Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:And God doesn't have the character flaw of taking back the gifts he gives:
Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.Which only makes sense, because what kind of eternal life is it if "now you have it now you don't?" Hardly qualifies as eternal, like the real thing:
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.As for the rest of your post, like the saying goes, if all one has is a hammer, everything will look like a nail. Resolve the faith question first, and the rest will make more sense. Until then, there is no point in branching off to other unresolved controversies.
John 5:24 simply states what we already know. The Gospel has to be followed, including baptism, to gain eternal life. Christ makes clear that he does nothing, but what he’s seen his Father (God the Father) has done.
Remember the context, FRiend. The Pharisees are on Jesus about both healing and saving on the Sabbath. Are you disputing the absolute need for baptism by authority?
I know the favorite tack is snipping a verse here and there to support some wrong contention. How about a little context for Romans 11:29.
Paul’s scolding the members of the Church for withholding the Gospel from the Jews. Your verse is reference to the promises made to Israel through the Patriarchs.
http://biblehub.com/romans/11.htm
Your exposition on Eph 2:8 is a masterclass example of eisegesis. It is grace/salvation that is a gift from God.
I subscribe to this definition of faith: http://biblehub.com/hebrews/11-1.htm
Heb. 11:1 Now faith is a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope, and a conviction of the reality of things which we do not see.
Seekers after Christ cannot pick and choose, but must take the Bible as a whole. As schismatic Catholics you’ve lost much and gained much, but it’s a muddle. Back to the Bible and you’ll find the way.
Done. So now we can discuss all that scary sideshow stuff, no?
How do you anoint the sick and give the blessing found in James 5:14?
Remember Christ’s True Church will have Apostles, Prophets, Bishops, Evangelists, Deacons and the authority to baptize in his name. So I’m not limiting our discussion to just the blessing for the sick and anointing with oil.
It’s just a starting point to focus your attention.