Why I have more assurance of my salvation now as a Catholic
Posted by Paul Ackermann on Sunday, May 10, 2009
This may surprise some of you. After all, one of the hallmarks of Protestantism is that one can be absolutely sure of one’s salvation. And the Catholic Church teaches that one cannot be absolutely assured of one’s salvation. So how can I be more assured of my salvation now as a Catholic then when a Protestant? Let me explain.
There are two kinds of truth – objective truth and subjective truth. Objective truth is true for all. Subjective truth is true for me. Objective truth is that Christ died for our sins. Subjective truth is that Christ died for my sins. Objective truth is that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. Subjective truth is that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior and Lord. Objective truth is that there is a heaven. Subjective truth is that I am going to heaven.
Objective truth is the foundation of our subjective truth. If Christ did not rise from the dead (objective truth) then I am still dead in my sins (subjective truth). Christ had to be the Savior of the world before I could have Him as my personal Savior. Subjective truth is my personal application of objective truth.
When I was a Protestant, my certainty in the subjective truth of Christianity was sky-high. I had absolute certainty that I was saved. BUT deep down, my certainty in objective truth was not as high. After all, there were so many conflicting beliefs with Protestantism to choose from. Some said that I was saved by asking Christ in as Savior only. Some said it was asking Christ as Savior and Lord. Some said that once you are saved, you were saved no matter how you live afterwards. Some said you were only saved if you bore the fruit of your salvation.
And then there were different interpretations of who Christ was and what He came to do. Jehovah Witnesses said He was just a man. Mormons says that He was just a man who became a god, just as we eventually will become a god.
So what I realized is that IF Christianity is true, and Jesus Christ was the Savior of the world, then I was absolutely certain of my salvation. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being absolute certainty, I would give myself a 7 on Christianity being true and Christ was Savior of the world (objective truth), and a 10 on the certainty of my salvation (subjective truth). But if the objective part was not true, then no matter how sure I was of the subjective part, the subject part was not true.
When I became a Catholic, my certainty of my personal salvation went down a little, but not that much. The certainty of my personal salvation has gone from a 10 to a 9. I could commit a mortal sin tomorrow and then die without reconciliation, I will go to hell. But as long as I do not deliberately and knowingly commit a mortal sin which is not confessed, I am just as assured as when I was a Protestant. So my certainty has gone a little, but not much.
But what I have lost in the certainty of my personal salvation, I have gained so much more in the certainty that Christianity is objectively true. Catholicism has so much more to offer in term of increasing your faith that Christianity is true. All Protestantism has to offer is fulfilled prophesies from the Old testament by Jesus and evidences for His resurrection. These are very good, and Catholics use these arguments as well. But skeptics argue that these events happened 2,000 years ago. How can we know for certain what happened back then? But Catholicism does not just point to the miraculous events back then. It can point to miracles that have happened throughout history since then – some have happened within our generation! To a Catholic, God is still doing miracles, and these miracles can be tested and verified! And many who have investigated these miracles have come into the Catholic Church!
But how do we know that not some other church or cult has the right interpretation of Jesus? All we have to do is look at the evidence for the Catholic Church being the Church found by Christ upon Peter. If this is true, then all the other interpretations of Christ fall like a deck of cards. I do not even have to know the details of Mormonism, or Jehovah Witnesses, or the Branch Davidians, to know that these are false religions. Once I realize that the Catholic Church is the only infallible teacher of whom Jesus was, I can know that these other religions are wrong. I do not need to know anything other than this - that they disagree with the Catholic Church. Since they disagree with a Catholic Church, I know they are wrong - end of story. As a Protestant, I had to find a flaw in their argument. And it is possible that a belief system is inwardly consistent given their presuppositions. So then what?
But as a Catholic, any cult or any false religion must first prove to me that the Catholic Church is not the pillar and foundation of truth established by God. They must first explain away the Eucharistic miracles and the appearances of Mary these last 500 years. They must explain the miracles of saints, such as the stigmata of St Padre Pio or the healings of Ven. Solanus Casey, or how the bodies of the dead saints can be exhumed and to be found incorruptible. They must explain how the Catholic Church was even able to survive for these last 2,000 years, which is longer than any other government or organization – fulfilling Christ’s prophesy that the gates of death and hell will not prevail against it.
I do not have the time right now to bring the evidence for these Catholic miracles and the evidence of the Catholic Church being the only infallible interpreter. Hopefully I will do so in a later time. The point in this article is that these things have increased my certainty in the objective truth of Christianity so much more than what I lost in the certainty of the subjective certainty of my salvation. Whereas my faith in the objective part was a 7 as Protestant, it is now a 9.5 or maybe a 10! I feel so confident in the objective truth of Christianity now, that for the first time I feel invulnerable to any belief system that would challenge my faith. I feel I can talk to anyone – a Protestant, a Mormon, a Jehovah Witness, a Buddhist, an atheist, without feeling threatened that they could crush my faith. This is an exhilarating feeling!
