How do you believe someone is of the elect

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Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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#82
I was trying to find a humorous way to end our discussion.
Do you find humour works well with those suffering CDS? ,:unsure:
By that I mean, does it help the CDS person respond with more integrity? I don't think I have been witness to that.
I find humor and courtesy of great value almost universally.
Yes, courtesy is nice when it is offered, but I find being repeatedly lied to not very courteous. Not at all.
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
21,906
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#83
By that I mean, does it help the CDS person respond with more integrity? I don't think I have been witness to that.

Yes, courtesy is nice when it is offered, but I find being repeatedly lied to not very courteous. Not at all.
We won't be judged by what other people do; only how we responded and what motivated us to act. It means little how we are treated, but it means a whole lot to Christ how we respond.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
63,631
32,255
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#84
We won't be judged by what other people do; only how we responded and what motivated us
to act. It means little how we are treated, but it means a whole lot to Christ how we respond.
I am motivated to share the Truth of God's revealed written Word. Somehow here in the Bible Discussion Forum that fact alone is enough to condemn me, that I back up what I say with Scripture. Imagine being told I take what the Bibles says too seriously! LOL. You know it also strikes me as very strange that I can talk for months on end about people making choices out of their nature, and someone will come along and accuse me of saying people don't have a choice. I can affirm over and over again what the Bible says about the will of man and people accuse me of saying man is a bot. One of them even asked me why God forced me to believe. Guess what. I have never said any such thing. On either count. Heck, I can straight-up quote Scripture and say nothing else and I get accused of blaspheming God and saying God hates humanity. That same person wanted me to be seeking peace with him while he continued to falsely accuse me, and then he accused me of the same thing, again! Yes, some courtesy and integrity would be nice, but it does not seem to be forthcoming from those with CDS. Today's person has more than once misrepresented what I believe, refused to address it when I asked, just brushing off what she said as if lying about something is okay, and seems to think there is nothing wrong with that. But even in all that it seems she thought I should be treating her better as a friend? Did she believe she was treating me as a friend? The double standard is as blatant as it is ridiculous. My response is often to put CDSers on ignore. God does not want to listen to lies and neither do I. How they respond matters also.
 
Nov 14, 2024
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#85
before they truly believe in Jesus?
Conviction of SIN is the first indication of "election" and the gifted Opportunity to become born again. Conviction is the origin of FAITH - God's WORD TO YOU
You've got a choice - surrender, repent, and cry out to God, or ignore it, and the conviction will fade ending your opportunity at that time.

Hopefully, The Holy Spirit will Convict AGAIN. I always ran away back into death until the LAST time in Houston TX, when I surrendered and repented crying out in FAITH for salvation. And then everything changed.
 

wattie

Senior Member
Feb 24, 2009
3,410
1,245
113
New Zealand
#86
The elect are the elect before the foundation of the world.
God knowing what we will do doesn't mean we have no choice in salvation.

Predestination is about heaven being preset for those who believe.

It is also about a preset destiny for groups such as believers who are also faithful serving in churches who get more rewards than believers who aren't.

