Question for Protestants, and this is coming from a Catholic. Is a serial killer saved if he or she professes faith in Jesus? Conversely, is someone who lived a selfless life of service to others saved if he or she does not profess faith in Jesus?

Only way to Heaven is through a saving faith in Jesus. This is why the criminal on the cross next to Jesus was saved, because he truly believed. NOT because he did anything to earn it. We can never do anything to earn salvation alone, as we are inherently all sinful people.

However, a saving faith requires a change in heart, and that change will be evident by your actions if you are truly saved.

Being a Christian is not about being a good person. You can be the best person ever, but if you don’t know the Lord, He will reject you.

As you see all through the Bible, we are saved by faith, not by works.

If the man committing those acts were truly saved, he would have enough conviction to stop, eventually.

Fruits of the spirit are ways to identify true believers.

Ask any believer who has overcome anything.

The person living a ‘selfless’ life could be doing it for approval or praise. Acts don’t necessarily equate to godliness. The Lord judges the heart. Our works ‘alone’ don’t grant us salvation.

You didn’t ask for a Catholic perspective, but here is the Catholic Church’s teaching in case you need a reminder.

Salvation is an act of God. Ultimately it is up to His Divine Mercy whom is saved. That is why it is both true that the path to Salvation is through Jesus Christ and that non-Christians (as in your hypothetical example) can be saved. We as humans cannot fully understand God’s ways. Nor can we apply limits on whom his Divine Mercy applies to.

And for the millionth time to the Protestants who love to bring up their invented controversy of faith vs. works. Catholics do not believe that you can earn salvation. Salvation is a gift from God. Faith is a gift from God. Catholics believe that in accepting that gift of faith, we also naturally respond and exercise that faith through works and leading a Christian life.

Thanks for the important question. This can be a hard one emotionally to wrestle with, but God gives some amazing clarity and comforts to us.

1 - Does profession of faith in Jesus as their Lord mean someone is saved?
No. There are many false professions of faith in the Bible. Many people who call Jesus Lord (profess faith) are going to come to Him on the last day and He will reject them.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart form me, you who practice lawlessness.’"


2 - What does save someone?
True belief / faith in Jesus Christ.

Acts 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Romans 10:9-10 "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Romans 4:5 "And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,"


3 - How to tell if someone has true faith in Jesus?
Good works and love. Works are the evidence that someone truly believes. (often referred to as fruit) Love is the believers witness to the world. James 2 is a masterclass on the necessity of works to demonstrate true faith.

James 2:17 "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself."
James 2:24 "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." My note: You can't just say you have faith, works must be the basis on whether you are shown to be righteous or not.
1 John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."
John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”


4 - Can people who don't know Jesus do good works?
Not out of faith in God, which is prerequisite for true good.

Romans 14:23b "and whatever is not from faith is sin."
Romans 8:8 "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."


On your question: If anyone receives the gift of God, which is His grace saving us through personal faith in Jesus, they are truly saved and they will begin to do good works (2 Corinthians 5:17). Whoever believes will be saved, and no one who abides in Him keeps on sinning (i.e., continual practice of sin).
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
1 John 3:6 No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him.


Hope this helps! Let me know if you think I missed anything important.

One biblical example on the serial killer question is Paul. He had persecuted and killed many Christians but was converted and became one of the great apostles and one of the inspired authors of the New Testament. People who kill can certainly be saved with true repentance.

Q1:
I believe the reference is Matt 26.

Jesus is on the cross and has two thieves next to him. Commentators often note that common thieves were not executed via crucifixion. These would have also been murderers of the worst sort.

One says professes faith and repentance and Jesus says that he will surely go to heaven with him.

Q2: I think the nuance is here is to understand purity vs sin. Sin isn’t just the acts that you do: there is a reason why the book of Leviticus has so many holiness laws. Sin functions much more like a disease: Jesus says that he came for the sick, not the healthy. Sin is the corruption of human heart.

In that sense, heaven is a completely healed place. I can’t go to the gatekeeper and say “well I only have mild symptoms of this deadly disease” vs someone else. The point is that you still carry that deadly disease. You need a cure.

The Bible instructs that that cure is Jesus. The profession of faith in Jesus allows him to cleanse you from both the sin itself and the eternal consequences of it.

Overall:
The main point is that we say “oh, I get to go to heaven because I am good person.” The Bible asks: “relative to who?” If I were to play everything you have ever done before a jury or judge, you yourself would not think yourself worthy to get into heaven. We tend to forget all the bad things we’ve done over the years, and hide the ugliest parts of us.

If heaven is a place of absolute perfection, then anything imperfect does not fit in, both in action and nature. So, being a “mostly good person” doesn’t fit into that perfection. You need something else to make you perfect.

“Then isn’t it impossible to get into heaven then?” By no means. It just means you cannot do it by yourself. You need someone else to purify and perfect you. The Bible instructs that Jesus is that perfection and has the power to take on your imperfection, so that you can get into heaven.

To your last question, no, one MUST profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior and place all their trust in Him and His work on the cross. All of our works are as filthy rags (actual translation means excrement) before a holy and perfect God.

Question for catholics, are child abusing priests saved because they are Catholic?

GOD is the judge, but scripture is blatantly clear “NO ONE GETS THROUGH THE FATHER BUT THROUGH ME” so if said person is repentant and dies accepting Christ just like the thief on the cross, then it is possible. But GOD knows the heart, not you nor me. As for the self-less example, Christ said no one is good but God.. why would you assume they are good/selfless?