Brother, I tried to show y'all that, though these Jews were ready to stone Him, and were NOT hearing his "voice" and were NOT his sheep, that Jesus invited THEM to "believe" down in verse 38. The point of the story is that you have to be a sheep to hear his voice and, in verse 38, Jesus tells them HOW to become sheep. Let's read it........
John 10: 38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
Brother, please tell me why Jesus would invite lost sinners, "non-sheep" to "believe" if he had no intention of saving them anyway?
Matthew 3
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
Can you believe God is only half a jerk that he actually forgave me when I expected him to forgive no one?
Isn't it so shocking and amazing?
" Can you imagine?! He set His love on me, the least deserving creature on the face of the Earth. . ."
That it,
its false humility at its worst.
They can't even compute how they insult God.
If God has a right to murder,
then he probably "wants to" they say.
God has a right to torture others,
so he probably does Plus its righteous and good torture.
If God can forgive everyone or forgive no one,
then obviously God is not going to forgive some folks.
They project their own evil attitude as the BASE for God's.
God has the sovereignty to do anything he wants the absolute way he wants,
he can pick any system, create anything, The punchline he is limited to ONLY DOING CALVINISM.
He couldn't do an Armenian system if he wanted to.
The best question to ask a Calvinist, to point out the utter lack of common sense:
Could God do it another way if he wanted to?
(not insisting how he is doing it)
Could God effectively run an Armenian system if he wanted to?
A catholic? A Muslim? Jewish?(not insisting how he is doing it)
The gospel, like the seed in the parable of the Sower, is promiscuously proclaimed to all men; however, as you know, not all men place their faith in Christ. What we are debating is what or, better yet, who makes the difference. I see a scriptural basis for crediting God with that difference, while you place the credit on the side of man. At the end of the day, this is the disagreement. . .
The Gospel call is universal. Don't some TULEPs also describe it as the "outward" call that goes out to everyone.
And the "inward" call is for the elect only?
The "seed", in the parable of the sower, is the Word of God. The "ground" is the human heart.
The "seed" is viable. Who makes the difference? The condition of the "ground" determines whether viable seed grows or whether it germinates at all.
I don't see a distinction (although some do). The call is the same. It is the response that is different. The lost reject it. The regenerate embrace it.
TCassidy,
You aren't "regenerated" until the Holy Ghost comes into your heart and makes you a new creature. Regenerate=new creature. And the Holy Ghost doesn't come in until you let Him in. That's how it works.
Look here..... Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Sir, YOU have to "open the door" for Jesus to come into your heart.
Look at this too.......Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
EVERYBODY has an "everlasting door" because everybody is going to spend eternity in either heaven or Hell. So He tells EVERYBODY "lift up your heads
....gates and doors and "let the King of Glory" in.
That is correct. "Pride goeth before destruction",
hard-hearted pride. Who makes us prideful? WE do. How do we lose that?
Fall at the feet of Jesus with an attitude of "God be merciful to me a sinner".