Once Saved Always Saved (Part 1)

Part 1

In the past two weeks, a few Catholics friends of mine and I have been dialoguing with a few charitable and humble Protestants about the Faith. We have met two times now and have had a total of about 10 hours of discussion. We are planning to meet again next week. The dialogue is very respectful, fruitful and it is done with love.

I am going to use this blog to refute the arguments that were presented from the Protestant side. When you have about 8 or 9 people in a dialogue, it is sometimes difficult to speak your mind about every single point. Hence, this is where the blog comes in.

Our last discussion was all over the place. We did end up talking about "Eternal Security" in what some also called "Once Saved Always Saved" (OSAS). We also discussed the topic of double predestination vs. free will. Two out of the three Protestants believed in free will while the other Protestant did not believe in a free will to choose God. He held to a reformed and Calvinistic view while the other two held to a more Catholic view.

I'd like to point something out about their differences. I believe their differences in this matter is very telling. Both views claim to be using the Scriptures only to come up with their doctrine. Yet, they both come up with two completely different views on God. This, to me, shows the inconsistency that one can have when we strictly follow the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (the Bible is the sole and final authority). Both sides claim that Scripture is the final authority. Yet, we see two different views being drawn from Scripture. So, how can Scripture be the final authority if Scripture can't speak for itself? The Scriptures obviously needs an interpreter. The interpreter then becomes the final authority. So who should I believe? The Protestant side that tells me Scripture teaches free will or the Protestant side that teaches that Scripture teaches in double predestination? Obviously, we see a huge flaw in the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. There has to be a final authority outside of Scripture that tells us what the Truth is when disputes arise. Please see Acts 15 for an example of the Church being the final authority in the Scriptures.

Continued in Part 2.