Recent content by sawdust

I think you did miss something. Matt.9:28 Matt.21:25 Matt.21:32 Mk.1:15 Mk.5:36 Mk.9:23 Mk.11:31 Mk.16:11 Mk.16:14 Lk.1:20 Lk.1:45 Lk.8:50 Jn.1:12 Jn.2:11 Jn.3:12 Jn.3:18 Jn.3:36 Should I keep going? What do all these and many, many other verses all have in common? The onus to believe is...

Yes because faith is empowered by the word, not by our will. But if you're unwilling to believe, nothing will save you.

Then what do you think we are doing when we believe something?

Salvation has always been by grace through faith. What's that got to do with God's command to believe His word or die? It seems to me you are one who, like @Cameron143, think believing (an act of our will) is the same as faith (an empowerment of God by means of the word) If I could create...

But that is not what you said (the bit I emboldened). You said: "When I heard the gospel and didn't get saved, I didn't believe." "When I did believe, the Spirit of God employed the word of God and birthed faith in me." By your own words you believed before you had faith.

Salvation didn't come at those times because you didn't believe. It's simple. Unless you are wanting to fault the Gospel, it only leaves you as the problem. I also believe salvation is all of God. Whether you understand "choosing to believe" or not is beside the point. The fact is, whatever we...

I don't know how many times the scriptures command us "to believe" before it gets through there is something we must do which, in and of itself, does not cause our salvation. Personally I think the problem begins in the understanding that human nature is born wicked which, it is not. Human...

Don't misrepresent what I said. You do ask a lot of questions but rarely answer mine. To get the previous answer I had to press and ask twice. What is all of God though? If God is not choosing us to believe, who is doing the choosing to believe?

So you don't believe God chooses people to believe in Him but you believe God chooses people to believe in Him? I'm sure I must be misunderstanding what you are saying. :confused: Grace is the means of salvation, faith is the result. We get faith when we believe because God graciously joins us...

You still don't get it. We are in Christ because God has determined He will save believers. We have determined we will believe. Not rocket science, real simple stuff. :)

I don't assume it means something it doesn't say or imply. The purpose of God choosing Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was to form a particular nation. Abraham is the father of many nations but he wasn't chosen to create any of those nations.

Thankyou. :)

But you didn't answer my question and I didn't see the passage to which you are referring. Did God choose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to believe in Him or to make a nation?

No, He created Israel, He chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for that purpose. Answer this. Did God choose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to believe in Him or to make a nation?

Was the deity of Christ glorified in His ascension or was the humanity of Christ glorified? Can you be something other than human and still be called Christ's brother? We will have no desire to sin so whether we have the ability is irrelevant.