ARE YOU SAVED?

“The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye.” ––Psalm 19:9

A few years ago, I attended a cordial meeting with Christians of various faith traditions. One non-Catholic participant excitedly posed a question to the group: “Brothers and sisters, do we not all agree with Romans 10:9, ‘For if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved’ ?” He assumed we would all agree a verbal confession guarantees our salvation.

Rather than answering the question above, let’s take a step back. Why should I believe the text of Romans or any other book in the Bible at all? This may seem like a radical question, but don’t be afraid to ask it! (see 1 Thes 5:21) The Bible never gives an inspired Table of Contents. Read the entire New Testament and you’ll never find a list of the twenty-seven books included. This fact tells us an authority must exist to determine what belongs (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 120).

We do have an authoritative interpreter of His Word. The apostles, commissioned by Jesus, were sent by the Lord to “make disciples of all the nations” (Mt 28:19). The Catholic Church is apostolic. Part of the Church’s mission included compiling the Bible and standardizing its Table of Contents. Sacred Tradition is trustworthy and protects us from taking any verse out of context. “All Scripture is inspired of God and is useful for teaching –– for reproof, correction, and training in holiness” (2 Tm 3:16).

PRAYER: Father, grace me to “not pass judgment on myself” (1 Cor 4:3) but instead accept Your merciful justice.
PROMISE: “He said to them, ‘Come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.’ ” ––Mt 4:19
PRAISE: St. Philip deferred to St. Andrew when “some Greeks” requested to “see Jesus” (see Jn 12:20-22). Lord, thank You for calling St. Andrew to be a leader of men.