Featured Is Belief A Law?

I don't follow John Calvin, I follow my Saviour Jesus Christ and Him alone.

Since the Lord did not ask this, but we as men often do, we ask the Lord for the answer to it, do we not?

Firstly, it looks to me as if you misunderstand the Scriptures...
Salvation is not an "offer" and never was.
It is a promise given only to those that have believed on Christ and no others.
God's word is explicit about this.

Secondly, you misunderstand who and what I am;
I am a called, sanctified, soon-to-be glorified child of the living God who is being conformed to the image of His Son.
I was bought and paid for by Jesus Christ, and I have a Father who loves me and cares for me...both in this life and in the life to come.

God teaches me through His word, and nothing else.
I do not rely on the teachings of men for my understanding of His word, only Him and His words.

My function here is to remind my brothers and sisters about what He says, not what men say.
If you do not understand that, then it brings a measure of sorrow to my heart... but it seems to me that you are unable to make the distinction.

You keep bringing up John Calvin, as if that should somehow curb or influence how I understand my Lord's words...it does not.
I am not "Reformed", and I am only a "Baptist" in the Scriptural sense, not the traditional sense...

As traditions can ( and often do ) change, but God does not.

 

@Silverhair,
With that said, I find that no amount of discussion between us has appeared to make any difference with how you read the Scriptures.

From my perspective, you keep labeling what God tells His people about how and why they are saved, as "Calvinism"...
even though John Calvin had nothing to do with teaching this to them;
Peter, Paul, John, Jeremiah, Isaiah, David and the rest of the ones God spoke through ( the greatest of Whom was Jesus Christ their Lord and Saviour ), did.


That is why I cannot and will not partner with a "gospel", or anyone that teaches or preaches it, that is "conditional" and based on works of any kind.

God has never told His people that anything they ever did or do, was required for Him to save them;
They are His elect, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
They are a product of His work in them and for them, and He does not require anything for Him to save them from His wrath and to call them His blessed sons and daughters.

What He "requires" from them, He provides by His grace and mercy alone and by the power of His Spirit in them.

 

Dave your misunderstanding of the text comes from your not knowing the Greek. I have included some information from two articles {links included} that should help clear up your error.

The Greek nor the overall context of the book supports your view.

Is Faith a Gift from God? - Apologetics Press

As is pointed out Eric Lyons the overall context of the first three chapters of Ephesians is man’s salvation found in Christ.

Eph_1:7, Eph_1:11, Eph_1:13, Eph_2:5, Eph_2:8, Eph_2:13, Eph_3:7


["For by grace you have been saved "] {how} through faith. Salvation is a gift that we receive from God because of our faith.

These two verses {Eph 2:8-9} thoroughly document how a person is saved, not how a person believes.

Salvation is by grace

Salvation is through faith

Salvation is not of yourselves

Salvation is the gift of God

Salvation is not of works



Antecedents and Faith - Eph 2:8-9 (Monday with… | Zondervan Academic

Also the Greek text does not support your view as is shown by Bill Mounce in his article on Eph 2:8-9.

“The problem with that exegesis of the verse is that "this" is a neuter pronoun and "faith" is a feminine noun. While a pronoun's case is determined by its function in the sentence, it gender and number are determined by its antecedent. Therefore, "this" cannot be referring back to "faith."

But "grace" too is feminine, so it cannot be the antecedent of τοῦτο. So what is?

If you looks backwards for an antecedent, you will look in vain. There are neuter nouns, but they make no sense as an antecedent.

The answer is to know a little Greek! When Greek wants to refer back to a general though, perhaps a phrase, the pronoun can be in the neuter. "This is not of yourselves" does not refer specifically to πίστεως but rather to the entire salvific process, of which faith obviously is a part. It is the entire salvific process that is God's gracious gift and is not part of our own doing. It is a gift.

We often talk about "trusting" God, that salvation is by "faith," but I have often wondered how much people are really able to understand those words. Referring to Isaiah 6:1-7. God reveals himself as a holy God. Isaiah's appropriate response was to see the great chasm between himself and God and cry out, "Woe is me." Isaiah is forgiven by merely receiving God's atoning gift of the burning goals. Salvation, Dave preached, has to do with seeing God for who he is, with seeing myself for who I am, realizing that there is nothing I can do to move from being a sinner to being holy, and yet also believing that the holy God has done what only he can do in reaching out and offering forgiveness to us. "Faith" is believing that God has extended the fires of forgiveness.

Isaiah clearly saw that the entire process was a gracious gift received by the faith that believes God has bridged the gap and has forgiven our sins” Bill Mounce


I see you struggle with the fact that man is responsible for trusting in God for their salvation. Faith is the condition that God has made.

Rom 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Rom 5:2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

As you said that is what God says the free gift of God is eternal life which is received through faith.

Strange you do not trust Calvin yet hold to his theology.

 

You say you trust scripture but then, it seems, you overlook what scripture says and read into the text what you want to find.

Salvation is offered to all through faith in the risen Christ Romans 1:16 and it is a promise to all those that will respond in faith to that offer. John 1:12 You have to narrow a view of the love of God.

Does God change, NO. He reached out to rebellious people all day long in the OT Isaiah 65:2 does He not do the same now? Matthew 11:28 According to scripture He desires all to be saved 1Timothy 2:3-4

The Holy Spirit convicts the whole world John 16:8-9 and Christ Jesus draws all men to Himself John 12:32 and the Father in His grace saves those that believe Ephesians 2:8

I agree we are to tell all about what He has said not what some man tells us He said. For that reason I point all back to scripture.

