One of the many, many failures of the Catholic religion is to fail to understand or acknowledge the meaning of 'repent'...
μετανοέω
metanoeō
met-an-o-eh'-o
From G3326 and G3539; to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): - repent.
Repentance is NOT a change of works...Repentance is a change of heart...THEREFORE: a one time repentance is all that is required for salvation...
Protestants believe we can be sure of our salvation before death because it is not based on our good deeds which the Bible says are like filthy rags (Is. 64:6) Instead it is based by faith on the good deeds of Jesus Christ, who lived without sin and gave himself for us. Our salvation is complete as long as we trust in Him, for he said as he died, ‘It is finished.’”
And that is exactly right...
Most of this 'book' was written with almost no reference to the scriptures that were written and given to the 'church'...The church epistles were for the most part left out...And without those scriptures, one can not get a complete and clear understanding of what God tells us...
Preach it, brother.
Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.
David sinned terribly and yet was called by God *A man after God's own heart*.
Salvation can be assured because the whole issue is God not counting our sin against us.
It's not a matter of being sinless, or becoming sinless, or anyone denying the reality of the fact that we sin.
It's got to do with God's record keeping so to speak. Christ's death and resurrection paid the penalty for our sin and conquered sin and death. That can be counted in our favor, credited to our account for the debt we owe for the sin we committed, when we trust Him to do it for us.
It's really almost a business transaction.
Friend, you are only showing your ignorance with such arrogant statements.
I was "born & bred" in the Protestant Evangelical tradition, and trained in Ivory Tower Evangelical schools (Moody, Wheaton). However, in God's timing I found myself conducting my doctoral studies in theology at a Jesuit-affiliated University, and discovered that much of what I had "learned" about the Catholic tradition was a caricature.
No, I haven't converted, but I have a healthy and growing appreciation for the Catholic Church. The above theological questions should lead to a mutually-respectful discussion among those who share belief in Christ as Lord and Savior. Snide put-downs only serve to remind me of the ignorance of my youth, when I mistakenly supposed that I "knew" that Catholicism was a false religion and the Pope was very likely the Antichrist.