Is God Able To regenerate sinners before their faith in Christ?

There are many;

Jn 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

Acts 13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Until you believe in Jesus you are dead in sin. You cannot be spiritually alive until after you believe. The moment you believe you are justified, forgiven of all sins. Only then are you spiritually alive.

 

You don't get it, they had already received the Spirit, therefore they had already believed. (Gal 3:2)

 

Old Regular, you do not receive the Holy Spirit until after you believe.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Peter told these men they must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and THEN they would receive the Spirit.

The apostles did not baptize anyone unless they believed.

Acts 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest, And he answered, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

Peter told the Jews if they were baptized in Jesus's name they would receive the Holy Ghost. They only baptized believers, so faith preceeds receiving the Spirit.

 

Sorry! I don't see forgiveness of sins and believe in the same verse!

 

So according to you repentance and Baptism are required for the forgiveness of sin! I don't see any mention of belief!

Are you also telling me that I must be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit. That sounds like Church of Christ and Roman Catholicism

Could be wrong but I don't believe Philip was an Apostle!

Furthermore the action of Peter preceded the action of Philip so I am not sure your conclusion is justified. As I recall you have made quite an issue of the presentation of information in Ephesians 1 and Ephesians 2.

 

No Winman you are the one who does not understand. The Apostle Paul is contrasting the ability of the person who has received the Holy Spirit to understand spiritual things with the inability of the natural man, the unregenerate man, the man who has not received the Holy Spirit to understand spiritual things.

Paul's argument would be foolish if he were saying two completely different things about those in-dwelt with the Holy Spirit. You correctly stated earlier that Scripture does not contradict itself but here you claim it does. Yu are now claiming that the person in-dwelt with the Holy Spirit CAN understand the things of God and then conversely the person in-dwelt with the Holy spirit CAN NOTunderstand the things of God.

 

Can just anybody believe or just the sheep?

 

I believe the word will show that if one is a sheep he will hear the call from the Lord and believe.

One of Winman's favorite verses: Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Verse 37 And having heard, they were pricked to the heart; they say also to Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, `What shall we do, men, brethren?'--------The Lord called and they believed.

They also heard "the faith" by which they would be given the promise of the Holy Spirit.

That being;
Acts 2:22,23 Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: ------We have a man approved of God dead.
Acts 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. ------The Christ the singular seed of Abraham to whom the promises belonged-----The Faith is The Father raising his only begotten Son from the dead Gal 1:1 giving him the promise of eternal life Titus 1:2 John 5:26 and the promise of the Holy Spirit Acts 2:33

It was the hearing of this faith by which they could receive the Spirit Acts 2:33 Gal 3:2,14,22 Titus 3:6

It was because of the faith above that the gift of God, eternal life can be given to us.
By grace are ye saved (given eternal life) through the faith.
For the wages of sin death; but the gift of God eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (BY resurrection from the dead)

 

The Spirit works with a sinner to bring them to the realization of their lost condition. Once they have believed from the heart, them He takes up His abode in their soul, and not before.

The same can be said of the Law. It(Law) was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Grace through faith(belief) places us in Christ.

 

:thumbsup::applause::applause::thumbsup:

 

The sheep Jesus was talking about were those given to Him by the Father because they believed. Those who weren't His sheep were those who were hardened by their continual rebellion and unbelief. They were His sheep until God cut them off due to their unbelief(John 15).

He came to His own(the Jews), and His own(the Jews) believed Him not. But as many as believed(the sheep), gave He them the power to become the sons of God(sheep).

 

The apostles (except Judas) all believed on Jesus long before they received the Holy Spirit.

Jn 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

This was the apostles, they did not receive the Spirit until three years later.

Jn 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

This refutes your interpretation of 1 Cor 2:14, the apostles could understand Jesus was the Son of God and believe on him, but did not receive the Spirit until much later.

 

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me:

John the Baptist

Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

One being Andrew Simon Peter's brother. God through Andrew spoke to Peter and he followed.

The next day Jesus found Philip and said follow me and Philip followed.

ect

Moving forward in time.

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice;

Whatever fold that is.

Apostle=messenger=one sent forth

Simeon hath declared how God (Through those he sent) at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

God takes out of them. The sheep from the other fold hear the word, believe and follow.

Why are these sheep found where they were found? Why are there sheep among the nations?

 

To understand who "my sheep" are, or to understand those "given" to Jesus by the Father, you must understand foreknowledge. We are elect or chosen according to the foreknowledge of the Father. God could foresee who would believe in Christ in time and chose these persons. They are the elect, they are the sheep given to Jesus. But a person must believe for God to foresee it.

Jn 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Notice the order in this verse, it is very important. The sheep #1 hear God's word, and then #2 Jesus knows them.

God does not know us in an intimate, personal way until we believe. He knows those that "hear". This is foreknowledge of who will believe.

Gal 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

Notice the word "NOW" it is very important. God does not know us in a personal, intimate way until we believe in time.

However, God was able to foresee this future faith, and he could know this personal relationship in time before it occured.

Foreknowledge does not determine who will believe or who will not, it only foresees what will actually occur.

Those who God foresaw would believe are his sheep, and it is these believers that the Father gives to the Son.

 

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

Excellent position, explanation, and post. Calvinism can be explained by some of the Bible, but when the whole Bible is examined by the Light, Calvinism is found in error.

 

I understand you will disagree as will most on the forum, however in Rom 8:29 he did foreknow, means just that. The people he had known before and the word of God tells us who that is in Amos 3:1,2
Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

In Hosea chapter 1 we learn this flock was divided into two fold. One of which would be in the land when the Messiah came and the other scattered over all the earth with the remembrance of them to cease from among men. Deut. 32:26. That could not have referred to the fold known as Jews for the whole world knows who they are and most hate them. Therefore it must refer to the fold scattered among the nations (Gentiles) and known as Gentiles (nations). In chapter 3 of Jeremiah we learn God had given a bill of divorce to this fold and he was showing them as an example to the other fold Judah who in chapter four god told they needed to take away the foreskin of their heart. Judah had been calling these people Uncircumcision (foreskins)
(castaways) thus the reference in Eph. 2:11,12 Wherefore remember, that ye [being] in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: (God had given them a bill of divorce)

Foreknowledge twice in KJV. Once in the reference of the death of Christ slain. Duh! The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The other 1 Peter 1;2 which is the very people shown above see verse 1.

However as you stated in your post even all of those are not called at this time. God is taking out a people for his name for a specific purpose, a remnant according to the election of grace

He elects them as priests and kings and tells them:
having made known to us the secret of His will, according to His good pleasure, that He purposed in Himself, in regard to the dispensation of the fulness of the times, to bring into one the whole in the Christ, both the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth -- in him;

See Acts 15:14,16,17,18 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Notice it is the Lord and those upon whom his name is called that the residue of men seek. The same thing is stated in Joel 2:32 following what was quoted of Joel 2 in Acts 2.

 

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