"Works" Salvation?

[ALLFORHIM]

I think the problem here is that predestination, as taught by some n-Cs makes no sense in the context of the rest of the New Testament. It seems that they are teaching that it doesn’t matter whether one lives a moral life, or that even obedience to Christ is irrelevant and if so then in the final analysis it really doesn’t make any difference what a person does and all the rest of the Word of God is made null and void. That just simply isn’t the Gospel that I read in my Bible nor the one that I hear and believe as a Catholic.

Personally, I think most of what I have read about predestination is misbegotten theory based on the essential doctrinal error of Sola Scriptura.

Hi Church,
I have very recently been studying predestination and I would like to know your thoughts and beliefs about it. What do you think of Romans 8 (actually this goes along with the thread)and Romans 9 and Ephesians 1:4.

I, personally, believe this is hard for humans to grasp because it makes God look unfair. I have to admit though, predestination is looking clearer and clearer to me as I study scripture.

I just want your take on it.

 

[Church_Militant]

You cannot lose salvation once attained…those that seemingly fall away were never saved to begin with…

I disagree and the Word Of God does too.

2John 1:9
1Jo 2:19
1Co 15:1-2

Perseverance is guaranteed for those that are of the elect…

Mark 13:22 for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible

, the elect.I think you’re reading something into this that isn’t really there.

Look here at 2nd Peter 1:3-10
3: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
4: by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.
5: For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
6: and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
7: and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
8: For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9: For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10: Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall;

Hebrews 3:14 For we **have become **

partakers of Christ, **if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,**Exactly…“if”.

Those that have been made partakers with Christ will evidence this in holding fast - as you can see from 1 Corinthians 15:2 above - those that fall away “believed in vain”. It was not that faith granted by God…they are tares that were caught in the dragnet…Matthew 13:47-50

This is stretching the interpretation to fit the belief already held and therefore a fallacy. You are taking individual passages and excluding others that apply and getting an imbalanced interpretation as a result.

Falling away is not characteristic of one who is of the elect…Heb 6:4-6 and 9

This all seems like a desperate defense of something that is indefensible without cherry-picking through the Word of God to draw together proof texts while ignoring so many more passages that offer insight. The object in seeking spiritual truth is to accept what one finds and not press Bible verses into cookie cutters of pet beliefs.

 

[contramundum7]

So Catholics are Pharisees? Catholics thank God that they are not sinners as other men are? Do you have any clue what rubbish that is? Have you ever been to a Catholic Mass where we we all confess that we are sinners, and call out “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy”?

Now answer my question, please. Does having a wrong theological idea in one’s mind cancel God’s saving grace? If so, is it not you who are preaching works salvation, with the works being a correct intellectual understanding of the mechanics of salvation?

Wow - i never thought of it this way but it is so true about Protestants preaching this need for a correct theological understanding in order to be saved… Its like i “saw” this concept but only in some subconscious nether region of my over-loaded mind…
Now i guess i should read the rest of the Posts to see if the question was answered…

 

[contramundum7]

The Catholic Church has NEVER taught salvation by works, despite what some Protestants claim to the contrary. :banghead:. We are saved purely by God’s grace, but he expects us to cooperate with God’s grace.
As far as predestination goes, I believe that God knows beforehand the choices we make, but I don’t believe he creates anyone just to condemn them to hell. The Bible states he wishes ALL men to be saved. For those who believe in predestination: what make you so sure you are one of the few ‘elect’ to be saved (I never met anyone who believed in predestination that believed they were predestined to hell)?

I don’t believe God “knows” what choices we are going to make. I believe He chose not to know such things when He gave us free will… He only knew what kind of choices our personalities, etc, would lead us to consider and possibly act on… He knows all the possible choices we can make, but not all the choices we definitely WILL make… How could He and still allow us free will?

 

[Church_Militant]

Hi Church,
I have very recently been studying predestination and I would like to know your thoughts and beliefs about it. What do you think of Romans 8 (actually this goes along with the thread)and Romans 9 and Ephesians 1:4.

I, personally, believe this is hard for humans to grasp because it makes God look unfair. I have to admit though, predestination is looking clearer and clearer to me as I study scripture.

I just want your take on it.

It’s not a matter of God being “unfair”, but of right interpretation of the Gospel of Christ.

If predestination is correct then it negates the rest of the New Testament and leads all mankind to moral chaos because nothing matters at all.

Calvin was dead wrong and this is an error that I completely reject. How God works out our salvation is His business and if it seems difficult to comprehend then that is fine with me, because He is God and I am dust.

