"[N]othing could have been devised more likely to instruct and benefit the pious reader of sacred Scripture than that, besides describing praiseworthy characters as examples, and blameworthy characters as warnings, it should also narrate cases where good men have gone back and fallen into evil, whether they are restored to the right path or continue irreclaimable; and also where bad men have changed, and have attained to goodness, whether they persevere in it or relapse into evil; in order that the righteous may be not lifted up in the pride of security, nor the wicked hardened in despair of cure" (Against Faustus 22:96 [A.D. 400]).Remember also that Augustine rejected any notion of an invisible Church and believed in sacraments (Augustine too believed that Christ was really present in the Eucharist)
21 But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die.
22 None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live...
24 But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.
26 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die.
27 But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. 28 Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known himCalvinists use this to plumb the depths of despair as since they do not believe in repentence, then anyone who does not do what is right the Calvinist believe they were never really Christian
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devils work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because Gods seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not Gods child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known himCalvinists use this to plumb the depths of despair as since they do not believe in repentence, then anyone who does not do what is right the Calvinist believe they were never really Christian since they would fail the P 'Perseverance'.
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devils work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because Gods seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not Gods child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of Godand Galatians 5:19-21
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.The Calvinist will say anyone who did this was never really Christian at all -- in the Calvinist scheme, there is no repentence, no forgiveness, no loving, forgiving God
20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble.For further discussion see Robert Shank, Life in the Son (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1989) and Dale Moody, The Word of Truth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981), 348ff. Both authors are Baptists who believe in conditional security, not eternal security.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.
23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree
42 They said to the woman, We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.
Your short quote from Augustine implies that Augustine may not have believed in Irresistible Grace when he says men who have already been illuminated by the Holy Spirit might fall back into reprobation. Many have argued about what his position really was on this subject. The later Augustine writes differently than the earlier Augustine.
Regardless, he's just a man. It's not Scripture.
Read the lengthy excerpts I posted here from Augustine and learn something. Augustine was one of the fathers of the Reformation regarding his view of totality of original sin and on predestination and God's election.
"With regards to predestination," you'd do yourself a favor by reading Augustine's masterwork...
Cronos, you continue to lift whole paragraphs from other websites without attribution. Your first highlighted paragraph is found here at CATHOLIC ANSWERS.
You did this last night, too.
You are putting Free Republic at risk of copyright infringement by trying to pass off other people's work as your own.
Again.
And again.