Are You Saved?

Catholicism and Evangelicalism1-11-15

FLAME Teen Handout

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Salvation Born Again Jesus is my personal savior

Catholicism Evangelicalism Conversion

† Have you ever been asked by someone if you have accepted Jesus as your personal savior? How did you respond?

† How do you know if someone has accepted Jesus at their savior? (Beyond just asking them!)

† Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior? How has that changed you?

† What are examples of things which would indicate that someone has not accepted Christ as their savior?

† If you have accepted Jesus as your savior, then can you still commit sins? If you do, is there a point where he is no longer your savior? How do you know if you have reached that point?

Take a few minutes to writedown what heaven is to youand how one gets there. Is

getting into heavenimportant to you? Why or

why not? Do all people go toheaven? Why or why not?

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Are you saved? Isn’t the question really: What is salvation? Can you lose it? Is it something only in the past,is it something you can only grasp in the present, or is it a future event? Can anyone know for sure they are saved?

I am a saved, I am being saved and I will be saved by the grace of God…

In scripture, salvation is reflected in past tense, present tense and future tense with salvation always referred to as something that is a hope, trusting it will happen, but it has not happened yet.

Only God knows the state of our soul

ARE YOU SAVED? Catholic vs. Evangelical beliefsCatholics and Evangelicals have more commonalities in their faith than differences. Both branches of Christianity believe in all the basics of faith about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. However, most Evangelicals believe that the Bible is more literal than Catholics believe. Catholics believe that scripture can be interpreted by biblical scholarsand the traditions handed down over time are important in faith as well as the scripture. The traditions have been guided by the Holy Spirit over the past 2000 years which in effect is Jesus guiding the church.

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Read the following Bible passages:

Genesis 6:19

John 6:27

Matthew 5:29

Which do you take more literally? Which is more symbolic? Why? Discuss these examples.

Are there other quotes or bible stories you take literally or understand to be more symbolic?

Do you agree with how Catholics interpret the Bible?

How do you view the Bible?

Jesus explained his ministry in figurative language rather than in plain words (John 16:25). His parables, for example, often puzzled people. Even his disciples had to ask him to explain what he meant(Mark 4:10, 13). Many of his teachings are still the subject of debate. http://www.gci.org/bible/literal

The word catholic means whole, entire, universal. We Catholics are part of a family community which extends throughout the whole world, teaches the entire message of Jesus and offers the entire range of gifts that Jesus intended for his followers. We are a community that somehow embraces the universal history of humankind.

Thinking “Catholic” means being aware of these dimensions of the meaning particularly in our relationship with God. But thinking Catholic also involves a particularly “catholic” way of looking at the world in general. It is an inclination to see things not as isolated phenomena in the vast complex of creation and human history, but as a single, organized plan. It is an inclination to see the parts in relation to the whole picture. There is an all-embracing perspective in thinking Catholic. St. Thomas Aquinas articulated this so well in his Five Proofsof the Existence of God.

When those who think Catholic look at creation and its source and purpose in this way, it is not some sort of abstract philosophical exercise. It is the expression of a mindset that seeks to grasp the fullness and the coherence of creation and redemption in order to acknowledge and praise the goodness and wisdom of the Lord. In the final analysis, the Catholic worldview is an exercise in appreciation.http://www.catholiccincinnati.org/47251/the-whole-picture/

‘The Catholic Church is theSame, No Matter Where You

Go, No Matter Even WhatCountry You’re In’

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Do Catholics worshipMary and the Saints?Please explain why or

why not?

How well do you know your faith?Non-Catholics are usually very good at “defending” their faith while Catholics have traditionally been poor atanswering questions that challenge their faith. The following are questions a non-Catholic might ask. Discuss the answers to the following questions as a class. Catechists can write down any and all responses. When you are finished divide into small groups and assign each group one of the questions. Have the group read and discuss the answers from “Understanding and Sharing the Catholic Faith”, by Jim Papandrea, M.Div.,Ph.D , former director of Adult Faith Formation at Holy Family. Have each small group come back and present their answers to the large group.

Have you acceptedJesus Christ as your(personal) Savior?

Please explain why orwhy not?

Isn’t the Bible all youneed for faith andsalvation? Why do

Catholics have Traditiontoo?

Are Catholics bornagain?

Please explain why orwhy not?

Are Catholics Born Again?

