On a Catholic Questions and Answers Blog, The Question was asked: “What does it mean to be “saved?” Catholic vs Protestant?
I am not sure what the Catholic definition or, since there are so many Protestant groups, what would be the "Protestant" definition, but I would like to comment on what I am basing my "salvation" on.
Jesus says that we must all be taught of God and that those who receive God's teaching will come to Him. John 6:45, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." Teaching of God is a process that we each must endure. When God teaches we are a sinner, we must accept we are a sinner or we cannot be "saved," and we have then stopped or dropped out of God's teaching. Faith comes by hearing God's Word and accepting it, Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," but that is only if we accept and receive what we hear into our hearts to faith. Hebrews 4:2 states, "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
If we do accept that we are a sinner, then God will teach us that Jesus is the answer for our sins, and again we are faced with a choice, do we accept that Jesus is our answer or do we reject because we don't want to become "one of those Jesus freaks?" We have accepted that we are a sinner but if we reject Jesus is our answer, then we cannot be saved. Jesus says in John 8:24, "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."
If we accept God's teaching that we are sinners and that Jesus is our answer, then He will teach us that we must humble our sinful hearts and ask forgiveness of our sin and invite Jesus to send His Spirit into our hearts. Knowing that is not salvation, WE MUST DO IT! When we pray, ask forgiveness, invite the Spirit of Christ into our hearts, the instant He comes in we are changed to a "Child" or Son of God. Our acceptance by faith that we are a sinner was a MUST step of faith, our acceptance that Jesus was the answer for our sins was a MUST step of faith, our acceptance and humbling our hearts, confessing and asking forgiveness of our sins WAS A MUST step of faith, God's reply by sending the Spirit of Christ into our hearts provides the Spirit of Grace to perform the cleansing and changing of our hearts and making us a child of God. Romans 8:9, "...now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." The instant the Spirit of Christ enters our hearts we become a child of God. Galatians 4:6-7 also states when we become a child of God, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (7) Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." The elements of faith as God taught us, led us to invite and receive the Spirit of Christ into our hearts. When the Spirit of Christ enters our heart, that is when we are forgiven of our sins, (saved from our sins), receive the changed heart, and become a child of God, a new creature as 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." God explained what He was going to do for us through the Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36:26-27, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh, (27) And I will put my Spirit within you…" and this Scripture is one of the best descriptions of the work of Grace in our hearts at salvation.
Our eternal life begins the instant God puts His Spirit in us, for we will always have His Spirit and will just someday shed this old physical body and live with Him in the Spirit.
Richard Hardin www.rahardin.com
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