The Road to Salvation is a Cross Road

The cross of Jesus and His suffering on the cross show us the way to heaven. In Luke 9:23, He told us all to “pick up your cross and follow me” (to Calvary). Suffering in this world, when united with the suffering of Christ, is the heavenly ticket that we all must have to gain entry into the eternal Kingdom of Heaven (Romans 8:17). But what is salvation, really? Is it just not going to hell (fire insurance)? Or is it much more than that? Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about how we attain salvation and what it truly is.

First off, the very name of Jesus means “God saves.” Jesus came to earth as a man for the express purpose of defeating the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and therefore saving mankind from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The way He does this is by giving us His free gift of grace, which is a share in His divine life. Imagine that you look in the mirror and see your human soul – solid black because it is full of human nature. Then imagine looking in the mirror at your human soul after you are perfected with God’s grace and your natural state has been overcome. Your soul is then a bright, gleaming white. Obtaining grace through the sacraments of the Catholic Church should be our goal, as nothing unclean enters heaven (Revelation 21:27). The great clean-up room for the imperfect men and women who die in the state of grace is called purgatory, where your unhealthy earthly attachments and uncleanliness are burned away over time. Grace is a free gift from God that gives us faith in Him:

“By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8).

The book of Titus gives us the reason that God’s grace appears on earth: 

“For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men, training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,14:who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:11-14)

God’s grace is the antidote for natural worldliness. It overcomes all lust, gluttony, envy, anger, pride, sloth, drunkenness, greed, and other sins. The more grace you have, the easier it becomes to stop sinning. Our goal should be to be like Mary, who is always full of grace, and therefore sinless. Receiving the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion frequently with a truly repentant heart is the best way to obtain lots of grace. Frequent petitions to Mary to help you in your struggles against sin are also very worthwhile. 

Grace’s Goal

So once you receive all of this grace, what’s next? Is is just becoming a nicer, friendlier you? NO. Rather, it is becoming like Christ:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)​

My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you! (Galatians 4:19)

The goal of our life should be to be as much like Jesus as we can. This means that we need to study the Gospels a lot to not only know “about” Jesus, but to know Him personally, as our redeemer, as our example, as our fellow man, as our loving God. If we don’t, it’s going to be very hard to be like Him. Why? Because our natural bodies want us to be like other humans,  citizens of this world, rather than of heaven. But the Bible says that the devil is the prince of this world (Ephesians 2:2), so to bypass him and his wicked deceptions and an eternity in hell, we need to get maximum grace and do everything in our power to be like Jesus. We all have a choice to make; either our soul will lift our bodies into heaven one day, or our soul will drag our bodies into hell. 

A good prayer for us would be: 

“Dear Jesus, please help me to be as loving and forgiving of my enemies as you are. Please help me to kill my prideful ego and instead be as meek and humble as you are. Please send the Holy Spirit into my heart and change it into a loving heart like yours. I ask this in your Holy Name, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Chaste Heart of St. Joseph. I love you with all of my sinful heart. Amen.”

What is Salvation?

Salvation is nothing less than being one spirit with Christ for eternity, in full communion with His every thought, word, and deed. And that is much more than just fire insurance. When we die and go to heaven, we become ONE SPIRIT WITH HIM and become PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. (1 Corinthians 6:17)

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:19-20)

“…by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4)

Means of Attaining Salvation

So other than frequent reception of the sacraments in the Catholic Church, namely, Confession and the Eucharist, how do we become another Christ here on earth and attain our eternal salvation? Let’s see what the Word of God has to say about this:

“The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” (Exodus 15:2)

Praise God often, and exalt Him before men frequently. 

“my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence.“ (2 Samuel 22:3)

Never think that you are alone in your battle against Satan. Frequently say out loud (so that Satan can hear you) that God is your refuge and stronghold, and then Satan’s power over you will instantly be diminished. 

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day.“ (1 Chronicles 16:23)

In your car, turn off the radio and sing hymns of praise to God (“Holy God, We Praise thy Name,” “Praise to the Lord,” “O Sacrament Most Holy,” for exampe), and be sure to tell others about Jesus.) 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?“ (Psalm 27:1)

Now that you KNOW that the Lord is looking out for you 100%, what is there to worry about, or be fearful of? NOTHING! 

“He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me; to him who orders his way aright I will show the salvation of God!”  (Psalm 50:23)

“I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.“ (Psalm 116:13)

Attend Mass frequently for your daily bread and precious blood of the “Eucharist,” a Greek term that means “Thanksgiving.” At every Mass, the priest offers the Eucharist (Jesus in the flesh) as a living sacrifice to God the Father, the same sacrifice once offered in the Upper Room by Jesus Himself to His Father. 

“Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.” (Isaiah 56:1)

OBEY ALL of God’s commands in the Bible, seek justice for all, and pray for His righteousness to overtake your sinfulness.

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death.”
(2 Corinthians 7:10)

Endure whatever grief comes your way with prayer and faith in God, which will then produce repentance of your sins, which then produces salvation. DON’T DESPAIR, but hope always in the Lord, no matter how bad it gets for you.

“In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”​ (Ephesians 1:13)

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

Reading Sacred Scripture is the gospel of salvation AND the helmet of salvation.

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;” (Philippians 2:12)

Salvation is not assured to anyone, unless you work for it, daily, and with faith. God will provide the grace; we have to cooperate with it through our thoughts, words, and deeds. This is how the apostles achieved their salvation, and it is no different for us.

Saints’ Quotes on Salvation

“Let us understand that God is a physician, and that suffering is a medicine for salvation, not a punishment for damnation.”
– St. Augustine

“We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries,but on Jesus alone.” – St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

“If your eternal salvation depended on yourself alone, you would have serious cause for alarm, but since it is in the hands of your heavenly Father, what have you to fear? My hopes rest on the Passion of Jesus and on the dolors of Mary.” – St. Paul of the Cross

“Our most important affair is that of our eternal salvation; upon it depends our happiness or misery for ever. This affair will come to an end in eternity, and will decide whether we shall be saved or lost for ever; whether we shall have acquired an eternity of delights, or an eternity of torments; whether we shall live for ever happy, or for ever miserable. O God, what will my lot be? Shall I be saved, or shall I be lost? I may be either. And if I may be lost, why do I not embrace such a life, as may secure for me life eternal? O Jesus, thou didst die to save me; yet have I been lost, as often as I have lost thee my sovereign good: suffer me not to lose thee any more.” – St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

The Bottom Line

Salvation is a free gift from God, so that we mortals can be in total union with His divinity, forever. We either choose now to accept this free gift with our faith, thoughts, words, and deeds, or we can reject it and live like pagans. The former leads us to eternal bliss; the latter leads us to eternal perdition. Choose wisely, NOW!​