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Roman Catholicism teaches that salvation is uncertain, some people are more saved that others, and salvation can be lost. What does the Bible say?
October 15, 2024 - As we continue our focus this month on the Biblical truths that were recovered from centuries of darkness at the time of the Protestant Reformation, we turn to yet another life-and-death difference between Roman Catholicism and Authentic Biblical Christianity.
As we reported last week, Pope Francis recently stated that all religions lead to God.
As one news headline put it, the Pope has turned certainty on its head. Each religion says there is a different way to God, and the various religions disagree with one another on the true way to God.
But the fact is that never, in its entire history, has the Roman Catholic church taught that salvation is certain for any human being.
Roman Catholicism has always taught and continues to teach that salvation is uncertain - that no one can know if he has been justified in the sight of God. No one can know if he has been pardoned from his sins forever and therefore has eternal life.
We find these statements in the Catholic church's official teachings:
Protestants claim the following three qualities for justification: certainty, equality, the impossibility of ever losing it. Diametrically opposed to these qualities are those defended by the [Roman Catholic] Council of Trent:
- uncertainty (that is, no one can be sure he is justified)
- inequality (in other words, some people are more justified than others)
- amissibility (that is, justification can be lost) [1]
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 that are necessary for achieving justification. [2]
Dear friends, we have a special revelation from God. We have Holy Scripture - God's inspired, infallible, inerrant Word. We need no other authority. There is no higher authority.
God's Word tells us clearly that we can know that we are justified in the sight of God - not because of anything we have done, or must do, but because of the full and eternal sufficiency of what Jesus has done through the shedding of His blood as the atonement for sin.
Romans chapter 5, verse 1 is the believer's eternal certainty:
Therefore having been [past tense] justified by faith [not by our works] we have [present tense, right now, and forever] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And verse 9:
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Dear friend, are you trusting in Christ alone for eternal life? Are you certain of your eternal destiny? If you are not sure, or if you have questions, we would consider it a privilege to help you. You can contact us by visiting our website, www.teachingtheword.org.
We also invite you to visit our website for more information and to access our free Bible Knowledgebase.
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References:
1. "Justification" in The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 8, www.newadvent.org/cathen/08573a.htm. See also Dr. Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, (Rockford, Illinois: Tan Books, 1974), 261-263. The cover describes this book as "A one-volume encyclopedia of the doctrines of the Catholic Church, showing their sources in Scripture and Tradition and their definition by Popes and Councils." The book bears the imprimatur (mark of official approval) of Rome.
2. "Sanctifying Grace" in The Catholic Encyclopedia, reproduced at www.newadvent.org/cathen/06701a.htm. See also Ott, 250-252.
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