“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved”
“Jesus said to his disciples: proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” [1]
What is then necessary for salvation? One must believe. One must be baptized. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. For the scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is the Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring [the] good news!” [2] Saint Paul asks a lot of questions in this letter which helps us understand the order in which a person come to believe and be baptized.
But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? How do we “call on him”? We call upon the Lord at our Baptism. For the Rite of Baptism [3] we (or our parents and God-parents) are asked specific questions about the desire to be saved, the renouncing of Satan, the acceptance of Christ. These questions that show that we “call on him” in the Rite of Baptism. We “call on him” because we believe, for we cannot answer these questions unless we believe. The direct question is “Do you believe…”
The priest calls the candidates by their full name, first the men then the women, and each one answers, "Present." Afterward he puts these questions to them:
P: What are you asking of God's church? All: Faith.
P: What does faith hold out to you? All: Everlasting life.
P: If, then, you wish to inherit everlasting life, keep the commandments, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets. Now faith demands that you worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity, neither confusing the Persons one with the other, nor making a distinction in their nature. For the Father is a distinct Person, so also the Son, so also the Holy Spirit; yet all Three possess the one nature, the one Godhead.
He questions them further, with all giving the answers together, each one for himself in the singular forms:
P: Do you renounce Satan? All: I do renounce him.
P: And all his works? All: I do renounce them.
P: And all his attractions? All: I do renounce them.
Next the priest questions them on the Creed, saying:
P: Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth? All: I do believe.
P: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born into this world and suffered for us? All: I do believe.
P: Do you also believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? All: I do believe.
We believe and therefore we are baptized, but how did we come to believe? Saint Paul asks, “And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard?”
How have we heard the Gospel? We hear the Gospel primarily at Mass and then are instructed at Mass through the homily. We also have a catechism. In the catechism, it teaches us that we on our own should also read the Gospel in the light of Christ’s Church, the Catholic Church.
And how can they hear without someone to preach? Who preaches? The Church preaches and she preaches with one voice. There is one Lord and one Gospel, so there is also one teaching. According to their baptism call, all the faithful are called to preach, but they must be preaching the same message, the message of the Gospel. The faithful should preach the same message that the Bishops (apostles) preach as the Bishops (apostles) preach the same message that Christ preaches. This is why we have a universal teaching as contained in the catechism.
What is catechism? Catechism is “a popular summary or compendium of Catholic doctrine about faith and morals and designed for use in catechesis.” [4] The Catechism uses Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium to help give these summaries on the truths of faith and morals. There are many catechisms approved by the Church. There are universal catechisms, such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) and the Catechism of the Council of Trent (16th Century). There are also local Catechisms “Numerous catechisms were published in various countries authorized by their respective hierarchies, e.g., the so-called Penny Catechism in Great Britain and the series of Baltimore Catechisms in the United States. Since the Second Vatican Council, all catechisms published by ecclesiastical authority must also be ‘submitted to the Apostolic See for review and approval’ (General Catechetical Directory, 119)”
Why are catechisms and catechism classes important in hearing the Gospel? The catechism and catechism classes are set up in such a way as to allow us to hear the totality of the Gospel. What are the four pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church?
The Profession of Faith – The Creed, Divine Revelation, Man’s search and desire for God
The Celebration of the Christian Mystery – Sacraments and Liturgy
Life in Christ – Beatitudes, Morality, Virtues, Ten Commandments
Christian Prayer – Why we Pray, How we Pray, the Our Father
Catechism helps us to believe (Profession of Faith) what we pray (Christian Prayer and Celebration of the Christian Mystery). Catechism helps us to live (Life of Christ) what we believe (Profession of Faith).
We hear the Gospel first. After hearing we must pray, believe, and live the Gospel; it is the catechism that assists us in that mission. When we pray, believe and live the Gospel, this enables the Gospel to be spread to every creature so that others might hear and believe, and then believe and be baptized.
