Are you Saved?
Do most people go to heaven. All you have to do is accept Jesus as your Lord and savior, right? Most people are good but all people sin. It's to late when you die to be forgiven. Its dangerous to look around us and say most people are good and love God and believe in him so they will go to heaven. It is not enough to just believe in him. Jesus warned us about this attitude. See Luke 7:46 “Why do you call me Lord, Lord but do not do what I command” and Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven.” And in Revelations 3:16 "because you are luke warm, neither hot or cold, I will spew you from my mouth" and read Mt 7:13-14.
Accepting Jesus and believing in him is only the first step. He asks us to do as he commands. Many people forget what scripture says is also necessary. John 15:14 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" No where in scripture does it claim faith alone is sufficient. The only place in scripture where the words "Faith Alone" appear are in James and the word NOT is in front of them. "It is NOT faith alone" When scripture talks about works they are talking about works of the old covenant Jewish works of the law in which there were over 600.
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION?
Mt 7:21 - not everyone saying "Lord, Lord" will inherit
Mt 24:13 - those who persevere to the end will be saved
Rom 11:22 - remain in his kindness or you will be cut off
Phil 2:12 - work out your salvation in fear and trembling
1 Cor 9:27 - drive body for fear of being disqualified
1 Cor 10:11-12 - those thinking they are secure, may fall
Gal 5:4 - separated from Christ, you've fallen from grace
2 Tim 2:11-13 - must hold out to end to reign with Christ
Heb 6:4-6 - describes sharers in Holy Spirit who then fall away
Heb 10:26-27 - if sin after receiving truth, judgement remains
HAVE YOU BEEN SAVED?
Past Event (I have been saved)Rom 8:24 - for in hope we were
saved Eph 2:5, 8 - by grace you have been saved through faith
2 Tim 1:9 - he saved us, called us, according to his grace
Tit 3:5 - he saved us thru bath of rebirth, renewal by Holy Spirit
Present Process (I am being saved)Phil 2:12 - work out your salvation with fear and trembling
1 Pet 1:9 - as you attain the goal of your faith, salvation
Future Event (I will be saved)Mt 10:22 - he who endures to the end will be saved
Mt 24:13 - he who perseveres to the end will be saved
Mk 8:35 - whoever loses his life for my sake will save it
Acts 15:11 - we shall be saved through the grace of Jesus
Rom 5:12 - since we are justified, we shall be saved
Rom 13:11 -salvation is nearer now than first believed
1 Cor 3:15 - he will be saved, but only as through fire
1 Cor 5:5 - deliver man to Satan so his spirit may be saved
Heb 9:28 - Jesus will appear second time, to bring salvation
GOOD WORKS
Mt 7:21 - not lord lord, but he who does the will of father
Mt 19:16- 17 - to have life, keep the commandments
Jn 14:21 - he who keeps my commandments loves me
Rom 2:2-8 - eternal life by perseverance in good works
Gal 5:4-6 - nothing counts but faith working through love
Eph 2:8-10 - we are created in Christ Jesus for good works
Phil 2:12-13 - work out salvation with fear and trembling
Jam 2:14-24 - a man is justified by works & not faith alone
JUDGED ACCORDING TO DEEDS
Rom 2:5-8 - God will repay each man according to his works
2 Cor 5:10 - recompense accord to what did in body
2 Cor 11:15 - their end will correspond to their deeds
1 Pet 1:17 - God judges impartially according to one's works
Rev 2:12-13 - dead judged according to their deeds
Col 3:24-25 - will receive due payment for whatever you do
Why do Catholics believe that good works are necessary for salvation? Does not Paul say in Romans 3:28 that faith alone justifies?
Catholics do not claim that one must do good works in order to come to God and be justified. In fact, Catholic theology claims it is completely impossible to do anything good whatever prior to being justified or saved. In Romans Paul explains that Faith is a gift from God given freely to anyone. God does not discriminate.
Catholics believe that faith and good works are both necessary for salvation, because such is the teaching of Jesus Christ. What our Lord demands is "faith that worketh by charity." (Gal. 5:6). Read Matthew 25:31-46, which describes the Last Judgment as being based on works of charity. The first and greatest commandment, as given by Our Lord Himself, is to love the Lord God with all one's heart, mind, soul, and strength; and the second great commandment is to love one's neighbor as oneself. (Mark 12:30-31). When the rich young man asked Our Lord what he must do to gain eternal life, our Lord answered: "Keep the commandments." (Matt. 19:17). Thus, although faith is the beginning, it is not the complete fulfillment of the will of God. Nowhere in the Bible is it written that faith alone justifies. When St. Paul wrote, "For we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law," he was referring to works peculiar to the old Jewish Law, and he cited circumcision as an example.
