Understanding God’s election
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Before connecting the dots, let us have a look at the Scripture you posted.
Matt 11:27, "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Notice that Jesus does not say that he wants to reveal the Father only to a few and condemn the majority to hell.
John 17:-9, "I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours." Notice that Jesus does not say that God desires to give Jesus only a few and condemn the majority to hell.
No universal prayer in this passage! Yes, there is--with the interpretation harmonized with JN 3:16 & 1TM 2:3-4, "God loved the world so much that He gave it His only Son to be sacrificed in order that all people might be saved."
Yes, one would think that if the Father universally draws all men to his Son by means of being lifted up on the cross, that the Father would reveal the gospel truth to each and every person in the world, and Paul teaches that God does this in three ways,
1. general revelation, which includes meditating on the natural world or God’s supernatural work. Paul says men are without excuse, both because God’s eternal power and divine nature (love) are manifested by creation (RM 1:20), and because a proto-gospel has been proclaimed to everyone under heaven implicitly or in pre-NT foreshadowings (CL 1:23, RM 10:13-18, GL 3:8).
2. the inner conscience, a natural or “common” sense (RM 2:14-16), which manifests morality or a moral Authority in every culture; and
3. special revelation (1PT 1:8-12), which refers to the biblical and especially NT teaching regarding God’s history of salvation. Again, the Parable of the Talents indicates that souls are saved via faith in God/ Christ as revealed (cf. 1CR 10:1-5). Truthseekers around the world in all times are pilgrims at various places along the road of life, and all true roads eventually lead to the Way to eternal life in heaven (JN 14:6, ACTS 24:14, PHP 2:10-11). All truth leads to One Way.
Regarding Luke 8:10, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'" Both Jesus and Paul teach that the reason folks do not understand is because their hearts are hardened or callous (MT 13:14-15, ACTS 28:26-27).
Notice that Jesus did not say God hid the Gospel from the majority of people so that they would have no opportunity to believe and become elect or saved from damnation in hell because He hated their guts.
Ditto re Luke 10:21, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure." This means merely that the Gospel/salvation is available to all and not that it may be hard for the educated as well as the rich to thread that needle.
Yes, God is free to be demonic, but He has determined that hating is evil.
Matt 11:27, "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Notice that Jesus does not say that he wants to reveal the Father only to a few and condemn the majority to hell.
John 17:-9, "I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours." Notice that Jesus does not say that God desires to give Jesus only a few and condemn the majority to hell.
No universal prayer in this passage! Yes, there is--with the interpretation harmonized with JN 3:16 & 1TM 2:3-4, "God loved the world so much that He gave it His only Son to be sacrificed in order that all people might be saved."
Yes, one would think that if the Father universally draws all men to his Son by means of being lifted up on the cross, that the Father would reveal the gospel truth to each and every person in the world, and Paul teaches that God does this in three ways,
1. general revelation, which includes meditating on the natural world or God’s supernatural work. Paul says men are without excuse, both because God’s eternal power and divine nature (love) are manifested by creation (RM 1:20), and because a proto-gospel has been proclaimed to everyone under heaven implicitly or in pre-NT foreshadowings (CL 1:23, RM 10:13-18, GL 3:8).
2. the inner conscience, a natural or “common” sense (RM 2:14-16), which manifests morality or a moral Authority in every culture; and
3. special revelation (1PT 1:8-12), which refers to the biblical and especially NT teaching regarding God’s history of salvation. Again, the Parable of the Talents indicates that souls are saved via faith in God/ Christ as revealed (cf. 1CR 10:1-5). Truthseekers around the world in all times are pilgrims at various places along the road of life, and all true roads eventually lead to the Way to eternal life in heaven (JN 14:6, ACTS 24:14, PHP 2:10-11). All truth leads to One Way.
Regarding Luke 8:10, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'" Both Jesus and Paul teach that the reason folks do not understand is because their hearts are hardened or callous (MT 13:14-15, ACTS 28:26-27).
Notice that Jesus did not say God hid the Gospel from the majority of people so that they would have no opportunity to believe and become elect or saved from damnation in hell because He hated their guts.
Ditto re Luke 10:21, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure." This means merely that the Gospel/salvation is available to all and not that it may be hard for the educated as well as the rich to thread that needle.
Yes, God is free to be demonic, but He has determined that hating is evil.
Where?
Did Calvin actually say that God forces men to believe by giving them their belief?
Or, did Calvin simply state that man found in his fallen state can not know God?
Did Calvin actually say that God must force our belief upon us?
..............
Did Calvin actually say that God forces men to believe by giving them their belief?
Or, did Calvin simply state that man found in his fallen state can not know God?
Did Calvin actually say that God must force our belief upon us?
The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore, with loving kindness, I have drawn you." Jeremiah 31:3
That does not sound like being forcibly dragged to me!"Therefore, with loving kindness I have drawn you."
..............