Saint Paul asks one final question. And how can people preach unless they are sent? It is at the feast of the Ascension that we not only celebrated Christ’s Ascension into heaven, but we remember that the apostles were sent or commissioned to preach the Gospel to every creature, to the ends of the earth. It is Christ who does the sending. The disciples were sent then, and we are sent now. We are sent out into the streets, to work, to our families, schools, to every creature. We are sent to preach the Gospel so that people might hear, believe and be baptized. As Blessed Pope John Paul II said in the 8th World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado, “Do not be afraid to go out on the streets and into public places, like the first Apostles who preached Christ and the Good News of salvation in the squares of cities, towns and villages. This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel (Cfr. Rom 1,16). It is the time to preach it from the rooftops (Cfr. Matth 10,27). Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living, in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern "metropolis". It is you who must "go out into the byroads" (Matth 22,9) and invite everyone you meet to the banquet which God has prepared for his people. The Gospel must not be kept hidden because of fear or indifference. It was never meant to be hidden away in private. It has to be put on a stand so that people may see its light and give praise to our heavenly Father.” [5]
What is the process of believing and being baptized? How does this take place in the Catholic Church? For infants, it is the parent and God-parent that calls upon the Lord for the child and asks the Church for the graces of Baptism. How can a child (infant) believe? “What shall we here say of children who by reason of their age are yet unable to believe. For as to adults there is no question. In the Church of the Saviour children believe through others, as they draw from others those sins which are forgiven them in baptism.” [6] It is the child, however, that through catechism classes begins to hear the Gospel and believe. Throughout the liturgical year and in life, the child grows in strength and wisdom renewing their baptismal vows and living out their baptismal vows. This baptismal grace will be made completed in the Sacrament of Confirmation. A person cannot be un-baptized but it is possible to renounce the vows, to not renew them, and to refuse to live them out. The renouncement of vows or refusal to live out the vows of baptism is a refusal to reject Satan and embrace the Gospel and leads to condemnation.
For the adult that wishes to hear the Gospel, believe in Christ, and be baptized there is a process called RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults). What is RCIA? This process has deep roots in the Church. “In the early Church, catechetical instruction was standardized in preparation for baptism as in the writings of St. Augustine (354-430) and St. Gregory of Nyssa (330-95).” [7]
The RCIA process included four stages. What are the four stages of RCIA? Inquiry, Catechumenate, Purification and Enlightenment, Mystagogy and Continual Catechesis. How do these stages match what Saint Paul speaks about in Romans? The Inquiry stages show that all of man (every creature) is in need of God and has questions about self and God; this is why Jesus sends the apostles to all. The Inquiry is ongoing, not only for those entering the Church but for all man. The Catechumenate stage is the stage in which the Catechumens “hear” the Gospel. It is in this stage that the Catechumens are taught not only the doctrines, but also the prayer and life of the Christian. It is in this stage that the person begins to “believe”. The Purification and Enlightenment stage in which those that have come to “believe” will now prepare for the Sacraments. They will prepare to put to “work” what they have believed in “word”. “It may be that each of you will say to himself: I have believed; so I shall be saved. He says what is true if together with faith he also does good works; for that is true faith which does not deny work what it says in word.” [8] “It does not suffice to believe; he who believes, and is not yet baptized, but is only a catechumen, has not yet fully acquired salvation.” [9] Once the catechumen has been received into the Church through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, they are now called to continue in the faith through the final stage of Mystagogy and Continual Catechesis. It is this stage that will equip them to also be sent out and to preach the Gospel, thus the preaching of the Gospel continues. Remember one must be sent if the Gospel is going to be preached. One must preach if the Gospel is going to be heard. One must hear if the Gospel is going to be believed. One must be baptized if he believes.
Are people always going to believe right away? No. It was the disciples who at first did not believe when they were told. Remember on Easter day, Mary Magdalene had told the disciples and also the disciples on the road to Emmaus that Jesus had risen from the dead. They did not believe her when they were told of this. For this incredulity, Jesus rebuked them. “As the eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised.” [10] Jesus commissions those who at first did not believe, to go out to the whole world. If those who knew Jesus personally; walked with Him, saw His deeds, heard His words directly, and then heard of His resurrection but did not believe, we can be sure that many will not believe when first told about the Gospel. Acceptance of the Gospel might take time on the part of those receiving, and patience and charity on the part of those preaching the Gospel.
How can we help encourage others to believe? St. Paul tells the Romans, “Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality.” [11]
Jesus commissioned the disciples and all the faithful to proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Will every creature believe the Gospel as soon as it is preached? What impedes people from believing the Gospel in our modern age?
What helps people believe in the Gospel in our modern age? Holiness. In every age it is the holiness of the Gospel lived out in prayer, believe and life. People believe and our baptized when they experience holiness in prayer and liturgy; when they hear holiness in the preaching of those who believe and when they see or witness the holiness within the life of those praying and preaching. Holiness is the key in every age. Many nations were evangelized by the holiness of priests and religious who through prayer, preaching and life lived out holiness. There is now a call for a re-evangelization that demands the holiness of all the faithful, priests, religious and laity. If we are going to evangelize or re-evangelize, we, the faithful must know that we are sent. Sent to be holy in prayer, preaching, and in the way we live our life.
[1] Mark 16:15-16
[2] Romans 10:9-15
[3] Rituale Romanum Rite for baptism of adults
[4] Catechism of the Catholic Church Glossary: Catechism
[5] http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/homilies/1993/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19930815_gmg-denver_en.html
[6] Saint Bede; The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers; Vol. 2
[7] Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 86
[8] Saint Gregory the Great; The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers; Vol. 2
[9] Saint Gregory the Great; The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers; Vol. 2
[10] Mark 16:14
[11] Romans 12:11-13