Although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God, and estate of salvation (which hope of theirs shall perish): yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before him, may, in this life, be certainly assured that they are in the state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed.
I feel for you PJ, I also couldn't understand either until God opened his understanding to me. So much for free will. You want to understand God but can't.
I have no problem understanding him, and by the way your assumption violates faith and love and thus is sin, I so understand that I would let you know, I will be glad to expound to any willing hungry heart.
Btw the soul is not changed in the new birth and is to be subject to the new man, and that lack of understanding is where the majority of false doctrine comes from.
The mind and the flesh is Satan's playground, and if man does not learn that, he will convince them they have no ability to choose, and then they are at his bidding.
BTW PJ i do not believe in your man made theology. I believe in the word of God which is truth. The only one that is to lead me any where is my Father, until the time i am married then my head will be my husband.
Mam the bible is not man made theology, those that are able are commanded to teach. Jesus is not a theology he is alive, where as theology is not.
In the past of many Calvinist trying to present their theology, the lord always said, tell them to go to the parable of the sower and I will show them the truth.
Do you know every time they refuse to look at that teaching it expose the error of the tulip in full, but most have hardened their heart to the truth.
The word of God is primary way the father draws the lost!!
James replies:
1. PhillipJohn is unable to present even ONE verse that says God the Father draws people by His Word.
2. Since the Bible says that NO ONE SEEKS FOR GOD, and Phillipjohn was shown this verse yesterday and ignores it today, that NO ONE seeks for God, then God's Word draws NO ONE.
3. The Bible DOES SAY HOW God draws His chosen people to Himself, and I will now present some verses on this, which I guarantee you PhillipJohn will IGNORE and pretend like he never heard of them.
The following verse show that because of the Fall, all mankind is born totally spiritually dead, with a will enslaved to sin, and that God draws His chosen people to himself by literally regenerating, them, or making them come alive spiritually. The Bible also says this by saying that God puts a new heart in them:
Deu 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Eze 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Eze 36:26-27 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Since fallen mankind IS born totally spiritually dead, and they will NEVER choose to repent and have faith in Jesus, God literally GIVES THEM FAITH:
Joh 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
Phi 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
Act 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Act 18:27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:
Eph 2:8-10 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
John 6:63-65 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."
Since Fallen mankind is COMPLETELY DEAD spiritually, with a will enslaved to sin, God ALSO has to GIVE REPENTANCE to His chosen people. The following verses show that GOD GIVES repentance and that is NOT something fallen mankind has the ability or desire to do:
Act 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Act 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
2Ti 2:25-26 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
1Co 4:7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
Now to this last verse, all those people who wish to pretend that fallen man has free will, will answer back to God and say:
"Hey I made myself to differ! I already had faith and repentance and I DO glory in myself because I CHOSE JESUS!"
How sad! What a LIE! pretending that the Glory of God belongs to YOU! Acting like you really saved yourself by pretending you choose Jesus out of some goodness deep inside you!
I have time and time again, your refusing it does not make me negligible
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Jn 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
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Note James right after verse 44
James another note for you drawing assures nothing it is still man's decision.
"The Need for Grace Does Away with Free Will Altogether"
To teach that the natural man has a free will overthrows the gospel ... it is precisely because man is in bondage that he needs Christ to set him free. (John 8:34, 36)
"Free-will or Free-grace?; The Bible says that men are born again, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:13); that it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy (Rom 9;16); the work of faith is the operation of God according to the exceeding greatness of his power, who works in man both to will and to do of his own good pleasure." (Phil 2:13)
"Free will I have often heard of, but I have never seen it. I have always met with will, and plenty of it, but it has either been led captive by sin or held in the blessed bonds of grace."
- C. H. Spurgeon
"All the passages in the Holy Scriptures that mention assistance are they that do away with "free-will", and these are countless ... For grace is needed, and the help of grace is given, because "free-will" can do nothing."
- Martin Luther, Bondage of the Will, pg. 270
If any man doth ascribe of salvation, even the very least, to the free will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright.
- Martin Luther
"...human will does not by liberty obtain grace, but by grace obtains liberty."
- John Calvin
"We are all sinners by nature ,therefore we are held under the yoke of sin . But if the whole man is subject to the dominion of sin , surely the will , which is it's principal seat , must be bound with the closest of chains. And indeed if divine grace were preceded by any will of ours, Paul could not have said that ," it is God that worketh in us to will and to do ' (Phil. 2:13)
- John Calvin
"...we allow that man has choice and that it is self-determined, so that if he does anything evil, it should be imputed to him and to his own voluntary choosing. We do away with coercion and force, because this contradicts the nature of the will and cannot coexist with it. We deny that choice is free, because through man's innate wickedness it is of necessity driven to what is evil and cannot seek anything but evil. And from this it is possible to deduce what a great difference there is between necessity and coercion. For we do not say that man is dragged unwillingly into sinning, but that because his will is corrupt he is held captive under the yoke of sin and therefore of necessity will in an evil way. For where there is bondage, there is necessity. But it makes a great difference whether the bondage is voluntary or coerced. We locate the necessity to sin precisely in corruption of the will, from which follows that it is self-determined.
John Calvin from Bondage and Liberation of the Will, pg. 69-70
