I can’t remember ever having a response from you before. If I have and I have forgotten, my apologies. The reason I say this is because your response is one that came from reading what I wrote and responding with a thoughtful and caring answer. Thank you for that:)
And thank you for allowing that the point I was making is reasonable given the Scripture I offered.
I agree that we cannot save ourselves. God is our Creator and the power to save is His alone. Praise God that He sent Jesus and we believe, for it is His will and not ours that has led us to the Truth.
God’s seal is His promise of eternal life with Him if we live faithfully. That is why we believe Jesus when He says, If you remain in me, I will remain in you. We know His words are true because He was given as a first installment on that promise. Again, Praise be to God.
What I wrote about the OSAS doctrine I take to be more a caricature than a straw man. I have no doubt that there are protestants who believe this which is why they are secure in their sins. I also have no doubt that there are Catholics who believe that they are saved merely because they attend Mass every Sunday.
****Real faith makes you a new creation in Christ. You change. You really do become a new person. You don’t ever just stop with saying some magic set of words and that’s it. Those words, Paul says, come from a heart that really believes, and if you really believe that Jesus is Lord, you cannot help but act on that belief. You change. Old lusts literally die. You get a whole new set of motivations. You love God, you want always to please Him. You begin to love others in a new way. There is healing, reconciliation, peace, a new way forward. It’s amazing. ****
I believe this wholeheartedly for I have seen it in my own life. What I find interesting is the phrase that one cannot help but act on that belief. That is what the Catholic Christian believes also. We act out of love for Jesus and through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. But, again, it is an act of the will.
St. Paul uses the analogies of a soldier and an athlete to convey what he means when exhorting us to train our minds and our bodies to love God and follow His commands. In Romans 7, he explains that the Law did not cause sin, rather, it reveals it to us so that by our love for Jesus we are repentant and do not desire to remain in sin.
That is why he is anxious to die and be with the Lord. Once we are out of the body, we no longer have a desire to sin.
This is all an act of our will. We must be vigilant and constant in our protection of our souls, leaving behind our old lives and clinging to the new. Paul warns us to eshew the company of non believers and unrepentant sinners. He urges us to quell the desires of our body and replace them with the love of Jesus.
We battle against one who hates us and wishes us harm. We must stay as close to Jesus as we can in order to defeat that battle within us and the closer we are to Jesus, the more we love as He loved, the easier the victory.
Jesus has won the ultimate battle and secured the victory of salvation for those who believe and ACT ON THAT BELIEF.
"What MUST we do...