If Total Depravity is true, why did Christ need to hide his message in parables?

God is sovereign. He has decreed whatsoever will come to pass.

When a person is saved it is through irresistible grace because God is in control not man.

Below is what I confess:

Link: http://www.founders.org/library/bcf/bcf-3.html

 

God is omniscient. He knows what will come to pass.
Perhaps a more logical way to look at it is the way that God Himself has expressed it in Scripture.
Here is what God decreed in Scripture:

[God] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)
--That is his decree. That is his will. It is expressed as such. One cannot argue with it. It is Scripture.
But will all men be saved?
No, and God knows that all men will not be saved. He is omniscient. Yet He still wills that all men be saved. What happened then?
In His sovereign grace He made man in his own image and likeness and gave him a free will, a will to choose between good and evil, to choose to reject God or accept God. It is his will that all men come to the truth out of their own free will. But most do not. They violate the will of God. They are rebellious. That is not God's will. Out man's own free will they go against the will of God. God is not ignorant of these things.

Thus his decrees don't always come to pass.

That is not what the Bible says:
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (Acts 7:51)

You do always resist the Holy Spirit.
There is no such thing as irresistable grace. Men resist God's grace all the time. Many times I have seen God's grace being resisted when people refuse to get saved when they know they should; when they are under conviction of sin. I have seen it in believers also--when convicted to do service for the Lord, and they simply refuse.

I am so glad that my beliefs are not held in bondage to confessions.

 

That view denies God's omnipotence and love for his elect. That is indeed not his decree. Love that has the power to save will save. It is clear that God is steadfast in saying it is good for all people everywhere to repent because that is what they should do. What he decrees will always come to pass because he is omnipotnent, omniscient, immutable, and pmnipresent. He always gets his way.

God's decrees always come to pass. You misunderstand greatly.

He was speaking to the Jews abut persecuting the prophets. He wasn't speaking at all about grace unto salvation in that passage. You have completely robbed it of context.

 

He doesn't award salvation to people based on the merit of their decision.

Salvation is by grace through the conduit of faith in Christ. Faith itself is a gift given to the elect after regeneration.

God is utterly sovereign and the bible contradicts itself if viewed any other way.

 

If "he always gets his way" as you suggest, then all men would be saved, for "he is not willing that any should perish," as the Scriptures state. My view does not deny his omnipotence nor His love. It emphasizes his justice, and his impartiality toward mankind. You paint God as a racist--biased only toward some people. God himself condemns such action. We are to treat all men equally and fair. Christ did not discriminate when he was on earth, but you seem to believe in a God who is biased and discriminates against certain people instead of manifesting his love toward all.
God demonstrated his love to us all in that while all of us were sinners Christ died for us all. He did not discriminate. He has stated his will in Scripture such as 1Tim.2:4, but you simply want to throw it out the door.

I don't misunderstand at all. I am not bound to your man-made confessions, and I don't agree with you.

No I haven't.
Look at it again.

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (Acts 7:51)
--Who was Stephen speaking to?
He was speaking to the Jews that were about to stone him.
He was not only referring to them but also to the ones that crucified Jesus.
He was speaking to Saul (Paul) who held his clothes.
Stephen uses a simile. AS your fathers did SO do you. The emphasis was on them; on Saul; on the ones stoning him. It was not on the prophets at all. Study the Scripture.

 

You have soooo taken that out of context and misapplied it. The Holy Spirit, through Stephen, was CONVICTING Jews, specifically 'that generation' of Jews, which may well have been the vilest generation that ever was:

40 And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation. Acts 2

5 They have dealt corruptly with him, they are not his children, it is their blemish; They are a perverse and crooked generation.20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: For they are a very perverse generation, Children in whom is no faithfulness. Dt 32

39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation
41 The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation..........
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it:......
43 But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and findeth it not.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation. Mt 12

 

I haven't taken Acts 7:51 out of its context at all. In fact if you go back and read my post I explained the context quite well. If I explained the context, then how could it be taken "out of context"?

Secondly, your lengthy quotation of Acts chapter 2 had nothing to do with the narrative of Acts 7. Now, that is out of context. Back to Acts 7. What happened after the stoning of Stephen. Many were convicted of the Holy Spirit. Many resisted the Holy Spirit. There was gnashing of teeth. They so resisted the Holy Spirit that they took a man of God outside the city and stoned him to death. They did exactly as Stephen said they did--resisted the Holy Spirit. They were convicted of their sin, and acted upon it in anger.

However, there was one there upon whom the stoning of Stephen had a different effect, and that was Saul. It is the belief of many that the stoning of Stephen had a profound effect upon Saul and was one of the key factors that brought him to Christ. Perhaps it was at this time that the Holy Spirit began to work in his heart.

