Ephesians 1 Clearly teaches Calvinism as to Salvation

Regardless of anything John Calvin may have taught, the Bible says that God chooses the individuals, who then make up the group....the elect ( Psalms 65:4, John 6:37-40, John 6:44, John 6:64-65, Romans 8:28-30, Romans 9, Ephesians 2:8-10, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, 1 Peter 1:1-2 ), God's children, Christ's sheep.

Each individual is like the prodigal son, whom the Lord welcomes with open arms into His house.
Each individual is like a lost sheep, that the Lord left the 99 and went looking for the one, and put it into His flock.

All of God's children inherit Christ's righteousness, because it is imputed to them ( Romans 4:4-8 ).
The rest of mankind are lost and will suffer for all eternity in Hell ( Revelation 20:15 ).

There is no such thing as universal salvation.
Only those who believe will have everlasting life ( John 3:16 ).

As Deuteronomy 30 tells Israel, they enjoyed a covenant that God made with them that involved earthly blessings and earthly curses...and they, as a nation, promptly turned their collective back on God and blew the whole thing right out of the water.

I would have done the same thing in their place, but for God's grace.

Regeneration comes before belief ( Acts 16:14, Titus 3:5-6 ), and repentance has to be granted by God, for a person to repent ( Acts of the Apostles 5:31, Acts of the Apostles 11:18, 2 Timothy 2:25 ).

I agree.
All of God's children inherit the blessings of Abraham, and they enjoy a spiritual and everlasting covenant with the Lord.

I can't speak for John Calvin, but this sinner ( me ) obtained salvation by God's design, not by my own doing.
My faith is the result of God's choosing me and giving me the gift of faith.
Everything I have as a believer comes from Him ( John 3:27, 1 Corinthians 4:7, James 1:17 )...salvation is the perfect gift, and it came down from my Father which is in Heaven.

John Calvin's teachings have no bearing with me.
I've never taken my understanding from any of his writings, or those of his followers.


I wish you well, sir, and this is my final reply to you in this thread.

 

" And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." ( Luke 5:31-32 )

God calls sinners, those who recognize their need of a Saviour...not the religious, who think that something they do will gain them eternal life.

The opportunity to do what?
To "receive" Him?

" He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:
13 which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." ( John 1:10-13 )

According to verse 13, no one receives Jesus Christ and becomes born again by their own will...it's by the will of God.
Man's will is completely ruled out, right along with bloodline ( physical inheritance ).
Therefore, if anyone "receives Him", it's because He caused it ( Psalms 65:4 ).
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" For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call." ( Acts of the Apostles 2:39 )

The result of His "calling" is that people believe on Him from the heart.
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" And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." ( Acts of the Apostles 2:47 )

The result of God choosing, is that He adds to the church such as should be saved...by His choice, not ours.
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" And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." ( Acts of the Apostles 13:48 )

The result of His ordaining someone to eternal life, is that they believe on Him.
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" And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard [us]: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. " ( Acts of the Apostles 16:14 )

The result of God opening someone's heart, is that they attend ( listen intently ) to the Gospel.

The result of His calling and working by the Holy Spirit towards one of His precious children, Christ's sheep, the "whosoever believeth"...I agree.
Only those who believe are justified.



This is my last reply in this thread to you, good sir.
I wish you the Lord's blessings upon you and yours.

 

Right... if you had read the rest of the thread you would see that I've said that repeatedly. Both Calvin and Arminius made the same fatally flawed assumption, which is why their debate has never ended... both are equally wrong.

 

It's grace to choose some to have mercy on, and justice to cast the rest into Hell, just as it is mercy for the governor of a state with the death penalty, to choose to pardon some ( to show the mercy of the state ), and reserve the rest to carry out their sentence...to show that the state is willing to punish those who break the law.

Choosing all would be universal salvation, and then He would have no one to judge.
We all deserve everlasting punishment.

Here it is:

" But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." ( 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 )

 

Then why are there many who do not believe?
God's word tells us:

" But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father." ( John 6:64-65 )

Because it must be given to someone to come to Jesus by the Father.
Only Christs sheep will believe ( John 10:26 ).

 

Indeed, I agree with this. However, another aspect of Calvinism (and Arminianism as well) which is incorrect in this regard: both Calvin and Arminius believed that only those with faith would be resurrected. Arminius argued that Christ died for all, but only those with faith would be resurrected. Calvin argued that Christ only died for those who would be resurrected. Both couldn't be more wrong.

Acts 24:15
having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

John 5:28
“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Revelation 21:8
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Daniel 12:1
Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

So Christ’s work resurrects each and every human being. As a result of one rightous person, ALL must necessarily be resurrected from Adam’s corporate judgment, and then judged as individuals. Those who do not have Christ’s righteousness by faith in the gospel then have a second death and are thrown into the lake of fire where they will spend eternity in torment.

