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Could you tell me what one must do to find salvation and assurance of eternity with Jesus? Can you give me teachings from Jesus or Paul to support your answers? Kris
Hi Kris, Question) Great question - I presume you want to know if a Christian has eternal security (full assurance) of being saved Answer) Catholics can have "eternal security" but only in the biblical way, which is known as a moral certitude of salvation. Catholics do have a number of very important assurances guaranteed by God: 1) Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification (Romans 4:15) 2) We have been "born again" through faith and baptism (John 3:5; Titus 3:5-7); 3) If we confess our sins, God is faithful and will forgive us (1 John 1: 9); and 4) Nothing or no one can take our salvation away from us (John 10:39; Rom 8:32-39). However, the bible does teach that through our own free will, we can give up our salvation through serious sin (Luke 15:11-32). If we die unrepentant of these sins, we will not receive our heavenly inheritance (Gal 5: 6 ff; Heb 12: 16-17). No one has absolute assurance (apart from a personal revelation from God) that he or she will not someday fall into serious sin and die without repentance. The problem is that an absolute certitude of assurance is on the same level as divinely revealed infallible truth. Thus, a person can not believe that he is eternally secure with the same faith that he believes that God is triune, simple because the Word of God no where teaches "eternal security." Consider too that St Paul emphatically warns the Philippians that, while God is working in them, they must also "work out their salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2: 12-13). Question) Your next question is probably "Are we saved by faith or works"? Answer) In essence we are saved by GRACE (Council of Trent; session 6, canon 1), through faith (Ephesians 2: 8-9). But the type of faith we have is a call to obedience (Rom 1: 5; 16: 26), and a faith that works through love (Gal 5: 6). The nature or type of faith we have makes all the difference in the world, for without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11: 6), for faith without love is useless (1 Cor 13: 2) and faith without works is dead (James 2: 18-24) and faith alone will not save (James 2: 24). Summary: Salvation is a free gift from God through Jesus that we receive gratutiously. However we can lose this inheritance through unconfessed, unrepentant mortal sin in our soul (Catechism 1861). We can't earn salvation but we can sure lose it. Question) I will anticipate your last question, 'Does God predestine people to heaven and to hell?' Answer) When I am told (by those who confuse predestination with God's providence) that God already knows who will be saved and who will be damned, and therefore anything we do is useless, I usually answer with four truths that the bible spells out for us: 1) God wants everyone to be saved (see 1 Tim 2:3-4), 2) No one is predestined to go to hell except for the devil and his angels (see Matt. 25:41), 3) Jesus died for everyone (see John 3:16), 4) Everyone is given sufficient graces for salvation (see Ephesians 2:8-10; 2 Corinthians 12:9). In Genesis chapter 4 we read the story of Cain (the first murderer) and Abel. He had the free will not to commit murder (read verses 1-7), but he did not cooperate with Gods grace to resist. We are all called to cooperate with Gods grace (see 1 Cor 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). Also read paragraph 600 in the Catechism, it gives a brief definition of the Catholic understanding of predestination. It basically states that in God's eternal plan of predestination, he also includes each persons free response to his grace. God Bless You, Jesse Romero, M.A. <>< Catholic Lay Evangelist All essay text intellectual copyright property of JesseRomero.com | Catholic Resources 
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