You state above that God has perfect compatible perfect justice.
Wait... what? I don't even understand what you're saying I stated...
I said, "Love and hate ~ in both Malachi's and Paul's contexts ~ are not emotions, they are
actions. And they have to be perfectly compatible with His perfect justice." Yes. And, "God
does things for certain people, and
he does not do those things for others, and sometimes God does things for those other people that he does not do for the certain people. Certainly, as the Creator, He has the right to do ~ or not do ~ so." And certainly, I stand by that.
LOL! I guess to this I'll just say ~ as was my insinuation ~ that what we think of as just may or may not be truly just from God's perspective. His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9)...
You also state that God does some things for some people and not for others. So, in your opinion, what do the following verses mean?
Acts 10:34-35
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
1. God shows no partiality.
2. ANYONE who fears God and does what is right is ACCEPTABLE to Him.
I mean, you're answering your own question here, and of course I do ~ and any good Calvinist would ~ agree...
Two statements that speak AGAINST calvinism.
Well, they do not in any way speak against Calvinism, but it might be interesting to know your reasoning behind making that assertion, but surely you would not refute what Moses and Paul, who are both quoting God, say, that God
"will have mercy on whom (He has) mercy, and (He) will have compassion on whom (He has) compassion”... and therefore
"has mercy on whomever He wills, and ...hardens whomever He wills." You might remember what Elihu told Job about God's justice, that He
"shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands." And also what Paul says in Romans 2, that
"There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality." Even Jesus says God
"makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). Peter's words in Acts 10:34-35 are in that very same context.
And, BTW, syntax is syntax.
Sure, but how that is or was relevant in the context you brought it up is... puzzling. :)
That it is, but it can be misunderstood or... changed into something it's not, from time to time.
Well that would be to say then that nothing I say makes any sense whatsoever, which is ridiculous in and of itself. I still don't really even understand what you mean by correct or incorrect syntax (I don't even think you do, quite frankly)... But regarding Paul's context and that of other Bible writers, in at least some instances I don't buy into your selling of the contexts you think they have.
You can make a book out of a paragraph.
I can be a bit wordy in my responses, yes. Guilty as charged. :) But sometimes it is necessary. :)
Unfortunately, none of it is scripture, but your very own opinions.
In... your opinion. :)
What can be more man-centered than a religion/denomination that came into existence 1,500 YEARS after Jesus ascended?
Ridiculous, as shown above...
Augustine. Yes. A former gnostic Manichaen who brought his gnostic beliefs along with him when he decided to join the CC.
God uses all kind of people to do what He does... and even to maintain the integrity of His Word... The credit for that really goes to the Holy Spirit, but still...
And with whom NO EARLY CHURCH FATHERS agreed with.
Might be a bit interesting to know who you are referring to as "early church fathers"... But of course you offer nothing to back up what you're saying, which is not surprising. At any rate, we're talking about Paul and Peter and the other Bible writers, and what they wrote and their contexts in so doing. Scripture, GodsGrace. The Bible. God's Word.
If you'll notice the anti-nicene fathers did NOT teach anything of what Augustine taught.
"Anti-Nicene fathers"... Not sure what you mean by that. If you mean the "fathers" who believed and taught contrary to the Nicene Creed, the sure. The Nicene Creed, GodsGrace, is a Christian statement of faith that is the only ecumenical ~ of/relating to/representing the whole of a body of churches; promoting/tending toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation; worldwide/general in extent/influence/or application ~ creed because it is accepted by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and major Protestant churches. So just to your statement here, if they were "anti-Nicene," yes, they probably, at least generally speaking, didn't teach what Augustine taught, but rather... un-Christian things... :)
You could study up on this. If would behoove you.
Ah. :) Well, we think the same of each other here, then, too... :)
There were gnostic writings being circulated...
Sure, there were some false "gospels" being circulated...
, which convinced some, and which the Apostle John knew about and made great effort to combat, see
1 John 2:18-19
18Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.
19They went out from us, but they were not really of us;
Many believe this to mean that the deserters were not born again....
if you notice
John clearly states who they were:
ANTICHRISTS.
GN OSTICS that had infiltrated the church.
Interesting... I don't think John was talking about gnosticism, but he was talking about false teaching and unbelievers in general. I would strongly disagree that "Antichrist" and "Gnostic" are absolute synonyms, and rather say that an antichrist is
anyone who opposes Christ Jesus, and that opposition, while it is what it is,
can take many forms.
To what you say here particularly about 1 John 2:19, yes, I very much do understand John to mean here that those who fall away, or "were once Christians but are no longer Christians," were never born again of the Spirit in the first place, they were never true believers in Christ, and that if they had been, they would have stayed in the faith and remained Christians... "they were not really of us," which is necessarily to say they were not born again of the Spirit. It is the clear teaching elsewhere in the Bible ~ and there has been much discussion regarding this in this thread; "perseverance of the saints" has been discussed here ~ that, well:
- "He (God) Who began a good work in you will..." ~ will, not 'might' ~ "...bring it to completion at the day of Christ." (Paul, Philippians 1:6)
- "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, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (Peter, 1 Peter 1:3-5).
- "Now to Him Who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen" (Jude 24-25).
CALVINISM HAS GNOSTIC teachings.
No, but you're certainly welcome to your opinion. :) Very succinctly, though, regarding Scripture itself and salvation itself, Gnostics claimed (and claim) hidden knowledge as the basis for salvation, which clashes violently with anything John Calvin ever taught.
2 Peter 3 tells us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” This is not referring to physical growth like you might see from a plant. Rather, this passage is referring to spiritual growth and growing closer to God.
Thank you, Ritajanice. Yes, I think there are some here who need a little insight into what Gnosticism really was (and is)...
Grace and peace to all!