← Assurance of Salvation
1 Corinthians 9:26-27
Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Catholic Perspective
St. Paul clearly says here that salvation is a process that involves our perseverance and purification, not a divine gift that we can’t possibly lose. Paul proclaims that even though he’s preached faithfully, he could still be cut off from eternal communion with God. The apostle’s counsel evokes the sober words of Jesus:
“Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 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 do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers’” (Matt. 7:21-23).
Paul understand the possibility of mortal sin and thus realizes that the admonition to “work out your own salvation in fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12) applies to him as well.
Common Objections
| + | ST. PAUL IS SPEAKING ABOUT LOSING HIS MISSION TO SERVE AS GOD’S APOSTLE, NOT ABOUT LOSING HIS ETERNAL SALVATION. |
