Can a Christian Live in Sin

[danheg]

How is Calvin the first when Augustine believed in the perseverance of the saints?

If Augustine is the final authority, the Catholic Church is the one true Church.

I think this is more about "who is on first, what is on second, and I don't know is on third." Seriously, if I may state the obvious, this is only about who broached the doctrine first; and, if Augustine did, I am not sure
it would prove the Catholic Church is the one true Church since POS is not a catholic doctrine and would seriously undermine your estimation of Augustine.

[kingsbro]

How is Calvin the first when Augustine believed in the perseverance of the saints?

If Augustine is the final authority, the Catholic Church is the one true Church.

I was not saying Augustine is the final authority. He was saying Calvin was the first to believe POS, and I was correcting him that Calvin was not.

[OneTrueChurch]

How is Calvin the first when Augustine believed in the perseverance of the saints?

If Augustine is the final authority, the Catholic Church is the one true Church.

I was not saying Augustine is the final authority. He was saying Calvin was the first to believe POS, and I was correcting him that Calvin was not.

You don't udnerstand what Augustine was talking about when he refes to predestination and preservence. show me what in his writings contradicts catholic teaching.

Sir,
I am not sure that the context upholds your case because the words "genuineness of your faith" would seem to indicate that it is a test of whether one's faith is a true faith or not. This would dovetail nicely with kingsbro's context of 1 John 2:19

sure it holds up. if our ability to work trhough trials proves our faith to be genuine, then that means our works play a role in our salvation since they are the determining factor for our faith.

[hanley]

Wait.....


Did not Jesus say the road to heaven is a narrow one, and only a few come?

Since when his believing in him And living in Sin then saying the so called sinners prayer hard?


Wow this is so stupid it's unbelievable thank God, he keeps me safe in the clutches of his One,Holy,Catholic,Apostolic Church.

The Church keeps me away from the satanic infiltration that you proclaim upon sacred scripture.

let me leave you with some quotes from the beloved saints.

Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ -- St. Jerome


Not 100 in the United States hate the Roman Catholic Church, but millions hate what they mistakenly think the Roman Catholic Church is. -- Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

If there be a true way that leads to the Everlasting Kingdom, it is most certainly that of suffering, patiently endured. -- St. Colette

At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity. -- St. John of the Cross

It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man, and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for "God is Charity" (1John 4:8) -- St. Albert the Great

[Abiding Grace]

Hello All,

I'm a newbie here, and I understand that most of you posted long ago. I would like to share from my own thoughts on some of the things I have read here. A caveat: I am not a Biblical scholar. I learn more all the time. So take my comments for whatever you would like.

First. I get a little nervous when people start asking others for their exigesis of a particular passage in the Bible. I think that only results in hurling (or dueling) scripture back and forth as a weapon to use against another believer to attempt to prove the accuracy of one's view. It's usually not helpful either. On the other hand, I do appreciate that people use scripture instead of their own ideas to make a point. I think we have to take the Bible as an entire body of works and then interpret scripture in light of other scripture. The obvious example is the argument that we are saved by grace alone, or grace + works. You can formulate an entire theology on one verse if you want to, but you'll have to disregard the rest.

Second. Sin is sin. I don't hold to the view, that some sins are worse than others. Jesus didn't die for just the little white lies, but for the murderer and thief. Anyone remember the story about the woman who dried her tears on the feet of Jesus found in Luke, Chapter 7? The Bible calls her a 'sinful woman' which is a euphemism for a prostitute. Yet, Jesus said, her "faith" had saved her. Prostitution was a sin worthy of death according to the Hebrew faith. I cannot find anything in New Testament scripture that 'quantifies' sin. I understand that Catholics hold to the 'mortal' v. 'venial' sin. However, I don't hold to the view that the Pope has any authority over me, nor does scripture say He does.

Third. Christians do live in sin. We sin all the time. We cannot even control our outward behavior, let alone keep our thoughts pure. For those of us who truly love the Lord, we are in a constant state of repenting, failing and repenting yet again. We simply cannot ever be good enough. If we could, we'd not have needed the sacrifice of Jesus. Real Christians, be they protestant or catholic, love the Lord and try to conform their behavior to His will. So yes... Christians do live in sin. I do not hold to the view that people can simply say some series of words and they are automatically saved. When you are saved, you try to turn away from sinful things. You don't sincerely say some words and then turn right around and pretend that those words were some kind of magic that kept you from Hell. A truly repentant person is always in a state of throwing off the sin, not diving right back into old things. We are a new creation in Christ.

Just my two centavos!