Our Salvation Is Not Guaranteed

Of all the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, there is perhaps none as complicated as the issue of salvation. This has been a major sticking point since the Reformation, and while theologians have discovered that we are actually not quite as far apart in this area as we once thought, there is still a fairly wide gap between us. Most critically, we disagree on the role that works play in getting us to heaven, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a host of other differences between us and our separated brethren in this crucial area. In this article, I want to look at one of the most important.

For Catholics, eternal salvation isn’t assured until we actually get to heaven. No matter how holy we are in this life, it is always possible for us to fall away and cut ourselves off from Christ. In contrast, many forms of Protestantism hold that once we are justified and experience God’s salvation in this life, our eternal salvation is secure. We can never lose it, and we’re guaranteed to go to heaven when we die.

So which side is right? Is our salvation really guaranteed from the moment we are first incorporated into Christ, or is it possible to fall away and lose our place in heaven? To answer that question, let’s turn to the pages of the New Testament and see what it says about this important topic.

The Tree and the Branches

We cannot cover all the Scripture passages that speak on this issue. Instead, I want to divide them into three categories and then look at one text from each category.

First, we have passages where New Testament authors explicitly warn their readers about the possibility of losing their salvation, and the following is one of the sternest:

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. You will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. (Romans 11:17-22)

In context, St. Paul is explaining that Israel and the Church are really just one continuous people of God, not two, so God didn’t reject the Jews and then start over again with the Church. Rather, using a horticultural metaphor, he says that God’s people under the Old and New Covenants are one single “tree”. The Jews who rejected Jesus were simply cut off from it, and the Gentiles who accepted the Gospel were grafted in.

And, significantly, he warns his Gentile readers not to get too proud. If God cut off the “natural branches” (the Jews) who did not accept the Gospel, then He would have no problem cutting off the branches that have been grafted in (Gentile Christians) if they don’t “continue in his kindness.”

In other words, even though his readers had been justified and grafted into the people of God, their final salvation wasn’t assured. That depended on their continued faithfulness, and if they fell away, they would lose their salvation.

Training for Eternal Life

Next, we can look at texts where the New Testament authors explain that even their own salvation isn’t guaranteed. For example, take a look at these sobering words from St. Paul:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

In this passage, Paul is using the metaphor of sports to explain the Christian life. He is saying that just as athletes train and discipline their bodies to win a prize, so too we Christians must train and discipline ourselves in order to ultimately receive the prize of heaven.

Then, in the second half of the text, Paul tells us that he has to do this too. He “pommel[s]” and “subdue[s]” his body (again, using figurative language) to ensure that he is not “disqualified” from the “race” to heaven. If a great saint like him was not guaranteed eternal salvation, then neither are we. Just like St. Paul, we too need to train and discipline ourselves so we don’t fall away from grace and find ourselves “disqualified” when we get to the pearly gates.

Inheriting the Kingdom of God

Finally, there are texts where the New Testament authors explain that certain sins can keep people out of heaven, and the following passage is, again, one the clearest from the letters of St. Paul:

Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

To be clear, Paul isn’t saying that anybody who does any of these things once is automatically condemned to hell. Rather, he is saying that people who engage in these practices without repenting will fail to “inherit the kingdom of God.”

Admittedly, it may be tough to see how this has anything to do with the topic we are examining, but a closer look reveals that it is actually very pertinent. The key is to understand that Paul is saying this to warn his readers against committing these sins. He doesn’t explicitly say that Christians can lose their salvation if they sin in these ways and do not repent, but that is the clear implication of the passage.

Otherwise, what could it mean to warn Christians that people who commit these sins will lose out on heaven? That is the only way these words make sense – as a warning. So even though this passage isn’t quite as explicit as the other ones we have looked at, it is more than clear enough to show once again that being justified by God in this life does not mean we are guaranteed to get to heaven in the next life.

Heaven Is Not Guaranteed

What we’ve looked at so far is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more we could say about this important issue, but the evidence we have seen is enough to get the general point across: the New Testament favors the Catholic view. It teaches that our salvation is not guaranteed until we die, so no matter how holy we may be, it is always possible for us to turn our backs on God and lose out on heaven.