Wow! Someone willing to discuss the best interpretation of Scripture instead of being pejorative, which is refreshing.
Regarding "It is good to see that you no longer believe in man's freewill, but now agree that we turn to God because of His calling, mercy, and grace (which can never fail)!": I have always believed that souls have MFW, but interactions with tulipists on CC has prompted me to clarify or elaborate what I mean by saying "God initiates; sinners cooperate--or not". Such clarification that I have added to our website (bolded) includes the following:
Jesus Himself expressed GRFS even more succinctly using three, four and five letter words: “Ask… seek… knock…” (Matt. 7:7). This indicates that God graces every sinful soul with the ability or opportunity to understand how to be saved (MT 7:7, cf. 1Tim. 2:3-4, Ezek. 33:11), which might be called “seeking grace” (Tit. 2:11). As Hebrews 11:6 states: “he [God] rewards those who earnestly seek him” (cf. Isa. 45:19).
Seeking God is the beginning of saving faith, and not seeking God or rejecting His salvation in Christ is the essence of evil atheism or faith in I-dolatry (Rom. 3:11, 1:18-23). All humans sin, but every sinner has the opportunity to repent/have saving faith (per Rom. 1:20, 2:7, 3:21-22, 4:16 & 5:8-19). Thus, sinful humanity retains the image of God or moral free will, so every normal adult soul is able by faith to choose to seek salvation–or not (cf. Deut. 30:19).
The distinction between kerygma and didache involves a difference in content and purpose. The kerygma proclaims GRFS, which calls for repentance and acceptance of Jesus as Lord, which is an all or nothing decision that occurs at one moment in time. The didache teaches God’s will regarding how saints or those who have been saved should live in order to be a good witness for Christ, which involves learning more of God’s Word throughout one’s lifetime.
A passage teaching this truth is Colossians 2:6-7: “Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord [kerygma], continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught [didache].” There is no qualitative difference between faith that accepts God’s saving grace at conversion and faith that accepts God’s working grace while walking/living (EPH 2:8-10, 2CR 5:7, RM 1:17), but only a quantitative difference as each additional moment passes–and of course faith remains non-meritorious during the saint’s entire lifetime.
Regarding 2 Timothy 1:8-10:
1. You - He saved us before time began!
Me - God devised His POS before time began.
2. You - He called us with a holy calling before time began!
Me - God's plan was to save all who cooperate with His POS.
3. You - Not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace.
Me - Agreed.
4. You - Which is now given to us in Christ Jesus.
Me - Agreed.
5. You - God did not perform these acts just to watch them fail.
Me - Agreed (?) that God's POS does not fail.
6. You - Ask yourself, who is the us that is mentioned?
Me - Us is those who have cooperated with God's POS.
7. You - Is it the entire human race, or is it His elect (the people of His choosing)?
Me - Sometimes "us" refers to everyone, so we must use discernment.
Over...