IS THE REFORMED FAITH BIBLICAL?

[St. SteVen]

What does the above have to do with the jailor asking how he could be saved and the response from Paul??

You have a problem with this because you don't believe in orthodox salvation....
if you believe everyone is going to be saved...you read that into everything.

Why did the Philippian jailer want to fall on his sword? (commit suicide)
The conversation with the jailer pivoted on Paul's response to the Jailer's question.
The Jailer was not concerned about the salvation of his soul.
Paul had just stopped him from committing suicide.

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[St. SteVen]

They don't mean what you think they mean.

Says who?

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[St. SteVen]

And I replied to each and every one.

Where? Post # please, thanks.
I thought you didn't want to discuss UR.

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[St. SteVen]

Your belief system is not biblical.
It just is not what Jesus taught.

Jesus gave the job of teaching UR to the Apostle Paul.

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[St. SteVen]

If this were the only line in the NT about salvation, your comment could even be entertained...

My comments don't come here to be entertained. - LOL

[ cc: @Lambano

 

[Lambano]

My comments don't come here to be entertained. - LOL

[ cc: @Lambano

My bad. I try to keep even the comments entertained. Now let's order another Harvey Wallbanger.

 

[St. SteVen]

My bad. I try to keep even the comments entertained. Now let's order another Harvey Wallbanger.

Maybe a whole pitcher? - LOL

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[Ritajanice]

Did you hear @Ritajanice's testimony? Really hear it?

Her experience was that regeneration came before (or simultaneous with) faith. My experience was that faith came first. Our experience informs our theologies, and I'm in no position to tell someone else, "You didn't experience what you think you experienced" because I wasn't there.

So, God worked with another person differently than He did me? He still loves me, and who says one size fits all? Praise and thanksgiving would be appropriate; feeling threatened or envious would not.

Exactly, we’ll said...I’ve had to learn that lesson Brother and it was a very hard lesson to learn.

We are all Born Again very differently, plus God touches our hearts/ spirit differently......

Could you explain how Faith came first for you, I would love to hear your story, ..I would certainly never question it, God has opened my heart and mind much more these days....I was / have been very narrow minded and for the life of me couldn’t see out of my own box.

We’re all maturing and growing Brother, I have much to learn and study....I can’t believe how God is opening me up to hear other people’s testimonies and not to poo,poo, them.

Praise God for that.

 

[St. SteVen]

Entertain this...

--- PARODY ---

Christian #1: Your beliefs aren't biblical.
Christian #2: Say what?
Christian #1: Your beliefs aren't biblical.
Christian #2: I don't understand.
Christian #1: Your beliefs are unbiblical.
Christian #2: That's ridiculous.
Christian #1: Why?
Christian #2: I gave you biblical support.
Christian #1: It was unbiblical.
Christian #2: Are you nuts?
Christian #1: It was clearly unbiblical.
Christian #2: How could that be?
Christian #1: It doesn't match the whole Bible view.
Christian #2: So it was biblical then?
Christian #1: No, it was unbiblical.
Christian #2: It was from MY "whole Bible" view.
Christian #1: That's unbiblical.
Christian #2: How can a Biblical view be unbiblical?
Christian #1: That doesn't make sense.
Christian #2: BINGO!

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[Ritajanice]

The reformed believe that man does NOT have free will to choose.

Sorry GodsGrace...free will to choose what?

Do you mean after we are saved we have the free will to say no to God and go our own way?

 

[Ritajanice]

And you can see the problem. If God only gives faith to some, and those who aren't given faith get tortured with fire for all eternity, with no hope ever for redemption.... Oh well. Sucks to be them. Good thing I got mine, right?

Okay; that was mean. But that view of God is inconsistent with one who the Bible says desires all come to repentance.

He does desire all to come to repentance, does that mean all will Brother?

Does all mean the whole world?

 

[St. SteVen]

He does desire all to come to repentance, does that mean all will Brother?

Does all mean the whole world?

Can the will of humankind thwart the will of God?

The Will of Man - Excerpt from J. Preston Eby

The Will of Man - Excerpt from J. Preston Eby At this point I wish to share some searching and enlightening words penned by a servant of the Lord more than sixty-five years ago. "Concerning the nature and the power of man's will, the greatest confusion prevails...

www.christianityboard.com

We pray, "Thy will be done..."

The Calvinists assert that God is able to save all, but chooses not to.
The Arminians counter that He would like to save all, but cannot.
There is a third position, that God is both WILLING and ABLE to save all.

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[Ritajanice]

Can the will of humankind thwart the will of God?