In the words of the Divine Mercy devotion.
My Jesus I trust in You.

 

[Church_Militant]

I don’t believe God “knows” what choices we are going to make. I believe He chose not to know such things when He gave us free will… He only knew what kind of choices our personalities, etc, would lead us to consider and possibly act on… He knows all the possible choices we can make, but not all the choices we definitely WILL make… How could He and still allow us free will?

Certainly possible, but still conjecture, right?

I understand what you mean though.

 

[contramundum7]

Hi Church,
I have very recently been studying predestination and I would like to know your thoughts and beliefs about it. What do you think of Romans 8 (actually this goes along with the thread)and Romans 9 and Ephesians 1:4.

I, personally, believe this is hard for humans to grasp because it makes God look unfair. I have to admit though, predestination is looking clearer and clearer to me as I study scripture.

I just want your take on it.

I don’t know what you have been studying but the Bible is definitely not in favor of predestination - if by that term you mean that God predestines some to Hell and some to Heaven… That is Pure Rubbish!! For one thing, if that were the case, why would Jesus have to come and die on a cross like He did? He died for all people…
This pre-d thing doesn’t make a bit of sense… We would be a bunch of robots if that were the case… Since i hvae come back to my Catholic faith, i see more than ever how many choices (options) i have in life… It actually scares me sometimes…
That is what life is all about - CHOICE…
And if you choose satan one day, you can always - always - choose Jesus the next…
People may not forgive totally but God forgives absolutely anything - through Jesus… and Jesus, in addition to forgiveness, HEALS us of the effects of our (and others’) sins…
Praise you, Sweet, Precious Jesus. :bowdown2:

 

[Randy_Carson]

It’s easy to see why you turned away from the truth. You chose teachers that we not good teachers. It would be like me saying - " I turned from the Catholic faith becase of what I learned from the news reports on the abusive priests. It’s not a good example of what the faith is all about.

You would be well advised to look to R.C. Sproul ligonier.org/, or Ravi Zacharias rzim.org/, for accurate teaching on what the Bible actually says.

How can this person look to RC Sproul for accurate teaching?

Is Sproul infallible?

Does Sproul represent some type of Protestant “magisterium”?

Aren’t Sproul’s opinions simply his own interpretations?

For those that rely on Sproul for guidance, do his writings constitute an “extra-biblical” source of authority?

Is he not teaching mere “traditions of men” when he teaches his own opinions?

In other words, how does reliance on Sproul square with the doctrine of sola scriptura?

As for trouble within the ranks of the Catholic priesthood, this is truly grievous. However, we should not be surprised. One of the twelve was a traitor, and Jesus himself told us:

Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27"The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28" ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29” ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ " (Matthew 13:24-30)

Although Jesus has sown much good seed in the field (the Church), an enemy (Satan) has sown some bad seeds within the Church. God will deal with them at the harvest.

Hope this helps. :tiphat:

 

[mikeledes]

The question of faith alone or faith plus works is made difficult by some hard-to-reconcile Bible passages. Compare Romans 3:28, 5:1 and Galatians 3:24 with James 2:24. Some see a difference between Paul (salvation is by faith alone) and James (salvation is by faith plus works). In reality, Paul and James did not disagree at all. The only point of disagreement some people claim is over the relationship between faith and works. Paul dogmatically says that justification is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9) while James appears to be saying that justification is by faith plus works. This apparent problem is answered by examining what exactly James is talking about. James is refuting the belief that a person can have faith without producing any good works (James 2:17-18). James is emphasizing the point that genuine faith in Christ will produce a changed life and good works (James 2:20-26). James is not saying that justification is by faith plus works, but rather that a person who is truly justified by faith will have good works in his life. If a person claims to be a believer, but has no good works in his life – then he likely does not have genuine faith in Christ (James 2:14, 17, 20, 26).

Allforhim, I have to disagree with you on this one. James is not contrasting genuine faith with false or superficial faith. He is contrasting productive faith with unproductive faith. Let’s take a look at James 2:24:

**You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. **

If your interpretation is correct, then James is actually saying:

“You see that a man is justified by works, and not by superficial faith alone.”

So I guess man is justified by superficial faith and works? That makes no sense. The “faith” in verse 24 is clearly genuine faith. How do we know? Because the “you see” that opens verse 24 means that James is using the previous verses discussing Abraham’s faith (v.v.21-23) as evidence of the point he is trying to make. And we all know that Abraham’s faith was genuine. Therefore, verse 24 is really saying:

“You see that man is justified by works, and not by “genuine” faith alone.”

