[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

"But wait a minute, don't Catholics tell us that the CATHOLIC CHURCH wrote the Bible? How then is it possible that the Catholic church put in there that we are sealed and it is a guarantee? Is the Church now retracting their previous statement? Does seal not really mean seal and guarantee not really mean guarantee?"

You're putting word's in God's mouth -- it doesn't say "guaranteed." A down payment has been made. You can still choose to reject the gift that has been freely offered.

[metmom]

So God makes a down payment and then reneges on the deal?

[metmom]

2 Corinthians 5:5

http://biblehub.com/greek/728.htm

For the word *arrabon* - “an earnest, earnest-money, a large part of the payment, given in advance as a security that the whole will be paid afterwards.”

[Cvengr]

To not believe that the believer is secure means that one doesn’t have faith in Christ. Therefore no matter how many good works or obedience is performed, their own doctrine without faith in Christ condemns them and by their doctrine removes them from salvation.

Thse who did have saving faith, by God’s grace, remain saved, but fail to continue in further sanctification until they return to Him and confess those sins to Him, again through faith in what Christ provided at the Cross.

Sin is no longer the issue after the Cross, rather it’s now about forgiveness.

[Elsie]

A down payment has been made.

What's the interest rate on the REST of your payments?

Is there a big balloon payment at the end?

[boatbums]

You want “guarantee”? Try:

Romans 4:16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

2 Corinthians 1:22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

2 Corinthians 5:5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Ephesians 1:14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

[imardmd1]

A down payment has been made. You can still choose to reject the gift that has been freely offered.

No, the down payment is the indwelling, never-to-be-displaced Spirit of Christ, whose condition for being there at all is that after having experience His Presence, you will never, ever (ou me) refuse His fellowship, ever.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with
you for ever; (Note: another Comforter of the same kind, allo.)
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (Jn. 14:16-18)

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away,
the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (Jn. 16:7)

Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us
the earnest of the Spirit. (2 Cor. 5:5 )

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of
righteousness.

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up
Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
(Rom. 8:9 -11)

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:
for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
(Heb. 13:5-6 )

(All from the English Authorised CVersion)

Don't camp on the "earnest" or "seal" part. The key is that the gift is that of the indwelling Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Christ, and if He is not within you, adviusing you, and saving you, you are not saved, you do not possess eternal irreversible absolute life in the Spirit, in union with The Father and His Son.

In fact, if you are resting in Roman Catholic beliefs and doctrine, it its almost without the shadow of a doubt that you will rever cross into heaven, no matter how hard you try.

[metmom]

A down payment has been made. You can still choose to reject the gift that has been freely offered.

But someone who has rejected it ISN'T saved.

Once we've accepted the gift, it's ours, just like in the acceptance of any gift. Transfer of ownership occurs and the gift belongs to the person who accepted it.

[PeterPrinciple]

You can still choose to reject the gift that has been freely offered.

---

Thats right, If you chose, then you can unchoose. There can be NO ASSURANCE if you do the choosing.

But God has a better plan. He does the choosing.........

Rom 9:18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and He chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
Rom 9:19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what He makes them do?”
Rom 9:20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the One who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”
Rom 9:21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t He have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?
Rom 9:22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show His anger and His power, He is very patient with those on whom His anger falls, who are destined for destruction.
Rom 9:23 He does this to make the riches of His glory shine even brighter on those to whom He shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.
Rom 9:24 And we are among those whom He selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.