Today, I responded to a comment on social media stating that 'the Church does NOT teach that one can be saved without the true faith.' This prompted an angry response:
'You see, that statement is essentially a straw man. You have presented a formulation that the Church has never taught. Instead, this is merely your conclusion based on what you have learned and read.'
A formulation that the Church has never taught? That is news to me. As the dogma of the necessity of faith for salvation is often denied, doubted, or distorted by Novusordites, I shall demonstrate what the Church teaches on the matter.
The necessity of faith for salvation in the New Testament
The gospels and Pauline epistles explicitly teach the necessity of faith for salvation:
'He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned.' (Mark 16:16)
'He that believeth in him is not judged. But he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God.' (John 3:18)
'He that believeth in the Son, hath life everlasting; but he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.' (John 3:36)
'But without faith, it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God, must believe that he is, and is a rewarder to them that seek him.' (Hebrews 11:6)
The Athanasian Creed (also known as the QUICUMQUE creed) teaches that the Catholic faith is necessary to attain eternal salvation:
'Whoever wishes to be saved, needs above all to hold the Catholic faith; unless each one preserves this whole and inviolate, he will without a doubt perish in eternity.' (D. 39)
The necessity of faith for salvation has been taught by several ecumenical councils.
COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE:
'We learn from the writings and deeds of the holy fathers that the catholic faith without which (as the Apostle says) it is impossible to please God, has often been attacked by false followers of the same faith, or rather by perverse assailants, and by those who, desirous of the world’s glory, are led on by proud curiosity to know more than they should; and that it has been defended against such persons by the church’s faithful spiritual knights armed with the shield of faith.' (Council of Constance, Session 8 – 4 May 1415, )
COUNCIL OF TRENT
'But when the Apostle says that man is justified 'by faith' [can. 9] and 'freely [Rom. 3:22, 24], these words must be understood in that sense in which the uninterrupted consent of the Catholic Church has held and expressed, namely, that we are therefore said to be justified by faith, because faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation and root of all justification, "without which it is impossible to please God" [Heb. 11 :6] and to come to the fellowship of His sons; and are, therefore, said to be justified gratuitously, because none of those things which precede justification, whether faith, or works merit the grace itself of justification; for, "if it is a grace, it is not now by reason of works; otherwise (as the same Apostle says) grace is no more grace" [Rom.11:6].' (D. 801)
VATICAN COUNCIL
'But, since "without faith, it is impossible to please God" [ Heb. 11:6] and to attain the fellowship of His sons, hence, no one is justified without it; nor will anyone attain eternal life except "he shall persevere unto the end on it" [ Matt. 10:22;24:13]. Moreover, in order that we may satisfactorily perform the duty of embracing the true faith and of continuously persevering in it, God, through His only-begotten Son, has instituted the Church, and provided it with clear signs of His institution, so that it can be recognized by all as the guardian and teacher of the revealed word.' (D. 1793)
The popes have always taught the necessity of faith for attaining salvation.
Innocent III (1198-1216)
''By the heart we believe and by the mouth we confess the one Church, not of heretics but the Holy Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic (Church) outside which we believe that no one is saved.' (D. 423)
Boniface VIII (1294 –1303)
'With Faith urging us we are forced to believe and to hold the one, holy, Catholic Church and that, apostolic, and we firmly believe and simply confess this (Church) outside which there is no salvation nor remission of sin, the Spouse in the Canticle proclaiming: "One is my dove, my perfect one. One she is of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her" [ Song. 6:8]; which represents the one mystical body whose head is Christ, of Christ indeed, as God. And in this, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" [Eph. 4:5].Certainly, Noah had one ark at the time of the flood, prefiguring one Church which perfect on one cubit had one ruler and guide, namely Noah outside which we read all living things on the earth were destroyed. Moreover this we venerate and this alone, the Lord in the prophet saying: "Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword; my only one from the hand of the dog" [ Ps. 21:21]. For in behalf of the soul, that is, in behalf of himself, the head itself and the body he prayed at the same time, which body he called the "Only one" namely, the Church, because of the unity of the spouse, the faith, the sacraments, and the charity of the Church. This is that "seamless tunic" of the Lord [ John 19:23], which was not cut, but came forth by chance. Therefore, of the one and only Church (there is) one body, one head, not two heads as a monster, namely, Christ and Peter, the Vicar of Christ and the successor of Peter, the Lord Himself saying to Peter: "Feed my sheep" [ John 21:17]. He said "My," and generally, not individually these or those, through which it is understood that He entrusted all to him. If, therefore, the Greeks or others say that they were not entrusted to Peter and his successors, of necessity let them confess that they are not of the sheep of Christ, since the Lord says in John, "to be one flock and one Shepherd" [John 10:16].' (D. 468)
