Conversations with Catholics

As a former Roman Catholic, I know growing up that it's often called presumptuous and arrogant for a Catholic to know for sure they are going to Heaven. No one can know for sure they will inherit eternal life, only hope that God accepts them when they die. And this all makes sense in a Catholic's thinking, because the Roman Catholic church teaches that although Jesus did die for our sins, we must play a part in our salvation as well! Their salvation depends upon their cooperation with the Catholic system and their faithfulness in order to be saved, but even then there is no assurance of Heaven.

I wanted to take excerpts from an excellent book I own called "Conversations with Catholics" by James Mccarthy. It really drives home the point that the promises of the Bible regarding assurance of eternal life, are not taught within Catholicism. And many within that system are led astray from the truth of the Scriptures!! It is out of love and concern for Catholics that I write this post!!

"I once heard a Catholic woman compare salvation to a bank account. You open the account when you are baptized. Receiving the sacraments and performing good works is like adding money to your account. Committing venial sin takes money out. A mortal sin bankrupts your account. In order to restore it to a positive balance, you must receive the sacrament of confession. Whether you go to heaven or hell is determined by the status of your account at the moment of death. If you have money in the bank, you go to heaven. If not, you don't. And since nobody knows what his final balance will be, no one can know where he is going until he gets there. (page 41)

"Why Catholics Don't Know...
From the day that a Catholic is baptized until the day that he dies, he is on probation with God. Life is a trial during which he must prove by his faith and obedience that he is worthy of heaven. His eternal salvation hangs in the balance. That's what the Catholics we interviewed outside Saint Patrick's Cathedral told us when we asked them how they hoped to get to heaven." (page 42)

"The Catholic belief that entrance into heaven is the reward for good works performed on earth is expressed at every Catholic funeral.....In Catholicism, the individual himself must stand before God in judgment and be found worthy of eternal life. Entrance into heaven is a merited reward." (page 43)

• "Christ, however, is not presented in the Church's liturgy as the victorious Savior who guarantees the salvation of those relying on Him for their salvation. Mixed in with grace and mercy are references to merit, reward, works, and self-worth. As Rome explains it, by dying on the cross, Christ made entrance into heaven possible. For anyone to actually make it into heaven, however, he must be baptized, live a good life, and die in a proper state.

Consequently, when Catholics think about getting to heaven, what mainly goes through their minds is what they must do. Sometimes they don't include Jesus in their thinking at all. Of the 24 Catholics we interviewed outside Saint Patricks Cathedral, asking them how they hoped to get into heaven, only 3 referred to Jesus. Only one Catholic made any meaningful reference to the cross." (page 46)

"A popular post-Vatican II catechism provides the following summary of the Church's teaching:
  Question: What is necessary to be saved?
  Answer: You have to be brought into spiritual contact with that saving death of Jesus by faith and Baptism and loyal membership in His church, by love of God and neighbor proved by obedience to His commandments, by other Sacraments especially Holy Communion, by prayer and good works and by final perseverance, that is, preserving God's friendship and grace until death.
 Notice the lack of emphasis on Jesus in this answer. The only mention of Him is with reference to being "brought into spiritual contact with that saving death of Jesus." 
  If you were to ask Catholics, Do you believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins? expect all of them to answer yes. But if you ask, How do you hope to get to heaven? most Catholics will give you a list of activities that they must do. Only a small percentage will make any meaningful reference to Jesus or to His saving work on the cross. Fewer Catholics still, if any, will give the biblical answer: dependence upon Christ alone. The reason, of course, is that this is not what is taught in the Roman Catholic Church." (page 49)

"Biblical Christianity stands apart. It teaches that "no one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:18), that "all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment" (Isaiah 64:6). True Christianity teaches that sinners can be accepted by God through the righteous work of another (Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21). It proclaims a Savior who paid our penalty for us with His own life (Mark 10:45; 1Peter 2:24). It tells of God's offer of eternal life to anyone who repents and believes (Mark 1:15, John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9). Those who accept this free gift of God can know that they are going to heaven, because their acceptance before God is in Christ, not in themselves. The Lord assured His disciples, saying, "Rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven' (Luke 10:20). He said, "I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of my My hand. 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" (John 10:28-29). The Holy Spirit participates in guaranteeing the future of the redeemed. At the moment of salvation, the Spirit comes to dwell in each believer "as a pledge of our inheritance, with view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:14).
  Rash presumption is what Rome calls this. And right it would be if salvation were dependent, even in part, upon our own righteous deeds. Believing the promises of Scripture, however, is not presumption, but faith in God." (page 52-53)

It is my hope and expectation that many will search the truth for themselves in the Bible and compare the teachings of Rome with what the Scriptures actually teach! A person's eternal destiny may depend on this, as many are led astray into a false belief that Jesus + their works are required to be saved. We know on the day of Judgment Jesus will tell many religious people who claimed to do many "good works" in His name...."I never knew, depart from me into Hell!" (Matthew 7). Please, please, don't be one of these individuals! Look to Christ and Christ alone for your salvation, coming to Him with nothing but your sin, and desire to be saved!!