Many Catholics have been asked the question by a well-meaning and faithful Protestant something like “Have you been saved by Jesus Christ?”, and they don’t exactly know how to respond. Keep reading, and you will be equipped to answer faithfully… with a “yes”, but also with the very necessary following statement that we will give you at the end of this post.
In terms of “being saved” the Catholic doctrine of Justification is Paul’s doctrine of Justification. This a very contentious statement to make to Protestants, but it is the truth. However, we cannot discount the fact that so many; –way too many Catholics have gotten too defensive in their response to the saved-only-by-faith doctrine of most Protestants, and have fallen into a heresy called Pelagianism.
Before we begin, let’s present three important documents that are worth reading to clear up any blatant misunderstandings about the Catholic Church’s doctrine on Justification:
First, we start with the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, which is an agreement in 1999 between the Lutheran Church (then later the Methodists, and now Anglicans) and the Catholic Church about the doctrine of Justification. If you are a Lutheran, Methodist, or Anglican, it is of particular importance, and it will show that there is an agreement on this doctrine.
Second, here is the Decree on Justification from the Council of Trent. This states the Catholic Church’s official doctrine on justification which exists to this day. As you can see, Catholics do not believe that we get saved through our works alone, but initially only by Grace, which is a gift that is not earned on our account.
Third, here is an overview of when the Church was extremely clear on the heresy of Pelagianism. That is the belief that we are saved just by our works and not by grace. This was formally stated in 418, and before, that Pelagianism was never Church doctrine. It was just the belief of one guy. Here is a breakdown of the crackdown against Pelagianism by St. Augustine and the Catholic Church: Pelagius and Pelagianism.
Unfortunately, there are indeed Catholics who adhere to this heresy of Pelagianism, but it has never been the doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Just for reference, here is the Catechism of the Catholic Church on Salvation:
Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life. Even temporal goods like health and friendship can be merited in accordance with God’s wisdom. These graces and goods are the object of Christian prayer. Prayer attends to the grace we need for meritorious actions.
CCC 2010
So let’s start at that famous line from Ephesians that Martin Luther “Proof Texted” (meaning he cherry-picked a line and attempted to interpret major doctrine without giving any context, thus performing an incorrect exegesis).
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
If you were told that as the argument for Martin Luther’s, and most Protestants’ argument that we are saved through faith alone and not works, that would be very convincing. But, if you are presenting this argument in this way you are just presenting fake news. Don’t believe me? Let’s quote Paul some more:
By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God, who will repay everyone according to his works: eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness. Romans 2:5-8
So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Philipians 2:12
Now, let’s continue our contextual view of Justification, and look at what the Letter of James says:
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? James 2:14
And here is the answer:
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. James 2:24
And now back to Paul and his great speech from Corinthians on Love:
If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
And of course, the Gospels are full of Jesus’ own words on the topic:
Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voices and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. John 5:28-20
Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:44-46
As a matter of fact, just read all of Matthew 25. It is not too long and it could not be more clear.
We all know the famous line from John in 3:16:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. John 3:16
…But let’s read just a few line further down:
And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. John 3:19-21
This shows the danger of “proof-texting”, or cherry-picking a line and then ignoring the context it is given in. We must read Holy Scripture not only in the context of the time and culture but also in the context of OTHER scriptures that address the same topic. The Bible does not contradict itself. You simply have to take the time to understand the whole picture. This is actually what scripture tells us, that the Holy Spirit would slowly reveal the mysteries to us. That is the first indication of the invalidity of the Reformation- what they couldn’t fit into the narrative, they threw out.
So is Paul just contradicting himself or even flat-out rejecting the Gospels? Not at all. Oh, and we could go on and on with quotes from Paul and throughout the Gospels about justification not just being a singular event and it is all settled. The examples we have given cannot be any clearer, so no need to press the issue. But if you want to take a deeper dive, you can check out here and here on this topic. The answer to how we are saved according to Paul, Jesus, James, the Gospel writers, and the Catholic Church for 2,000 years is simply, we are Saved By Grace, Through Faith, For Works.
Remember that lightning rod quote from Paul: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9”? Let’s read a few lines before that:
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved)… Ephesians 2:4-5
What is being described is simply what St. Augustine would later refer to as “Original Sin”. We were dead, and are saved because of the grace of God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, that is fine, but what exactly does that mean? How are we saved initially in this way? Well, scripture is quite clear on that:
- Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
- John 3:5 “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” (cf. 3:3: “unless a man is born again …”)
- Acts 2:38-41 “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. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation.’ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” (cf. 9:17-18; 1 Corinthians 12:13: both associate the Holy Spirit with baptism)
- Acts 22:16 “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” (cf. 9:17-18)
- Romans 6:3-4 “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
- Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit…”
- 1 Peter 3:21 “Baptism … now saves you …”
So, what is the answer here? Are we saved by Grace or faith or Baptism or works? The answer is yes. We did nothing to earn the grace we were given. We are saved through the Grace of God through Baptism, and we have to continue to be a child of God:
The Catholic Church has never taught we “earn” our salvation. It is an inheritance (Galatians 5:21), freely given to anyone who becomes a child of God (1 John 3:1), so long as they remain that way (John 15:1-11). You can’t earn it but you can lose the free gift given from the Father (James 1:17).
Sal Ciresi
Paul never said you are “saved by grace and then everything is great, you are in the clear no matter what you do.” Remember, Martin Luther had a severe, pathological need to have the assurance of his soul being saved. Look it up, do your own research on that. He suffered from scrupulosity as well. Again, look it up. This is not to say that he didn’t have some valid arguments, but on the topic of salvation, he simply picked out one line, from Paul, used it to mollify his intense anxiety, and ignored pretty much all of the rest of scripture. Thank God Catholics and Lutherans finally got together centuries later to get that worked out!
So, for you Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and Methodists, that is the doctrine of justification for your Church. For our other Christian friends, we hope you consider what you have read today.
This doctrine should not be debated in terms of faith vs. works as a contest. It is clear (in the story of Mary and Martha, for example) that faith and loving God are the most important. Through that flows the fruit of loving one’s neighbor. Faith THEN works. When Jesus was tested about which are the most important commandments, he didn’t stop after referencing the Shema about loving God, which he stated was the greatest commandment. Rather, he went on. He went on to talk about good works, i.e., loving your neighbor:
Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:36-39
We are saved by a grace that we didn’t earn in any way. We are born into original sin. We are cleansed of this and saved through Baptism. Then we work on our salvation by having faith and by good works. That is what scripture says.
Finally, what is the correct scriptural answer to “Have you been saved by Jesus Christ?” If you have been baptized, the answer should be: “Yes, I was saved by my baptism– but I am still working on it!”