyrs without having been baptized in the Church or those who died desiring salvation and baptism from the Roman Catholic Church [cf. 1258,1259].  Rome also teaches that those who are “ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved[1260].”  For none others, does Rome give the hope of salvation.  Extra Ecclesium, nulla salus[89].

           

           

           

From all that has been mentioned above, it is quite clear that the Roman Catholic system of salvation is one which combines faith with works performed in a state of grace as the basis of eternal life.  Justification is a lifelong process in which the sinner seeks to attain more and more grace in order to achieve more merit and increase their righteousness before God.  As such, salvation is not the work of God alone but rather is a synergistic work between the “grace” of God and the will and work of man.  It is also clear that at any moment, the believer, by a free act of his will, may choose to abandon the grace of God by committing a mortal sin and become unjustified and return to their spiritually dead state while becoming alienated from God.  The work of the atonement and its application to the sinner is not a “once for all work” but rather is a temporary atonement that can be undone by sin, and only reaches its fulfillment when the sinner has died and finally reached Heaven.  God’s work is not complete, in the Roman Catholic system, but is dependent on the cooperation of man to bring about the lasting effects.  Man must also make atonement, or expiation, for sins which he commits after Baptism and Justification.

There is much that can be said about salvation in the Roman Catholic Church.  However, it should suffice to say that these teachings are in sharp contrast to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures.  Surely such a system of salvation cannot go unchecked by the Scriptures and by the people of God!  Paul Himself told the Church at Galatia that, “if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed (anathema).  As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8,9).”  The question that we must ask of Rome in all this is, “Is this ‘gospel’ that Rome presents THE ONE AND THE SAME as that which the Apostle Paul speaks of here in Galatians?”  If it deviates in but one place, those preaching the corrupted “gospel” must be considered anathema!  Thus, a dichotomy is before us:  Either the Gospel of Rome is right and they do not suffer the anathema of God, or Rome is wrong and those who believe, teach and follow such a system are under the anathema of God[90].  God grant us discernment in seeking the truth of the revealed will of God.

 

[1]  “…certain temporal consequences of sin remain in the baptized, such as suffering, illness, death , and such frailties inherent in life as weaknesses of character, and so on, as well as an inclination to sin that Tradition calls concupiscence, or metaphorically, ‘the tender for sin’ (fomes peccati);” [1624]

 

 “Etymologically, ‘concupiscence’ can refer to any intense form of human desire.  Christian theology has given it a particular meaning: the movement of the sensitive appetite contrary to the operation of the human reason.  The apostle St. Paul identifies it with the rebellion of the ‘flesh’ against he ‘spirit’.  Concupiscence stems from the disobedience of the first sin.   It unsettles man’s moral faculties and, without being in itself an offense, inclines man to commit sins.” [2515]

 

[2]  The Council of Trent, Session 6, Chapter 3 from The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, trans. by Schroeder, H. J. (Tan books and publishing, Rockford, Illinois, pg. ).  In other words, Rome take the “hypothetical universal atonement theory” as does Arminianism. 

 

[3]  “Our lord tied the forgiveness of sins to faith and Baptism: ‘go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved.’  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, so that ‘we too might walk in newness of life.’” [977]  

 

“When we made our first profession of faith while receiving the holy Baptism that cleansed us, the forgiveness we received then was so full and complete that there remained in us absolutely nothing left to efface, neither original sin nor offense committed by our own will, nor was there left any penalty to suffer in order to expiate them…” [978]

 

“The fruit of Baptism, or baptismal grace, is a rich reality that included forgiveness of original sin and all persona sins, birth into new life by which man become an adoptive son of the Father, a member of Chriat and a temple of the Holy Spirit.  By this very fact the person baptized is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ, and made a sharer in the priesthood of Christ.” [1279]   (Italics mine)

 

[4]  This is also known as impartation or “pouring into”

 

[5] “The essential rite of the sacrament follows: Baptism properly speaking.  It signifies and actually brings about death to sin and entry into the life of the Most Holy Trinity through configuration to the Paschal mystery of  Christ…” (Italics mine) [1239]

 

[6] McCarthy, James G., The Gospel according to Rome:  Comparing Catholic tradition and the Word of God, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, 1995, pg. 28

 

[7]  Council of Trent, Session 6, chapter 4

 

[8]  I am thankful to the insights of James White’s The Roman Catholic Controversy (Bethany House Publishers, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1996) here, though I take full responsibility for the formulation of the material.