The Catholic Church does not teach that purely human good works are meritorious for salvation; such works are not meritorious for salvation, according to her teaching. Only those good works performed when a person is in the state of grace, that is, as a branch drawing its spiritual life from the Vine which is Christ (John 15:4-6), only these good deeds work toward our salvation, and they do so only by the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ. These good works, offered to God by a soul in the state of grace (i.e., free of mortal sin, with the Blessed Trinity dwelling in the soul), are thereby supernaturally meritorious because they share in the work and in the merits of Christ. Such supernatural good works will not only be rewarded by God, but are necessary for salvation.
St. Paul shows how the neglect of certain good works will send even a Christian believer to damnation: "But if any man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he hath denied the fiaht, and is worse than an infidel." (1 Tim. 5:8). Our Lord tells us that if the Master (God) returns and finds His servant sinning, rather than performing works of obedience, He shall separate him, and shall appoint him his portion with unbelievers." (Luke 12:46).
Furthermore, Catholics know they will be rewarded in Heaven for their good works. Our Lord Himself said: "For the Son of man...will render to every man according to his works." (Matt. 16:27). "And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." (Matt. 10:42). Catholics believe, following the Apostle Paul, that "every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labour." (1 Cor. 3:8). "For God is not unjust, that he should forget your work, and the love which you have shown in his name, you who have ministered, and do minister to the saints." (Heb. 6:10). "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord the just judge will render to me in that day; and not only to me, but to them also that love his coming." (2 Tim. 4:7-8).
Still, Catholics know that, strictly speaking, God never owes us anything. Even after obeying all God's commandments, we must still say: "We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which we ought to do." (Luke 17:10). As St. Augustine (5th century) stated: Äll our good merits are wrought through grace, so that God, in crowning our merits, is crowning nothing but His gifts."
Had St. Paul meant that faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, he would not have written: "...and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." (1 Cor. 13:2). If faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, the
Apostle James would not have written: "Do you see by works a man is justified; and not by faith only?...For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also faith without works is dead." (James 2:24-26). Or: "What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works? Shall faith be able to save him?" (James 2:14). If faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, the Apostle Peter would not have written: "Wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure you calling and election. For doing these things, you shall not sin at any time. For so an entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:10-11). If faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, the primitive Christian Fathers would not have advocated good works in such powerful words. Wrote St. Irenaeus, one of the most illustrious of the primitive Christian Fathers: "For what is the use of knowing the truth in word, while defiling the body and accomplishing the works of evil? Or what real good at all can bodily holiness do, if truth be not in the soul? For these two, faith and good works, rejoice in each other's company, and agree together and fight side by side to sen man in the Presence of God." (Proof of the Apostolic Preaching). Justification by faith alone is a new doctrine; it was unheard of in the Christian community before the sixteenth century.
Accepting Jesus and believing in him is only the first step. He asks us to do as he commands. Many people forget what scripture says is also necessary. John 15:14 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" No where in scripture does it claim faith alone is sufficient. The only place in scripture where the words "Faith Alone" appear are in James and the word NOT is in front of them. "It is NOT faith alone" When scripture talks about works they are talking about works of the old covenant Jewish works of the law in which there were over 600.
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION?
Mt 7:21 - not everyone saying "Lord, Lord" will inherit
Mt 24:13 - those who persevere to the end will be saved
Rom 11:22 - remain in his kindness or you will be cut off
Phil 2:12 - work out your salvation in fear and trembling
1 Cor 9:27 - drive body for fear of being disqualified
1 Cor 10:11-12 - those thinking they are secure, may fall
Gal 5:4 - separated from Christ, you've fallen from grace
2 Tim 2:11-13 - must hold out to end to reign with Christ
Heb 6:4-6 - describes sharers in Holy Spirit who then fall away
Heb 10:26-27 - if sin after receiving truth, judgement remains
HAVE YOU BEEN SAVED?
Past Event (I have been saved)Rom 8:24 - for in hope we were
saved Eph 2:5, 8 - by grace you have been saved through faith
2 Tim 1:9 - he saved us, called us, according to his grace
Tit 3:5 - he saved us thru bath of rebirth, renewal by Holy Spirit
Present Process (I am being saved)Phil 2:12 - work out your salvation with fear and trembling
1 Pet 1:9 - as you attain the goal of your faith, salvation
Future Event (I will be saved)Mt 10:22 - he who endures to the end will be saved
Mt 24:13 - he who perseveres to the end will be saved
Mk 8:35 - whoever loses his life for my sake will save it
Acts 15:11 - we shall be saved through the grace of Jesus
Rom 5:12 - since we are justified, we shall be saved
Rom 13:11 -salvation is nearer now than first believed
1 Cor 3:15 - he will be saved, but only as through fire
1 Cor 5:5 - deliver man to Satan so his spirit may be saved
Heb 9:28 - Jesus will appear second time, to bring salvation
GOOD WORKS
Mt 7:21 - not lord lord, but he who does the will of father
Mt 19:16- 17 - to have life, keep the commandments
Jn 14:21 - he who keeps my commandments loves me
Rom 2:2-8 - eternal life by perseverance in good works
Gal 5:4-6 - nothing counts but faith working through love
Eph 2:8-10 - we are created in Christ Jesus for good works
Phil 2:12-13 - work out salvation with fear and trembling
Jam 2:14-24 - a man is justified by works & not faith alone
JUDGED ACCORDING TO DEEDS
Rom 2:5-8 - God will repay each man according to his works
2 Cor 5:10 - recompense accord to what did in body
2 Cor 11:15 - their end will correspond to their deeds
1 Pet 1:17 - God judges impartially according to one's works
Rev 2:12-13 - dead judged according to their deeds
Col 3:24-25 - will receive due payment for whatever you do
Why do Catholics believe that good works are necessary for salvation? Does not Paul say in Romans 3:28 that faith alone justifies?
