I cor 2:14 is about lost people not carnal. Just because Paul does speak about carnal believers does not in any way make verse 14 about carnal believers. The people spoken of in verse 14 are the "natural man" It says they he can't understand. The carnal believer can but doesn't. Paul is peaking to believers in chapter 2 and he makes a point that its the Spirit that helps us understand. The natural man cannot understand because he doesn't have the Spirit. Paul does speak about carnal believers, and he says that he couldn't address them as spiritual but as carnal. These carnal believers were acting like the unbelievers in verse 14.
1. No excuse Romans 1:20
2. We need to get our doctrine from what the Bible teaches and not trying to keep man from having an excuses.
The Bible is very clear than men are born depraved. No man can come unless drawn(John 6). Now, we can debate if all are drawn or not, but the point still remains that the natural man cannot come to Christ without the Spirit.
Why do non cals say cals teach regeneration before faith?
Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by DaChaser1, Mar 13, 2012.
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Even if I concede the point that Paul may have been speaking of lost people, it doesn't change that he is addressing 'the deep things of God' (vs. 10), not the clearly revealed gospel. The teachings of the gospel was once a mystery, but what did God do to make those mysteries known?
He picked a group of men, inspired them to write and preserved the scriptures for generations. THOSE are the means God makes the deep things of his spirit known. He discerns these things to prophets and apostles and they make them CLEAR for ANYONE and EVERYONE to READ, HEAR and UNDERSTAND so they stand WITHOUT EXCUSE.
What you seem to forget is that the VERY WORDS that Paul is writing in 1 Cor 2 IS SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED because he is a spiritually inspired apostle. There is NO REASON in the world a lost man couldn't understand the simple gospel message making an appeal to be reconciled. If there were they would have an excuse for not believing it.
THE GOSPEL (which you notice wasn't sent to the world until AFTER Christ was raised up, and the HS came down at Pentecost)
The reason people couldn't come to Christ in John 6 wasn't because of a inborn nature, it was because...well...I know you won't believe me so, I'll let Jesus tell you why:
"37 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: "Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" 39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 40 "He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn--and I would heal them."
You can see that the reason "they could not believe" wasn't because of their inborn nature, as you think. But because God had temporarily blinded them in their rebellion so as to accomplish redemption through them. -
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1. Bob is sitting on the street and doesn't know of God or his desires.
2. Peter walks up and teaches him the gospel.
3. Bob now understands God's desire for him to repent and believe and is without any excuse for not accepting it.
If you say Bob didn't understand the gospel due to some innate punishment due to the Fall, then how can he accept? He can't, so he has a perfect excuse. I'm saying HE DOES UNDERSTAND, which is what makes him 'without excuse.' Your view of the unbeliever is much higher than mine because your view of the unbeliever is that he was born that way and can't do anything other than not believe. I think the unbeliever is MUCH worse than that because God has graciously and lovingly given him EVERYTHING He needs to believe and He freely, consciously and deliberately spits in God's face....not because he HAD do because of some predetermined nature given to him by God...but because HE and HE ALONE made a choice to trade the truths in for lies. He stands without a defense because he had EVERYTHING he needed. Yes, my view of unbelievers is MUCH MUCH lower than yours. -
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Jesus said that the Truth will set you free, and if you are free, you are free indeed.
What was the Truth Jesus was referring to?
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Faith is what justifies us in the sight of God. W/O faith it is impossible to to please Him. -
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