Salvation

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nyj

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Is faith in Jesus Christ alone as Saviour enough to receive eternal life?


This can best be answered by looking at a document called 'Justification by Faith' written in 1983 by the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Group in the United States:

"Our entire hope of justification and salvation rests on Christ Jesus and on the gospel whereby the Good News of God's merciful action in Christ is made known; we do not place our ultimate trust in anything other than God's promise and saving work in Christ."

Also in this document the following is said:

"Catholics can speak of justification by faith or even of justification by faith alone insofar as they teach, as do Lutherans, that nothing prior to the free gift of faith merits justification and that all of God's saving gifts come through Christ alone. Catholics stress, however, that the indwelling Holy Spirit brings about in believers not only assent and trust, but also a loving commitment that issues in good works."

Which of course leads to your next question:

what passages from the Bible give other requirements?


The necessity of our cooperation is seen in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25 of which I will quote a small part (verses 31 through 46):
Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me... whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
 
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Why baptism also? Reference John 3:16. There is no mention of having to be baptized as well


There's no reference to baptism in John 3:16, true. However, there are references to baptism in other parts of Scripture. For instance:

"Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an apeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 3:19).

And since all of Scripture is authoritative, not just selected verses, we must follow all of Scripture.
 
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Avila

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To name a few verses...
Mark 16:16 "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

Acts 2:38 "Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Acts 22:16 "And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name."
 
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akthomas

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You quoted...

Mark 16:16 "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."


Why does the verse not conclude, "whoever does not believe and is baptized will be condemned."

Also, why do you think God would choose to include baptism in some verses and not in others as a means for salvation. i.e. John 3:16. I come from a non-denominational background and have always been curious about the Catholic stance on this.
 
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Hi akthomas :)

Also, why do you think God would choose to include baptism in some verses and not in others as a means for salvation. i.e. John 3:16.


Probably because baptism is implied in those verses. It would naturally be assumed that one who believed would be baptized (since from the beginning of Christianity the necessity of baptism was preached, cf. Acts 2:38 ), and so "believe" would be shorthand for "believe and be baptized". (Just as in the book of Acts, baptism in "the name of Jesus" is a shorter way of saying one is baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity).

After all, do you believe that one only need to "believe" (i.e., render intellectual assent to certain truths) in order to be saved? Do you think repentance of sin is unnecessary, or that trusting in Christ for salvation is unnecessary, or that loving God is unnecessary? Is belief, such as even the demons have (cf. Jm 2:19) the only thing necessary? Or do you believe those other aspects are necessary as well, and that they are implied?

I come from a non-denominational background and have always been curious about the Catholic stance on this


As for me, I have to admit I don't understand this approach to arguing against the necessity of baptism. It seems to me an argument from the silence of certain verses, while ignoring other verses that do mention the necessity of baptism.

It's as if one were to post verses from Scripture that demonstrated Christ's humanity (and do not mention his divinity at all), and then conclude that Christ was therefore not divine (all the while ignoring the verses that do demonstrate Christ's divinity).

As I said eariler in this thread, all of Scripture is authoritative, so we have to take into account all of what Scripture states, not just certain verses.

Hope this helps :)
 
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