Genuine faith does not automatically produce works. Works are an act of the will and involve effort.

2 Peter 1:5-9

**5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. **

Note that Peter does not say that if you do not have these qualities added to your faith, you do not have genuine faith and were not genuinely justified. Rather, Peter says that if you do not have these qualities in addition to your faith, you are nearsighted and blind “and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.” Only a person genuinely justified, and hence with genuine faith, can have their past sins cleansed.

James is warning Christians that their faith must not be unproductive. If they remain unproductive, then they will not enjoy final salvation.

God Bless,
Michael

 

[ALLFORHIM]

It’s not a matter of God being “unfair”, but of right interpretation of the Gospel of Christ.

If predestination is correct then it negates the rest of the New Testament and leads all mankind to moral chaos because nothing matters at all.

Calvin was dead wrong and this is an error that I completely reject. How God works out our salvation is His business and if it seems difficult to comprehend then that is fine with me, because He is God and I am dust.

In the words of the Divine Mercy devotion.
My Jesus I trust in You.

Thanks Church. So how do you or should I say the CC intrepret the scripture I asked you about?

 

[ALLFORHIM]

I don’t know what you have been studying but the Bible is definitely not in favor of predestination - if by that term you mean that God predestines some to Hell and some to Heaven… That is Pure Rubbish!! For one thing, if that were the case, why would Jesus have to come and die on a cross like He did? He died for all people…
This pre-d thing doesn’t make a bit of sense… We would be a bunch of robots if that were the case… Since i hvae come back to my Catholic faith, i see more than ever how many choices (options) i have in life… It actually scares me sometimes…
That is what life is all about - CHOICE…
And if you choose satan one day, you can always - always - choose Jesus the next…
People may not forgive totally but God forgives absolutely anything - through Jesus… and Jesus, in addition to forgiveness, HEALS us of the effects of our (and others’) sins…
Praise you, Sweet, Precious Jesus. :bowdown2:

Hi,

I’ll ask you the same question I asked Churh. How do you or the CC intrepret the scriptures I posted above.

 

[mikeledes]

Since there is so much talk on predestination, here is a quote from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

(1) The first quality, the immutability of the Divine decree, is based both on the infallible foreknowledge of God that certain, quite determined individuals will leave this life in the state of grace, and on the immutable will of God to give precisely to these men and to no others eternal happiness as a reward for their supernatural merits. Consequently, the whole future membership of heaven, down to its minutest details, with all the different measures of grace and the various degrees of happiness, has been irrevocably fixed from all eternity. Nor could it be otherwise. For if it were possible that a predestined individual should after all be cast into hell or that one not predestined should in the end reach heaven, then God would have been mistaken in his foreknowledge of future events; He would no longer be omniscient. Hence the Good Shepherd says of his sheep (John 10:28): “And I give them life everlasting; and they shalt not perish forever, and no man shall pluck them out of my hand.” But we must beware of conceiving the immutability of predestination either as fatalistic in the sense of the Mahommedan kismet or as a convenient pretext for idle resignation to inexorable fate. God’s infallible foreknowledge cannot force upon man unavoidable coercion, for the simple reason that it is at bottom nothing else than the eternal vision of the future historical actuality. God foresees the free activity of a man precisely as that individual is willing to shape it. Whatever may promote the work of our salvation, whether our own prayers and good works, or the prayers of others in our behalf, is eo ipso included in the infallible foreknowledge of God and consequently in the scope of predestination (cf. St. Thomas, I, Q. xxiii, a. 8). It is in such practical considerations that the ascetical maxim (falsely ascribed to St. Augustine) originated: “Si non es prædestinatus, fac ut prædestineris” (if you are not predestined, so act that you may be predestined). Strict theology, it is true, cannot approve this bold saying, except in so far as the original decree of predestination is conceived as at first a hypothetical decree, which is afterwards changed to an absolute and irrevocable decree by the prayers, good works, and perseverance of him who is predestined, according to the words of the Apostle (2 Peter 1:10): “Wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election.”

(2) The second quality of predestination, the definiteness of the number of the elect, follows naturally from the first. For if the eternal counsel of God regarding the predestined is unchangeable, then the number of the predestined must likewise be unchangeable and definite, subject neither to additions nor to cancellations. Anything indefinite in the number would eo ipso imply a lack of certitude in God’s knowledge and would destroy His omniscience. Furthermore, the very nature of omniscience demands that not only the abstract number of the elect, but also the individuals with their names and their entire career on earth, should be present before the Divine mind from all eternity. Naturally, human curiosity is eager for definite information about the absolute as well as the relative number of the elect. How high should the absolute number be estimated? But it would be idle and useless to undertake calculations and to guess at so and so many millions or billions of predestined. St. Thomas (I, Q. xxiii, a. 7) mentions the opinion of some theologians that as many men will be saved as there are fallen angels, while others held that the number of predestined will equal the number of the faithful angels

.

