Your comment: “You do realize the Holy Spirit is promised to all believers in Christ? He is not limited to just a “few” in the rcc.”
Yes, but we can also lose through sin.
Jesus promised he would not leave us orphans (John 14:18) but would send the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us (John 15:26). He gave the sacraments to heal, feed, and strengthen us. The seven sacraments —baptism, the Eucharist, penance (also called reconciliation or confession), confirmation, holy orders, matrimony, and the anointing of the sick—are not just symbols. They are signs that actually convey God’s grace and love.
The sacraments were foreshadowed in the Old Testament by things that did not actually convey grace but merely symbolized it (circumcision, for example, prefigured baptism, and the Passover meal prefigured the Eucharist. When Christ came, he did not do away with symbols of God’s grace. He supernaturalized them, energizing them with grace. He made them more than symbols.
God constantly uses material things to show his love and power. After all, matter is not evil. When he created the physical universe, everything God created was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). He takes such delight in matter that he even dignified it through his own Incarnation (John 1:14).
During his earthly ministry Jesus healed, fed, and strengthened people through humble elements such as mud, water, bread, oil, and wine. He could have performed his miracles directly, but he preferred to use material things to bestow his grace.
In his first public miracle Jesus turned water into wine, at the request of his mother, Mary (John 2:1–11). He healed a blind man by rubbing mud on his eyes (John 9:1–7). He multiplied a few loaves and fish into a meal for thousands (John 6:5–13). He changed bread and wine into his own body and blood (Matt. 26:26– 28). Through the sacraments he continues to heal, feed, and strengthen us.
Yes, but we can also lose through sin.
The greatest lie told by the rcc....you can lose your salvation in direct contradiction of Scripture.
It must be terrifying going to bed for the catholic who has committed a mortal sin (per catholicism, but not in the Bible) but has not been to see a priest to "seek forgiveness" (per catholicism but not the Bible as we have direct access to Christ) . If the catholic were to die they would be, according to catholicism, eternally separated from God...that is to say, consigned to Hell.
We may thank God that Christianity offers a different view of salvation. It is eternal and secure.
Ephesians 1:13-14 (All scripture quotes from the NASB, The Ryrie Study Bible)
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
If you examine this passage in the Greek, you really get a clear understanding of just how secure the Christian is in Christ due to the sealing of the Holy Spirit.
There is nothing in the NT to ever show that Christ unseals us or that we can unseal ourselves. Nothing.
When Paul was writing to the Believers in Rome he wrote the following in 8:14-7
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
In Backgrounds of Early Christianity (Ferguson, pp 65-66), the author notes the following regarding adopted children.
1) there were taken out of their previous condition
2)all old debts were cancelled
3) the adopted child started a new life in the relation of sonship to the new family
4)the adopted child was entitled to the families inheritance
5) the new father now owned the adoptee's property, controlled his personal relationships, had right of discipline while assuming responsibility for his support and liability for his actions.
6) this was a legal procedure attested by witnesses
This was the view Paul had when he wrote this in Romans and Galatians 4:5-7 and Ephesians 1:5.
Christians are adopted sons and daughters of God. He loves us so much He is willing to accept us into His family through faith in His Son Who died for all of our sins...past, present and future, for which He offers complete forgiveness of all (Colossians 2:13-14).
It is my hope that all come to faith through Christ to be a part of God's family.