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I dont agree that time stands still for God. This view is referred to as atemporalism or eternalism. The view suggests that God is stuck in an eternal present and that all his actions are simultaneous. I think the biblical rationale for this is shaky. I believe the Bible paints a picture of...

I agree with this. Jesus’ ”perfection” in this context is not referring merely to his sinlessness as if he were imperfect beforehand. He was always perfect. However, he became the perfect intercessior and sacrifice as a result of his obedience. Because Jesus was a man, like us, his obedience...

One of my favorite Gospels is the Gospel of Mark. It is the earliest of all the Gospels and is very unique. What is unusual about this Gospel is that it begins with the declaration: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.“ Yet, throughout the Gospel, the identity of...

I understand what you are saying, but I do not understand the distinction. If God’s quickening necessitates they will believe then I dont understand the sharp separation between the events. If God’s grace is irresistable, then the very act of quickening a person mandates their hearing and...

This is not accurate. I know Koine Greek and studied it for several years. The word in question is the Greek word eis. It has three primary applications. The most common meaning is regarding a direction into something which includes concepts such as ”purpose” or “goal.” It can also mean...

Where do you read that baptism is the “first step toward obedience”? I have several issues with this argument… 1. We don’t read anywhere in the NT where baptism is described as such. 2. If baptism is “obedience,” what happens if someone is “disobedient” with this regard? I imagine your...

I don’t think anyone is arguing this point. The simple fact is that Jesus commanded disciples be baptized. We also see that God has tied a great many promises to baptism and that it is immensely powerful when the person being baptized recognizes that they are being buried with Christ and...

Yes, we will likely just have to agree to disagree. However, if you claim faith is a “gift” from God, then certainly, you would have to admit that God saves people so they can believe the Gospel. For, if they cannot hear it without him quickening them, and they cannot put faith in it without...

I understand. However, I think the notion that God must save people so they may believe to be the inverse of what Scripture teaches. God saves people on the basis of their faith, not so they can believe.

Thanks for your response. That is a good question and example of Israel. However, I believe the OT and NT teaches that God desired the nation of Israel to be a “light to the nations.” God was not restricting Gentiles from being saved (in fact, we see him doing this very thing in various...

I think you are omitting the context of the verse you are quoting. Paul‘s point is “how beautiful are the feet of those who share Good News.” The point is that the Gospel must be preached for people to hear and be saved. It’s not that the Gospel forces people to hear and be saved (if they are...

Youre going to have to explain this concept more to me, because as it stands, I dont understand it. So, as I understand it, (correct me if I am wrong) you hold to the following: 1) God desires all to be saved. 2) All men are dead in their sins and unable to respond to the Gospel of God’s grace...

The words I have in bold you are referring to. The words literally say, “not from (out of) works/deeds.“. The word ergon is the Greek word for works. As mentioned in my previous comment, the pronoun (touto) is neuter so it cannot be referring to faith. If I were to diagram the sentence it...

Cameron, thank you for your reply. I also agree that we are entirely corrupted by sin. I believe all humans are bound to sin, dead in their sin and incapable of saving themselves. There are none righteous, not even one. However, the theological term “total depravity” speaks to more than just...

I disagree that faith is a gift, in the sense that God grants us faith to be saved. Eph 2:8 does not teach this. In the Greek, the word faith (pistis) is a feminine gender and the pronoun referring to the gift (toutos) is neuter. If the the gift was referring to faith, then the pronoun would...

Hey Cameron, As promised, I wanted to respond to your question about a person being “dead” in their trespasses and sins and how they are quickened. First I’d like to quote a few passages that discuss this and talk about what is and isn’t being taught in these passages. I agree with the...

Thanks for your response. I promise I will get back to the “dead in sins” part, just been kinda busy. I think the issue here is our definition of “faith.” What is faith? I think it is a huge misfortune that so many Christians today tend to have a more Gnostic approach to Christianity than...

Hey Cameron, I apologize if it came across wrong. I was just trying to respond to different ways people view prevenient grace (grace that goes before) as it relates to someone being “cut to the heart.” Some view it as evidence of God’s predetermined election and some see it as a grace...

IMO, the end of chapter 10 and entirely of chapter 11 make this point. I have highlighted the key verses…

Well, there are two ways to look at that. If you are talking about prevenient grace in the sense that the Spirit works on the heart to enable the believer to respond, I suppose that would be true. This is still (from the Armenian perspective) different that salvation and the indwelling Spirit...