Of course not,

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◄ Job 42:2 ►

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Audio Crossref Comm Hebrew Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. New Living Translation “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. English Standard Version “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Berean Standard Bible “I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

The Will of Man - Excerpt from J. Preston Eby

The Will of Man - Excerpt from J. Preston Eby At this point I wish to share some searching and enlightening words penned by a servant of the Lord more than sixty-five years ago. "Concerning the nature and the power of man's will, the greatest confusion prevails...

www.christianityboard.com

We pray, "Thy will be done..."

The Calvinists assert that God is able to save all, but chooses not to.

Really, where is their scripture to support this?

Is this the scripture?

God's Sovereign Choice
…14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not! 15For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.…


What do you think God means here?..above scripture.

The Arminians counter that He would like to save all, but cannot.
There is a third position, that God is both WILLING and ABLE to save all.

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I don’t understand the workings of Gods Spirit..my head couldn’t take it.

All I know is that God showed me mercy when he forgave my sin and brought me into his Kingdom when he gave birth to my spirit.

Everyone has their own testimony and I’m now open enough to listen to them and not doubt what they believe, only God can judge...unfortunately us humans do a lot of judging and condemning.

 

[Bruce-Leiter]

I'm a little shocked, to tell you the truth.
I feel like I'm explaining the reformed faith to persons claiming to be reformed.

What you've stated above is the good news.
BUT WHO is the good news for?

In the reformed faith, the good news is ONLY for those that God has chosen for salvation.
There is NO GOOD NEWS, generally speaking.

In fact, why even preach the gospel IF God is going to decide who is saved and who is not.

I can tell someone to whom I'm witnessing that Jesus died for our justification and rose from the dead for our new life to present believers as "not guilty" for the Father's verdict. (your exact words).

I can proclaim the above because I believe the other person has the FREE WILL to choose God or to deny God.
Why would YOU proclaim the above if the person to whom you're witnessing has NO FREE WILL to choose God?

During 27 years of preaching twice a Sunday, I offered the gospel to everyone, but I left in God's hands how he was going to use those words. By the way, I'm Reformed because that set of beliefs is biblical.

 

[Christian Soldier]

,v


You'll have to show us WHERE in the bible it states that man has NO FREE WILL.
Thanks.

Now on to your verses.....
But we will exegete and not eisegete:



God chose us IN HIM before the foundation of the world....
so that we would be blameless before God Father.

It's telling you HOW we will be saved...
NOT WHO will be saved.


The same.
We are chosen for salvation THROUGH SANCTIFICATION.....

The plan God has is always for
HOW
or
PURPOSE

NEVER FOR WHO....
Anyone can come to God and be saved.


True. We were not called by our works, but by our faith.

HOW and not who.

Jesus chose the Apostles.
Jesus was speaking to the Apostles in John 15 to 17.
This is the only verse that states that Jesus chose someone....
one verse does not a doctrine make.
JESUS CHOSE THE APOSTLES.
He APPOINTED THEM.....to be missionaries.


Don't know why you posted the above.
It rather works against your beliefs.

It states that we are SAVED THROUGH FAITH....
It DOES NOT state that God CHOSE YOU....
God's grace is a gift to all who will accept it.
God's plan of salvation is a gift to all who will accept it.
We are not saved by works...but they will come after just as God has planned.
John 3:16 WHOSOEVERY believes can be saved.

John 10:26 answers the above.
Jesus said: BUT YOU DO NOT BELIEVE BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT OF MY SHEEP.

Jesus' sheep will always follow His voice.
And no one will be able to take you away from God's love.


When you read through your bible, you'll find that predestination is always concerning
HOW or PURPOSE
NEVER WHO.....

If God chose WHO will be saved, He would be a very unjust God.

we obviously don't believe in the same God, so we're not going to agree on anything. You can't see yourself contradicting yourself at every turn, that doesn't give me any hope of any fellowship with you as we have nothing in common.

You believe that a dead person has free will but my bible tells me that no dead man has any free will, so were diametrically opposed on this and every other point you tried to make.

God electing His people before the foundation of the world says nothing about "HOW" He chose me. It just sates that He did, so you're dead wrong again. You claim God lied when He said He wrote the name of every one of His elect in His book. So that shows what you think of the true God.

The true God of the bible never made any plans, that's something foolish men do. God just does whatever He wants to do, so it's foolish to suggest that God makes plans and then prays that they would work out, that's what a weak and pathetic god does, not the Almighty God.

You make God a liar by saying that "anyone can come to the Lord and be saved", but God said "there are none who seek after Me, all have turned each to his own way". So again I have to reject your theology as false and follow what God said and not your false private opinion.

