I cannot understand the “once saved, always saved” mentality. You’re not making it any easier.
1Jo 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
The Greek word for “know” here is “eidete” – it means reasonable or intellectual knowledge. Tim Staples uses the example, “I *know *I’m going to get an A on my Greek exam.” He
could get a B but he has a high level of assurance that he will do well. He has
moral certitude rather than
absolute certitude. Catholics can have moral certitude of their salvation but based on all the if/then clauses all over the New Testament, we along with Paul, do not judge ourselves but leave that to Christ, whose job it is…
Even in John I, the epistle from which you quote to demonstrate eternal security, the Evangelist says: "
If what you heard from the beinning remains in you,
then you remain in the Son and in the Father (2:24). Thus John indicates that it
is possible to “not remain.”
If you could lose it, then you don’t KNOW that you have eternal life.
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.
**Those who accept Jesus shall NEVER perish. **
Jn 10:28 says that no man can “pluck them out” of Christ’s hand; it does
not say that one cannot jump out of Christ’s hand of his own free will.
Believers are sealed with the Holy Ghost
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
When we sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit in us and He will chasten us.
Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
He gives us His Holy Spirit in our hearts:
2Co 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
Those who believe on the Son (put their faith in the Son) for salvation already have eternal life. Not will have, or could have, but HAVE eternal life.
Some irrelevant quotes here but none of them say that we cannot forfeit eternal life. The
life may be eternal, but this side of the grave,
WE are not. God will never remove our free will, because without it we cannot love. The possibility of sin, even “unto death” remains.
**So according to Jesus, By placing my faith in Him and what He did to pay for MY sins on the cross, I HAVE eternal life. This is not conditional. He didn’t say “you have eternal life unless…” He said that you already have it, by how? Placing your faith in Him for salvation. **
I do the things that Jesus tells me to do in His word, not to be saved, but BECAUSE I already AM saved. There is a big difference. I am free, you are under bondage and believing that works save, contrary to what the bible says.
Catholics do not believe in works righteousness or that works in themselves, apart from Christ, “save.” But we believe that they do cooperate in our salvation. When Our Lord tells us that to “come after him” we must “take up our cross daily” we take him at his word. What we DO matters, not as the cause of our salvation but in cooperation with it.
The Faith in Christ for salvation saves, the good works follow because you will have a changed heart toward God, that is what being born again is. You will have a genuine desire to serve the Lord, not to be saved, but because you Love Him.
If you do a word-study of “faith” through the entire Bible, you will see that it largely means in keeping one’s word – doing what you say you will do. Mostly, it describes God as the one who is “faithful.” Faith is doing what you say you will do. Paul’s writings are the first from which people interpret “faith” as meaning psychological affirmation. Considering his background, I consider it unlikely that Paul considered “faith” to be nothing more than a feeling or a rational decision. His rants about “works” are, in context, all about “works of the law” – the ceremonial law.
