Romans 11:32 God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on all.
Matthew 16:17...Blessed art thou Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you,but my Father which is in heaven.It is the object of one's faith (Jesus) who saves and yet that faith is not the gift, salvation is the gift.
When you wrongly make "faith" the gift then the question becomes how does God decide who wins the salvation lottery?
The question is created by men, by faulty reading of the scripture who then have to resort to "it is a mystery" "who am I judge" I guess this okay from the security of the "faith gifted few" who can actually boast of being selected to win the salvation lottery.
Saving faith is not the gift, salvation is the gift and an honest examination of the Greek in Ephesians 2:8 bears this out.
Matthew 16:17...Blessed art thou Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you,but my Father which is in heaven.
1 Corinthians 12:3...and no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
Just because you do not understand Scripture and see it as nonsensical does not mean others fail to grasp the Truth.Their argument is, which is not established in scripture, aside from slicing and dicing verses into
some nonsensical patchwork that people are born morally incapable of responding to the truth
Calvinists believe and many on her that God gives the believing heart and that people are born incapable of believing.
Agree God knows the end from the beginning.
Their argument is, which is not established in scripture, aside from slicing and dicing verses into some nonsensical patchwork that people are born morally incapable of responding to the truth and power inherent in the Gospel message.
God has purposely blocked the truth from penetrating the soul of the person from birth mind you so He can magnify Himself.
Do you agree with this?
No I do not. God wills that all men believe. It's perverse IMO to think that God subverts his own will for some kind of egoistic rush. The concept of total inability is gnostic in origin and entered the church through Augustine, who was a former gnostic, and then through Calvin and Luther who based their theology on his writings, instead of the writings of the early church fathers, to whom the concept of total inability was non-existent.
Yet He has allowed the god of this world to blind men and take them captive to his (the devil's) will.God wills that all men believe. It's perverse IMO to think that God subverts his own will
Yet He has allowed the god of this world to blind men and take them captive to his (the devil's) will.
That seems to contradict what you said earlier. What do you make of Romans 11:32 (top of page)?Yes, a condition we are all subject to. The ones who remain blinded do not have believing hearts, so they remain in that state
Paul taught it before Augustine did. Romans 7:18-19 For I know that good itself does not dwell inThe concept of total inability is gnostic in origin and entered the church through Augustine
Paul taught it before Augustine did. Romans 7:18-19 For I know that good itself does not dwell in
me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do.
Some are so confused they have claimed this only applies to Christians and not the natural man.
Whereas my Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit of God enables people to do that which is pleasing to God.
That seems to contradict what you said earlier. What do you make of Romans 11:32 (top of page)?
Are you of the opinion then, that when Scripture says it is God who works through you to will and to do His good pleasure, the works He planned beforehand for you to do (Sorry I'm on my phone @ work while making coffee and cannot navigate away from the page to get the exact wording or the verse citations) this does not apply to everyone who is saved but only to certain people among the saved? I mean the verses that I just gave explicitly said you can't do anything aside from Him...Total inability to fully please God is our natural state, whereas we receive the ability through the cross and the holy spirit. There are believers who think they are still in a state of total inability and consequently God must do his works through them
He knew from before the beginning who would have a believing heart. To those he speaks, and they hear and follow him as he brings them to Christ
It is the object of one's faith (Jesus) who saves and yet that faith is not the gift, salvation is the gift.
When you wrongly make "faith" the gift then the question becomes how does God decide who wins the salvation lottery?
The question is created by men, by faulty reading of the scripture who then have to resort to "it is a mystery" "who am I judge" I guess this okay from the security of the "faith gifted few" who can actually boast of being selected to win the salvation lottery.
Saving faith is not the gift, salvation is the gift and an honest examination of the Greek in Ephesians 2:8 bears this out.
Are you of the opinion then, that when Scripture says it is God who works through you to will and to do His good pleasure, the works He planned beforehand for you to do (Sorry I'm on my phone @ work while making coffee and cannot navigate away from the page to get the exact wording or the verse citations) this does not apply to everyone who is saved but only to certain people among the saved? I mean the verses that I just gave explicitly said you can't do anything aside from Him...
In your earlier post you said it was only certain believers that God needed to work through. You also seem to be confusing the idea of total inability to apply it to believers when it does not apply to believers at all, but to the natural man.God works through us via his word and spirit. This applies to every believer. We can't do anything righteous apart from the word and witness of the holy spirit which guide us. Those inform and enable us to do righteous works. If I think God is doing everything because I can't do anything, then I'm not doing anything; it's is a passive faith that doesn't produces fruit IMO