by Mere

Created on: May 29, 2009

To reply to such a question the word saved needs to be defined and clarified. As a Christian saved means to me having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone with the assurance of eternal security. How does one attain such a relationship? It means being born again asking Jesus into your heart, admitting that you are a sinner and asking forgiveness for your sins.

I was born and raised a Roman Catholic. I had five aunts who were nuns and an uncle who was a Jesuit priest. How much more Catholic could one be?

My husband and I were married in the Catholic Church. At the time I was a practicing Catholic; he was a staunch Baptist. In the years to come our children were students in the local parochial school.

While at a church meeting the pastor made the comment that only Catholics would go to heaven. Whoa! I saw a big red flag unfurling. A few months later a young priest from Grand Rapids, Michigan came to our church in California to present a series of talks on both the Old and New Testament. This was something new in the church to hear the Bible being preached so effectively. He was fantastic! I came home and told my husband all that I heard. He said that the priest must be a Baptist turned inside out. After the visiting priest left the pastor said from the pulpit on a Sunday morning that it was OK to read the Bible but no way were we to put it above Catholic doctrine. Whoa! Another big red flag was waving. That was the beginning of my exodus from the Catholic church.

I have my brother-in-law to thank for teaching me the difference between a cross in a Protestant church and a cross in a Catholic church. The cross in the Protestant church is bare because we have taken Jesus down from the cross and embraced Him as our personal Savior.

As a Catholic I knew that Christ had died for my sins but I didn't have that personal relationship. I thought I was Christian because I was not Jewish!

When my husband passed away a Catholic friend sent me a Mass offering for the repose of his soul with a note saying that she was doing so even though she knew he was not Catholic. My thank you note to her included words that I was sure that trumpets sounded loud and clear the moment he arrived at the gates of Heaven. (She was not aware that it is not necessary to pray for a Christian who has died his earthly death.)

Many are going to be surprised that there are no denominations in Heaven.

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