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What about Catholic mass? Is it necessary for salvation? Does giving to church save you?

 

DOES SALVATION COME THROUGH CATHOLIC MASS?
DOES GIVING MONEY TO CHURCH SAVE US?


The Catholic Blog - Helping people find answers to the most common questions about Catholicism with answers from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Bible. (www.catholic.blog )


“Does salvation come through Catholic Mass?” - Important Passages of The Catechism of the Catholic Church to Consider:

  • the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation” (CCC 846)
  • “They could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse to enter it or to remain in it” (CCC 846)
  • “The liturgical celebration involves signs and symbols relating to creation (candles, water, fire), human life (washing, anointing, breaking bread), and the history of salvation (the rites of Passover)…these cosmic elements, human rituals, and gestures of remembrance of God become bearers of the saving and sanctifying action of Christ” (CCC 1189)
  • “the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass” (CCC 2180)
  • “the faithful are bound to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation…those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin” (CCC 2181)
  • “the Church grants us the mercy of God which prevails over all our sins and is especially at work in us in the sacrament of reconciliation” (CCC 2040)
  • “The first precept ‘You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor’” (CCC 2042)
  • “The second precept ‘You shall confess your sins at least once per year’ ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness” (CCC 2042)
  • “The third precept ‘You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.’ guarantees as a minimum the  reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.” (CCC 2042)
  • “The fourth precept ‘You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church’ ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepares us for the liturgical feasts and helps us to acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.” (CCC 2043)
  • “The first precept ‘You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church’ means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.” (CCC 2043)
  • Tobit 4:11 "For alms deliver from all sin, and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness."  
  • Tobit 12:9 "For alms delivereth from death, and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting.”
  • 2 Maccabees 12:43 "And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection."


“Does salvation come through Catholic Mass?” - Important Scriptures to Consider:

  • Romans 10:9–10 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (ESV)
  • Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (ESV)
  • Romans 10:17 "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (ESV)
  • 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
  • Matthew 23:4 “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” (ESV)
  • Luke 11:46 “And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers” (ESV)
  • Acts 15:28–29 “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: [29] that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” (ESV)
  • 1 Timothy 4:1–4 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, [2] through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, [3] who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. [4] For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (ESV)
  • Philemon 8–9 “Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, [9] yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus” (ESV)
  • 2 Cor 9:5 “So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you & arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.” (ESV)
  • 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (ESV)


“Does salvation come through Catholic Mass?” - Important Questions to Consider:

  • Is there a Bible verse that you can find that says the Church is “necessary for salvation” (CCC 846)?
  • Why would the Catholic Church say that “they could not be saved” who “refuse to enter … or to remain in” the Catholic Church?  Do we lose our salvation because of not being a member of the Catholic Church?
  • Why would the word “obligation” be used in so many ways with parts of the Mass?
  • When is our “conversion” complete according to the Bible?  At what point are we totally saved and forgiven according to Romans 10:9-10?  Why would the Catholic Church add so many more requirements to salvation?  How is that different than Acts 10:42-44?
  • What are the warnings of Matthew 23:4 and Luke 11:46? Why does Paul warn Timothy about those who require “abstinence from foods” and “forbid marriage”? Do these warnings apply to the Catholic Church?
  • Why does Paul describe giving as something to do as a “willing gift” and “not under compulsion” (2 Corinthians 9:5-7?  How is this different than being “obliged” (CCC 2043) and that “alms deliver from all sin” (Tobit 4:11) and that “alms delivereth from death” (Tobit 12:9)?  Does this difference concern you? Why?
  • What do you think of 2 Maccabees 12:43?

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Are the Catholic Sacraments Necessary for Salvation?

 

DOES GRACE COME THROUGH THE SACRAMENTS?
DO WE RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT THROUGH SACRAMENTS?


The Catholic Blog - Helping people find answers to the most common questions about Catholicism with answers from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Bible. (www.catholic.blog)


“Are the Catholic sacraments necessary for salvation?” - Important Passages of The Catechism of the Catholic Church to Consider:

  • “The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and sacraments….Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony” (CCC 1113)
  • “Through the Church’s sacraments, Christ communicates his Holy and sanctifying Spirit to the members of his Body.” (CCC 739)
  • “The communion of the sacraments…unite us to God” (CCC 951)
  • “Sacraments are ‘powers that come forth’ from the Body of Christ” (CCC 1116)
  • “The ordained priesthood guarantees that it really is Christ who acts in the sacraments” (CCC 1120)
  • “The three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer, in addition to grace, a sacramental character or ‘seal’ by which the Christian shares in Christ’s priesthood and is made a member of the Church” (CCC 1121)
  • “the sacraments confers the grace they signify.  They are efficacious” (CCC 1127)
  • “The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation.” (CCC 1129)
  • “The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the faithful the partakers in the divine nature by uniting them in loving union with the only Son, the Savior” (CCC 1129) [Council of Trent in 1547]
  • “The New Law … uses the sacraments to communicate grace to us” (CCC 1983)


“Are the Catholic sacraments necessary for salvation?” - Important Scriptures to Consider:

  • Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (ESV)
  • Galatians 2:16–21 “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. … And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. [21] I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” (ESV)
  • Galatians 3:2–3 “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? [3] Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (ESV)
  • Romans 5:15 “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.” (ESV)
  • Jude 4 “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (ESV)
  • Colossians 1:5–6 “you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, [6] which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth” (ESV)
  • Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people” (ESV)
  • Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (ESV)
  • Ephesians 1:5 “In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (ESV)
  • John 1:12–13 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, [13] who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (ESV)
  • John 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.” (ESV)
  • John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever 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.” (ESV)
  • John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.” (ESV)
  • John 20:31 “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (ESV)
  • Acts 10:43 “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (ESV)
  • Acts 13:39 “by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses” (ESV)
  • Acts 16:31 “And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” (ESV)


“Are the Catholic sacraments necessary for salvation?” - Important Questions to Consider:

  • If we are saved “by grace” and “it’s not our doing” according to the Bible (Ephesians 2:8-9), then why do we need to be conferred grace by the sacraments (CCC 1127 and 1983)?
  • If we are “not justified by works” (Galatians 2:16) then why are the works of the sacraments “necessary for salvation” (CCC 1129)?
  • Why would the whole “life of the Church” (CCC 1113) revolve around rituals and ceremonies to receive grace?  Does the New Testament say that’s the primary task of the Church?
  • If Romans 8:15 and Ephesians 1:5 explain that we have already been adopted, then why do we need sacraments to “unite us to God” (CCC 951 and 1129)?
  • Is it biblical that the Holy Spirit is communicated to us through the sacraments (CCC 739)?
  • Is it not true that the Bible describes all of the blessings of salvation as occurring at the point of faith? (See: John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; 20:31; Acts 10:43; 13:39; 16:31)


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