So you are telling me that Rome doesn’t teach that man must cooperate with God’s grace? I know that she does. What I’m telling you is the Bible teaches we are saved wholly by God’s grace. If He begins a work of grace in you He will bring it to completion. Please read and pray over Phillipians 1:6 and Hebrews 12:2.
Not one of those verses you named teaches a man who has been truly born again cannot have assurance of salvation. See I know I’ve been born again because I’m not the man I was and not by anything I’ve done. I love things I never loved and I hate things I used to love. My life was turned upside down. The Bible truth is Jesus has already obtained redemption for believers. Catholicism denies this by teaching: “The work of our redemption is carried on” every time the Eucharist is celebrated (CCC, 1405). God’s Word declares: “He [Jesus] entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12). “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).
Part of the reason Catholics don’t understand what the Bible teaches on assurance is that they don’t understand the way of salvation. Rome essentially teaches that you must save yourself by paying for your own sins. Why do you call Jesus the Savior when you must save yourself? Catholicism teaches the sinner must “make satisfaction for” or “expiate” his sins through “penance.” (1459) “In this way they attained their own salvation and cooperated in saving their brothers” (1477). God’s Word proclaims “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Why do you believe a place called Purgatory can purify your sins? God’s Word says “when He [Jesus] had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3). “He gave Himself for us to... purify for Himself a people for His own possession” (Titus 2:14). “The blood of Jesus...cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). These verses destroy the myth of Purgatory. Yet the Vatican continues to deceive Catholics by teaching they “must undergo purification [in Purgatory] to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (CCC, 1030).
Did you know that whenever you believe a doctrine, you must also forsake that which opposes it?
Scripture reveals that Jesus saves...
by faith in Him, not baptism
by His grace, not our merit
by His finished work, not our works
by His righteousness, not ours
by His one offering for sin, not the Mass
by His blood, not purgatory
by His obedience, not ours
by His Gospel, not man’s perversion of it
Which Jesus will you trust?
The Jesus of the Bible promises eternal life, the complete forgiveness of sins, a permanent right standing with God and the power to live a victorious life. The Catholic Jesus is a Jesus that was never preached by the Apostles (2 Cor. 11:4). This counterfeit Christ provides only conditional life, partial forgive- ness of sins, an ongoing need for priests and mediators, uncertainty, fear and doubt. Those who reject the true Jesus, who is clearly and conclusively revealed in His Word, will be judged accordingly. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “The word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48).
Your testimony is fully consistent with the God of the Bible.