 

[9]  White, The Roman Catholic Controversy, pg. 135

 

[10]  The Council of Trent even stated: “If anyone says that man can be justified before God by his own works, whether done by his own natural powers or through the teaching of the law, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.” (Session 6, Canon I). 

 

[11]  It is unfortunate that much what is supposed to be “evangelical” Christianity is dominated by the exact same theology of Rome that is disguised under the theology of Arminianism which affirms the “free will” of man as the efficient cause of salvation and that the atonement of Christ and God’s grace, in and of themselves, are not sufficient to save. 

 

[12]  This is much like Rome’s view of the scripture.  They affirm that the scriptures are necessary, but that they alone are not sufficient and must be mingled with the authority of Sacred Tradition.

 

[13]  Webster, William, “The Roman Catholic teaching on salvation and justification” http://www.christiantruth.com/RCJustification.html

 

[14]  Council of Trent, Session 6, Chapter 5

 

[15]  McCarthy,  The Gospel according to Rome, pg. 38

 

[16]  Akin, James, “How to become a Catholic”, appeared on This Rock magazine in September 1995, found on http.//www.cin.org/users/james/files/how2.htm  accessed on November 19, 2003

 

[17]  recall from the previous chapter that rejection of the teaching of the Primacy of the Pope and the infallibility of the Pope result in being anathematized.

 

[18]  McCarthy, The Gospel according to Rome, pg. 37

 

[19]  Akin, “How to become a Catholic”

 

[20]  Council of Trent, Session 6, chapter 6

 

[21]  Akin, “How to become a Catholic”

 

[22]  ibid.

 

[23]  Council of Trent, Session 6, Chapter 8

 

[24]  Council of Trent, Session 6, Chapter 4

 

[25]  see James Akin’s “Justification in Catholic Teaching”   http://www.cin.org/users/james/files/justcath.htm

 

[26]  ibid.

 

[27]  ibid.

 

[28]  “Justification is at the same time the acceptance of God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ.  Righteousness (or ‘justice’) here means the rectitude of divine love.  With justification, faith, hope, and charity are poured into our hearts, and obedience to the divine will is granted us.” [1991]

 

[29]  Council of Trent, Session 6, Chapter 10

 

[30]  McCarthy, The Gospel according to Rome, pg. 60

 

[31]  Council of Trent, Session 6, Chapter 16

 

[32]  Shreck, Alan, Catholic and Christian:  An Explanation of Commonly misunderstood Catholic beliefs, Servant Books, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1984, pg. 119

 

[33]  Sacrosanctum Concilium:  Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Chapter 3, sec. 59 of the Second Vatican Council,  http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents

 

[34]  “If anyone saith, that the sacraments of the New Covenant are not necessary unto salvation, but superfluous; and that, without them, or without the desire thereof, men obtain from God, through faith alone, the grace of justification, though all [the sacraments] are not indeed necessary for each individual, let him be anathema.”  Council of Trent, Session 7, Canon 4

 

[35]  Remember that the infusion of  “sanctifying grace” into the believer entails the infusion of the “theological virtues” of “faith, hope and charity” of which “charity” is the greatest  [cf. 1826].

 

[36]  “…To die in mortal sinn without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our own free choice.” [1033]

 

[37]  “Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: ‘Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and your mother.’  The gravity of sins is more or less great:  murder is graver than theft.  One must also take into account who is wronged:  violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.”  [1858]

 

“Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent.  It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law.  It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice.  Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, bur rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.”  [1859]

 

 

[38]  “There is no clear guide as to just is and what is not venial sin, and the line between venial and mortal sin is difficult to trace with absolute certainty from Roman writings.”  White, The Roman Catholic Controversy, pg. 126

 

[39]  “Unintentional Ignorance can diminish or even remover the imputability of a grave offense…[1860] (cf. 1735 which says “Imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social factors.”

