Featured If you are not a “Calvinist”….

I have answered you you are just not hearing it. I have spoken to many people over the years and many times I have had them trust in Christ for their salvation and have not mentioned the gospel as you seem to think it has to be spoken. You do not give enough credit to God if you think He only uses one way of salvation.

 

Jesus says that it must be, "repent and believe" Mark 1:15, which are together

 

You may think that people have to have all the details but that is not the reality that I have seen. Some people will reject any message as soon as you mention Christ Jesus but they will listen if you just use the term God. As I have said you seem to have put God in a box so that He can only save people if the right words are said.

 

Repentance is an absolute when salvation from sin is the subject. There is no salvation without repentance. Christ died so men could have his righteousness given to them, not so they could continue sinning. If sinners could continue in sin then the death of Christ makes no sense. The trade off is sin for righteousness. Repentance and faith is two sides of the same coin. It is like the nickel, heads on the one side and tails on the other, but the same nickel. One can not have the one without the other. sinners who get saved have wrestled with the sin problem and come to have faith that Jesus Christ is the only answer and they have submitted their will to his and trusted that his death for them was really their death. If a person claiming to be saved cannot articulate an experience like this then there is a good chance he has never been born again. Turning over a new leaf is not salvation from sin. This is true of many sinners.

 

What was different, in a literal way, for me was that I chose to believe the Bible while others didn't. I think all people can equally choose or not choose to believe when God illuminates their minds in that moment. Without that illumination all people will choose to not believe. Man is incapable of choosing Salvation without God's intervention.

God's Elect will always eventually choose to believe when illuminated with God's Grace for their Election is set before the formation of the world, based on God's foreknowledge of their belief.

 

In John 17 Jesus prays for His relationship between Him and the Father Vs 1-5, then He prays for the disciples in 6-19, then He prays for those who would believe as a result of the disciples work 20-26.

In verses 6-10 whe Jesus mentions them and they it is only a reference to the disciples.

In vs 6 He says “they have kept your word” can’t be a reference to us we weren’t alive it was only the disciples.

In vs 7 He talks about everything they know. Meaning the disciples

It goes on and on none of which can be a reference to us but only the disciples.

Further, the depth of my answers are always on the same level of the depth of the question. If you want more depth you have to be more specific.

 

I see this thread has created 5 pages. I did not read any of the posts. This is simply an answer to the OP

1) What causes people to believe anything? First they must be open to the concept being proclaimed. Thus not hardened by accepting as true false doctrine. People born into Christian homes are brought up in an atmosphere where God is not only existent (I AM) but also God loves us and wants us to receive His blessings. People brought up in another culture, like an Islamic country, or a Communist country would be predisposed to reject God's word.

2) Not sure what you mean by "believe the gospel unto salvation." I think the idea is believing the gospel resulting in salvation as if you can save yourself if you believe all the right things sincerely. That of course is false doctrine.

3) Non-Calvinists do not necessarily "dismiss God's determining the salvation of people." So your premise is a strawman.

4) One key difference in doctrine is whether God credits our faith as righteousness and places us within Christ, or whether God instills "saving faith" in those chosen before they were created.