Romans 1 and reprobation

Really?

Perhaps I was not clear enough in my desire to be succinct. Let me distill it even further...

Do we come to God or does God come to us? Does our faith play a role before God comes to us?

 

Let me cut to the chase and preempt the next discourse... The only man found in the pool in the Bible was the one trying to get healed in the pool of Siloam. :laugh:

 

He comes to us first. As Paul said,

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Christ comes through his appointed messengers to us with an appeal to be reconciled.

How does one believe in whom he has not heard?

 

So, you then uphold the doctrines of Calvinism to be biblical and true.

 

How is what I said uniquely Calvinistic?

 

You are right... You still had a way out with this line:

Which did not answer my actual question:

But keep with it. We'll lead you back to the truth of Scripture yet. :laugh:

 

I just came across from a little know theologian you like to quote name Jonathan Edwards, "God is said to know the elect from all eternity…Reprobates he did not know; they were strangers to God from all eternity."

And some of the links and quotes you provide here don't even support your view that all the elect were once reprobates.

Maybe, some Calvinists use this terminology but to insult me as you have because I couldn't read your mind on the matter when clearly many Calvinistic scholars do in fact refer only to the non-elect as reprobates, is a clear indication of your lack of objectivity, sincerity and simple kindness, that is why I ended the conversation with you.

 

How can something be "strange" to God?

 

Mat 7:23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'


The same way He does not know some people.

 

If he doesn't know something...how is He omniscient? I know my wife intimately, but everyone else isn't "strange"...and I only know my wife intimately because she agreed to be known intimately.

 

The words know and strange are not used in the context of no knowledge at all but in the context of not having a relationship with the people mentioned. Context is King.

 

My question was geared more towards Edwards' use of "strange". I agree it is an intimate relationship, not knowing someone intimately.