Question from recent posts

[2Co 4:3-4 NASB] 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

 

[John 3:16-21 NASB] 16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

(v.16) Only those who believe in Jesus will not perish.
(v.17) Only those who believe in Jesus will be saved.
(v.18) Those who believe are not judged, those who do not believe are already judged.
(v.19) the judgement: mankind loves evil.
(v.20) the judgement: mankind fears God and flees.
(v.21) good deeds are “wrought in God” (not man) ... God is the alpha and omega of salvation (not human decision).

 

They still were blinded to the gospel and perishing, so THEY were not choosing to reject the gospel.

I am advocating monergism (God saves men all by himself) not Hypercalvinism (God equally forces some to be saved and God forces others to be damned).

 

I see. I thought Calvinists believed that man was dead in trespasses and sin. Total inability.

Why would a dead man, who can't do anything, much less see, need to be blinded?



Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

 

If you are attempting to make a point, I must confess that I just don’t see it. All I see is an attempt to fight one scriptural metaphor for the natural condition of fallen man (dead) with another scriptural metaphor for the natural condition of fallen men (blind).

[Eph 2:1-3 NASB] 1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

[2Co 4:3-4 NASB] 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Calvinists believe in biblical scriptures.
Are you advocating that I should be taking a sharpie to one of these two verses because they can’t both be true?

What about these verses, are they safe to believe?

• [Mat 13:4, 19 NIV] 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ... 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
• [Mar 4:4, 15 NIV] 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ... 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
• [1Co 2:14 NIV] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

They also seem to say that some hearers either have the word snatched from them (by Satan) or they cannot understand the word except as foolishness.

 

Where does scripture say that Faith is given to all?

What I do know is that God chose to save some ...

• [Rom 8:28-31 NIV] 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

God has a plan to finish in Glorification what God started in foreknowledge (personal relationship, not facts) and predestination.

Our new heart empowers us to repent.
When you meet that special someone and fall in love, did they “force” you to love them? Certainly not. Yet at the same time, it is probably not accurate to say that you just “decided” to fall in love with them. God most certainly “draws” us irresistibly to Jesus, but no one is drawn “against their will” ... it is a lot more like falling in love.

God “made” you love him because of how good he really is.
God CHOSE to introduce his Son to you, because it pleased the Father to do so.

 

• Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

This verse does not say that faith is given to all, it only says that God gives faith to all that are saved (which is what I believe).
This verse also does not say that God chose to save all who ask, but even if God does save all who ask, that just moves the question to "Who will ask?" Certainly, those who are blind to the Gospel (2 Cor 4:4) and those who consider the Gospel foolishness (1 Cor 1:18) will not ask. In fact, only those that the Father draws (John 6:44) will ask.

Now, once again ...
Where does scripture say that Faith is given to all?

Some supporting scripture along with your opinions, if you don't mind.

Q. "In your example, what happens to a sinners new heart that does not accept Jesus?"
A silly "what if". What if Jesus died and wasn't resurrected like he said he would be? Since GOD is GOD, Jesus could not fail in his mission to die and be resurrected.

What happens to a sinner is this:
Ephesians 2:1-10 NLT

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.[fn] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
​

[Rom 8:28-31 NIV]

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?​

So if GOD fails because His arm is too short to accomplish His task, then He isn't GOD!
Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent ... means that failure is not an option.

Soli Deo gloria!

 

Paul would disagree that a lost sinner can freely choose to do that!
1 Corinthians 2:14

 

Yes, Faith is given in order to believe. However, you are avoiding answering the question. You claimed that Faith is given to all, so all have the choice to believe. I keep asking, without success:

Where does scripture say that Faith is given to ALL?

Here is why actual scripture verses are important. You force me to guess at your veiled reference.

[Matthew 18:12-14 NIV]
12 "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.​

(v.12) Man owns all the sheep (God owns all of His sheep) ... one sheep wanders off (one person that already belongs to God wanders off)
(v.13) God finds His lost person
(v.14) "these little ones" = believers = already saved = God's chosen sheep.

• [Matthew 18:6 NIV] 6 "If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

[2Pe 3:1-9 NKJV]
1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in [both of] which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of creation." 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world [that] then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth [which] are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day [is] as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning [His] promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.​

(v.1) Peter is writing to BELIEVERS, so the message in verse 9 is also directed towards believers.
(v.2-7) Peter discuses an argument being made by "scoffers" asking why has Jesus not returned yet.
(v.8) Peter answers this question for the believers.
(v.9) "longsuffering towards us" = "us" means the saved/believers and is contrasted with the unsaved/scoffers.

Jesus has not yey returned, because he is patiently waiting for all of the saints to be born and be saved. Jesus is not willing to allow any saint to perish by returning too soon. This is not a statement about God's desire for all mankind to repent and choose to believe.

Empty rhetoric. Nothing is obvious except that you cannot or will not support your claim that God gives faith to ALL with a scripture verse that says anything of the sort.

 

IF God actually had intended to save all siners byt eh death of Jesus, all would have been saved, but he did not, as Jesus died in a substitution manner for individual sinners, so covered the sin debt in an effectual way way fro just some!

 

Spare me the attacks on Calvinism because Calvinism has nothing to do with YOUR claim that God gives Faith to ALL and my repeated request for Biblical support for your claim ...

Where does scripture say that Faith is given to ALL?