The Assurance of Salvation

[Humble_Disciple]

I would like to apologize for not being previously clear as to what I meant about the assurance of salvation. My own view of assurance is perhaps closer to the Catholic teaching than the "easy-believism" promoted by many evangelicals today.

This is from the doctrinal statement of the Salvation Army, of which I used to be a member:

Continued obedient faith
Our salvation is assured as long as we continue to exercise faith in Jesus Christ. Such faith is expressed in obedience to his leadings, will and commands. Obedience as a free-will choice is a consequence of faith, and without it, faith dies.
Salvation

This would mean that our assurance of salvation is conditional upon continued, obedient faith, rather than the presumption that God will save us no matter how we live, even if we fall away from the faith.

I agree with Catholics that good works and avoidance of sin are necessary to confirm our salvation, but I wouldn't use the same list as to what those good works are, such as praying the rosary or performing Eucharistic adoration.

At the same time, I believe that good works and avoidance of sin are a gift of God's grace, imparted to us as sanctifying grace from Christ's finished work on the cross:
Imparted righteousness - Wikipedia

This seems to more or less be the Catholic teaching as well:

The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) is a document created and agreed to by the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the Lutheran World Federation in 1999 as a result of extensive ecumenical dialogue. It states that the churches now share "a common understanding of our justification by God's grace through faith in Christ."[1] To the parties involved, this essentially resolves the 500-year-old conflict over the nature of justification which was at the root of the Protestant Reformation. The World Methodist Council adopted the Declaration on 18 July 2006.[2][3] The World Communion of Reformed Churches (representing the "80 million members of Congregational, Presbyterian, Reformed, United, Uniting, and Waldensian churches"), adopted the Declaration in 2017.[4]
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification - Wikipedia

 

[anna ~ grace]

I would like to apologize for not being previously clear as to what I meant about the assurance of salvation. My own view of assurance is perhaps closer to the Catholic teaching than the "easy-believism" promoted by many evangelicals today.

This is from the doctrinal statement of the Salvation Army, of which I used to be a member:



This would mean that our assurance of salvation is conditional upon continued, obedient faith, rather than the presumption that God will save us no matter how we live, even if we fall away from the faith.

I agree with Catholics that good works and avoidance of sin are necessary to confirm our salvation, but I wouldn't use the same list as to what those good works are, such as praying the rosary or performing Eucharistic adoration.

At the same time, I believe that good works and avoidance of sin are a gift of God's grace, imparted to us as sanctifying grace from Christ's finished work on the cross:
Imparted righteousness - Wikipedia

This seems to more or less be the Catholic teaching as well:

The more I have learned from Catholic Saints, and the more I have taken them as examples and heroes, the more awesome, subtle, holy, and amazing the gift of salvation seems to me.

It is an ongoing journey of faith, and works. Fueled by love.

 

[Humble_Disciple]

The more I have learned from Catholic Saints, and the more I have taken them as examples and heroes, the more awesome, subtle, holy, and amazing the gift of salvation seems to me.

It is an ongoing journey of faith, and works. Fueled by love.

In Catholic teaching, what happens if one dies in a state of mortal sin without confessing it to a priest?

 

[anna ~ grace]

Oh My Jesus, hide me in the wound of Your Sacred Heart. Free me from my evil desire to be loved and esteemed. Guard me from the mean pursuit of fame and honour. Make me humble till I become a small spark in the flame of love in Your Sacred Heart. Grant me the grace to forget myself and all worldly things. Jesus, sweet beyond words, convert all worldly consolations into bitterness for me. O my Jesus, Sun of Justice, enlighten my intellect and mind with Your Sacred Rays. Purify my heart, consume me with burning love for You, and make me one with You. Amen.

Saint Alphonsa of India

 

[Humble_Disciple]

Oh My Jesus, hide me in the wound of Your Sacred Heart. Free me from my evil desire to be loved and esteemed. Guard me from the mean pursuit of fame and honour. Make me humble till I become a small spark in the flame of love in Your Sacred Heart. Grant me the grace to forget myself and all worldly things. Jesus, sweet beyond words, convert all worldly consolations into bitterness for me. O my Jesus, Sun of Justice, enlighten my intellect and mind with Your Sacred Rays. Purify my heart, consume me with burning love for You, and make me one with You. Amen.

