The Invitation To Heaven

Universal call...rejected.
Dragging the meek and lowly into the kingdom accomplished.

This parable touches on the pride of Israel, established as a covenant people and called to enter the Kingdom. Israel rejects their King and the King sends out his Apostles to the gentiles and brings them in for the feast.

If you understood even a slight bit of the covenants, you might have the light dawn upon you. Instead, another "my cooperation is a must if I am going to get into the kingdom" thread has been created by you.

 

Yes, Total Spiritual Inability is refuted by these two passages and several others. Unless a sinner has a hardened heart (either caused by God or the practice of sin) the lost have the limited ability to hear and learn from the gospel, the spiritual milk the Father uses to draw people to Christ.

One small insignificant nitpick, Luke 14:23 should read "persuade people to come in." Here is the NET footnote:
"Traditionally “force” or “compel,” but according to BDAG 60 s.v. ἀναγκάζω 2 this is a weakened nuance: “strongly urge/invite.” The meaning in this context is more like “persuade.”"

 

The incapacity of the OP to grasp covenants is noted.

 

The incapacity of Calvinists to address the topic rather than find fictional fault with the poster is noted.

 

Another sci fi thread..dead on arrival. Man centered theology does not make it to heaven.

 

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Calvinism is a man-centered theology, putting the blame on inability rather than able to choose God but choosing sin instead.

 

So...the first Adam gave you a sin nature without your permission, but the second Adam must get your permission in order to save you...

Syncretism teaches that the 1st Adam is greater than the 2nd Adam.

 

First off..when you try and derive doctrine from parables by twisting and wresting the passage into an eisegetical wonderland...you will only wind up with Van as your companion....did you ever get to see the Lone Ranger and Tonto?...it is like that

 

Lol, birds of a feather....

 

Which none of us should be doing.

But to answer your OP, SBG...
All of this has been addressed at one time or another.

The Gospel message is to be preached to all men.
Seems straightforward enough, does it not?

But upon closer Inspection, we see this:

" 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 ).

 

I've done that many times, sir.
But I will do so again, if only to address your post above.

I disagree.
There is no "offer"...it only looks like that from a few verses.

But there is a promise made.
A straightforward promise that is not "sleight-of-hand", but involves us as sinful and rebellious men who are incapable of honoring any covenant that God makes with us.

I disagree again.
This may seem "intuitive", but when Scripture is looked at in its entirety ( especially in the Epistles ), this is not the case.

According to Romans 1:18-32, Romans 3:10-18, John 3:19-20 and many places in the Psalms, we as men are not only not willing to come to God, we will not do so because of our love of sin and hatred of God and His Son.

I'm reminded of a conversation I had with my grandfather before he died that makes me realize how true that this is;
I sat with him on his couch some years ago and asked him to consider what my mother had told him about the Lord Jesus...
He got angry with me, told me that he could not, and then told me not to ever ask him about it again.

That "inability" stemmed from his not wanting to deal with God and his sin, plain and simple.
His unwillingness to come to God on His terms was still in the way when he died a few years later.

 

It is correct if you approach everyone who believes on Christ as the Scriptures detail it...
As being dead in sins and the darkness and vanity of their minds, and totally unwilling to believe or even approach the Lord, and that the new birth is necessary to break us out of that pit we are in.

That said, the Jews as a nation were rejected by the Lord for not only being responsible for keeping His commandments as a people ( and failing ), but for rejecting their Messiah who was standing right in front of them.

Why?
Because they were not born again, neither did they believe.
They were still in their rebellion, but had agreed to keep His covenant anyway.

See Deuteronomy 29 and Deuteronomy 30, and the entire book of Exodus for much of this.

We can see from other places in Matthew's account, these very clear statements as to who, out of all of spiritually dead humanity, will have Christ revealed to them ( and in them ):

" He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." ( Matthew 11:15 ).

" At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and [he] to whomsoever the Son will reveal [him].
28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light." ( Matthew 11:25-30 ).

Who is it that labors against and are heavy laden with sins, but those to whom the Lord has graciously given the gift of the new birth to, who then hear His words, believe them and then identify with their Creator that they have offended Him by their willful acts of disobedience?

No one that I know of, outside the grace and mercy of God.

 

Not all sinners are compelled...

In Luke 14:16-24, the Lord Jesus reveals that not only were those who were bidden not willing to come, but that the Lord had to send out and have people compelled ( see John 6:44, "drawn" )...
But in the parallel passage in Matthew 22:1-14, there was a man who somehow made it into the feast who was bound and cast out into outer darkness for not having a "wedding garment" ( the covering of Christ's imputed righteousness, see Revelation 19:8 among others ).

Many are called ( The nation of Israel ), but few are chosen ( the Jewish remnant, see Romans 11:1-8 ).

I agree.

He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No man comes to the Father but by Him.

In the same respect, no man comes to Christ except it were given to them by the Father ( John 6:64-65 ).
One must be invited and compelled ( "called" ) by the Spirit and the word of God ( James 1:18 and may others ).

Look again, my friend.
There's more to the truth of why people come to Christ than it simply being a matter of all men being naturally willing...
Because we're not.

None of us really are, not even God's elect before their calling.