Grace, Calvin vs all others

I am aware this has been discussed before, but it seems that there are very few who have actually done a study to determine what grace really is. So with that in mind, I would like the Calvinists to define for all of us exactly what grace is and what grace does. Here's some starter questions

Grace:

Is it Transferable......Yes?.....NO?

Is Given as a gift from one being to another....Yes?....NO?

Is Selectively applied by God.....Yes?....NO?

Comes in many flavors.....Yes?.....NO?

Has the power to save a man's soul....Yes....No?

Provides strength to humans in times of trial....Yes?.....No?

Is a Behavioral Attribute....Yes?....No?

Is found in Salvation.....Yes?.....No?

Is the source of Salvation....Yes?....No?

Allows Faith to come through hearing the Word of God....Yes?....No?

What say you?

 

Can't answer simple yes or no questions?

 

Thanks cdg,
Please understand that I am not criticizing you, just the understanding of what Grace is and what Grace does.

If God's grace is transferable, and if you have received this transfered grace, then you have grace that you can transfer to me. To provide the truth of this belief, why don't you send me some via Fed-EX? I promise to send it back so you will not be short. Oh, can't do that? Well if you can't then you probably did not receive any Grace in the first place. Do you understand the point? Grace is not a transferable commodity!

Same as above. If you have been given the gift of grace as you would be given a birthday present, you should have it so that you can display it for all to see. But alas, you do not have any because none has been given to you!

I believe that God does in fact control who he is gracious to, in the same manner that we humans are gracious to whomever we will be gracious to. None of us is gracious to all, though in the case of pastors there are unreasonable expectations place upon them to be gracious to everyone!

Grace received is grace perceived! There are 6 Billion humans on the face of the earth, there could be as many as 6 Billion perceptions of grace. But God's grace is Constant because God is Constant.

Another who misinterprets Ephesians 2:8. In light of all other scriptures relating to Salvation which is what "saved" means, it is man's FAITH in God that saves, and not God's grace. God's grace enables man to come to FAITH in God, and that pleases God very much when one does come to faith in Him. But it is not God's grace that saves, IT IS GOD who saves, and HE saves those who have faith in HIM. My oh My isn't that a gracious thing to do, save those who believe in you. Don't we all do that for those who believe in us? Don't we devote ourselves to them?

Salvation is the result of faith found in the man, which was gained while the man was under the grace of God. So your answer here is correct Grace is not found in Salvation, but without Grace, there could be no salvations because Jesus is God's GIFT OF GRACE TO MAN. Jesus Took all the sins (man's) of the world upon himself, and Paid the penalty for those sins in his own death on the Altar of Grace, the Cross. With the penalty of sin paid for, man can now have everlasting life through faith in Jesus! Yes, grace is essential to salvation because it gives man the time and the opportunity to hear the Word of God and believe in God's gift of Grace to mankind.

Grace is NOT the source of Salvation, the Gift of Grace, JESUS is, and the Word of God, the GOSPEL, introduces us to Jesus, and through believing unto FAITH in Jesus, man is given the free gift of everlasting life.

Well in light of the following I think you may want to reconsider what Grace does. Grace is how God is perceived to behave toward those who are undergoing trials. Truly God's grace does not change, his compassion is steady, his favor toward his created man is steady, even though we are constantly testing His will with our antics.

You did not answer this. Is it, or is it not a behavioral attribute?

Even so what you did say is that Grace is a characteristic of God. How is it that one can give away that which is characteristic of one's self? This contradicts your answers to the questions above. One cannot give what is characteristic of one's self to another! So God's Grace is not a transferable commodity! It is not something that God can give, but rather, is the manner in which God behaves toward those whom he chooses to favor!

Good answer except for the part about not believing God's word. Without Belief, Faith is not possible. Without FAITH, salvation is not possible. "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God."

 

cdg

Creation is a work well beyond anything the created can do, where Grace is a behavior that the created is fully capable of emulating. How can you even make the connection.

That is because we grew up in the environment of God's grace, and know nothing else! Yes there have been times when it seems that God withheld his grace from us, but those were short durations times when God wanted to hear from us. But even in those times, God's grace was sufficient for us. But what about all the bad things that happen? God never promised us they wouldn't happen so who are we to question God?

You are right, but I believe you are confusing grace and blessing. They are not the same! God's gracious behavior is constant in accordance with his Grace, no variations; but he also blesses those whom he will, while withholding blessing from others.

"for by grace are ye saved through faith, and not of yourselves it is the gift of God..." What is the gift of God? If you know the definition of GRACE, and the definition of FAITH, you are compelled to believe that the gift of God is "being saved". So I say it again, You are misinterpreting Ephesians 2:8!

Again if you know the definition of GRACE, you cannot think of it as anything but a behavioral trait. That which is a behavior in one cannot be given to another! Others can learn the behavior and exhibit it themselves toward others, but cannot give it like one gives a commodity.

Simply not true! FAITH cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. It is the power of the story contained in the Word of God that convicts the reader of his/her lost condition and the need of a savior. The Holy Spirit works on the human spirit after the human spirit has "some knowledge" to work on. God said "For lack of Knowledge, my people perish!" If there is no knowledge in the human spirit, there can be no regeneration of that spirit! So it is true that FAITH cometh by Hearing and Hearing by the Word of God.

In case you don't know the definitions of Grace and FAITH, I'll post them for you.

 

If you know the definitions then why do you not use the terms correctly and in accordance with the definition?

 

How is the definition in scripture different than what is common to man?

 

According to the definition of Grace, There is nothing in grace that has power to save!

Faith is not a work! There is no energy expended in faith.

Neither Grace nor FAITH can be given from one being to another in a "transfer of ownership" transaction.

Also God has no faith to give according to the definition of faith.

 

So, instead of recognizing the problem, you choose to ignore the truth and continue with false doctrine.