Salvation - Are You Saved?

Catholic Education Resource Center ^ | 7/06/09 | Katrina J. Zeno

[bdeaner]

Many Catholics just don’t know what to say when someone asks them whether they are saved.

As Catholics, we're vaguely familiar with "saved" language. We don't usually ask someone, "Are you saved?" and when someone asks us this question, we often stutter and fumble for an answer. So how should we answer: "Are you saved?" Constantly. We are constantly being saved by the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why? Because salvation is dynamic, ongoing. It's a past, present, and future reality. Let me explain.

Salvation is a past reality: We have been saved by the death of Jesus Christ. While we were still sinners, Jesus' death canceled the bond that stood against us (Col. 2:14). In other words, the guilt of original sin has been wiped away. God pardoned our sins. But being pardoned isn't the same as being holy. Being pardoned gives us back our freedom to choose the road to holiness, to walk the narrow path. Right now, today, we are being saved. Grace is wooing us down the narrow path. We are becoming holy. Salvation is an ongoing event.

We can easily verify salvation as an ongoing event -- just look at the world around us. If salvation was a past event, then Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II would be a dime a dozen. Instead, they shine like stars in the darkness. The world is a cultural and spiritual battleground -- a collision between the culture of life and the culture of death. This, however, is nothing new. St. Paul described man's predicament in these terms: "What happens is that I do, not the good I will to do, but the evil I do not intend. But if I do what is against my will, it is not I who do it, but sin which dwells in me" (Rom 7:19-20).

Whether you're St. Paul, Pope John Paul II, or living in St. Paul, the reality is the same: We are being saved because grace has not yet fully transformed every area of our mind, emotions, desires, and will into the mind, emotions, desires, and will of Christ.

And when this transformation takes place, what will we be? The body of Christ. We will be one with Christ. Too often we think of salvation in terms of what we're saved from. It's absolutely critical to be saved from hell, damnation, and the stain of original sin, but what are we saved for? This is the ultimate question and the reason why salvation is a present and future reality. We are saved for union with Christ. Or, to put it in more poetic terms, we are saved so that the two may become one.

Wow, what a completely different view of salvation! Salvation is not only a legal event where the guilty prisoner is set free (hallelujah!), but a nuptial event -- the two becoming one. God and man becoming one.

God and I becoming one.

If this is true -- if salvation means the two becoming one -- then our view of what "saves" us needs to back up. Scripture is quite clear that we are saved by the cross of Christ, but what makes the cross possible? It is the Incarnation, God and man becoming one in the person of Jesus Christ. The Incarnation is the supreme nuptial event of salvation history and, therefore, it reveals what we are saved for -- the two becoming one.

Salvation is not only a legal event where the guilty prisoner is set free (hallelujah!), but a nuptial event -- the two becoming one. God and man becoming one.

This nuptial re-union of each person and God is only one dimension of salvation. The two becoming one also extends to the body and the spirit, to each person and his neighbor, to nation and nation. Salvation is a multi-layered affair because sin was a multi-layered affair. Original sin not only ruptured man's relationship with God (being cast out of the Garden), but it also ruptured Adam and Eve's relationship with each other and creation, and their inner harmony of body and spirit (i.e., St. Paul's lament).

Nuptial salvation, then, cannot simply mean being saved from God's wrath or punishment. Nuptial salvation is the freedom to become successively and ever more profoundly one with the Trinity. It is the re-marriage of body and soul in love and harmony. It is the wedding of social and economic systems with Christ so as to restore human dignity and create "one new man from us who had been two" (Eph 2:15).

Finally, salvation is a future event. After the veil of this life is ripped in two, we shall be fully liberated to become one, but not all at once. In God's mysterious and progressive plan, our nuptial salvation is completed only with the resurrection of the body. It is then that body and soul will return to perfect unity, and in this perfect unity, we will enter into perfect unity with the Trinity. The two will truly and definitively become one -- body and soul, God and man, man and neighbor.

Then, when we confront that old question: "Are you saved?" we can answer "Finally!"

THE AUTHOR

Katrina J. Zeno is the coordinator of the John Paul II Resource Center for Theology of the Body and Culture for the Diocese of Phoenix, AZ, and the co-foundress of Women of the Third Millennium, an organization that promotes the dignity and vocation of women and men through one-day retreats, articles, and talks. Katrina co-hosted a 13-part series on EWTN on Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body" and she is the author of Every Woman's Journey: Answering "Who Am I?" For the Feminine Heart; The Body Reveals God: A Guided Study of Theology of the Body; and When Life Doesn't Go Your Way: Hope for Catholic Women Facing Pain and Disappointment. As an international speaker, Katrina has spoken across the US, and in Switzerland, Austria, England, Canada, Guatemala, and Trinidad, and over 50 of her articles have appeared in national Catholic newspapers and magazines. Born and raised in San Diego, California, Katrina earned her BA in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio where she lived for 23 years until moving to Phoenix in September 2005. Katrina is also a swing dance instructor, an Argentine tango enthusiast, and the blest mother of a young-adult son Michael. For more information about Katrina Zeno, please see her web site www.wttm.org.

