I’m not sure if I am up to a tag team match on this subject for two reasons. First it is not a subject that I am schooled in and secondly regrettably I don’t have the time to devote to it.
I looked up redemption in a Bible Dictionary: Basically it deals with the atoning work of Christ, ie: His death on the cross. It was the price paid to redeem us. Redemption implies antecedent bondage, our bondage to sin, the dominion of Satin over evil to which man fell victim, and spiritual death which is the penalty for sin.
Christ is our Redeemer, by his blood shed on the cross he paid the penalty for sin, by our faith in Him as our redeemer, not by anything we do or done for us by others, but by our faith in Christ. His death is sufficient to pay for all the sins of the world. Our good deeds evidence our faith, but are not part of the redemptive process.
Salvation is a term that refers to several forms of deliverance, from the temporal and from the spiritual. Primarily the salvation offered by God through Christ’s death is a gift and if we accept this gift we are saved from the penalty of our sins and have everlasting life. There is no notion in Christian fundamentalist theology of working one’s way into heaven, a concept that I have heard applied to Catholic theology, although Catholics do not universally see salvation in those terms.
Any further discussion on this subject would in my opinion be counterproductive. Allow me to leave you with this blessing.
God loves you. I respect your belief and that you follow the dictates of your conscience. I respect that you are a Catholic. Just to clarify any misconception that you might harbor about me, I consider Catholics as my brothers and sisters in Christ. I am not in the least bit interested in converting anyone to my beliefs. I rejoice that you are a Christian and desire to do the will of God.
It’s all good. God bless you, your family, and your friends, and may you have everlasting life and enjoy the fruits of your faith.
Well, that's a very gracious answer, dear; and I haven't a whole lot of time for volleying back and forth here, either. Though I must say that your good questions, and the answers they may elicit, will probably prove valuable to me and to others as well. So for this I thank you.
May Our Lord Jesus Christ bless you and your loved ones, and draw all of us-- all! --- closer to His heart.