We hear today “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
How do we reconcile this requirement for Baptism with 1 Timothy 2:3-4: “This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This seeming contradiction can be difficult to reconcile. The necessity of the Church for salvation versus God’s will that all be saved.
I am so thankful for the writings of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI for their foundational answers to so many questions. During the pontificate of John Paul II, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (under Cardinal Ratzinger) issued a declaration called Dominus Iesus that addressed this issue.
There, we find the quote, ““it is necessary to keep these two truths together, namely, the real possibility of salvation in Christ for all mankind and the necessity of the Church for this salvation.” Both the Great Commissioning of which we hear a version today and the Universal Salvific Will of God that we hear in First Timothy must be held together.
Ignore the first? Missionary activity becomes a waste of time. If others can be saved outside of the Church, but will not be saved if they knowingly reject the Church, why burden them? The Catholic Church becomes just one church among many. Per Dominus Iesus, “Christian revelation and the mystery of Jesus Christ and the Church lose their character of absolute truth and salvific universality, or at least shadows of doubt and uncertainty are cast upon them.”
Ignore the second? That God wills that all be saved? Then we would also have to reject the Priestly Prayer in John 17:22: “The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one,..” The idea of working toward unification with other faiths becomes useless.
How do we reconcile these two? We value our Baptism. We treasure the Church and the sacraments. We recognize that others outside the Church can be saved. We hope and pray that they are. But we know that they are at a disadvantage.
We might compare this life to a transatlantic crossing. Would we like to do so with all the advantages and protection and safety of an ocean liner? Or would we prefer to do so in a very small boat, even one specially equipped for the hazardous journey? Would we want to do so alone?
I know what I choose. I choose the first. I choose the Church, as a member of the Body of Christ. And I thank Jesus Christ for the gift that is the Church.