“Those who insist that there are saved Roman Catholics either do not know the Bible or do not know Roman Catholicism,” is Mr. H. Gregory Adams’ concluding statement in his pamphlet: “Are Some Roman Catholics Saved?”

He makes this statement only after telling the following lie about the Roman Catholic Church, “Though the cross and the death of Christ are emphasized, the saving truths of Redemption are not taught. Or they are so mixed with Mary, penance, purgatory, ritual, mass, and with idol and saint worship, that faith unto salvation is completely obscure.”

In this last of three discussions on Mr. Adams’ inaccurate and antagonizing pamphlet, I will clarify Roman Catholic teaching.

From the beginning of Christianity, the saving truth of “Christ’s redemption for all mankind” has been taught by the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 571) hears the message of Heb 9:22-28, and states, “God’s saving plan was accomplished ‘once for all’ by the redemptive death of His Son Jesus Christ.” Man’s eternal salvation was won “once for all” because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died on the cross for us sinners.

Unlike Mr. Adams and many of our separated brethren, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and some mainline Protestant denominations declare that while Jesus made eternal salvation possible for everyone, He did not guarantee it to anyone. In Lk 9:23-24 and Lk 14:26-27, Jesus tells us that unless each person takes up his cross and follow Him, he cannot be His disciple. Saint Paul says in 1 Cor 9:27, “I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” Disqualified from what? Eternal salvation! Paul says in Phil 2:12b, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” If faithful Saint Paul was uncertain of his eternal salvation, can anyone, with absolute certitude, know they are saved before they die? No! Yet, Mr. Adams makes the statement, “Either one knows he is saved, or does not. One does not get gradually saved.” Mr. Adams needs to understand what the Church has taught from the beginning: salvation (justification) is an ongoing process. Jesus tells us in Mt 24:14 that those who persevere to the end will be saved. If you have to persevere to the end to be saved, how can anyone ever feel with certainty that they are saved? They can’t! Other Bible passages also stress the requirement to remain faithful to the end. These passages include: Rom 11:22, 1 Cor 10:11-12, 2 Tim 2:11-12, and Heb 10:26-27.

Mr. Adams’ idea that one can know he is saved negates the need for the virtue of hope. Yet, the Bible talks about hope. Heb 10:23 says, “Let us hold unwavering to our confession that gives us hope, for He who made the promise is trustworthy.” CCC defines hope as the theological virtue by which we desire and expect from God both eternal life and the grace we need to attain it. If man can know with certainty that he is saved, why does the Bible talk about hope? You know the answer: no one is guaranteed salvation. We place our faith and hope in Jesus Christ who desires that all God’s children be saved. 1 Thes 5:8-11 says, “But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation. For God did not destine us for wrath, but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with Him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do.”

Mr. Adams is correct when he says that Roman Catholics pray to Mary and the saints. He quotes 1 Tim 2:5 (“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”) to justify his belief that praying to anyone else but God is sinful. Christians have been praying to Mary and the saints from the beginning. The saints in heaven are not dead; they are more alive in the presence of Christ than we are on earth. When one is baptized, he becomes a member of the Body of Christ. Heaven does not end one’s membership in the Body. Catholics do not have to pray to Mary or the saints; they can pray directly to God. When we pray to Mary or the saints, we are not worshipping them; for worship is reserved for God alone. When we pray we make a request in a humble manner to those who are with Jesus.

Mr. Adams also wants Roman Catholics to reject the idea of purgatory, the need for penance, the confession of one’s sins to a priest, and the belief that the Mass is a sacrifice. We as Roman Catholics will not reject any of these teachings just because Mr. Adams and many ill-informed followers are unwilling to thoroughly research and study, with an open mind, Church teaching and its history.

“The Roman Catholics are as lost as the poor African or Hindu…We urge you to pray for the Roman Catholics and to witness to them as never before. They are lost and need a living Savior, not one dead on the cross,” says Mr. Adams near the end of his pamphlet.

I can only shake my head in disbelief. His statements not only condemn the Church founded by Jesus Christ, but they condemn a race of people and one of the world’s largest religions. The church Mr. Adams seeks to destroy does not condemn any race of people or religion. In its wisdom, the Roman Catholic Church leaves the decision on who goes to heaven and who goes to hell where it belongs: with Jesus Christ.

For more insight read CCC paragraphs 571-573, 601-609, 612-618, 622, 1817-1821. Also, pull out your “Catholic” Bible and reference Is 53:7-8; Mt 19:16-17; 20:28; 24:11-13; Lk 9:23-24; 14:26-27; Acts 8:32-35; Rom 4:18-19; 11:21-22; 1 Cor 9:25-27; 10:12; 15:3; Phil 2:12-13; 2 Tim 2:11-12; Heb 9:22-28; 10:23-24, 26-27.