It isn't your own doing... its your choice. God is the one who does it, but you are the one who chooses it. It is God who indwells us in the form of the Holy Spirit, and it is God in Christ who's righteousness we inherit. God has done it... but you are the one who is commanded to choose life or death. You have a role to play... you are accountable for making the choice yourself.

I wish you well also.

 

Everyone who has ever lived. We are the sum total of the world. The world is much more than a pre-select few. It means all of us.
MB

 

" Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." ( 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 )

Then the "world" is reconciled to God, and everyone's trespasses are not imputed to them.
They are not held accountable for their sins.

No one will go to Hell, if "world" in John 3:16-17 means every single person who has ever lived and died, because it has to mean the same thing in the passage above; which means everyone is forgiven.

If "world" means everyone, then everyone is loved by God and reconciled to Him:

" For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11 And not only [so], but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." ( Romans 5:6-11 )

Side note:
Who are the "we", "us" and "our" referring to in the passage above?
All men, or believers?

Moving on...
Since all men are now reconciled to God by the death of His Son, then this is nullified:

" And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." ( Revelation 20:15 )

...because casting a person into the Lake of Fire for sins that are forgiven is unjust, and makes God a liar here:

" But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." ( Revelation 21:8 )

Sinners, that He loves and were reconciled to Him by the death of His Son ( if "world" means every single person who ever lived ) will be in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.


God is not a man that He could lie.
With all the above that stated, what does "world" mean in John 3:16-17?

 

Now the elect have free will?

 

Whosoever believers is free will.

God is not willing that any should perish

 

Thanks, you have a long way to go.
Remember the end result for predestination is God caused sin

 

2Pe 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

election to salvation , no call to salvation, chosen to serve

 

It's simple Grace is not irresistible. The Jews resisted Christ and we are all the same when it comes to God's Grace.

When Christ died for the world in that act he drew all men to Him. He was lifted up on that Cross and even though some will not come to Him it's the decision of the individual. Grace is not irresistible. No Where in scripture does it ever say His Grace is irresistible.

The only Sheep that belong to Christ are those who have accepted His free gift through faith. We are not sheep until then.

Predestination is not unto Salvation but to the blessings of Salvation.
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
We are adopted when we are saved. However Salvation and adoption are not the same thing. They are two separate things. We must be saved before we can be adopted
MB

 

MB,

go through the difference of salvation and adoption please

 

You’ve got that backwards. We are adopted as children of Abraham as a direct result of our faith (human adoption, we are unregenerate at that point). As a result of becoming a descendant of Abraham, we qualify to inherit Christ’s righteousness which was promised as an everlasting inheritance by all of Abraham’s descendants. Christ exchanged his righteousness for our sin in a 1:1 exchange with Abraham. Every believer in the gospel after Abraham obtain that very same righteousness indirectly by inheritance.

Therefore we see that both Calvin & Arminius had a fundamentally flawed presupposition that formed the very basis for both of their positions. They both incorrectly assumed that the believer was made righteousness for their faith directly. But it is indirect through inheritance from human adoption as a descendant of Abraham.

Galatians 3:6-9 (NASB) 6 Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU." 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
Galatians 3:29 (NASB) And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.

Calvinists can’t imagine how a sinful being’s choice could have any effect on God choosing to regenerate a person. They imagine that faith immediately & directly affect righteousness & salvation. It does not. Having the same faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that Abraham had qualifies you for human adoption as a descendant of Abraham. God’s promise to Abraham was that his (spiritual) descendants would obtain that righteousness as an everlasting inheritance.

God chose the group “the descendants of Abraham” and made a promise to that group. When you chose to believe (as Abraham did) the gospel of Jesus Christ you become qualified as an heir. God doesn’t make you righteous out of respect for you, your faith, or even your choice. Rather, it is God’s promise itself that motivates God to act & make you righteous. He is keeping his covenant... keeping his promise. So it is God’s own righteousness that motivates him to make us righteous when we are adopted into the family of Abraham.

 

Salvation is being saved. The adoption is to be placed in to God;s family which cannot happen unless we accept Christ as Savior. Gentiles are not in God's Family. The Jews are His chosen people. For us to be placed in God's family we have to be adopted.
MB

 

Romans 4:9-13 (NASB) 9 Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, "FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." 10 How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; 11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised. 13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Ephesians 1:13-14 (NASB) 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.

We hear the gospel, we believe the gospel, we are adopted and receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (circumcision of the heart), who is a pledge of the full inheritance yet to come (resurrection of body, soul, & spirit in full righteousness).

 

Are the verses you have provided suppose to convince me of your position? Because none of them say we are adopted first. This is your idea or that of the one who taught you this.
One verse you posted says
Galatians 3:29 (NASB) And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.
No where in scripture does it say we are adopted first. Even in this verse it clearly expresses if you belong to Christ. When we belong to Christ is when we first believe.
Paul wrote;
Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
The vine is Christ we are the branches. Why would we need to be Grafted in if we already are? It does not say we were grafted in before the foundation. How do we belong to Christ? By Faith

MB

 

so, you are claiming believing Christians are adopted into Judaism?