 

I agree, the Spirit empowered them in every way, and that included revelation of truth. When He told them, “the hour cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in dark sayings”, I think of that sermon He gave, after the resurrection and before Pentecost, in Lu 24:27:

“And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Oh, how I would have loved to have heard that discourse.

You hold to a very common misinterpretation of scripture. 'The majority' holds your view on Jn 16:8-11.

All through the Farewell Discourse, when Christ referred to 'the world', He wasn't referring to 'the world' as you mean it, but to this world:

Jesus answered him, I have spoken openly to the world; I ever taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and in secret spake I nothing. Jn 18:20.

A close scrutiny of Jn 13-18 will verify that 'the world' in Jn 16:8 is referring to none other than the apostate ecclesiastical system of the Jews.

When Christ commissioned the twelve apostles He foretold them:
But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you; yea and before governors and kings shall ye be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. Mt 10:17-20

In the Olivet Discourse He foretold them:
But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name`s sake. It shall turn out unto you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand how to answer: for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or to gainsay. Lk 21:12-15

In the Farewell Discourse He foretold them:
They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.....And he, when he [the Comforter] is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world hath been judged. Jn 16:2, 8-11

To paraphrase Jn 16:8:
When the Spirit comes, He will convict the Jews of the judicial murder of Christ, and will declare Christ to be righteous in that God has raised Him from the dead, and will pass judgment upon this generation

 

Read, listen, hear the Spirit convict the apostate ecclesiastical system of the Jews, through the testimony of His witnesses, of the murder of the Righteous One, and declare Him indeed to be righteous. Take note, in all these examples given, of the redundancy of the message from the Comforter to the Jews; YOU KILLED HIM, BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD.

Acts 2:
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, saying, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words.
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know;
23 him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay:
24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.40 And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.

Acts 3:
12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this man? or why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk?
13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.14 But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you,
15 and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
23 And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.

Acts 4:
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders,
9 if we this day are examined concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole;
10 be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Acts 5:
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,
28 saying, We strictly charged you not to teach in this name: and behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man`s blood upon us.
29 But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men.
30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree.
31 Him did God exalt with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
32 And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

Acts 6:
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought great wonders and signs among the people.
9 But there arose certain of them that were of the synagogue called the synagogue of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen.
10 And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake.
15 And all that sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
Acts 7:
51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.
52 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers;
53 ye who received the law as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Acts 7

Acts 10:
39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom also they slew, hanging him on a tree.
40 Him God raised up the third day, and gave him to be made manifest,
41 not to all the people, but unto witnesses that were chosen before of God, even to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
42 And he charged us to preach unto the people, and to testify that this is he who is ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead.

Acts 13:
16 And Paul stood up, and beckoning with the hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, hearken:
27 For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.
28 And though they found no cause of death in him, yet asked they of Pilate that he should be slain.
29 And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb.
30 But God raised him from the dead:
31 and he was seen for many days of them that came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses unto the people.

 

See posts 51 & 52.

 

Yes, Jesus himself said that Paul (Saul) was resisting.

Acts 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

When Jesus said Paul was kicking against the pricks, he was saying Paul was resisting the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

 

This blows my mind Winman. How on God's green earth can you even insinuate that Paul had a choice? PAUL WAS STRUCK DOWN ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS. HE WAS THE ENEMY OF THE CHURCH WITH EVERY FIBRE OF HIS BEING AND THE LORD STRUCK HIM DOWN AND CHANGED HIM.

 

And your point??
Your point seems to be that God held him at knife point, or put a gun to his head and forced a conversion upon him. He had no other choice. That is Islam. Forced conversions. They happen all the time.

The God I know doesn't operate that way. He says: "whosoever will may come." Saul still had a choice. Even will all that evidence set before him, he still could have refused. The choice was still his. He wasn't forced to convert.

 

I said:

"PAUL WAS STRUCK DOWN ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS. HE WAS THE ENEMY OF THE CHURCH WITH EVERY FIBRE OF HIS BEING AND THE LORD STRUCK HIM DOWN AND CHANGED HIM."

What part of that statement is not true?

 

Doesn't sound like Paul was struck down to me, Jesus said it was hard for him to kick against the pricks. Yes, God was exerting a great drawing upon Paul, but Paul was resisting. It was only when Paul heard Jesus's name that he submitted.

 

In answer to Winman's post, you don't allow for any other possibility. Yes, you say the "Lord struck him down and changed him."
But Saul said: "What will thou have me to do."
His response was not: "I am not going to do thy will; I am not going to bow down to this so-called Messiah."
He had that choice. He could have gone either way. But you won't admit that.

 

Any other possibilty? God made Nebuchadnezzar, a heathen, king of the Babylon Empire, eat grass.

Paul, one of God's own, had no choice in this matter. He was seperated from the womb to be the apostle to the nations. I really, really don't see how you can even begin to argue about this.