The phrase “born again” comes from two passages in the New Testament. The original Greek can also be translated, “born from above,” but the meaning is basically the same. It means a spiritual rebirth, or awakening. It’s a clean start, much like our phrase, “turning over a new leaf.” In John 3:115, to be born again means to accept belief in Jesusas the messianic Son of Man, and by doing so enter into a new life in relationship with God. In Peter 1:3, 23, God causes rebirth in the believer on the basis of the death and resurrection of Christ, which results in the hope of eternal life. Most often, Jesus referred to this rebirth as “repentance,” which means a turning or changing one’s mind. The idea is that a person makes a conscious decision to turn to God. The apostle John called this receiving Christ (John 1:1113), and St. Paul simply called it faith (Romans 10:811). In the Catholic Church, we usually refer to the born again experience as a conversion. However, while many Protestants believe that conversion occurs only once, Catholics believe that conversion is an ongoing process, and one may experience many conversions throughout one’slifetime. Pope John Paul II wrote, “In this life, conversion is a goal which is never fully attained: on the path which the disciple is called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, conversion is a lifelong task… (Conversion) is not an end in itself but a journey towards God” (Ecclesia in America 2830). In this context John Paul II is using the word “conversion” the way many Protestants use the words “sanctification, or rededication” to describe the process of becoming holy. It is a process that is never completed in this life, but is only complete in eternity. Another important difference between Catholics and Protestants is that Protestants generally see conversion as something that is done by an individual, when that individual makes his or her first commitment to Christ, whereas Catholics see conversionas something that usually happens in community, and is connected to the Sacraments. We receive God’s grace through Baptism and First Eucharist – that’s when we receive God’s invitation. Then we respond to that invitation in Confirmation, and by continuing to participate in the Eucharist. This is when we say “yes” to God’s invitation. Conversion is therefore not a point in time, but a process with several (or even many) points along the way. Through the Sacraments and through the profession of our faith in the Creed, we are identifying with Christ as our Savior, andwe are born again.

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your (personal) Savior?

This question tends to rub many Catholics the wrong way, sometimes because it reminds us of a time when a non-Catholic tried to convert us away from the Church. Especially when the word “personal” is inserted, it sounds like the person is trying to make God his own. But the word “personal,” though it may sound funny there, is simply an acknowledgement that God is “personal,” or in other words, relational. God is not an impersonal force, but God is personal in the sense that God wants to have a relationship with us. The problem is that most Catholics recoil from the question, and don’t realize that the answer is yes.

To accept Christ as Savior means to identify with Christ and claim to be His follower (Matthew 10:32-33).

It also means accepting that His life, ministry, death and resurrection make our salvation possible. Many Protestants will assume that accepting Christ is a onetime decision (and they can even tell you the day they made that decision!).However, while we may not instinctively look at it this way, Catholics have accepted Christ in the Sacraments of initiation, and we continue to accept Christ every time we go to Mass. For the Catholic, every Eucharist is an altar call where the believer comes to the altar and accepts Christ in the Sacramental elements. Every

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time we cross ourselves with holy water, we remember the commitment made on our behalf at our baptism, and we reaffirm that commitment by identifying with Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection. And every time we say the Creed, we are again affirming our belief in Christ and our acceptance of Him as our Savior.

So if a Protestant asks you if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, say, “At least once aweek!”

Do Catholics worship Mary and the Saints?

To answer this question, we first have to define what is meant by worship. Worship in Scripture always means two things: service and submission. Worship as service includes liturgy. In the Old Testament, this meant the sacrifices of the temple. In theNew Testament church, it meant (and still means) singing songs of praise and adoration, and ordering liturgy around the Eucharist, the presence of Christ in the Mass. Of course, service also means ordering our lives around the presence of Christ in the world, and living according to the Reign of God.

Worship as submission means to recognize our place relative to God, to submit our wills to God’s will and to live by God’s commandments. Catholics do not worship Mary and the saints because they neither serve them (liturgically or otherwise) nor submit to them (we do not try to live by doing the will of the saints, but by God’s will). We do not give to the saints the devotion that is owed to God alone. On the other hand, Catholics do honor saints as great examples of the faith. This is the same honor that is due to our parents, as we respect them and follow their examples (Exodus 20:12 and Romans 13:7 show us that this kind of respect and honor shown to people is appropriate.) While we honor the saints, we recognize that they are still only human, and imperfect at that. In the New Testament, all Christians are called “saints,” which means “holy ones.” They (and we) are holy because Christ makes us holy, not because any of us are perfect. Still, those whom the Church designates as saints are generally recognized as good enough to be an example to follow. Mary has always received special honor in the Church because she is the Mother of the Lord, and she is also the first Christian – the first one to say, “Yes” to Jesus! (Luke 1:38). When a non-Catholic thinks that Catholics worship Mary and the saints, it is because of an assumption that the only way someone in heaven can hear our prayers is if that person has the divine attribute of omniscience. In other words, if we think the saints can hear our prayers, we must think they are divinely all-knowing. But that assumption is incorrect. Nowhere in the Bibledoes it say this, and nowhere in the Bible does it say that prayer equals worship. While prayer to God can be a part of liturgy, prayer itself simply means to ask someone for something. When we believe that saints can hear our prayers, it is not because wethink they are divine. The saints can hear our prayers because they are in the spiritual realm, and they are close to God (see I Corinthians 13:12, Hebrews 12:1). It is though the unity of the Holy Spirit that we are still connected to our brothers and sisters in Christ who have passed into eternal life (Ephesians 4:16).The truth is that one is never as alive as when one is in eternity with God. The book of Revelation includes a vision of the saints offering to God the prayers of the people (Revelation 5:8). Therefore, by praying to the saints we do not assume that they are divine, nor do we give them any inappropriate devotion. In fact, when we pray to the saints, all we’re doing is asking them to pray for us. We do not think that they can help us directly. Another assumption that non-Catholics make is that when we pray to the saints we expect them to help us, which would mean that we think they are omnipotent, another divine quality. But we are not asking for their intervention, only their intercession. We are simply asking the saints to pray for us, as we might ask our friends or relatives to pray for us. They can hear our prayers because they are with God, and they can pray for us directly to God. If the prayers of the living can help us (James 5:16) how much more can the prayers of those who are in heaven with God! In Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:1931),after the rich man died he prayed to Abraham, and Abraham heard his prayers! Even though Catholics may pray to the saints, we still make our prayers primarily to God in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only mediator between God and humanity (ITimothy 2:5), and the Church affirms that the saints are not mediators. It is true that sometimes Mary is referred to as a mediator, but only in the sense that she was the one who physically brought Jesus Christ into the world. In this way, she was a mediator of God’s plan of salvation, but in no way is she considered another savior with Jesus. Therefore, prayer to Mary and the saints is not worship, and so it does not break the commandment against idolatry (Exodus 20:15).

