[Aquinasfan]

God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.

True.

[Hound of the Baskervilles]

And there is another thing that I think ties Protestants in knots. They interpret the word "saved" as always meaning you will go to heaven and not hell.

Theologian Father William Most says that there are three contexts in the bible when it uses the word "saved>"

1. Saved from eternal damnation.
2. Saved as in becoming a member of the church.
As in, "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that he died for your sins, then you can be saved." That is, then you can join the community of believers. Not the same as a promise of a one way non-stop ticket to paradise. He's just saying you fill the requirements to join the church.
3. Saved from earthly peril. As in "Lord save us for we are perishing.