Can The Roman Catholic Church Offer People Assurance Of Salvation?

• Discussion:

           -An article was published at Catholic Answers, in which attempts are made to answer what is perceived to be common misconceptions about Rome's teaching on the assurance of salvation and provide clarity on this topic. While the effort is laudable, it fails to shed real light because the underlying issues prompting various criticisms are not addressed in a meaningful way. Below are excerpts from the article, along with a critical analysis of the author's points:

           "Sometimes Fundamentalists portray Catholics as if they must every moment be in terror of losing their salvation since Catholics recognize that it is possible to lose salvation through mortal sin.”

           On the contrary, many, if not most, Roman Catholics act as though they cannot have assurance of salvation. When asked what it takes for one to enter heaven, they usually point to their church attendance or being a good person. Christ is not the point of focus in their lives. This may not true in every instance, but we cannot afford to minimize or overlook this problem. Consider also the words of Cardinal John O'Connor:

           "Church teaching is that I don't know at any given moment, what my eternal future will be...I can hope, pray, do my very best-but I still don't know. Pope John Paul II doesn't know absolutely that he will go to heaven, nor does Mother Teresa of Calcutta, unless either has had a special revelation."

           That is not a satisfactory way to address the issue of how one can know that he has been saved from his sins and their due penalty. The bottom line is that the Roman Catholic Church has not adequately considered the question of how a man can know he has, in fact, been forgiven of his sin by God. This is a serious defect in the way that the gospel has been presented. 

           Further, Catholics attend Mass on a weekly basis for the express purpose of receiving grace from God. Justification for them is comparable to a fixed regular payment that can be depleted daily by sin. Rome views grace as forgiveness plus works of obedience, which is not a biblical definition of grace at all. It is an unmerited, undeserved gift of God (Romans 5:6-10; Ephesians 2:8-9). 

            We can have absolute assurance of salvation (John 5:24; 1 John 5:13). If we are in Jesus Christ, then we are fully justified (John 1:12; Romans 8:15-17). The salvation that He gives to believers is complete and instantaneous. We simply need to place our trust in Him alone. If we repent and believe on the gospel, then we are saved (Romans 10:9-10). Consider also this excerpt from Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, p. 262

           "The reason for the uncertainty of the state of grace lies in this: that without a special revelation nobody can with certainty of faith know whether or not he has fulfilled all the conditions which are necessary for achieving justification."

           Constant doubt is an inevitable consequence of any system of works righteousness. Justification cannot simply be a gift of God, if our works contribute to it in any way. Our justification is not based on our performance, even though we are responsible for our eternal destiny. The question is how we respond to the gospel. We can have infallible assurance of salvation because it is rooted in the promises of God, who can neither lie nor deceive. 

           In Roman Catholicism, committing one mortal sin constitutes a loss of all saving grace and so requires confession to an ordained priest. One could hypothetically lose his salvation tens of thousands of times during a lifetime. Moreover, no man knows when he is going to commit one of those allegedly salvation forfeiting sins. What if a person dies before getting to the confessional? This system is overly rigid and is lacking in perspective. Is God not bigger than this?

           "Are you saved?" asks the Fundamentalist. The Catholic should reply: "As the Bible says, I am already saved (Rom. 8:24, Eph. 2:5–8), but I’m also being saved (1 Cor. 1:18, 2 Cor. 2:15, Phil. 2:12), and I have the hope that I will be saved (Rom. 5:9–10, 1 Cor. 3:12–15). Like the apostle Paul I am working out my salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), with hopeful confidence in the promises of Christ (Rom. 5:2, 2 Tim. 2:11–13)."

           The New Testament uses three tenses in describing salvation. The initial tense simply involves God pardoning the iniquity of the sinner. Christians are no longer under the penalty of sin. That is justification. The ongoing tense involves being conformed gradually to character of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is sanctification. The future tense involves being utterly taken away from the presence of sin in heaven. That is glorification. The author seems to have equated justification with sanctification, which is an abysmal error. James Swan has noted the irony interwoven in the midst of this theological catastrophe:

           "Roman Catholics are always bringing up certainty, as if by being a member of the Roman Church, one of the benefits is certainty. That is, by being a Roman Catholic you can (allegedly) know with certainty which books are supposed to be in the Bible, you can know with certainty which is the church Jesus Christ established, you can know what the Bible says and means with certainty. But ironically, on a very basic (and important) fundamental human issue, you can’t have certainty of your salvation."

           If one takes the Word of God to heart, then he will depend wholly on Christ for salvation (Matthew 11:28-30). The gospel nowhere demands that it be administered through some complex church hierarchy. We do good works with the intent of pleasing our Creator. We do them out of gratitude for what Christ has accomplished on our behalf. God has given us a new heart. The purpose of good deeds in the Christian life is not to merit salvation.