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You wrote....”This man clearly never knew or bothered to properly understand his Catholicism”....

As I have seen it for catholics it’s all about understanding their catholicism and practicing rituals far and above understanding the gospel message, which unfortunately is often simply used to support these practices and rituals that in turn often give a false sense of salvation where there is none...

.....Furthermore in attempting to understand their catholicism, rather than the Gospel and Jesus and encouraging study in Gods Word, vast amounts of authors and writers and catholic history is held and promoted in much higher regard then Jesus, His Word and the Gospel Message which can and does assure one of Salvation.

Therefore the ‘relationship” you spoke of is rare to go any further than rituals, church membership, and practices as the means of and assurances of ones standing in the church rather than in Jesus Christ.

That is another reason why cathoics have no assurances of salvation..and ‘refuse to believe’ even possible it can and is just as Jesus said....

...”These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God,... ‘so that you may know’ that you have eternal life. This is the ‘CONFIDENCE’ which we have before Him...”.......I John 5

You writing and I quote.... “Salvation is not a single event that takes place ‘once in time’, and then is assured ever after. The bible says that we must believe to be saved, but it does not say that salvation is now guaranteed.”.....evidences clearly this assurance has escaped you.....but then you contradict yourself by saying....and I again quote....”ONLY souls in a state of grace will get to heaven.”

Jesus says otherwise.....that his life, death and resurrection assures us of what He himself has promised when He says in John 10...”I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

and further....John 11:25-26 tells us Jesus said.... “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

and additionally Galatians 2:20 assures us....”I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh ‘I live by faith in the Son of God’, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”....which is a completed and holy finished work only Jesus could and did complete.

Your further statement that quote... “born again is unbiblical”.....defies Jesus’s encounter with Nicodemus where he answered him saying with those very words.... “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are ‘Born Again’...... Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be Born Again.’..John 3

Nicodemus even responded ...“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

Jesus answeered...“You are Israel’s teacher,and do you not understand these things? ..... Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still ‘you people do not accept our testimony’..... I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?... Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone ‘who believes’ may have eternal life in him.”

Jesus further stating... “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.....Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Jesus further states...”This is the verdict:”

“Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But.. ‘whoever lives by the truth’.. comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Therefore salvation is very much assured, born again IS biblical, and our relationship with Jesus sealed bu His Holy Spirit... and His words to us confirms these truths. ...Not men...not ever...says the great I Am that I Am.