Featured God's Sovereignty

The natural man will never serve God. When God saves, He save the soul of man, and not the natural man. The natural man still yearns to sin, but the Spirit brings it(natural man) under subjection when the natural man rears up.

 

Acts 16:30-33 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

 

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.


Just like shootin' fish in a barrell. :wavey: :laugh:

 

We are all born into this world as natural beings, void of the Holy Spirit, so how does the natural man become spiritual? There is nothing about the natural man that will cause him to seek after God, so God does not save him because he choose to serve God. How does God save the natural man? I affirm that the natural man is quickened by God while he is still spiritually dead and has no desire to serve God, Eph 2:5.

 

I've already explained it once in the other 359 times you've gone to this card.

 

Amy, before you can get all scriptures to harmonise, you have to understand that all salvation scriptures are not speaking of eternal salvation, but most of them are refering to a deliverance (salvation) we receive here in this world. Eternal salvation is given by the grace of God without the help of man. On the other hand, a deliverance (salvation) is earned by man's actions. We are all born into this world as natural beings and the natural man has no desire to serve God, in fact it is impossiable for him to do so. 1 Cor 2:14. The jailer, if he was a natural man and not already quickened to a spiritual life, would never have ask the question "What must I do to be saved". Believing on the Lord Jesus is not the cause of our eternal salvation, but is a result of our eternal salvation. Believing on the Lord Jesus will bring about a deliverance from believing a false doctrine, such as being saved eternally by our works. My bible has a reference to Acts 2:37 which says they were "pricked" in the heart. The natural man can not be pricked in the heart as indicated when the men that were stoning Steven for preaching the same message as Peter was preaching in Acts, were "cut to the heart". When Paul was converted on the road to Damaskas, God ask him why he was "kicking against the pricks".

 

Very funny, but you are dead wrong. John 10:26-29, But ye believe not because you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. The natural man, void of the Spirit, will never hear Jesus, or seek to serve God, 1 Cor 2:14. Jesus didn't say unto them "If you will hear and believe you can have everlasting life", but all his words were in the present tense, Heareth, believeth, hath and is passed. There is a salvation (deliverance) in hearing, and believing, but it is not eternal, but a timely deliverance from believing in a false doctrine. All mankind are not God's sheep as referenced by the seperation of the goats and the sheep at the last day.

 

One day very soon Forest we will have our own vehicle in which to have discussion....very very soon. There, doctrines of grace will not be treated with disdain.

 

You clearly don't know the difference between divine sovereignty and human freedom. May I suggest you study up on that subject.

 

Define freedom.

 

However, those who He saves, will have eternal salvation from that very moment.

 

Yes, Calvinism usually devolves into Calvinists getting together with themselves and talking about the bliss of Calvinism, but since that removes the thrill of the capture (of non-Cals to the Cal position), then the utopian Calvinist click returns to capture mode until they get offended by others who are offended by their offensive interpretations or presentations, and then feint their withdrawal into their elitist click of enlightened Calvinist paradise but only as a tactic of playing hard to get, only this itself is a manifestation of their own delusions of grandeur.

 

And who said anything about Calvinism? Forest, for your edification is not a Calvinist (and I refuse to be labeled a Calvinist) & I was speaking directly to him not you. So in the future, kindly butt out where you clearly dont belong. You have no clue to what Doctrines of Grace are in any event & so that makes any of your commentary completely asinine. Typical of what I've observed of you though....very typical. :laugh:

 

This is an open forum where members are allowed to post freely within the rules. Jonathan has followed that. You on the other hand...

Jonathan comment and respond all you want.

 

Which is simply a nickname for the Gospel. Is there a more blissful thing of which to speak? I hope one day you will come to know this bliss, but whether you do or not, will not detract from its beauty.

 

I don't. I'm simply being called a Christian.

 

Replace the word "the" with "another" to rescue any semblance of truth to the statement. Let us rather obey the gospel of Christ and forsake vain philosophy that spoils. Also, the invective of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

 

Eternal salvation was secured by Christ upon the cross. All of those that God gave to his Son to reconcile back to him were saved eternally at the time Christ died on the cross, John 6:37-41.

 

When one cannot actually bring an argument to the table, an ad hominem is always just about as good, right? :wavey:

 

The scriptures were not written to the non-elect, but to God's elect for instructions as how they are to live their lives here on earth. When all of God's elect are gathered together in heaven there will be no need for scripture to be discussed. Most of you have tagged me as a Calvinist, but I have never read Calvins writtings. I base my belief and understanding on the direction of the Holy Spirit in explaination of the scriptures.