Zach Uram's Blog

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches are semi-Pelagian. Salvation in these churches is synergistic—man cooperating with God. Man is saved, in part, through his own efforts. Man, not God, chooses the time of his salvation.

Roman Catholics and Orthodox are Arminian in soteriology. They exalt man’s so-called “free will”, and believe it is essential in salvation. In this view, man uses his free will to choose Christ, even though he is dead spiritually in sin. Often emotional manipulation is used, and an “altar call” is given, where sinners are asked to choose Jesus and come forward.

Biblical soteriology is Calvinistic. In this scheme, salvation is strictly monergistic. Salvation is all God’s work. The only contribution man makes is his sin. God decided who would be predestined to be saved before the foundation of the world.

The natural man is totally depraved and in a state of spiritual death. The Holy Spirit regenerates a sinner, quickening his soul. He is made spiritually alive. He’s a new creation. Only after man is regenerated does God bestow upon him the twin gifts of repentance and faith.

By rejecting justification by faith alone, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches place themselves outside the gospel. Their sacraments and rituals have no power to save.

When Nicodemus asked Jesus how he could be saved, He replied “Ye must be born again.” This does not refer to baptism. When God regenerates us we are born again.

Roman Catholicism teaches that there are two types of sin: venial sins which don’t merit the loss of salvation, and mortal sins which merit the loss of salvation. This distinction is not biblical.

The result of this teaching is that a typical Roman Catholic will vacillate between being saved and damned hundreds, or even thousands of times in their life. According to Roman Catholic theology, if a Roman Catholic dies with unconfessed mortal sin they will go to hell. This teaching is not biblical. Christ’s death was sufficient to pay for every sin we would ever commit – past, present, and future.

There are two very distinct views on the issue of perseverance of the saints among Christians. The first is the Arminian view that it is possible for true Christians to turn away from God and not persevere. This is consistent with the concept of salvation which has man’s “free will” at the center of it. It is logically consistent that, if man’s “free will” choice is the determining factor of his salvation, then it would also be possible for that man to later choose to reject God and thereby lose his salvation.

However, the Bible clearly teaches that we are “born again” by the Holy Spirit, which results in our coming to faith in Christ. All who have been “born again” do have eternal security and will persevere. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is founded in the promise that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6) and Jesus’ declaration that “all that the Father gives me will come to me” and “I shall lose none of them that he has given me” (John 6:37, 39).

https://www.gotquestions.org

Consider the following Scriptures:

John 10:27-29
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Philippians 1:6
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

1 John 2:19
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Romans 11:29
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

As you can see, one who is truly regenerated can never lose their salvation. One may appear to be saved, and they may do many works, but in the end, they walk away from Christ, because they were never one of us, they were never regenerated.

I am saved until the end, not because I am so strong in faith, or have such advanced sanctification. I am saved totally and irrevocably because of Christ’s hold on me, because of His power. It is all grace!