As the Apostle Paul, I am careful to make sure that I, after I preach to others, I do not find myself disqualified. But also like St Paul, I know whom I believed. I may not have absolute assurance that I will not disqualified, but I have total confidence that Jesus Christ is whom the Church says He is – the Savior and Lord of all!
There are two kinds of truth – objective truth and subjective truth. Objective truth is true for all. Subjective truth is true for me. Objective truth is that Christ died for our sins. Subjective truth is that Christ died for my sins. Objective truth is that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. Subjective truth is that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior and Lord. Objective truth is that there is a heaven. Subjective truth is that I am going to heaven.
Objective truth is the foundation of our subjective truth. If Christ did not rise from the dead (objective truth) then I am still dead in my sins (subjective truth). Christ had to be the Savior of the world before I could have Him as my personal Savior. Subjective truth is my personal application of objective truth.
When I was a Protestant, my certainty in the subjective truth of Christianity was sky-high. I had absolute certainty that I was saved. BUT deep down, my certainty in objective truth was not as high. After all, there were so many conflicting beliefs with Protestantism to choose from. Some said that I was saved by asking Christ in as Savior only. Some said it was asking Christ as Savior and Lord. Some said that once you are saved, you were saved no matter how you live afterwards. Some said you were only saved if you bore the fruit of your salvation.
And then there were different interpretations of who Christ was and what He came to do. Jehovah Witnesses said He was just a man. Mormons says that He was just a man who became a god, just as we eventually will become a god.
So what I realized is that IF Christianity is true, and Jesus Christ was the Savior of the world, then I was absolutely certain of my salvation. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being absolute certainty, I would give myself a 7 on Christianity being true and Christ was Savior of the world (objective truth), and a 10 on the certainty of my salvation (subjective truth). But if the objective part was not true, then no matter how sure I was of the subjective part, the subject part was not true.
When I became a Catholic, my certainty of my personal salvation went down a little, but not that much. The certainty of my personal salvation has gone from a 10 to a 9. I could commit a mortal sin tomorrow and then die without reconciliation, I will go to hell. But as long as I do not deliberately and knowingly commit a mortal sin which is not confessed, I am just as assured as when I was a Protestant. So my certainty has gone a little, but not much.
But what I have lost in the certainty of my personal salvation, I have gained so much more in the certainty that Christianity is objectively true. Catholicism has so much more to offer in term of increasing your faith that Christianity is true. All Protestantism has to offer is fulfilled prophesies from the Old testament by Jesus and evidences for His resurrection. These are very good, and Catholics use these arguments as well. But skeptics argue that these events happened 2,000 years ago. How can we know for certain what happened back then? But Catholicism does not just point to the miraculous events back then. It can point to miracles that have happened throughout history since then – some have happened within our generation! To a Catholic, God is still doing miracles, and these miracles can be tested and verified! And many who have investigated these miracles have come into the Catholic Church!
But how do we know that not some other church or cult has the right interpretation of Jesus? All we have to do is look at the evidence for the Catholic Church being the Church found by Christ upon Peter. If this is true, then all the other interpretations of Christ fall like a deck of cards. I do not even have to know the details of Mormonism, or Jehovah Witnesses, or the Branch Davidians, to know that these are false religions. Once I realize that the Catholic Church is the only infallible teacher of whom Jesus was, I can know that these other religions are wrong. I do not need to know anything other than this - that they disagree with the Catholic Church. Since they disagree with a Catholic Church, I know they are wrong - end of story. As a Protestant, I had to find a flaw in their argument. And it is possible that a belief system is inwardly consistent given their presuppositions. So then what?
But as a Catholic, any cult or any false religion must first prove to me that the Catholic Church is not the pillar and foundation of truth established by God. They must first explain away the Eucharistic miracles and the appearances of Mary these last 500 years. They must explain the miracles of saints, such as the stigmata of St Padre Pio or the healings of Ven. Solanus Casey, or how the bodies of the dead saints can be exhumed and to be found incorruptible. They must explain how the Catholic Church was even able to survive for these last 2,000 years, which is longer than any other government or organization – fulfilling Christ’s prophesy that the gates of death and hell will not prevail against it.
I do not have the time right now to bring the evidence for these Catholic miracles and the evidence of the Catholic Church being the only infallible interpreter. Hopefully I will do so in a later time. The point in this article is that these things have increased my certainty in the objective truth of Christianity so much more than what I lost in the certainty of the subjective certainty of my salvation. Whereas my faith in the objective part was a 7 as Protestant, it is now a 9.5 or maybe a 10! I feel so confident in the objective truth of Christianity now, that for the first time I feel invulnerable to any belief system that would challenge my faith. I feel I can talk to anyone – a Protestant, a Mormon, a Jehovah Witness, a Buddhist, an atheist, without feeling threatened that they could crush my faith. This is an exhilarating feeling!
As the Apostle Paul, I am careful to make sure that I, after I preach to others, I do not find myself disqualified. But also like St Paul, I know whom I believed. I may not have absolute assurance that I will not disqualified, but I have total confidence that Jesus Christ is whom the Church says He is – the Savior and Lord of all!