[CyberAnt]

I have been “saved” for over 20 years now .. and it’s not a “constant” thing. Jesus died ONCE, FOR ALL. Jesus is not constantly dying. So .. Salvation has already been paid for .. the key is .. people just have to receive it.

[Salvation]

You called?

[Salvation]

What does the Catholic Church mean by the phrase, "Outside the Church there is no salvation"
Christian, I Presume? (Salvation) [Ecumenical]
Rock Solid: The Salvation History of the Catholic Church [Ecumenical]
Who Can Be Saved?
Grace, Faith, and Works

Getting in Touch With Reality (good character and behavior as a ticket to Heaven)
My Personal Savior
The Early Church Fathers on Salvation Outside the Church [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Extra ecclesiam - Outside the Church there is no salvation.
Is Faith Necessary for Salvation? (Part 2)

Good Will Equals Salvation? (Did the pope say non christians could be saved - part 1)
The Experience of the Salvation of Christ Today
Nonbelievers Too Can Be Saved, Says Pope
Worthy Is the Lamb?
Limbo and the Hope of Salvation

[Prokopton]

Many Catholics just don’t know what to say when someone asks them whether they are saved.

This Catholic knows what to say, "ask me again a few minutes after I die".

Jesus gave us a road to salvation, we have to walk it.

[bdeaner]

I have been “saved” for over 20 years now .. and it’s not a “constant” thing. Jesus died ONCE, FOR ALL. Jesus is not constantly dying. So .. Salvation has already been paid for .. the key is .. people just have to receive it.

Jesus died to give us the opportunity to be saved. But we still have to do some work to get sanctified, so that we can be in the presence of our Holy Holy Holy Lord.

Salvation is a lifelong process and not a one-time event.

Philippians 2:12-13, 3:10-14 12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose....

10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

So, yes, we are saved -- were saved, are being saved, and will be saved -- but it is a process of santification in which we "continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling."

God bless.

[bdeaner]

lol

[bdeaner]

Here is another link to add to the list:

No Salvation Outside of the Church

We still have a very lively conversation going on over there. At the moment, we are debating sola Scriptura and sola Fide, among other related issues, such as Purgatory and the primacy of Peter.

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[theoldmarine]

why is there a constant stream of catholic propoganda on this page???? Seems every day someone feels it is their duty to provided unsolicited explanations and defenses of catholocism. I don’t see any other group doing this. I am a pastor and a missionary (and a former catholic). I wouldn’t use this page to proselytize or make theological arguments. I come here for news and I am offended by what I see as mis-use of Free Republic. If I have misunderstood the purpose of this forum please let me know.

[Secret Agent Man]

Justifitcation is instantaneous. You receive Christ as personal Savior. You believe He died for you and you ask Him to save you based on His promise that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.

Sanctification is the process that goes on from the point we are justified to when we die. THIS is the ongoing process of becoming more mature Christians with God’s help.

Glorification is instantaneous, the moment after we die. God finishes the good work He began in us, and we are made perfect.

[Desdemona]

You probably are looking at "Everything" and not "News". YOu can choose that in the upper right hand corner above the sidebars.

All the religious stuff is posted on the religion forum. Everyone is free to post, so long as there are no personal attacks - and that includes us Catholics who are tired of turning the other cheek and being attacked by those who are ill-informed and for some reason have an ax to grind against Catholicism, the most maligned and least understood institution on earth. Those who are not interested do not have to read it, but there are plenty of us who live by the tenets of the Faith and by the rules of the forum we are allowed this space to discuss the issues and defend our beliefs, just as the sects of protestantism are.

[Cvengr]

"But we still have to do some work to get sanctified, so that we can be in the presence of our Holy Holy Holy Lord. "

Without realizing it, this position nicely states the heresy of works' salvation. We are not saved by our works, lest any man should boast.

Rewards in heaven shall be given in accordance with our works performed through faith in Him, but salvation is from God alone, by His grace. He provides.

In all fairness, the language used by some Catholics and some Protestants is not always referencing the same original meaning. Protestants recognize there is a split second point of time, from which a man may be regenerated in his human spirit, upon simple faith alone in Christ alone. This is not to diminish the role of culture or tradition or other religious aspects of the Church, but rather emphasizes the glory of the sole work of God in our salvation.

The Cross was the moment of Judgment of all mankinds' sins, past, present, and future, all imputed, charged to the account of our Lord Christ Jesus.

When God the Father judged all sin in Him, His perfect justice had been propitiated and satisfied by His perfect righteousness.

This did not immediately result in forgiveness of sin in each sinner, but it did redeem all sin from the Divine perspective.

This frees the volition of God (His Sovereignty) to be able to freely give eternal life to the sinner on the basis of what He finds righteous as a free gift of grace.