 

[40]  “Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.”  [1855]

 

[41]  “As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins.” [1394]

 

[42]  “Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin.” [1863]

 

[43]  other names for this sacrament include the “sacrament of conversion”, the “sacrament of forgiveness” as well as the “sacrament of confession” or just “confession” [1423-1424]

 

[44]  Council of  Trent, Session 14, Chapter 1

 

[45]  “This sacrament of penance is for those who have fallen after baptism necessary for salvation…” Council of Trent, Session 14, Chapter 2.

 

[46]  “…the acts of the penitent himself, namely, contrition, confession and satisfaction constitute the matter of this sacrament.” Council of Trent, Session 14, Chapter 3.

 

[47]  Also referred to as “attrition” by the Council of Trent, Session 14, Chapter 4.

 

[48]  For more on this, see 1461-1467 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

 

[49] “The Code of Canon Law defined the role of the priest in the confessional as one judge:  ‘In hearing confessions the priest is to remember that he acts as a judge as well as a healer and is placed by God as the minister of divine justice as well as of mercy, concerned with the divine honor and the salvation of souls’ (Canon 978, section 1).”  “If the confessor has no doubt about the disposition of the penitent who asks for absolution, absolution is not to be refused or delayed” (canon 980).  From The Gospel According to Rome, McCarthy, pg. 359,360

 

[50]  McCarthy, The Gospel According to Rome, pg. 77

 

[51]  Council of Trent, Session 14, Chapter 8, also 1460 says, “the penance the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent’s personal situation and must seek his spiritual good.  It must correspond as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the sins committed.”

 

[52]  From Catholic Answers, “Primer on Indulgences”, (San Diego, Answers, 2004),   http://www.catholicanswers.org/library/primer_on_indulgences.asp

 

[53]  Council of Trent, Session 25, Decree on Indulgences

 

[54]  ibid.

 

[55]  cf. 1472

 

[56]  Indulgentiarum Doctrina 1

 

[57]  New York: Catholic Book Publishing, 1991

 

[58]  “To gain a plenary indulgence you must perform the act with a  contrite heart, plus you must go to confession (one confession may suffice for several plenary indulgences), receive Holy Communion, and pray for the pope’s intentions. (An Our Father and a Hail Mary said for the pope’s intention are sufficient, although you are free to substitute other prayers of your own choice.)  The final condition is that you must be free from all attachment to sin, including venial sin.”       “Primer on Indulgences”

 

 

[59]  from “Handbook on Indulgences” quoted in  “Primer on Indulgences”

 

[60]  the reader is encouraged to read the article “Myths about Indulgences” on    http://www.catholicanswers.org/library/myths_about_indulgences.asp

 

[61]  New Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 11, Catholic University, Washington D.C., 1967, pg. 1034

 

[62]  From Catholic Answers, “Purgatory”, (San Diego, Answers, 2004)

 

[63]  New Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 11, Catholic University, Washington D.C., 1967, pg. 1037

 

[64]  ibid., pg. 1036

 

[65]  ibid.

 

[66]  “Since the faithful departed now beign purified are also members of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted.” {1479}

 

[67]  “And inasmuch as in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the mass in contained and immolated in an unbloody manner the same Christ who once offered Himself in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross the holy council teaches that this is truly propitiatory and has this effect, that if we, contrite and penitent, with sincere heart and upright faith, with fear and reverence, draw nigh to God, we obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid.  For, appeased by this sacrifice, the Lord grants the grace and gift of penitence and pardons even the gravest crimes and sins.  For the victim is one and the same, the same now offering by the ministry of priests who them offered Himself on the cross, the manner alone of offering being different.  The fruits of that bloody sacrifice, it is well understood are received most abundantly through this unbloody one, so far is the latter from derogating in any way from the former.  Wherefore, according to the tradition of the Apostles, it is rightly offered not only for the sins, punishments, satisfactions and other necessities of the faithful who are living, but also for those departed in Christ but not yet fully purified.”  Council of Trent, Session 22, Chapter 2

 

[68] “Against the vain confidence of heretics”, Council of Trent, Session 6, chapter 9

 

[69]  “Rash presumption of predestination is to be avoided” ibid, chapter 12

 

 

 

[70] “Canons concerning justification”, ibid, session 6, canon 16

 

[71] perhaps this implies a guarantee that the Roman Catholic will always live in a state of grace and never “shipwreck” their faith.  Of course, this means that the believer would commit no mortal or venial sins for the rest of their lifetime.  I think that because Rome recognizes this impossibility, they say that no one can have this kind of assurance.