The journey is pre planned..preset..but it's up to people which one they enter.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
63,631
32,255
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#87
It means little how we are treated
God knows how the world treats believers and Jesus told us also. We are hated. Yes, a little integrity from
people who claim to be Christians would be nice, but unfortunately many act much the same as the world.
I am not sure how much of it you may have witnessed when another unrepentant liar joined our ongoing
convos and claimed nobody was misrepresenting what we believe. Now this was a person who joined and
then left saying he was never coming back again and then he would rejoin and participate for a while and
then say he was leaving and never coming back again and then he would join again and on and on it went,
this went on over a course of probably years... sometimes it was obviously him and other times he was
clearly bent on deceiving people about who it was so he could fly under the radar as it were. So he chimes
in on one of these threads where our beliefs are being misrepresented and he claimed along with the other
liars that nobody was misrepresenting what others believed. LOL! I listed some of the ways and means
people misrepresent what we believe, oh we have that one guy who loves to make up the most heinous
things about God and says that is what we believe... you have had your run-ins with him also, and I am
not sure how well you fared with him in the long run because I am fairly certain even you got sick of his
constant lies. Anyways, I listed a few ways what we believe is misrepresented, and instead of acknowledging
that he could in any way be wrong or admitting even a shred of truth to what I said he turned it all into a
big joke with me as the butt of it. He subsequently claimed he was not going to waste another minute in that
thread but he kept posting and ending each post swearing it was his last. So yes, you can see why I do not
always agree that using humour to deal with these issues is effective. Sometimes it is just more dishonesty.
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
21,906
7,541
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#88
God knows how the world treats believers and Jesus told us also. We are hated. Yes, a little integrity from
people who claim to be Christians would be nice, but unfortunately many act much the same as the world.
I am not sure how much of it you may have witnessed when another unrepentant liar joined our ongoing
convos and claimed nobody was misrepresenting what we believe. Now this was a person who joined and
then left saying he was never coming back again and then he would rejoin and participate for a while and
then say he was leaving and never coming back again and then he would join again and on and on it went,
this went on over a course of probably years... sometimes it was obviously him and other times he was
clearly bent on deceiving people about who it was so he could fly under the radar as it were. So he chimes
in on one of these threads where our beliefs are being misrepresented and he claimed along with the other
liars that nobody was misrepresenting what others believed. LOL! I listed some of the ways and means
people misrepresent what we believe, oh we have that one guy who loves to make up the most heinous
things about God and says that is what we believe... you have had your run-ins with him also, and I am
not sure how well you fared with him in the long run because I am fairly certain even you got sick of his
constant lies. Anyways, I listed a few ways what we believe is misrepresented, and instead of acknowledging
that he could in any way be wrong or admitting even a shred of truth to what I said he turned it all into a
big joke with me as the butt of it. He subsequently claimed he was not going to waste another minute in that
thread but he kept posting and ending each post swearing it was his last. So yes, you can see why I do not
always agree that using humour to deal with these issues is effective. Sometimes it is just more dishonesty.
While I do understand the frustration, we always have a choice. Since my kids were little, they have known that the only 4 acceptable responses were to love, do good, bless, and pray for someone in response to any behavior towards them. If a response doesn't fit into one of those categories, they chose other than the responses Jesus allowed. No different for us.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
63,631
32,255
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#89
While I do understand the frustration, we always have a choice. Since my kids were little, they have known that the only 4 acceptable responses were to love, do good, bless, and pray for someone in response to any behavior towards them. If a response doesn't fit into one of those categories, they chose other than the responses Jesus allowed. No different for us.
A valid Biblical response is to confront the person with the discrepancy between what you have said and what they claim you have said. The hope is that when wrongdoing is present, communication can restore relationships and encourage repentance. Of course in many cases there is no real relationship to begin with. People join and immediately make up all kinds of stuff about what you believe and falsely accuse you of all manner of things. Who are these people? They come out of nowhere and just start telling lies. Pointing out that what they have said is false more often than not just makes them double down. They have an agenda. What does admonishment do? Are they going to repent? I have seen very little of that. Most refuse any kind of correction. In the case of more established ongoing exchanges, pointing out discrepancies is not welcome either. The next step in this Biblical response would be to get others involved. Who is going to do that? You were present for what went down this morning. It is not the first time that person has accused me of adhering to some ism that I do not, of advocating for things I do not, of pretending I believe things I do not, of having said things I have not. Pointing this out does nothing. Does that mean when someone lies about what I have said or what I believe that I should make no attempt to correct them? It is a valid Biblical response. I am not trying to raise bratty children here even though people act like bratty children.
 

