Faith and Assurance Comparison
Can a believer know that he is saved? Allison and Castaldo observe that “if one maintains the Catholic position that the righteousness of justification is defined as grace infused into the soul, there will always be a measure of uncertainty concerning one’s acceptance.”1 The table below sets the Catholic answer from the Catechism and the Council of Trent beside Scripture. It states the Reformed view of perseverance; Arminian, Wesleyan, and Anabaptist traditions are closer to Rome on that one point.
Table RCC17
| Roman Catholic Church | Scripture |
|---|---|
| Can One Know? A believer may hope, but apart from a special revelation he has no present certainty of final salvation. Faith is a gift that one “can lose,” and mortal sin destroys charity and forfeits eternal life [§162, §1855].2 | “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). |
| Certainty of Grace. “No one can know with a certainty of faith, which cannot be subject to error, that he has obtained the grace of God” (Trent, sess. 6, ch. 9).3 | “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). |
| Perseverance. “If any one shall say, that he will for certain, of an absolute and infallible certainty, have that great gift of perseverance unto the end, unless that he have learnt this by a special revelation; let him be anathema” (Trent, sess. 6, can. 16).4 | “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). God “which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). |
| Forgiveness. Trent condemns the view “that it is necessary unto every one, for the obtaining the remission of sins, that he believe for certain, and without any hesitation arising from his own infirmity and indisposition, that his sins are remitted unto him” (sess. 6, can. 13). Canon 14 anathematizes the claim that a man is absolved because he “assuredly believed himself to be absolved.”4 | “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1). The believer rests, not on confidence in his own readiness, but on the finished work of Christ. |
| Ground of Justification. Righteousness is grace infused into the soul and increased by cooperation; Trent speaks of men who “increase in that justice which they have received through the grace of Christ, and are still further justified” (sess. 6, ch. 10).3 | “To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). Christ was “made to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). |
| Faith Defined. Trent rejects the view “that justifying faith is nought else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ’s sake” (sess. 6, can. 12), and teaches that faith “is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation, and the root of all Justification” (ch. 8).4 | “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God” (Romans 5:1). Faith is trust in a promise already made good in Christ, not merely a first step toward a righteousness still to be earned. |
| Unformed Faith. Trent anathematizes the claim that the faith which remains after mortal sin “is not a true faith, though it be not a lively faith” (sess. 6, can. 28). A man may therefore have true faith and yet not be in grace.4 | “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). In Christ Jesus what avails is “faith which worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6). Saving faith is living faith; dead faith is not saving faith at all. |
| Fear and Presumption. Allison and Castaldo cite the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999), which says “every person, however, may be concerned about his salvation when he looks upon his own weaknesses and shortcomings.”1 | “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13). The fear is reverent, and the confidence is in God who works in us. |