Once a sinner has a smigeon more faith than no faith whatsoever in our Lord Jesus Christ, God is free to positionally sanctify the sinner as a believer.

Positional sanctification is a judicial term known by every lawyer. It doesn't matter if a client is guilty or not, if the court finds you positionally sanctified, in the eyes of the law one is not guilty. This is the state of the sinner in faith in Christ.

That provides salvation from eternal damnation.

Once saved, God the Holy Spirit indwells the believer and gives the believer a regenerated human spirit, which provides the temple for the indwelling of Christ in us.

Sanctification, or a setting apartness, is a continuing process, a continuing work of God the Holy Spirit, which only advances as we remain in fellowship with Him.

[jboot]

why is there a constant stream of catholic propoganda on this page????

Because that is the way the mods wanted it, apparently. There used to be several lively Protestent groups here: Reformed/Calvinists, Wesleyan/Arminian, Charismatics-we even had a good number of Lutherans and Episcopals. In those days there was no "caucus system" and an article like the one we are posting to whould have had many well-thought-out and scripturally supported Protestant responses. The truth is, we had a lot of spirited discussions and we didn't always agree with each other or with our Catholic friends. We could be a little...loud...at times, but what Religion forum isn't? It was fun and I learned a huge amount. Along the way, I even began to understand (if not agree) with the Catholics and the Orthodox.

But next thing you know the banning started. Somehow or another, it was the Protestants who got banned most often. Before you could say "co-Redemptrix!" all the Calvinists were gone. Then the Charismatics got the boot. Then the Caucus system started and the majority of threads became "no-go" zones. I could go on and on, but there isn't really any point. About all you will find on this forum these days are posts from Catholics and Latter-Day Saints. The rest of us keep our heads down and don't post here much.

[vladimir998]

You wrote:

“If I have misunderstood the purpose of this forum please let me know.”

I’m letting you know. This is a religion forum. It is about religion. It does not have to be used for recent news items only. It can be used to explain the beliefs of religious groups. Apparently it can also be used to post hundreds (seemingly) of articles about John Calvin’s birthday. Have you posted in those threads to complain about that usage as well? Have you posted the same sort of thing in every pro-Mormon thread as well?

[csmusaret]

John 3:16

[Mr Rogers]

Hebrews 10:13-14 "Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."

Romans 8:22-23 "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."

Three parts, as you said. He HAS MADE perfect forever. We are "being made holy" - and this not of ourselves, but God. And we await redemption of our bodies.

[suzyjaruki]

The rest of us keep our heads down and don't post here much.

We are the Sarah Palins of the forum. When we open our mouth, we are ridiculed by the "main stream."

[bdeaner]

I have cc'ed this post to the Religion Moderator who can help to answer any questions you might have about the appropriateness of Catholic posts on FR.

why is there a constant stream of catholic propoganda on this page????

First of all, it's offensive to call Catholic apologetics propaganda. This is a Religion Forum, and if you read the tags you will see that Apologetics is one of the FR tags. If you saw a Calvinist post, would you call it propaganda? Somehow I doubt it.

Seems every day someone feels it is their duty to provided unsolicited explanations and defenses of catholocism. I don’t see any other group doing this.

There are a lot of Free Republic Catholics who share similar values who post regularly on FR. We also have a lot of ecumenical dialogue with Protestants, which is often very friendly--and at other times we get hostile responses. Your post seems to be in the latter category. We have every right to post discussion of Christian topics from a Catholic perspective. Unless it is a Catholic Caucas thread, anyone is welcome to respond.

I am a pastor and a missionary (and a former catholic). I wouldn’t use this page to proselytize or make theological arguments.

I don't view the Catholic threads as proselytizing. They are clearly marked "Catholic" in the tags. They are a place to discuss Catholic issues that are important to Catholics. But everyone is welcome to read or post, whatever their opinions might be.

I come here for news and I am offended by what I see as mis-use of Free Republic.

It is not a mis-use of FR. The Religion Forum has room for a wide variety of Religious discussion of all types. You can be offended if you want, but that's your choice. Catholics have every right to post on this forum, and so does anybody of any other faith. You do not have to read it if you don't want to.

Why is it getting under your skin? I don't know--I can't read your mind, but... If you are having a strong emotional reaction to seeing Catholic materials, especially as an ex-Catholic, that might say more about you than it does about the Catholics posting on FR. In my personal experience, strong emotional reactions to the opinions of other people were usually an indication of having unresolved issues in my own mind about the topic under discussion--and especially unresolved issues I was unwilling or unable to acknowledge in myself until later. Who knows what is happening in your case, but take that as you will. You are welcome to join the discussion, or you can just avoid the Catholic threads. That's a very easy thing to do. Just don't click on them.

God bless.

[jboot]

We are the Sarah Palins of the forum. When we open our mouth, we are ridiculed by the "main stream."

By Jove, I believe you are on to something there!

BTW, did you see just how fast the mod got pinged? I swear, this place is like Kindergarten anymore.