God bless,
michael

 

[ALLFORHIM]

Allforhim, I have to disagree with you on this one. James is not contrasting genuine faith with false or superficial faith. He is contrasting productive faith with unproductive faith. Let’s take a look at James 2:24:

**You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. **

If your interpretation is correct, then James is actually saying:

“You see that a man is justified by works, and not by superficial faith alone.”

So I guess man is justified by superficial faith and works? That makes no sense. The “faith” in verse 24 is clearly genuine faith. How do we know? Because the “you see” that opens verse 24 means that James is using the previous verses discussing Abraham’s faith (v.v.21-23) as evidence of the point he is trying to make. And we all know that Abraham’s faith was genuine. Therefore, verse 24 is really saying:

“You see that man is justified by works, and not by “genuine” faith alone.”

Genuine faith does not automatically produce works. Works are an act of the will and involve effort.

2 Peter 1:5-9

**5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith ** goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Note that Peter does not say that if you do not have these qualities added to your faith, you do not have genuine faith and were not genuinely justified. Rather, Peter says that if you do not have these qualities in addition to your faith, you are nearsighted and blind “and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.” Only a person genuinely justified, and hence with genuine faith, can have their past sins cleansed.

James is warning Christians that their faith must not be unproductive. If they remain unproductive, then they will not enjoy final salvation.

God Bless,
Michael

Thanks for your POV:thumbsup:

 

[mikeledes]

From Catholic encyclopedia:

quote The third quality of predestination, its subjective uncertainty, is intimately connected with its objective immutability. We know not whether we are reckoned among the predestined or not

. All we can say is: God alone knows it. When the Reformers, confounding predestination with the absolute certainty of salvation, demanded of the Christian an unshaken faith in his own predestination if be wished to be saved, the Council of Trent opposed to this presumptuous belief the canon (Sess. VI, can. xv): “S. q. d., hominem renatum et justificatum teneri ex fide ad credendum, se certo esse in numero prædestinatorum, anathema sit” (if any one shall say that the regenerated and justified man is bound as a matter of faith to believe that he is surely of the number of the predestined, let him be anathema). In truth, such a presumption is not only irrational, but also unscriptural (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:4; 9:27; 10:12; Philippians 2:12). Only a private revelation, such as was vouchsafed to the penitent thief on the cross, could give us the certainty of faith: hence the Tridentine Council insists (loc. cit., cap. xii): “Nam nisi ex speciali revelatione sciri non potest, quos Deus sibi elegerit” (for apart from a special revelation, it cannot be known whom God has chosen). However, the Church condemns only that blasphemous presumption which boasts of a faithlike certainty in matters of predestination. To say that there exist probable signs of predestination which exclude all excessive anxiety is not against her teaching. The following are some of the criteria set down by the theologians: purity of heart, pleasure in prayer, patience in suffering, frequent reception of the sacraments, love of Christ and His Church, devotion to the Mother of God, etc.
[/quote]

As you can see, the Catholic Church teaches predestination. What we reject is the Calvinist notion of predestination, which limits God’s justifying grace to those predestined to glory (the elect) and destroys free will. In the Catholic view, God mysteriously incorporates free will in accomplishing the salvation of the elect.

Here is James Akin’s article on the Catholic alternative to TULIP:

romancatholicism.org/akin-tulip.htm

God Bless,
Michael

 

[mepatri]

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins

.

The adding to the faith the RCC talks about is not “goodness.” Nor is is knowlege, self-control or any of the other points listed. It’s sacremental works that have nothing to do with these things. It is not adding “goodness”, or “knowledge”, or “self-control” to add grace to yourself through receiving the sacrement of the Mass. Rather it’s doing something to get something. This is very different, and your example is not a good one.

 

[mikeledes]

.

The adding to the faith the RCC talks about is not “goodness.” Nor is is knowlege, self-control or any of the other points listed. It’s sacremental works that have nothing to do with these things. It is not adding “goodness”, or “knowledge”, or “self-control” to add grace to yourself through receiving the sacrement of the Mass. Rather it’s doing something to get something. This is very different, and your example is not a good one.

You compeletely fail to understand Catholic teaching. I’m sure you belive in “growing in grace.” How is that growing in grace accomplished?

