Did Jesus Die on The Cross for The Just/Elect/Saved Whose Names Are Written in The Book of Life OR

Thank you kindly. However, I see that I was derailed from the original point I was trying to make, which is that because a person is controlled by a Sinful Nature, how can they ultimately be responsible?

I think that God understands this, which is the point of His Grace, which leads to genuine Faith itself.

The key phrase below is, "so that" for it clearly demonstrates that unless these certain and Spiritual acts of the Lord are what makes it possible for any person to receive this Holy Work, able to finally Love and obey the Lord.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT - "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations."

Unless a person receives the above Spiritual Circumcision and its accompanying gifts, such as the Holy Spirit, no person is able to obey. Further, we see this exact phrase in Deut 30:6.

Deuteronomy 30:6 NLT - "The LORD your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!"

If a person does not receive this Circumcision of heart, it will be impossible to truly Love God according to His definition of Love. That definition includes and depends upon obedience and Love, for it we do not possess them, we have not received the Circumcision of Christ. And if a person has not received this Holy Work, then the Effect of that Holy Work is 100% impossible to have, hold, and express.

This seems to be missing from Spurgeon's work, and it is definitely missing from John MacArthur's work and understanding of this vital, core doctrine of the entire Bible.

Natural Man in Adam > Hears the Gospel of God of Jesus = Christ - the Power of God for Salvation - being ultimately taught by God through His servant preachers/proclaimers sent by God (just as it was through His Servant Son whom He sent) - under the Convicting Ministry of the Holy Spirit (since the ascension and session of the Christ = Jesus > Believes (or Rejects) > Born from Above from the seed / Word of God & Ministry of God the Holy Spirit, deemed righteous by God, baptized by the Spirit, circumcised without hands in heart & becomes an Infant Christian in Christ in Spirit - a spiritually ignorant Christian still oriented to being fleshly & sinning > drinks as commanded the Milk of Basic Christian Teachings about the Spiritual Life in Christ > Becomes a Young Man eating more advanced spiritual food > becomes a Mature Christian - no longer oriented to being fleshy but now trained by God and oriented to the Walk in Spirit and not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh - able to digest the advanced spiritual Meat of the full scope of the Gospel about the deep things of God, the things God has prepared for those who love Him - being increasingly conformed to the likeness of Christ, in pursuit of the high call of God in Christ Jesus, perfection, arriving at the resurrection...

Most of the discussion in the New Covenant is about the life of the Christian and getting him through infancy without delay into maturity. The infant Christian is oriented to the flesh (carnal) and being in strife with others. The condition is recognized but not catered to. The infant/child spends quite a bit of time under the strict disciplinary training and punishment of our perfect Father getting the carnality worked out of him. It is the mature Christian Sons that Christ died to make. Wallowing in infancy is rebuked and dangerous. Paul says in Philippians that those who are not mature and in pursuit of the high call of God in Christ - maturity & beyond - are ultimately enemies of the cross of Christ who did not die to make perpetual infants.

The reason the unbelieving natural man is compared to the Spiritual Man / Mature Christian Son is because the infant in Christ in Spirit is simply not something the Word of God spends a lot of ink on. It is not the interest in the Text that men place on it. It is not the goal of salvation and not what salvation is really about. By comparing the unbeliever to the Mature Sons of God, Paul is once again stressing the fact that Salvation has a goal. He's oriented to and looking at the eschaton - the revealing of the Sons of God and the fact that there will be Matured & Perfected Spiritual Sons in Adam II and no more Natural Man in Adam I unable to understand what God has prepared for His Loving Spiritual Sons. Behold, all things are New.

A comprehensive study of Biblical Salvation reveals that very little time is spent looking at the entrance into Christ & infancy, and most of the NC Text is looking through the entrance and beyond into the growth in Salvation with the end goal of Salvation in view.

Honestly, all this TULIP discussion is a distraction from what's important - from what the New Covenant Writings and hundreds of Christ's commands are focused on. IMO it's also a mess. It bypasses the planting of the seed which is the Word and says the plant needs to be rooted and partially grown to receive the seed, which is the Word (the Gospel). It has no comprehension of what Spiritual Death is and is not. It's a complete waste of time and disorients the mind of the Christian from seeing the structured Truth in our Text.

Thanks for the discussion.

I truly doubt that “this” was missing from Spurgeon’s work. Let’s please consider the specific topic Spurgeon was reflecting on—that election and free will both exist.

Yes indeed. Heart circumcision is vital in becoming a Christian.

Let’s read Ezekiel 36:25-27 again. This verse is prophecy, looking forward to the Millennium, the time after Jesus Christ returns at His second advent. Keep in mind that we are talking about the House of Israel here. God will put the two houses back together again.

—Selah

I fully understand that these passages SEEM to refer to certain people, but there is only one Faith. These Spiritual Works apply to all Who belong to the Lord.

Classic! The Pot calling the Kettle black!

Hello friend . . . do you think that Ezekiel 36:25-27 points to Christ? When Jesus said the below words, there was no New Testament. Therefore, the OT points to Christ.

John 5:39 NLT - "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!"

I'd summarize this in that God provides man with the choice, freewill, but man has no power to determine where his choice will lead him, God determines that, sovereignty. That is, I can go wrong all by myself, but I need to choose God's will for me, His Way, if I am to have any hope of eternal life.

How can a person have freewill, but no control over where his choices will lead? Because this doesn't make sense to me, I can know with certainty that I am lacking some kind of understanding, knowledge, and perhaps wisdom. I need these three!

I mean that I can't choose to go on my own and find life, even if I think my plan would work.

I agree, and I like your summary very much. God wants free-willing people that are willing to love Him and follow Him always.

Yes, and 'surrendering' ourselves to Him (an act of freewill) reveals more and more of His love toward us and generates more and more of our love for Him. I think people that hesitant to surrender themselves to Him resist because they are fearful that He might 'hurt' them in some way, like make them live miserable lives to pay for their sin, for example. I suppose this is seeded in control issues.

I still don't get it. If a person can't choose to go on their own, how could they possess free will?

Not too difficult to understand, is it...

This is difficult for me to comprehend, as the context of the Bible is that no matter how hard a person might try, they cannot release themselves from captivity. Instead, people are released from their captivity by God alone.

I agree, if a person ignores the context of the Bible as a whole.

We cannot determine the consequences of our choice. In making the choice for the Way, we trust God's word that it is the way that leads to life.

I am baffled. Didn't you just say that a person cannot choose to go on their own?

what? where? when?

Matthew 7:21
Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Post #7459
"I mean that I can't choose to go on my own and find life, even if I think my plan would work."