Leo XIII (1878 – 1903)
'The whole object of Christian doctrine and morality is that ''we being dead to sin, should live to justice''(I Peter ii., 24),that is, to virtue and holiness. In this consists the moral life, with the certain hope of a happy eternity. This justice, in order to be advantageous to salvation, is nourished by Christian faith. ''The just man liveth by faith'' (Galatians iii., II). ''Without faith it is impossible to please God'' (Hebrews xi., 6). Consequently Jesus Christ, the creator and preserver of faith, also preserves and nourishes our moral life. This He does chiefly by the ministry of His Church. To Her, in His wise and merciful counsel, He has entrusted certain agencies which engender the supernatural life, protect it, and revive it if it should fail. This generative and conservative power of the virtues that make for salvation is therefore lost, whenever morality is dissociated from divine faith. A system of morality based exclusively on human reason robs man of his highest dignity and lowers him from the supernatural to the merely natural life. Not but that man is able by the right use of reason to know and to obey certain principles of the natural law. But though he should know them all and keep them inviolate through life even this is impossible without the aid of the grace of our Redeemer-still it is vain for anyone without faith to promise himself eternal salvation. ''If anyone abides not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he burneth'' (john xv., 6). ''He that believeth not shall be condemned'' (Mark xvi., 16).' (Tametsi Futura Prospicientibus n.11)
Pius IX (1846 – 1878)
'You see, dearly beloved sons and venerable brothers, how much vigilance is needed to keep the disease of this terrible evil from infecting and killing your flocks. Do not cease to diligently defend your people against these pernicious errors. Saturate them with the doctrine of Catholic truth more accurately each day. Teach them that just as there is only one God, one Christ, one Holy Spirit, so there is also only one truth which is divinely revealed. There is only one divine faith which is the beginning of salvation for mankind and the basis of all justification, the faith by which the just person lives and without which it is impossible to please God and to come to the community of His children.[2] There is only one true, holy, Catholic church, which is the Apostolic Roman Church. There is only one See founded in Peter by the word of the Lord,[3] outside of which we cannot find either true faith or eternal salvation. He who does not have the Church for a mother cannot have God for a father, and whoever abandons the See of Peter on which the Church is established trusts falsely that he is in the Church.[4] Thus, there can be no greater crime, no more hideous stain than to stand up against Christ, than to divide the Church engendered and purchased by His blood, than to forget evangelical love and to combat with the furor of hostile discord the harmony of the people of God.'( Singulari Quidem) (D. 1645)
'We are fully confident that you, our beloved sons and venerable brothers, strengthened by the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, will continue steadfast in your outstanding episcopal zeal. With one mind and heart and with redoubled dedication, may you persist in defending the House of Israel, may you fight the good fight for the faith and defend from the snares of the enemy the faithful entrusted to your care. Admonish and exhort them to be strong in our sacred faith, without which it is impossible to please God. Urge them to persevere firmly established in our divine religion, which alone is true and eternal and prepares for salvation and even, to a very great extent, preserves and prospers civil society.' (Quanto Conficiamur Moerore, 13)
Saint Pius X (1903 – 1914)
'Since they attack the very root of faith either by openly denying, hypocritically undermining, or misrepresenting revealed doctrine, we should above all recall the truth Charles often taught. ''The primary and most important duty of pastors is to guard everything pertaining to the integral and inviolate maintenance of the Catholic Faith, the faith which the Holy Roman Church professes and teaches, without which it is impossible to please God.''[30] Again: ''In this matter, no diligence can be too great to fulfil the certain demands of our office.''[31] We must therefore use sound doctrine to withstand ''the leaven of heretical depravity,'' which if not repressed, will corrupt the whole. That is to say, we must oppose these erroneous opinions now deceitfully being scattered abroad, which, when taken all together, are called Modernism. With Charles, we must be mindful ''of the supreme zeal and excelling diligence which the bishop must exercise in combating the crime of heresy.''[32] (Editae Saepe)
Pius XII (1939 – 1958)
'Some reduce to a meaningless formula the necessity of belonging to the true Church in order to gain eternal salvation.' (Humani Generis,27)
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Check out My Lenten Devotional—twenty-three selected meditations, including sermons by St Leo the Great, along with reflections on sin, salvation, and the Passion of Christ. Perfect for daily prayer and reflection.
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