What Must I do to be saved? Receiving God's Gift of Salvation

By David Hipple

 We need to be Saved

You made us for Yourself, Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You St Augustine.

the need to turn to God in an ever more mature way and with a constant, ever more profound, conversion. (Pope John Paul II :The Redeemer of Man 50)

Only when we meet Jesus can we find release for all that anxiety that is more profoundly human: the search for truth, the relentless demand for what is good, the hunger for freedom, the yearning for beauty, the voice of conscience. He alone is the solution for every problem: He alone is the true salvation of the world. (Pope John Paul II)

Rom3: For there is no distinction; 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We must not forget that Jesus is the One who does the Saving!

We do not save ourselves.

Eph 2: 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God -- 9 not because of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Jn 3: 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Col 2:13 - 15 and even when we were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliberating the bond against us with its legal claim, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross; despoiling the principalities and the powers, he made a public spectacle of them, leading them away in triumph by it.

The Blood of Jesus does the Saving

Col1: 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Hebrews 9:14 How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

I Peter 1:18 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

I John 1: 7  the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Rev 5: 9 for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

We must come to Him.

John 14: 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.

(Peter speaking) Acts 4: 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Baptism is the Normal way of entering Salvation

CCC 1213 Holy baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made shareers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water and in the word.

CCC 1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to be baptize them. Baptism is necessary for salvation for those whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament. The church does not know of any means other than baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water and the spirit". God has bound salvation to the sacrament of baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.

Jn 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Matthew 28:19 :20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.

Acts 2: 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 38 And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I Peter 3: 20 who formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you

For those who have decided to be baptized, but die before being baptized:

CCC 1259 For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament.

For those who don't know the necessity of Baptism:

CCC 1260 "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery."(Lumen Gentium 16) Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.

In the NT, a parallel is drawn between baptism and OT circumcision. Both were the way to become a part of Gods people, both were administered to infants.

Col 2: 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead..

Baptism is a really good beginning, but: More is required.

Paul VI, On Evangelization in the Modern World: from Paragraph 56, pg34 (see also Para 54). He is describing different groups of people who need to be evangelized.

Today there is a very large number of baptized people who for the most part have not formally renounced their Baptism but who are entirely indifferent to it and not living in accordance with it.

Thus we have atheists and unbelievers on the one side and those who do not practice on the other, and both groups put up a considerable resistance to evangelization. The resistance of the former takes the form of a certain refusal and an inability to grasp the new order of things, the new meaning of the world, of life and of history; such is not possible if one does not start from a divine absolute. The resistance of the second group takes the form of inertia and the slightly hostile attitude of the person who feels that he is one of the family, who claims to know it all and to have tried it all and who no longer believes it.

From Catholic and Christian, by Alan Schreck

Many Christians today equate faith with a decision for Christ a conscious, personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as the lord and Savior of your life.  This terminology is used mostly be evangelical Protestants, but Catholics agree that all mature Christians must make a conscious choice to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and to commit themselves to follow Him.  Catholics make such a public recommitment every year when they renew their baptismal promises during the Easter liturgy.  The practice of regular, even daily, personal acts of faith in Jesus Christ is a part of Catholic tradition. 

Unfortunately, some Catholics have neglected the importance of this conscious, personal commitment to Jesus Christ.  Catholics sometimes assume that persons who are baptized, attend Mass, and receive the sacraments regularly have obviously accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of their lives.  Pastoral experience with U.S. Catholics shows that this is often not the case:  many Catholics have not yet made a deliberate, adult decision to believe in Jesus Christ and give their lives fully to him.

In Romans 2:26-29, it is illuminating to substitute the word Baptism in place of circumcision? and a Christian in place of a Jew?   The following is from the RSV, with these substitutions made: 

So, if a man who is un-baptized keeps the precepts of the law, will not his un-baptism be regarded as baptism? Then those who are physically un-baptized but keep the law will condemn you who have the written code and baptism but break the law. For he is not a real Christian who is one outwardly, nor is true baptism something external and physical. He is a Christian who is one inwardly, and real baptism is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal. His praise is not from men but from God.

Belief is required.

Jesus first command: Mark 1: 15 "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel."

Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Jn 5: 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Jn 3: 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 18 He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God..

Ro 10: 9 if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.

What is faith?

Does faith equal making a decision for Christ?. Does faith equal belief?

James 2: 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder.

Faith is a way of life. We are saved by love working thru faith

Gal 5:6 for in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

How I live will affect where I end up, not just what I believe:

Mat 24:13 those who persevere to the end will be saved.

Mat 10:22 You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved

Ro 11: 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off.

Matt 7: 21 "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven

James 2: 14 What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?  17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.

James 1: 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Faith cannot save us if we deny it by the way we live.

Assurance of Salvation?

Schreck p 32 bottom thru 33

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.

Note: The Catholic Church does not teach that you can know with absolute certainty in this life that you are saved.

I Cor 9: 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25* Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; 27 but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Hebrews 6:11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness in realizing the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Phil3:10-16 to know him and the power of his resurrection and the sharings of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. It is not that I have attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing; forgetting what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God's upward calling, in Christ Jesus. Let us, then, who are perfectly mature adopt this attitude, and if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you. Only, with regard to what we have attained, continue on the same course.Moral Assurance of Salvation - YES

We each have the free will to turn away. However, we know that God will receive us if we turn back to Him and repent.

I John 1: 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

James 5: 14 Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

The presbyters (priests) must be called: the sins of the sick are forgiven in this sacrament of anointing.

Luke 15 (the prodigal son)

If we choose Jesus, no other power can take us away from Him and He will not reject us.

John 10: 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

Roman 8:35-38 What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written: "for your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor deapth, and any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Reference:

Schreck, Alan:  Catholic and Christian  Servant Books