Understanding God’s election

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Jul 3, 2015
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Ephesians 4 verses 17-18; Luke 6 verse 43; Jeremiah 10 verse 14 In the futility of their thinking, unbelievers are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. A diseased tree cannot bear good fruit. Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge.
 
Apr 24, 2025
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Well, that is why I asked you about the verse in the first place. I never said anything about Sabbatarians being wrong
for observing the Sabbath. But they are certainly wrong for insisting we must. That happens a lot with them. We
even had one Sabbath pusher telling us we were breaking a commandment to worship God on Sunday.
That is a flat out lie. Of course pointing out the lies these people tell does not accomplish much.
Understood re, the Sabbath. I was sharing my pov. I did not mean that to imply I was judging your pov. Forgive me if that is how my posting came across.

We are all passionate in our faith. Some more so than we can understand.
One who said we are breaking a command by not recognizing Sabbath in our faith is merely venting.
For me,God's opinion is all that matters.
 

lrs68

Well-known member
Dec 30, 2024
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I do not agree that everyone has the opportunity to be saved! God will manifest Himself to leave mankind without excuse!
He will have mercy on His chosen and leave all others in their sin/unbelief...
Mankind seems to think that He must treat everyone the same even though He says “I will have mercy on those of my choosing”.
Paul used 1 example in Pharaoh and even added that Pharaoh first hardened his heart before God permanently hardened it.

1 example and you made a complete doctrine over 1 example.

Seems kinda strange to make a doctrine over 1 example.
 
Jul 3, 2015
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Understood re, the Sabbath. I was sharing my pov. I did not mean that to imply I was judging your pov. Forgive me if that is how my posting came across.

We are all passionate in our faith. Some more so than we can understand.
One who said we are breaking a command by not recognizing Sabbath in our faith is merely venting.
For me,God's opinion is all that matters.
But he did not merely say not honouring the Sabbath was wrong, they actually said that worshipping God on Sunday broke a commandment when there is zero commandment about not worshipping God on other days. Being passionate is one thing, but being dishonest and lying in one's zeal to condemn others is quite another. And made worse when these things are pointed out to them and they refuse to fess up. Well, it is a wide-spread problem. Another Sabbatarian would go on and on about our need to be sinless, though when pressed he would admit he was not (hypocrisy). And he would say people believed OSAS so they could sin all they want, as if that applied to anyone who believes they are kept by the power of God as the Scriptures attest. I find such statements to be... gee, I can barely come up with a word that adequately describes how ridiculous such things are. Anyways, I just wanted to be clear about not condemning them for when they go to some building to worship corporately. Or what they decide to do on a Friday night, or not do on Saturday. But when they start telling me I must do as they do? Uh, no. I have found my Sabbath rest in Christ. Also, the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. I don't know if I ever considered at what point the law is written on our hearts. It does seem to be when our heart is circumcised. Still it does seem as if the Gentile has the law, though what is actually said in that verse is that the work of the law is written on their heart. It is an interesting distinction. Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them... I tried to post earlier but the page was whiting out.


Ezekiel 36 verses 25-26 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.:)
 

Kroogz

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Dec 5, 2023
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Of course you don't understand. You believe that the gospel is about choosing rather than a declaration of truth, that soils can change themselves into other soils, and that the book of Life wasn't written before the foundation of the world.
Sir what must I do to be saved?

@Cameron143 ~~ You can't choose anything. You are dirt that has a slim chance. I couldn't possibly tell you about the Hope that is in me.

Good luck!
 
Jul 3, 2015
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From Ephesians 1 According to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, God has made known to us the mystery of His will, which He purposed in Christ before the foundation of the world. In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him Who works out everything by the counsel of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, would be for the praise of His glory. .:)
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
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Sir what must I do to be saved?

@Cameron143 ~~ You can't choose anything. You are dirt that has a slim chance. I couldn't possibly tell you about the Hope that is in me.

Good luck!
Do an experiment. Throw seed into a bunch of rocks, some into a bunch of thorns, and some on fertile ground. Tell me which soil the seed grows in.

Hint...the seed only flourishes in the fertile soil.

So it is with the gospel. It's sown throughout the earth. And it only produces fruit in fertile soil.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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Do an experiment. Throw seed into a bunch of rocks, some into a bunch of thorns, and some on fertile ground. Tell me which soil the seed grows in.

Hint...the seed only flourishes in the fertile soil.

So it is with the gospel. It's sown throughout the earth. And it only produces fruit in fertile soil.
They must learn to take it farther once they accept that Biblical truth, if they ever do. Because it is with the heart one
believes. Yes, this is explicitly stated in Scripture. The heart of the natural man is stony ground. That is why God replaces it.


Of course, they must get over their deeply entrenched denial that the heart of the natural man can
choose to believe that which he deems as foolishness while he can neither receive nor comprehend
the spiritual things of God. Such a tangled web of deceit they have gotten themselves caught in.
 
Oct 19, 2024
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Do an experiment. Throw seed into a bunch of rocks, some into a bunch of thorns, and some on fertile ground. Tell me which soil the seed grows in.

Hint...the seed only flourishes in the fertile soil.

So it is with the gospel. It's sown throughout the earth. And it only produces fruit in fertile soil.
Do an experiment: Ask God to change your heart into fertile soil and see whether it remains rocky.
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
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Do an experiment: Ask God to change your heart into fertile soil and see whether it remains rocky.
That's the point. Rocky soil isn't fertile. When the gospel comes to an individual, that person's heart or soil is in whatever estate it happens to be. And whatever that estate is will determine if the seed will grow and flourish. And if God hasn't prepared the soil, and the heart hasn't undergone divine alteration, the gospel isn't received.
I'm all for men calling upon the name of the Lord. But except a man be born from above, he will not enter the kingdom of God. At least you recognize that it is God who changes the soil.
 
Oct 19, 2024
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That's the point. Rocky soil isn't fertile. When the gospel comes to an individual, that person's heart or soil is in whatever estate it happens to be. And whatever that estate is will determine if the seed will grow and flourish. And if God hasn't prepared the soil, and the heart hasn't undergone divine alteration, the gospel isn't received.
I'm all for men calling upon the name of the Lord. But except a man be born from above, he will not enter the kingdom of God. At least you recognize that it is God who changes the soil.
Yes, now if only you would recognize that it is God who allows the soul to resist being changed,
which is why reaping the consequence of such callousness in hell is just.
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
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Yes, now if only you would recognize that it is God who allows the soul to resist being changed,
which is why reaping the consequence of such callousness in hell is just.
Man's fallen nature is already contrary to God. This is why a change of heart is necessary to begin with. And I do believe God is just in bringing judgment upon the unrepentant, just as He is just to forgive sinners who confess their sins.