Saint Alphonsa of India

Other than the term "sacred heart," this reminds me of prayers that the Puritans wrote:
Valley Of Vision — Free Online !!

If a Catholic is unable to have access to a priest while dying, would it be good enough to confess one's mortal sin directly to God, without the intercession of a priest?

What happens if confession to a priest is impossible, and one is close to death or in danger of dying? Provided a person, finding himself in this situation, has perfect contrition for his mortal sins, and resolves not to sin again and receive sacramental confession as soon as possible, his mortal sin is forgiven. Imperfect sorrow is not contrition under these circumstances.
Is it possible for a person with a mortal sin still on his soul to die and go to heaven?

It’s certainly possible to pray for forgiveness of sins with an implicit intention to go to sacramental confession once it’s available again, but it’s helpful to explicitly state the intention to God because it’s a way of giving our word to God. God doesn’t need our verbal commitment to go to confession to forgive us, but we may need it as a way of reminding ourselves of the necessity of sacramental confession.

The steps to confession without a priest are not difficult. In short, we should approach God in prayer, name our sins in kind and in number just as we do in sacramental confession, ask for forgiveness because we love God and desire to be in communion with him, and resolve to go to confession when we’re able to go again.

The hard part is trust in God that he will forgive us. Christ gave us the gift of sacramental confession so that we could hear God saying, through his priest, “I forgive you.” For now, we may not have that solace available, but if we trust that God is with us, that perhaps he sleeps for a while in the boat of our soul (St. Therese of Lisieux’s image for spiritual dryness) but hasn’t abandoned us, then we need not fear that he might someday ask us, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matt. 14:31).
What to Do if You Can’t Find a Priest for Confession

When the person, at the time of death, could not be attended by a priest. Suppose the case of a plane crash or a car accident, could God condemn these people for having died without the presence of a priest, if they had had it, perhaps they would have resorted to it? Certainly not.

In these circumstances the Church believes in the Mercy of the Lord for those people who with their last breath of life cry for forgiveness. If the person has a moment of lucidity before death, and in that moment he repents with a contrite heart for the totality of his sins, and asks God for forgiveness, he will be saved.
Read What Happens When You Die Without Going To Confession - Daily Rosary Family

 

[Gnarwhal]

In Catholic teaching, what happens if one dies in a state of mortal sin without confessing it to a priest?

Barring an act of perfect contrition, which is actually very hard to achieve, the Church teaches a two-fold understanding: A) if we die in a state of mortal sin, then we go to hell unless we manage to still make an act of perfect contrition at the moment of our death - though in reality this is very hard to achieve. B) It's ultimately up to God whether he receives a person into heaven or not. We just have what we know through the divine revelation given to the Church since the time of Christ.

I'll say this right now: I'm answering your question, but I'm not interested in debate, or some kind of "gotcha".

 

[Humble_Disciple]

I'll say this right now: I'm answering your question, but I'm not interested in debate, or some kind of "gotcha".

I think you've provided a satisfying answer, even if I might disagree with the need of confession to a priest rather than directly to God.

 

[Chesster]

The Catechism answers this: When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called “perfect” (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible (1452).

 

[zippy2006]

This seems to more or less be the Catholic teaching as well:

A better source than the Joint Declaration would be the Catechism. The Joint Declaration was never officially approved by the Catholic Church. See the section on justification and the following sections (#1987...) (link).

In Catholic teaching, what happens if one dies in a state of mortal sin without confessing it to a priest?

If you die in a state of mortal sin you go to Hell. If you are forgiven before you die--either through confession to a priest or an act of perfect contrition--then you would no longer be in a state of mortal sin, and hence would no longer die in a state of mortal sin.

Barring an act of perfect contrition, which is actually very hard to achieve...

This paper may be helpful for those who are interested in the question:

"Perfect Contrition and Perfect Charity"​

 

[Humble_Disciple]

The reason why I don't want to be a Catholic is because I don't want to be a cafeteria Catholic, picking and choosing which parts of the catechism I happen to agree with. I believe that would be disrespectful to Catholicism to practice a faith that I don't really believe in.

It has nothing to do with being anti-Catholic, which is why I am happy that, after Vatican II, we are not longer "heretics" but instead "separated brethren."

Separated brethren - Wikipedia