That is why the message of God's election unto salvation is such good news
the excellency of the Power is ....OF GOD and not us....no tricks,gimmicks,gospel clowns, tear jerking stories,....just the word preached in power:thumbsup:
Yes indeed...when God effectually draws one of His sheep...there is great rejoicing in heaven!:wavey:
Christ is really who is special...and us in Him!
Yes..if anyone does not see the truth of the gospel...satan has blinded their minds....or they believe another gospel.....
3But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
Everyone I meet is a gospel opportunity.Paul was told in acts 18....I have MUCH people in the city......many sinners who would be saved....Jesus did not say....Paul....I have a select few...a few special ones.....because we are all sinners.
God never intends all men to be saved.......just everyone believing. When someone believes...it shows they were an elect sheep. they always were elect...but until God saves them...they were lost...even as others
That doesn't bother me in the least.:tongue3: Most people of your ilk call people vile names ....generally to cover up for insecurities of which you probably have many. That is most likely why you are hostile to others. Anyway thats your problem....Reprimanded....add that one to your list genius. :laugh:
Jeremiah 13:23
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
Sin has so perverted man...that he hates the true God. Man has been ruined b y the fall....sin and death have wrought complete inability
Humanly speaking....we are all sinners...humanly speaking the gospel is offered to all men......None of us know who God has elected...we just know that election is a revealed truth.one pastor preached it this way.
did God save you...or did you save yourself?
ans...God saved me
did God save you on purpose....or was it an accident?
ans. God saved me on purpose!
God saved you....on purpose!
That my friend is biblical election:wavey:
I have to go after this post, but I just want to say that you are very easy to speak to about Calvinism, and I do appreciate it.
You, me, and Precher4truth, and my pastor should all have lunch together sometime.
In other words, I may not agree with you, but I do respect you alot.
If you notice...we actually agree quite a bit:laugh:
Because we are bible based persons.:thumbsup:
I think that this teaching gets mis-represented and abused...but it is biblical teaching.
This teaching that God has elected a multitude of sinners gives me great confidence and boldness in evangelism...in that if I pray for opportunites..the Spirit will give them to me....or you..or any christian who understands the issues here....men are perishing....we have the truth they need.
Any christian that shrinks back from evangelism needs to examine if they are a real christian at all.
This is life and death....not just a debate...or philosophical exercise....real people bound in sin.....need Jesus.
We are all brothers and learning each day....trust me...if anything I say or put forth is error...i will discard it when I can see scripturally it is error.
I travel to all 48 states...in oregon now...heading to VA.
Might get to visit with Willis...if the nebraska snow storm does not disrupt the trip....we can meet and fellowship with open bibles...it should be edifying...where in the usa are you?
What interstate road is close by?
Any truck stop..or shopping center where i could park a big truck?
It will happen in time...
Your IQ would have to go up dramatically for that to happen.....plus you would have to understand the complexities of many many things, of which I seriously doubt you are capable of grasping. Lastly, you would have to understand that you are a complete hypocrite. If castigating & demeaning others brings you joy than don't tell us your a Christian.
That IS NOT the behavior of a Christian.
Allow me to ask you a very simply question. You say, "most do not." My question is "Why not?"
Let's look at an example. You and your next door neighbor are both unsaved. You and he go to the same church and attend the same service. You even sit side by side. You hear the gospel, believe, and are saved. Your neighbor hears the same message, does not believe, and leaves lost.
What is different between you and your neighbor? Why did you believe and why did he not believe? What is the difference between you and your neighbor? :)
For the same reason you are a Calvinist and another believer is not.
Because that is your choice.
What determines their choice?
They do.
An actor determines his actions.
A chooser determines his choice.
The mystery of this can be revealed in asking the same question about God.
Why did he choose to save you and not someone else?
What you need to realize is that the drive to explain a truly free choice in the manner of asking, "What determined it?" is really just a game of question begging because it assumes that a deterministic explaination is required. Ciocchi, who debated Feinberg, put it this way: "the choice between available options is what free will is all about . . . and it is finally mysterious, beyond full explanation, for full explanations presuppose the very determinism the libertarian rejects" (Ciocchi, p. 94).