You falsely claim that people are saved by their faith, but God is against your private opinion here as well. Because His Word states that salvation is of the Lord, and that His people are saved by "RACE" which is a gift, through "FAITH" which is also a gift. So I have just exposed another one of your false claims, God said Faith is a gift but you say "no Lord, I conjured up my own faith, so I reject your gift of faith because I conjured up my own". Can you see how pathetic your view is.

You falsely claim that the "Elect of God" are only the Apostles, that exposes your heresy again because Jesus said "all that the Father has given to Me shall come to Me and I shall lose none. My father who gave them to Me is greater than anyone, and nobody can snatch them out of My Fathers Hand".
But there are hundreds more verses confirming that only those who God elected to save before the foundation of the world will be saved and nobody else.

I can see that you have been indoctrinated by the man centered works based Arminian theology and I don't expect you to embrace the Orthodox bible interpretation, so all I can do is pray for you.

 

[Windmill Charge]

God's will, as revealed in the Bible, is all-powerful, all-knowing, present everywhere, and eternal. Such a view of God is very high.

I agree.
The view that man controls whether they are saved results in a lowered view of God.

 

[Ritajanice]

You falsely claim that people are saved by their faith, but God is against your private opinion here as well

This is interesting, this paragraph .

What does “ saved by their faith mean”...?.I only understand “ saved” as in, saved from eternal damnation...which can’t happen until our spirit has been Born Again.....I can honestly say I’ve never understood this saved business that many quote, for me in its proper context is...Born Again then we are saved from eternal damnation, the two go hand in hand.....why do so many skip that we must be Born Again in our spirit by the Spirit of God.?

 

[Ritajanice]

You believe that a dead person has free will but my bible tells me that no dead man has any free will, so were diametrically opposed on this and every other point you tried to make

A dead person has freewill, what is a dead person?

Are you saying that no one can search for God in their own hearts/ spirit....even though they may not even know they are doing this, I certainly did,...I was searching for God and I never knew it, not until I became Born Again.

People are searching for God through reading the Bible, Of course they are, whose to say that God isn’t drawing them to Christ by that means?...I’m not saying the Bible gives birth to their spirit, but, the Bible is definitely also a means by which the Lord draws them.

For myself he draw me to Jesus by the searching of my heart, not by ever reading a Bible, never read a Bible in my life, not until the Holy Spirit gave birth to my spirit,” Spirit gives birth to spirit “ and flesh can only give birth to flesh...I believe I was searching my heart for God for many years, he could see my agony throughout my life, those dreadful experiences were drawing me closer to God..by His Living Spirit.....looking back in retrospect.....and may I also say of course she/ he worships the same God as us....just because she doesn’t agree with what we post...doesn’t make her/ he worshipping a different God.....

The one thing that God has taught me these last few months...is not to poo,poo, other people’s beliefs/ testimonies because they weren’t fitting in with my tunnel vision...everyone has their own testimony..and everyone has had their own experience of God...wether by the means of reading the written word .....or like me, and many others like me ........by searching my heart trying to find God.....

 

[Lambano]

Can the will of humankind thwart the will of God?

Of course not,

I don't buy this line of thinking for this reason:

What does a God who can have anything He wants really want?

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

In the verse in question, it appears that what God desires is for an independent third party to freely "change his mind" (metanoia). For God to get what God desires, God logically has to sovereignly decide to limit the use of His own power.

Think about it. Getting what you want all the time gets boring after a few millennia or a few eons. Maybe God created Man, gave us independence, and sovereignly limits His own power in His dealings with us so that He could desire something that He may or may not get.

I suspect, though, that God isn't all that religious in applying the above.


"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. (Matthew 23:37)

 

[St. SteVen]

I don't buy this line of thinking for this reason:

What does a God who can have anything He wants really want?

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

In the verse in question, it appears that what God desires is for an independent third party to freely "change his mind" (metanoia). For God to get what God desires, God logically has to sovereignly decide to limit the use of His own power.

That's a good point, thanks.
As I said earlier, there is something we need to do. God has already done his part. (salvation PAID in full)
We need to do our part in renewing/establishing the relationship. Whether here, or in the afterlife.
Even in that, it will not happen until the Spirit draws us to Him.

My point is that the thing we need to do, does not save us.

Although, my POV leaves a question about what is meant by "not wanting anyone to perish".

If we come to repentance will we not "perish"? It can't refer to physical death.
Jesus said, "be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
And also that, "Everyone will be salted with fire."

The testing of our work will leave some "as one escaping through the flames." But...
"the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved".

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