A thorough defense of the doctrine of eternal security/perseverance of the saints.

MORTAL SINNERS, INCLUDING FORNICATORS, DRUNKARDS, ADULTERERS, ETC., WILL NOT INHERIT HEAVEN

Galatians 5:19-21- “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11- “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Before moving on, it should be noted that, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, the sin of “uncleanness” or “effeminacy” (which excludes one from Heaven, according to the above verses) is the mortal sin of masturbation (Summa Theologiae, Pt. II-II, Q. 154, A. 11.).

These passages pose big problems for those who believe in justification by faith alone and/or eternal security. The Bible teaches that mortal sins (grave sins) destroy the state of justification. It teaches that grave sins put people in a state in which they will be excluded from the Kingdom of God. This coincides with the Catholic teaching that a believer can lose the state of justification and be damned if he or she commits a mortal sin (e.g., fornication, drunkenness, looking at pornography, etc.) and dies in that state.

Now, in light of these passages, Protestants have a problem. If all who commit mortal sins lose their justification, faith-alone Protestants would have to say that no true believer commits mortal sins. This response doesn’t work, however, as we will see. There are millions of supposed “Christians” who say they have been “saved” by faith in Jesus. A countless number of them get drunk, fornicate, cheat, steal, etc. In other words, they commit clear mortal sins which the Bible says destroy the state of justification.

Yet it goes back to Protestants belief about how they aren’t truly saved. And you can still sin after you’re saved but eventually God will remove that sin either gradually or over time.

I am not solid on the definition of Eternal Security- is Eternal Security suppposed to be Predestination, or is it stating that once one finds God, he is forever saved?

Eternal security means that once someone is truly saved that can never be un-saved. However, this does not mean that if someone professes faith, that they cannot fall away. Some people will either lie or be confused about their salvation, and truly be on the path to Hell.

Well, if such is the case, who has been truly saved? Is that not judged by their character, faith, and their actions?
What I read is that essentially if someone were to be saintly in the way that would lead the Vatican (of course, in Catholicism- this is but a comparison) to canonize them, they are viewed that way in the eyes of God, and are saved?

Also, let it be clear I do not generally follow Lutheran or Calvinist beliefs, being a Roman Catholic. I intended to argue against Protestantism with a reading from the First Letter of Saint John, but alas, the Internet is against me. I heard it in mass yesterday, and when I had heard it I believe telling myself that it argued strongly against some Protestant systems. I believe it was some chapter, 14-18. Of course, I am not finding it online due to an unsusual lack of textually literal Bible translations, and the KJV is all I can manage to find of any sections 14-18 of The First Letter- unsurprisingly, the KJV would not carry such a verse.
Let it be more clear I mean you no disrespect, only to engage in friendly argument and discussion.

Ah, it argued for Faith + Works and against Sola Fide by asking something along the lines of "What good is it to go to the man with no food to eat, and no clothes to wear, and tell him 'Go in peace, and may the Lord be with you', but leave hime with no food to eat?". For faith is a true virtue, but what good is our existence if not to praise God and be good to his other creations? Works are virtuous, although not to the extent of faith. As I recall being stated in a video game (For Honor, I think), "Piety does not excuse villainy".

I think one of the problems with both Protestants and Catholics is that they misunderstand each other. As a Protestant, I do believe that works are not necessary for salvation, but that if one has faith that saves, he will desire to do good works. Works will follow faith. A powerful evidence that someone is truly saved is that they do good works.

That is sensible. I believe works are necessary for salvation in conjunction with faith. Beyond that, I believe there is some cosmic scale upon which someone can have done a deed so great and spectacular that, despite having no faith, they can be welcomed into Heaven for their purity of heart and their kindness. However, that scale does not fully lean the other way- a man who lives his life in total faith, and has had opportunities to do good, but has not done good, will likely have to make up for that lost good in Purgatory (not Hell). Beyond that, the man who commits evil in the name of God or otherwise and still maintains faith will in fact see hell- not only because they have directly violated the faith, but because of their negative works.

Hi, I've written about whether Faith Alone leads to antinomianism (the following memes comment section). Feel free to read it ( imgflip.com/i/5kwwdd ).

ST. PAUL SAYS THAT HE COULD BECOME A CASTAWAY

1 Corinthians 9:24-27- “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

St. Paul says that he fears he could become a “castaway.” The word "castaway" (in 1 Cor. 9:27) is translated from the Greek word adokimos. Adokimos is translated as "reprobate" in 2 Timothy 3:8 and in Romans 1:28. It describes lost souls, mortal sinners, apostates, and those who are outside the state of justification and/or outside the faith of Jesus.

In 2 Timothy 3:8, it is used to describe evil people who “resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith” (King James Version). These are obviously not people who are in a state of justification or on the road to Heaven.

In Romans 1:28, adokimos is used to describe people who have been given over to abominable sins – once again, people who are not on the road to Heaven. Adokimos is also found in other passages, including Titus 1:16, Hebrews 6:8 and elsewhere. In each case, it signifies people who are not on the road to Heaven, but outside the state of justification and/or the true faith.

By declaring that he could become a castaway or a reprobate (adokimos), there is no doubt that St. Paul is saying that he could lose his salvation and be damned along with the other reprobates. Was St. Paul a true believer who had been justified? Of course he was. The Bible thus teaches that true believers are not assured of salvation. This passage completely refutes the idea of eternal security or “once saved always saved.”

Excellent defense of Eternal Security/Perseverance of the Saints! And, I should have, but I never thought of that passage in Matthew 18 as a support before so that will be of great use to me. Thank you :)

Your kind words never fail to encourage me.

I'm glad to hear that. I've noticed that people on this stream tended to give more notice to funnier memes than memes that edify and educate. That is discouraging.