Faith
- Thread starter montana123
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He’s spoken to everyone some will hear and believe some will hear and won’t
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Mark 16:15-16 KJV
The gospel is what he’s said to everyone good and bad some will be saved others damned based upon it . It’s preached to everyone only some will respond and receive the promise
“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
Ephesians 5:14 KJV
No worries. my wording got a little clumsy there too because I'm trying to do too many things at once while I'm also working LOL of course none of us can do anything aside from Him but in terms of total inability I was saying that it applies to the natural man being able to believe of his own so-called free will without God doing a work in him first.
Natural man does have total inability. When I mention it in regards to Christians it's pertaining to something else, ie, bad doctrine
Total inability of the natural man is what @HeIsHere (among others) argues against. Then there are those who claim that God is an unjust tyrant if He acts unilaterally to enable a person. I believe HIH is counted among them. They certainly applaud people who say such things. And further they claim that God is unfair if He does something for one person and not for everybody else.
Well I agree with them in the sense that natural man of himself has no ability to please God, but he does have the ability to hear and respond to God's voice, which enables him to be taught and at some point be persuaded of the truth of the gospel and believe, which I think the person you mentioned also believes
They don't believe God is required to intervene in the natural man to move him to belief. I suppose that is why they so vehemently argue against inability.
They don't believe that at all. According to them man is not that bad that he requires help from God. They reduce coming to believe to making a moral decision.
Intervene or speak? I don't believe God intervened to cause me to believe, I believe he spoke to me in a way that allowed me to be persuaded and believe
They can be one and the same thing. Though not everyone would say that God spoke to them. And in this way the other would say God is unfair to speak to one person and not to another. Still God moved and made it possible for you. Nobody comes without being drawn, and those called come... this gets misrepresented as having no choice in the matter.
Well, not everyone would say that God spoke to them... whether He did or not and whether they heard or not ( Which obviously it would seem they did not hear because they said God did not speak). There are those who claim that God does not speak to people at all anymore. I've even heard well known highly respected online pastors say such things. I certainly disagree with them. And just to be clear I don't mean speaking as in reading Scripture.
When I say God speaks to people I'm referring to the still, small voice in our hearts, ie, the witness of truth
God's still, small voice in the heart
And [God] said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still, small voice. 1 Kings 19:11-12
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: John 10:27
It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. John 6:45
WHAAAT? Who said thatSome insist that the heart of the natural man, though made of stone, hostile
to God, and captive to the will of the devil, needs no help to believe.
Ezekiel 36:25-26
Following up on this idea of hearing, because Jesus tells people to circumcise their ears ... or God says it... and the Israelites were also commanded to circumcise their hearts... while we are told that our heart's circumcision was performed not by human hands... which rather heavily suggests it's a job of the Holy Spirit and not something that we can do at all. And God does say in Deuteronomy that He will circumcise our hearts so that we may love Him. Colossians 2:11 to 12 our whole self, ruled by the flesh, was thus put off ... circumcision is not an outward and physical act. As per Deuteronomy 30 verse 6 God circumcises our heart ... Ezekiel 36 God causes us to obey by putting his Spirit in us and giving us a new heart. I have found that God communicates in quite a number of ways.
Many bitterly complain against any suggestion that God acts in any way unilaterally to save us. They claim that such would be a violation of their free will... That it makes a hoax of repentance and salvation and turns God into a tyrant. Personally I am extremely grateful that God pursued me and circumcised my heart so that I was able to love Him.