Did God ever prevent people from believing the gospel?

I would think you would know my position by now. I said that facetiously...I was going along with skandelon and winman's question, but adding calvinists think spiritual death means spiritual corpse. I do not hold to that line of thinking.

 

But from that day to this, more than 2000 years, the Jews have been blinded, and all those who died in that blindness died without the Messiah's salvation. Did God act contrary to his own will? Did God make it impossible for those Jews who have died without faith in the Christ, while at the same time desiring that they embrace the true Messiah? Whether the blinding is temporary or not, the result is the same. Certainly had he desired, he could have done to them what he did to Lydia in Acts 16, when he opened her heart.

What was to be the result of God's giving the Jews a heart of flesh? Was it not obedience to the Lord and accepting his Messiah? That is still to come, I believe, and their embrace of the one whom they have pierced will be God's doing--by giving them a new heart, of flesh. The fact that he has so far withheld that new heart of flesh is a reflection of his sovereign will. And it establishes the principle that anyone to whom he gives a new heart--not just Jews--will willingly receive the Messiah as Lord. And that anyone to whom he does not, will not.

 

Not just that, but intentionally NOT doing miracles in places they would be effective.

Christ says that if He had performed His miracles in Tyre, Sidon, or Sodom, that they would have repented.

So, it wasn't that the people in those cities did not have the ability to repent.

They just weren't given the chance by way of miracles that Jesus Himself says would have prompted them to repent?

Sounds kind of like someone paraphrasing "don't go preach over there, if you do they will hear the gospel and believe". "They are capable of responding if they hear, so don't give them the chance" ??

 

I have not read past this posting, but I doubt you will ever get a Scriptural reason. This is just one instance where the Scripture shows the error of Calvinism. I imagine they will simply redefine terms and words in order to justify their position; they have no choice!

 

No John, you cannot have your cake and eat it too!

 

Correct, it doesn't negate Bible election, but it does negate Calvinistic election. They are not the same thing.

 

Wrong! Judas cast himsel aside to suicide and not salvation, not God!

 

So, just so I understand you correctly, your argument isn't that the doctrine of election is false, but that the common Calvinistic view of the doctrine of election isn't correct?

 

That's not necessarily so. John 17:12 says this: While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Judas is the son of destruction, and this before his suicide. So it is clear there is something inherently unregenerate in Judas...and there always was.

Blessings,

The Archangel

 

no one could believe without God's causing it, so to ask if He prevents anyone from believing is about as far off as you can get.

 

I believe God has elected all who will believe the Gospel and turn from their sins and trust Christ. I do not believe God has decided who these will be; all can turn if they will believe the Gospel. Man has a free will and can turn to Christ if they will.

 

I believe God knew Judas would not trust Christ, so He used his choice against him to glorify His Son by being the one who betrayed Him.