Please read these articles:

home.nyc.rr.com/mysticalrose/grace2.html

home.nyc.rr.com/mysticalrose/grace.html

God Bless,
Michael

 

[mikeledes]

Mepatri, what will ultimately happen to a Christian who is unproductive, who is “blind and nearsighted”, having “forgotten that his sins were cleansed?” The Bible is clear on that:

John 15:1-2,

**1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. **

**6"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. **

The unproductive “branch” will be cut off and thrown into the fire. You cannot be a “branch in Christ” unless you have been genuinely justified. Otherwise, you could not be incorporated into Christ (“the Vine”). If you were not genuinely saved, then you were never a “branch” to begin with. How can you be “taken away” from something you were never a part of?

Enjoyment of eternal life in the world to come is promised to those of the justified who perserve in doing good to the end:

Romans 2:6-7

6 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

Galatians 6:7-9

7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature ]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

God Bless,
Michael

 

[ALLFORHIM]

From Catholic encyclopedia:

As you can see, the Catholic Church teaches predestination. What we reject is the Calvinist notion of predestination, which limits God’s justifying grace to those predestined to glory (the elect) and destroys free will. In the Catholic view, God mysteriously incorporates free will in accomplishing the salvation of the elect.

Here is James Akin’s article on the Catholic alternative to TULIP:

romancatholicism.org/akin-tulip.htm

God Bless,
Michael

Hi,
Thanks for the article. It seems the CC is just as non-committal as most christians. I dont mean that in a bad way either. It said that catholics can believe either way. It is a tough concept and maybe one which we arent meant to totally get:shrug: I think our minds are too finite. Predestination and free will makes total sense to God so I will let Him work it out.

Ive notice you have been posting longer posts. Usually they are very short. You must like this topic.

 

[mikeledes]

Hi,
Thanks for the article. It seems the CC is just as non-committal as most christians. I dont mean that in a bad way either. It said that catholics can believe either way. It is a tough concept and maybe one which we arent meant to totally get:shrug: I think our minds are too finite. Predestination and free will makes total sense to God so I will let Him work it out.

Ive notice you have been posting longer posts. Usually they are very short. You must like this topic.

Predestination can be very confusing. :whacky: Since it is a mystery, we cannot give a conclusive throrough answer to this question. The Church establishes certain parameters that have to be followed, but allows freedom in certain areas that are unclear. The Catholic Church teaches predestination. The problem is that the relationship between predestination and free will is unclear, hence the two major Catholic schools of thought (i.e. the Molinists and the Thomists.)

Here is another interesting article on predestination (Catholic vs. Calvinist).

bringyou.to/apologetics/num21.htm

This topic interests me because there are many Catholics and Protestants that are not aware of this area of Catholic teaching. They think that predestination is strictly a Calvinist idea.

God Bless,
Michael

 

[mikeledes]

Here is a definition of Predestination from catholic-forum.com/saints/ncd06745.htm.

In its widest sense, predestination coincides with Divine Providence and God’s government of the world. Guided by His infallible prescience of the future, God from eternity fore-ordained the events that occur in time, and thus destined all things beforehand to their appointed end. In its strict and theological sense, predestination signifies the supernatural providence of God, immutably decreeing and efficaciously promoting the eternal salvation of rational creatures. It implies two essential elements: God’s infallible foreknowledge (praescientia) of the future, and His immutable decree (decretum) of eternal happiness. God sincerely wills all rational creatures to be saved, and to that end He provides them with means at least remotely sufficient for the attainment of eternal salvation; yet He does not predestine every one to life eternal, but only those in whom He sees fulfilled the unalterable conditions laid down by Himself. “For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be made conformable to the image of his Son.” (Romans 8) These only are His elect, and of them no one is ever lost (John 10). In its full or adequate meaning, predestination refers to both grace and glory as a whole, and in this sense it is defined by Saint Thomas as “the foreordination of grace in the present, and of glory in the future.” It not only includes a divine election to glory as the end, but also to grace as the means, the vocation to faith, justification, and final perseverance inseparably connected with a happy death. It is with this adequate predestination that the real dogma of eternal election is exclusively concerned. Pedestination is objectively certain and immutable; but without a special revelation to that effect, no one in this life can know for certain whether he is among the predestined. Hence the admonition of Saint Peter: “Wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election.” (2 Peter, 1)

Here are other links on this topic:

cuf.org/Faithfacts/details_view.asp?ffID=147

bringyou.to/apologetics/a83.htm

God Bless,
Michael