Eternally Grateful
Well-Known Member
Actually. I am not saying this he did he said this in eph 1: 13 - 14, Eph 2: 8.Yes, but you're saying that His grace is dependent upon our belief,
Nice try. But your not thinkingand this is not the case; in fact, that is directly opposite what Paul says in Romans 9:14-18, and specifically verse 16 (underlined):
"What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, Who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, 'For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.' So then He has mercy on whomever He wills, and he hardens whomever He wills."
And by so doing, you are inadvertently making God's grace ~ God's unmerited favor ~ out to be something other than grace, to be merited rather than unmerited.
For it is ny GRACE I have been saved THROUGH FAITH.
You can not remove faiht from the question. Even in John 3, when jesus said we must be born again, It is through faith.
I can not will myself to heave, how anyone can even think this is beyond me.
I trust HIM to save me,,
We are still born again AFTER we have faith. Not because of itYes, but our belief and trust is a result of the faith given us, as are our good works. Ezekiel 36 ~ which Paul is directly referring to ~ gives us a fuller picture of Who precipitates what ~ and what precipitates what ~ in this great salvation, which is of the Lord. God Himself says, through Ezekiel:
"I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:24-28)
Yes, but this trust and belief is a result of faith, which, again, is God's assurance, and conviction by the Holy Spirit. Does anyone assure and convict himself/herself, EG? If so, it is really empty, devoid of real substance... a wish, basically, and our saving faith ~ which, once given, is certainly ours ~ is certainly not empty. devoid of substance, or a wish. The Holy Spirit works this saving faith in us at the time we are born again of the Spirit... and grows it through the course of our new life in Christ.
You have us made alive while still under th penalty of sin. God can not go against his own justice.
You did not read the passage, you did what i said you di, You picked one small part of the passage out. And told me what you think it meansHe certainly does. :)
Right, dead in our sin, so we were previously unable to do anything to please God.
I will stick to the word. He said it is by GRACE THROUGH FAITH. That I was made alive..
I do not call out to God to please him, I call out to him because I have repented. Like the tax collector. The tax collector was ot tryign to please God he was trying to recieve Gods mercy, because he became poor in spirit. Unable to even look up at GodIt might be better to say we were previously wholly inclined and thus absolutely unwilling to do anything to please God or to do His will, and actually wholly inclined and absolutely willing to do the opposite, to do the will of the father of the natural man, the devil. Remember again what Jesus said to the Jews He was speaking to at the Feast of Dedication in John 10:24-31...
They were not given because they did not believe.."...the Jews gathered around Him and said to Him, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.' Jesus answered them, 'I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among My sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, Who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.'"
They did not believe BECAUSE they were not given to Jesus by the Father and therefore not among His sheep. Their unbelief is a result of NOT having been given to Jesus and therefore not among His sheep, not the other way around.
Yes, but he did not have to make me born again for this to happen. God can do whatever he wants.Right, including working this salvific faith in us.
No. Fatalism is what you are preaching.It would probably help to dismiss the wrongheaded idea of "fatalism," and to come to the realization of just how undeserved and absolutely amazing God's grace is. :) John Newton...
There is no grace in fatalism. I am sorry, but that is just what I believe
No. Our belief is what allows God to apply his faith to us.Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see!'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved! How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed!
Our belief does not bring God's grace. Our belief is the result of God's grace. We then freely and willingly walk in His statutes and are careful to obey His rules.
God will not force us to recieve him, nor will he force us to reject him
No. I did not trust myself.I don't think so... :)
Your faith is in God, for sure. But "of yourself" in that you brought it to be within yourself is not the case. No, because of the new spirit that God has given you, because He has removed the heart of stone from your flesh and given you a heart of flesh, because He has put His Spirit within you, this is why you have saving faith.
what part of this do you fail to understand.
who is a person trusting. Is he trusting himself. And his works, his goodness, or his religion. or does he get on his or her knees and trust God?
i called out to God.
This is nonsense, in fact. If we were not dead WE COULD NOT REPENT because we would already be alive, and would have nothing to change our view about.Woodenly speaking, yes, we can do anything, even repent. But if we are dead in our sin, EG, which is our natural state ~ naturally, we are not of God; as Christians this is our former nature ~ we are 100 percent inclined not to repent, and therefore will never do so.
wrong, we can not be born again in sin, you have us made alive while still under th penalty of sin, Again, god can nto go against his justice.But, if we are born again of the Spirit, we will then, because of our new nature, which is of God, be 100 percent inclined to repent, and will therefore not fail to do so. It is God Who, in the words of Isaiah (35), opens the eyes of the blind, unstops the ears of the deaf, enables the lame man to leap like a deer the tongue of the mute to sing for joy. Even though you (and I) were formerly 100 percent inclined against Him, God chose to have mercy and compassion on us and made us His. This is how amazing God's grace is.
Grace and peace to you alsoGrace and peace to you!