Is the Gospel a job offer? Or good news aimed at those who believe?

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7seasrekeyed

Guest
He blinded the Pharisees.....

Paul was not only a Pharisee, but he describes himself as a Pharisee OF Pharisees

the Pharisees were blinded by their religious spirits

reason why so many, including Christians, are blinded today

religious spirits...demons if you will

when the will agrees with deception, the going really gets rough after that
 
L

Locoponydirtman

Guest
But he creates bad things too. Weeds are part of the curse.
What did God say when he created those weeds? And the ground will produce tears and weeds for your sake. They are created for our good.
These things either tenderize or harden you. They tenderize the heart that loves God and harden the man who loves wickedness.
 
Jan 17, 2020
4,792
736
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Paul was not only a Pharisee, but he describes himself as a Pharisee OF Pharisees

the Pharisees were blinded by their religious spirits

reason why so many, including Christians, are blinded today

religious spirits...demons if you will

when the will agrees with deception, the going really gets rough after that
“As it is written in the Scriptures: “God gave the people a dull mind so they could not understand.” “He closed their eyes so they could not see and their ears so they could not hear. This continues until today.” And David says: “Let their own feasts trap them and cause their ruin; let their feasts cause them to stumble and be paid back. Let their eyes be closed so they cannot see and their backs be forever weak from troubles.”” Romans 11:8–10 (NCV)
 
Jan 17, 2020
4,792
736
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What did God say when he created those weeds? And the ground will produce tears and weeds for your sake. They are created for our good.
These things either tenderize or harden you. They tenderize the heart that loves God and harden the man who loves wickedness.
Do you buy weed killer?
 
7

7seasrekeyed

Guest
“As it is written in the Scriptures: “God gave the people a dull mind so they could not understand.” “He closed their eyes so they could not see and their ears so they could not hear. This continues until today.” And David says: “Let their own feasts trap them and cause their ruin; let their feasts cause them to stumble and be paid back. Let their eyes be closed so they cannot see and their backs be forever weak from troubles.”” Romans 11:8–10 (NCV)

that does not apply to those who are in Christ

false accusations and ridiculous interpretations seem to be your realm

7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Gentiles Grafted In
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

there is the scripture in context above

the entire chapter is Paul addressing the Jews

those who rejected Christ

are you accusing people here of not being saved?
 
Jan 17, 2020
4,792
736
113
that does not apply to those who are in Christ

false accusations and ridiculous interpretations seem to be your realm

7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Gentiles Grafted In
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

there is the scripture in context above

the entire chapter is Paul addressing the Jews

those who rejected Christ

are you accusing people here of not being saved?
Of course not. But it means those blinded can't be saved unless God removes the blindness.
 
L

Locoponydirtman

Guest
The problem with humans is that mostly we don't know what is good and what is not.
 
L

Locoponydirtman

Guest
Paul was not only a Pharisee, but he describes himself as a Pharisee OF Pharisees

the Pharisees were blinded by their religious spirits

reason why so many, including Christians, are blinded today

religious spirits...demons if you will

when the will agrees with deception, the going really gets rough after that
The problem with humans is that we rarely know what is good and what is not. We see chastisement as bad, and spoiled as good. We can't see how weeds and tares are good for us because they cause us to work rather than be idle.
The pharisees couldn't see Jesus for who he is because he challenged their status quo. They couldn't see good from evil. That when Jesus touched a leprous man, the cleanness of Jesus over wrote the unclean disease. The pharisees only saw that uncleanness corrupted anything clean, and failed to understand that they too were just as unclean. They thought themselves clean because they go to church on Saturday, and gave tediously measured tithes.
 
7

7seasrekeyed

Guest
“As it is written in the Scriptures: “God gave the people a dull mind so they could not understand.” “He closed their eyes so they could not see and their ears so they could not hear. This continues until today.” And David says: “Let their own feasts trap them and cause their ruin; let their feasts cause them to stumble and be paid back. Let their eyes be closed so they cannot see and their backs be forever weak from troubles.”” Romans 11:8–10 (NCV)
that does not apply to those who are in Christ

false accusations and ridiculous interpretations seem to be your realm

7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Gentiles Grafted In
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

there is the scripture in context above

the entire chapter is Paul addressing the Jews

those who rejected Christ

are you accusing people here of not being saved?
 

GaryA

Truth, Honesty, Love, Courage
Aug 10, 2019
9,125
3,974
113
mywebsite.us
Must you choose to believe you are setting in your chair? Or choose to believe you are alive? If faith is a decision it is only because you don't believe and must force your flesh to assent to your version of the gospel.
I said 'faith' was a decision.

(exercised because/out of decision)

I did not say that 'belief' was a decision.

Belief is the foundation of faith, and is based on knowledge + understanding + experience/wisdom.

'faith' = 'belief' + 'trust'

It is the 'trust' part of it that turns belief into faith.

First we believe God.

Then, we trust God.

Then, we have/put faith in God.

The Holy Spirit does indeed help us to obtain - and maintain - our faith.

However, He does not simply "hand it to us outright" - if He did, our faith would never ever falter.

("but boy does it ever" - so that is proof enough)