Romans 8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.Those he called he also justified. Everyone God calls is justified (saved). Since everyone is not saved, then this passage indicates that God does not call everyone with this 100% effectual call. This same principle is also taught in John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. and John 6:65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” All who are quickened by God come and those who are not quickened cannot come to saving faith. They cannot because they are dead in sin and do not want to come (Eph. 2:1-5). However, those who are regenerated come willingly due to their changed nature. They come to repentance and saving faith by the power of God and that is why repentance and faith are gifts from God. This is TRUE FREE GRACE because God gives all that he requires for salvation. No one can boast by claiming their independent human decision made the final decision apart from God (Eph. 2:8-9). The error of resistible grace is that God calls and through independent human will, some come and some reject God. However, Many Scripture passages declare that God sovereignly intervenes and causes such a change through regeneration that men are irresistible drawn to faith in Christ.
Does man act and God respond or does God act and man respond? That is the bottom line of this debate and Scripture over and over asserts that it is God who acts and man who responds as is also shown in the following passages:
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Acts 16:14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.
Praise God that he acts and causes sinners to be born again by breathing spiritual life into a spiritual corpse.
Am I correct in my view that The Holy Spirit is perfect and undefeated in bringing sinners willingly to faith?
Or, does the Holy Sprit try bring 100% of all the people that ever lived to faith but and simply fails to get it done?
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3 comments:
If man must come to faith apart from a 100% effectual call from God, before he can be born again, then there is a real possibility that the Christian Church and believers could die out and never be revived.
So-called enlightened atheists are agressively trying to kill Christianity in our current culture.
Great series.
God's mercy is shown in election. If God had not elected in eternity past I would have gone on in my love of sin and the necessary result of that is rejection of Him.
Mark,
So true and that is the key. Since I became a believer rather late in life, I know that my entire disposition was changed and that I had new desires that I once did not have. Scripture became alive and real for the first time in my life.
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