Answers from a Catholic #1: Salvation
April 28, 2008
Does the Roman Catholic Church teaches that faith alone in Christ is all that is necessary for salvation?
Does the Roman Catholic Church not teach that according to Roman Catholicism, man cannot be saved by faith alone in Christ alone?
Do they not teach that a Christian must rely on faith plus “meritorious works” in order to be saved?
Is it essential to the Roman Catholic doctrine of salvation that one participate in the Seven Sacraments, which are: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance [also called Reconciliation], Annointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony?
These will be the first four questions answered in what I hope will become an ongoing series. In truth, I’d prefer to answer only the first three at this time, but there’s a problem with that. Catholic doctrine is not a series of atomic statements, but rather a unified body of teachings that build off of, play into, and complement and enhance each other. In other words, and more plainly put, it would be impossible to discuss what the Church teaches about salvation without discussing, at least in brief, the various Sacraments of the Church.
But before we begin, let’s look at the short answers to each of the above questions:
- If you mean: do Catholics acknowledge sola fides as it is commonly articulated? No.
- If you mean: do Catholics reject sola fide as it is commonly articulated? Yes.
- No. A more appropriate term would simply be “merit.”
- No, not all of those seven.
Now, let’s unpack those answers a little bit, shall we?
