|
Dear Lynda,
Thank you for your question. I'm
not sure exactly what text you
are referring to in the first instance.
However, you appear to referencing
Paul's second letter to the Corinthians
in the second instance.
So let's look at what it actually
says:
8 We are confident, I say, and would
prefer to be away from the body
and at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8
Now look at the verse carefully.
Paul is not making a dogmatic statement
about eternal security.
Rather Paul, in the context of the
entire passage, is saying — it
is his preference to be away from
body and present with the Lord. — That's
like saying I'd prefer to eat fish
tonight instead of pasta. It doesn't
mean it's going to happen.
St. Paul also wrote the following in his first letter to the Corinthians.
15 1 Moreover, brethren, I declare
to you the gospel which I preached
to you, which also you received
and in which you stand, 2 by which
also you are saved, if you
hold fast that word which
I preached to you — unless
you believed in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
Notice, the caveat: if you
hold fast. So Paul
makes it clear that our free will
continues to play a role in our
salvation. He couldn't possibly
contradict himself in his second
letter to the Corinthians.
As Catholics, we have a moral assurance and a biblical hope that we will
ultimately be saved.
We can be assured that God will do
everything in His power to save us, except
one thing:
To thwart our free will to reject
Him by word or action.
Therefore, we can't presume to know
the future and say we will never
fall away but we have a joyful hope of expecting God's promise
to inherit Eternal Life with Him, so long
as we continue in the faith.
I hope this helps,
John DiMascio |