Catholics do not claim that one must do good works in order to come to God and be justified. In fact, Catholic theology claims it is completely impossible to do anything good whatever prior to being justified or saved. In Romans Paul explains that Faith is a gift from God given freely to anyone. God does not discriminate.
Catholics believe that faith and good works are both necessary for salvation, because such is the teaching of Jesus Christ. What our Lord demands is "faith that worketh by charity." (Gal. 5:6). Read Matthew 25:31-46, which describes the Last Judgment as being based on works of charity. The first and greatest commandment, as given by Our Lord Himself, is to love the Lord God with all one's heart, mind, soul, and strength; and the second great commandment is to love one's neighbor as oneself. (Mark 12:30-31). When the rich young man asked Our Lord what he must do to gain eternal life, our Lord answered: "Keep the commandments." (Matt. 19:17). Thus, although faith is the beginning, it is not the complete fulfillment of the will of God. Nowhere in the Bible is it written that faith alone justifies. When St. Paul wrote, "For we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law," he was referring to works peculiar to the old Jewish Law, and he cited circumcision as an example.
The Catholic Church does not teach that purely human good works are meritorious for salvation; such works are not meritorious for salvation, according to her teaching. Only those good works performed when a person is in the state of grace, that is, as a branch drawing its spiritual life from the Vine which is Christ (John 15:4-6), only these good deeds work toward our salvation, and they do so only by the grace of God and the merit of Jesus Christ. These good works, offered to God by a soul in the state of grace (i.e., free of mortal sin, with the Blessed Trinity dwelling in the soul), are thereby supernaturally meritorious because they share in the work and in the merits of Christ. Such supernatural good works will not only be rewarded by God, but are necessary for salvation.
St. Paul shows how the neglect of certain good works will send even a Christian believer to damnation: "But if any man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he hath denied the fiaht, and is worse than an infidel." (1 Tim. 5:8). Our Lord tells us that if the Master (God) returns and finds His servant sinning, rather than performing works of obedience, He shall separate him, and shall appoint him his portion with unbelievers." (Luke 12:46).
Furthermore, Catholics know they will be rewarded in Heaven for their good works. Our Lord Himself said: "For the Son of man...will render to every man according to his works." (Matt. 16:27). "And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." (Matt. 10:42). Catholics believe, following the Apostle Paul, that "every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labour." (1 Cor. 3:8). "For God is not unjust, that he should forget your work, and the love which you have shown in his name, you who have ministered, and do minister to the saints." (Heb. 6:10). "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord the just judge will render to me in that day; and not only to me, but to them also that love his coming." (2 Tim. 4:7-8).
Still, Catholics know that, strictly speaking, God never owes us anything. Even after obeying all God's commandments, we must still say: "We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which we ought to do." (Luke 17:10). As St. Augustine (5th century) stated: Äll our good merits are wrought through grace, so that God, in crowning our merits, is crowning nothing but His gifts."
Had St. Paul meant that faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, he would not have written: "...and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." (1 Cor. 13:2). If faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, the
Apostle James would not have written: "Do you see by works a man is justified; and not by faith only?...For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also faith without works is dead." (James 2:24-26). Or: "What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works? Shall faith be able to save him?" (James 2:14). If faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, the Apostle Peter would not have written: "Wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure you calling and election. For doing these things, you shall not sin at any time. For so an entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:10-11). If faith ruled out the necessity of good works for salvation, the primitive Christian Fathers would not have advocated good works in such powerful words. Wrote St. Irenaeus, one of the most illustrious of the primitive Christian Fathers: "For what is the use of knowing the truth in word, while defiling the body and accomplishing the works of evil? Or what real good at all can bodily holiness do, if truth be not in the soul? For these two, faith and good works, rejoice in each other's company, and agree together and fight side by side to sen man in the Presence of God." (Proof of the Apostolic Preaching). Justification by faith alone is a new doctrine; it was unheard of in the Christian community before the sixteenth century.