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The commandment forbids anything taking God’s place in our lives. Created things must not replace the Creator as the center of our lives. Of course, Catholics do not place Mary or the saints above God, nor does prayer to the saints replace prayer directly to God through Jesus Christ. Finally, some non Catholics object to Catholic use of statues and other images or icons present in places of worship. Sometimes the crucifix is considered an “idol” because it has the image of the body of Christ on the cross. But even the Old Testament, with its prohibition against images, allowed the use of icons. In Exodus 25:1820 and Numbers21:89, God authorized the making of icons. In the eighth century, the bishops ended a long debate and determined thatthere was nothing wrong with the use of icons. Today statues and crucifixes are a familiar part of Catholic devotion, but the statues and other icons are there only to focus our devotion on God. The statues may remind us of the heroes of our faith, but they also remind us that those saints are heroes of the faith, not because they called attention to themselves, but because they directed their lives toward God. If we follow their example, there can be no danger of giving them too much attention, because we will be focused on God.

Isn’t the Bible all you need for faith and salvation? Why do Catholics have Tradition, too?

The Catholic Church recognizes the Scriptures as authoritative and infallible. The Second Vatican Council declared, “Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation.” (Dei Verbum 3:11) But the Bible is not all there is. In fact, before the New Testament documents were compiled into the Christian Bible, the teachings of Jesus were passed down from the apostles to the next generation of church leaders, and the next, and so on. As time went on, the writings of the apostles gained acceptance when they were quoted by later church writers. These writers quoted certain documents as authoritative because they were written by apostles. Later, these same documents were chosen to be included in the New Testament in part because they were quoted by important early church writers. The truth is that the Bible comes from the Tradition of the early church, notthe other way around. The New Testament, as important as it is, is just one part of Church Tradition. Even within the text of the New Testament itself, the apostles Peter and Paul hold up Tradition as authoritative. Paul upholds Tradition in I Corinthians 11:2, 23 and II Thessalonians 2:15. In II Peter 1:20 and 3:1516, Peter says that Scripture requires interpretation, and that interpretation is not an individual endeavor.

During the early church, several important debates arose from varying interpretations of Scripture. Councils were held to settle the debates and define what the doctrine of the church would be, and creeds were written to outline the councils’ conclusions. At that time the leaders of the Church found that they could not settle every debate from the Bible alone. They found that to interpret the Bible, they needed to go beyond the Bible. This was especially true when it came to explaining the doctrine of the Trinity. The church leaders found that the Bible had given them the raw materials to build an understanding of God, but it did not tell them how to put the pieces together. It was as if the apostles left all the bricks needed to build a house, but it was up to the later generations of leaders to put them together into a house. So the Bible gives us the words of Jesus and the apostles, but it is often the Tradition that helps us interpret those words.

As Catholics, we believe that Scripture has a primary place of authority, and therefore we read it in worship. The gospels have aspecial place in our liturgy, and we even stand when the gospel passage is read. But we also recite the creed, which is an outlineof Christian theology. The creed is a summary of the New Testament, just as the Ten Commandments are a summary of the Old Testament. The same Vatican II document quoted above goes on to say, “Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal devotion and reverence. Tradition and Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God.”

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Finally, as Catholics we believe that the primary proclamation of the gospel is not in the Bible, but in the sacrament of the Mass.

As St. Paul said in I Corinthians 11:26: “For as often as you eat this bread and drinkthe cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.”

Faith in Action

1. Choose 1 or 2 iEvangelism items to try this week.2. Ask your parents if Jesus is their personal savior. Discuss with them.3. Pray that you understand more what it means for Jesus to be our savior.4. Create your own...

I learned Statements—complete one or two of the sentences below:

1) I learned…..

2) I relearned…..

3) I discovered…..

4) I wonder if…….

5) I was surprised…

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Share some stereotypes with your small group. Where do stereotypes come from? How much of an impact doesthe media have? What dangers exist when we assume that stereotypes are true? What can we do to change this?