 

[72] Shreck, Catholic and Christian, pg. 33

 

[73] [1022] of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

 

[74] ibid.

 

[75] For all practical purposes, I am not even too sure that one exist

 

[76]  Of course, if this is carefully read, Shreck is actually failing to support how a person can really say that he is “saved” (note the grammatical construction of this word is in a past tense so as to denote, grammatically, that salvation is complete).  Instead, what Shreck answers with is a hypothetical salvation based on a hypothetical atonement by Jesus Christ.  This becomes clear when we see that nobody can be saved without the application of the atonement through the Church and sacraments.  Plus, if Christ really did accomplish the salvation of the entire world as Shreck says, then what reason is there to conclude anything other than universalism?  Also, Shreck admits that this salvation only takes place in those who believe.  Therefore, Shreck’s answer, affirms that all are potentially saved, but none are really saved in this answer.  Hence, He continues to says that the final answer is that “I Hope to be saved.”

 

 

[77]  Notice, that it is “hope and confidence” and not “assurance.”  Else where Shreck writes:

 

“I personally can attest that I have a firm confidence and hope that God in his mercy will preserve me from serious sin and rebellion and will finally bring me to eternal life with him. 

     However, Catholic teaching makes s distinction between this ‘firm hope and confidence’ of salvation and certain unmistakable knowledge or assurance from God that oen will be saved.  The Catholic Church has always taught that no one can know with absolute certainty in his life whether he or she will be saved, except in the rare case that a person receives a special direction revelation from God.” (Catholic and Christian, pg. 33)

 

 

[78] Shreck, Catholic and Christian, pg. 38-39

 

[79] I think this really shows how controlling the Roman Catholic faith is; nobody can have an assurance that they are going to heaven, and the only way to have a hope of going there is to be submitted completely to the church and the sacraments by cooperating with the grace of God found in them.  What does the Roman Catholic faith really offer hope in? It offers hope in one’s self!  For if I am asked to have a hope on the basis of my cooperation with grace, then it is my cooperation that is the ground of the hope.  Once I stop cooperating, my hope is gone. That which gives hope, is the believer doing things for his salvation. 

 

[80] Council of Trent, Session 6, Chapter 16

 

[81] Council of Trent, Session 6

 

[82] Vatican I, Session 4, Chapter 4, section 9

 

[83] ibid., Session 3, Chapter 3, section 4

 

[84] Council of Trent, Session 4, “Decree concerning the canonical Scriptures”

 

[85] “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema.”  Council of Trent, Session 6, Canon 9

 

[86] “If anyone denies that in the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist are contained truly, really and substantially the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ, but says that He is in it only as in a sign, or figure or force, let him be anathema” Council of Trent, Session 13, Canon 1

 

[87] Lumen Gentium, Second Vatican Council, Chapter 2, section 14

 

[88] This is obviously a problem for Rome.  For instance, if it is possible for a person to be saved outside of Rome, then the strict necessity of the Sacraments, especially the Priesthood, is jeopardized and rendered unnecessary for salvation.  If that is so, then what basis does Rome have to even maintain such a sacramental system of salvation and such a powerful Priesthood?  If Rome were to declare that salvation can be found outside of the Roman Catholic Church and her teachings, then Rome would essentially destroy its own credibility.

 

[89] “outside the Church, there is no salvation.”

 

[90] Surely, the anathema of God is a worse than the anathema of Rome.  This is an obvious plea and call to search the scriptures and find out what Gospel Paul taught and if it was the one that Rome teaches to us today.  If it is not, then Rome is under the anathema of God and their anathema is not to be feared for it is an anathema of men.