One of the major defenses for this doctrine is:
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,** neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand**.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
The only thing is when they sin, they aren’t being plucked out, they are falling. We always have free will. We choose every day, every minute whether to accept or reject the gift God has given us. It isn’t a one time deal, as I was taught as a child.
I grew up in a relatively strict southern baptist family. When was 9 I went to the front of the church and went through the motions as everyone else had done. I can’t tell you what I really believed, though I can tell you I loved God.
As the years went on, I went through the typical teen stage of rebellion and fell away from what I had been raised to believe. When I was 14 or so I started listening to EWTN on shortwave radio. I had to do it in private as my mother disapproved of my listening to anything Catholic. I went on like that for a few years and ended up not going to church at all. When I was 25, after a lot a problems in my life I went and spoke with a Priest and eventually went through the RCIA program at the local parish. It has been 2 years now and though I am not perfect by any means, I do still love God, more than ever now, and wish I had sought the guidance of a Priest much sooner.
Yes, My family does believe in OSAS. I believe they would shut you out if you tried to reason with them about it. My grandfather, who was born into a Catholic family, has been a southern baptist minister for over 30 years now. His pride prevents him from even discussing the subject. I guess he doesn’t want to admit his life has been spent defending and pushing a fallacy.
We have those who have run the race before us to follow. Protestants seem to think it all ended in Revelations and the Saints are just ordinary people who led ordinary lives. I believe they were ordinary people who led extraordinary lives.
“The gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. But the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Mt 7:13-14)
I believe this is an ongoing decision, which path to take. One can veer off course and be on the wrong path, but if he repents and changes course, through the Sacraments instituted by Christ, he can get back on the right path.
St. Benedict Pray for us,
St. Bernard Pray for us,
O Mary Conceived Without Sin, Pray For Us Who Have Recourse To Thee