Cameron143

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2022
21,906
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#90
A valid Biblical response is to confront the person with the discrepancy between what you have said and what they claim you have said. The hope is that when wrongdoing is present, communication can restore relationships and encourage repentance. Of course in many cases there is no real relationship to begin with. People join and immediately make up all kinds of stuff about what you believe and falsely accuse you of all manner of things. Who are these people? They come out of nowhere and just start telling lies. Pointing out that what they have said is false more often than not just makes them double down. They have an agenda. What does admonishment do? Are they going to repent? I have seen very little of that. Most refuse any kind of correction. In the case of more established ongoing exchanges, pointing out discrepancies is not welcome either. The next step in this Biblical response would be to get others involved. Who is going to do that? You were present for what went down this morning. It is not the first time that person has accused me of adhering to some ism that I do not, of advocating for things I do not, of pretending I believe things I do not, of having said things I have not. Pointing this out does nothing. Does that mean when someone lies about what I have said or what I believe that I should make no attempt to correct them? It is a valid Biblical response. I am not trying to raise bratty children here even though people act like bratty children.
Honest mistakes happen and people apologize. If you've made it known what you mean then sometimes it's better to move on. But no reason to do so with animosity. It's okay to leave it and let God defend you.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
63,631
32,255
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#91
Honest mistakes happen and people apologize. If you've made it known what you mean then sometimes it's better to move on. But no reason to do so with animosity. It's okay to leave it and let God defend you.
I really don't get how them repeating a lie makes it an honest mistake. It is not an honest mistake when they repeat lies. I have put a number of people on ignore which is as you say moving on because I know such people do not repent. They are not interested in the truth. They like pretending you believe things you do not, they like acting as if you have said things you have not, they are attached to their lies and are not interested in correction, no amount of telling the truth to their lies gets you anywhere with CDSers. It is like that question, have you stopped beating your wife? What is there to explain beyond the fact that you have never beat your wife? They don't care about that.
 

DavidLamb

Active member
Feb 21, 2025
105
58
28
Paignton, Devon, UK
#92
predestined to be conformed to His image, i.e. to be one with Him, those He foreknew to love him, per v.28 , "And we know God works all things together for who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (which is to become one with Him).

This helps me answer the OP's question. You can tell that a person is elect if that person loves Him, even if they have yet to 'believe' in Him (i.e. they might hold a skeptical 'too good to be true' attitude toward him, initially, but, because of that love, or the love of the reputation that follows His person, keep searching Him out, and we know that scripture tells us that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him...and ultimately find, indeed, to their delight, that He first loved them).
I am puzzled as to how a person can love God without believing in God.
 

DavidLamb

Active member
Feb 21, 2025
105
58
28
Paignton, Devon, UK
#94
They believe...are then converted..that makes them elect. No salvation before belief. Only that God does convict the sinner before they believe.

John 3:16, 3:36, 5:25, 6:40, 10:28
Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-9
I agree that belief is needed for salvation. But being converted does not make somebody elect. We are told that Christians were chosen by God before the foundation of the world. (Elect and chosen mean the same thing.)
 

DavidLamb

Active member
Feb 21, 2025
105
58
28
Paignton, Devon, UK
#95
Biblically~~The Lord Jesus Christ died for all. If you believe, you will be saved. Anyone can be saved.

Calvie~~jesus died for a few, you could possibly be one of them. We don't know. So we could be telling you the most horrible lie ever, if you are not one of the special ones.
Calvinists do not believe that Jesus died only for a few. They believe what is said in Revelation, about a multitude which no one can number! I would say, "Biblically~~The Lord Jesus Christ died for sinners. If you believe, you will be saved. Anyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved."
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
4,508
610
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#96
When were they foreknown?
When they were conceived and being formed in the womb.
Jer 1:5
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations
 

HeIsHere

Well-known member
May 21, 2022
8,249
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#97
Calvinists do not believe that Jesus died only for a few. They believe what is said in Revelation, about a multitude which no one can number! I would say, "Biblically~~The Lord Jesus Christ died for sinners. If you believe, you will be saved. Anyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved."
The multitude is still "a few" comparatively speaking.

Limited atonement is dying only for the elect correct?
 

HeIsHere

Well-known member
May 21, 2022
8,249
3,229
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#98
Biblically~~The Lord Jesus Christ died for all. If you believe, you will be saved. Anyone can be saved.

Calvie~~jesus died for a few, you could possibly be one of them. We don't know. So we could be telling you the most horrible lie ever, if you are not one of the special ones.
I do know, it is another one of "those" soul destroying threads about God, selecting/energizing/regenerating prior to faith only certain

people, for eternal/ainos life in direct contradiction to the Good News in the scripture.
 

DavidLamb

Active member
Feb 21, 2025
105
58
28
Paignton, Devon, UK
The multitude is still "a few" comparatively speaking.

Limited atonement is dying only for the elect correct?
I don't agree that the multitude in heaven is still a few. Particular Redemption (sometimes called "Limited Atonement") says that Christ died for His sheep, as He said:

“"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (Joh 10:11 NKJV)

He also said to some of His hearers:

“"But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.” (Joh 10:26 NKJV)