To the Catholics visiting the Baptist forum.

I post on CARM. [edit]

I quoted three Catholic sources and they still called me a liar and told me I didn't know what I was talking about.

Go read Walpole's posts on CARM. He's clearly just there to troll. It doesn't matter how much evidence he's shown or how many times sola scriptura is explained to him, he just ignores it and plows on with his "you don't' know what you're talking about" argument.

 

mailmandan: "The Roman Catholic church has "added" these sacraments as a supplemental means to salvation "in addition" to the death, burial and resurrection of Christ."

No, you need to mail in your admission of defeat on this point: it is not the Catholic church, but Jesus Himself who adds this supplemental means of grace:
"For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him...whoever eats me will live because of me (John 6:55-57)."
The Real Presence is precisely the reason for Paul's warning that failure to "discern the Body" during Communion can draw judgment in the form of sickness and even death (1 Corinthians 11:29-30).

mailmandan: "Notice that the apostle Paul said we are saved FOR good works and NOT BY good works."

(1) Notice Paul's command, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:13)."
The :fear and trembling" responds to uncertainty that one's "working out" is insufficient! Thus, Paul issues this caution:
I don't even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me...who will disclose the motives of the heart (1 Corinthians 4:3-5)."

(2) Notice James's rhetorical question that refutes the possibility of salvation apart from good works:
"If you say you have faith, but don't have works can faith save you (James 2:14)? The implied answer to this rhetorical question is "Of course not!"

mailmandan: "Good works are the fruit, by product and demonstrative evidence of faith, but not the essence of faith."

On the contrary, in both Hebrew ("amunah") and Greek ("pistis") the word translated "faith" also means "faithfulness." So faithfulness is indeed built into the essence of faith!

mailmandan: "I find it interesting that we NEVER find the specific words, "lose salvation" in the Bible."

No, but we find several texts that imply the possibility of losing one's salvation. Here are just 3 of the many examples:
(1) "It is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the age to come, and have then fallen away... (Hebrews 6:4-5)."

(2) "I keep my body in subjection and enslave it, lest having preached to others, I myself might be a reprobate (Greek: "ad1 Corinthians 9:27)." The word "reprobate" ("adokimos") means "unsaved (see Romans 1:28)."

(3) "You who want to be justified by the Law have cut yourself off from Christ. You have fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4)."
Paul is addressing Gentile Galatian Christians who have been saved by grace through faith, but have been seduced by Judaizers into the conviction that they also need circumcision. Paul warns them that they may forfeit their salvation by doing so.

"On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and perform many deeds of power in your name?" Then I will declare to them, "Depart from me, you evildoers! For I never knew you (Mathew 7:22-23)."
These Christians lose their salvation, despite their rightful claim to have prophesied and performed miracles in Jesus' name.
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