The bible is clear that when we believe and confess Christ as Lord and saviour we will be saved. Romans 10:9-10

As a Baptist I was taught that the word of God is the bedrock of my faith. Man's opinions are just that, man's opinions.

I have looked at Calvinist/Reformed theology over the last few years and find that it does not conform to scripture and it calls into question the character of God.

What I see in scripture is a God that loves His creation and has provided the various means for us to know Him.

 

Is belief a work of righteousness based on compliance with the Law? Nope

Galatians 2:16 (interpretive translation)
nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through Christ Jesus' faithfulness unto death, even we have believed into Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by Christ's faithfulness and not by works of the Law; since by works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

 

@Dave G I find that no amount of discussion between us has appeared to make any difference with how you read the Scriptures.

Calvinism is most assuredly not the gospel although some calvinist’s seem to think it is. And it would seem that you think that way also.

When you say you will not partner with those that hold to a biblical theology you restrict yourself to an echo chamber understanding of the bible. The fact is that salvation is conditional. Faith is not a work in the sense that you seem to be saying as it is not meritorious it does not earn salvation but it is the work that God requires of us. Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." What do you think this means: Joh 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life,. Why the requirement of belief if God has already guaranteed your so called “elect” salvation? I agree that works will not earn you salvation so it is a good thing that faith is not a work.

Dave have you not read John 3:17-18, Ephesians 1:13, Act of the Apostles 16:30-31 or Ephesians 2:8-9. God does require something from man prior to salvation, FAITH.

Dave your theology has been influenced by what man has determined the bible says rather than trusting what the Holy Spirit has actually said.

Based on your comments I have to ask why did Christ have to go to the cross? Under your theology there is no valid reason for Christ to have died. Your theology requires that the absolutely elect must have been saved without him; and the non-elect cannot be saved by him.

You have made man, who was created in God’s image, no more than a puppet on a string.

 

The world in Jn 16:8-9 is limited to the Sheep of all nations. Nothing to do with the condemned world of the reprobate. The Holy Spirit in the world of Jn 16:8-9 brings all of them to believe in Christ for their righteousness.

 

Is it a command ? 1 Jn 3 23

And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

The word commandment here means: entolē

1. an order, command, charge, precept, injunction
   
   1. that which is prescribed to one by reason of his office
      
2. a commandment
   
   1. a prescribed rule in accordance with which a thing is done
      
      1. a precept relating to lineage, of the Mosaic precept concerning the priesthood
         
         
      2. ethically used of the commandments in the Mosaic law or Jewish tradition
         

So I say Yes its a Law, but yet not a carnal law, but a Spiritual law for those in a spiritual kingdom

 

Pl

Please define reprobate

 

That's a good question. Some Calvinists believe that God, from the beginning has actively and certainly determined that a group of people must be lost and damned. And they are the reprobate. And God is the primary cause of this.
Other Calvinists, like John Bunyan, believed that there are people who God knows will not turn to him. This is according to their own free will based on them following the path they choose. God, being God, knows this ahead of time and he knows he is not going to intervene. He declares this to be so and calls them the reprobate. Because God's knowledge is infallibly true is is absolutely certain that the reprobate will perish - yet God has done nothing to them except respect their free will.
How you view this will determine what you think of Reformed theology.

 

BF you keep giving us good examples of Eisegesis.

The word eisegesis literally means “to lead into,” which means the interpreter, in this case you BF, injects his own ideas into the text, making it mean whatever he wants. Eisegesis is a mishandling of the text and often leads to a misinterpretation.

The process of eisegesis involves:
1) imagination: what idea do I want to present?
2) exploration: what Scripture passage seems to fit with my idea? and
3) application: what does my idea mean?

Notice that, in eisegesis, there is no examination of the words of the text or their relationship to each other, no cross-referencing with related passages, and no real desire to understand the actual meaning. Scripture serves only as a prop to the interpreter’s idea.
What is the difference between exegesis and eisegesis? | GotQuestions.org

 

Please look it up like I had to do

 

Sorry, but the world of Jn 16:8-9 is the world Christ died for and sends the Spirit to regenerate and convert them and lead them into all truth.

 

Well your comment explains a great deal about your approach to scripture. You just read into the text what you want to find and ignore what the text actually says. So it is not scripture you believe but rather yourself. You are holding yourself over the Holy Spirit.

In earlier times you would have been stoned to death for blasphemy.

 

See that's what you get for not knowing the context of Jn 16, Jn 14-17 is primarily addressed to the disciples, minus judas, and He was informing them of His death and the consequent sending of the Spirit and His Ministry on Christs behalf. The Spirit will bring all in the world for whom Christ died to believe on Him. Jn 16:8-10

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;

10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

The outcome of being convinced of sin by the Spirit is believing on Christ.

 

You do realize that the Holy Spirit is God and the desire of God is that all should come to repentance and be saved. So what you asking us to believe is that God sends mixed messages all the time.

Calvinism wants to limit the scope of the offer of salvation and God wants to expand that scope. I will stick with God.

 

See that's what you get for not knowing the context of Jn 16, Jn 14-17 is primarily addressed to the disciples, minus judas, and He was informing them of His death and the consequent sending of the Spirit and His Ministry on Christs behalf. The Spirit will bring all in the world for whom Christ died to believe on Him. Jn 16:8-10

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;

10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

The outcome of being convinced of sin by the Spirit is believing on Christ.

 

Please look at it again...

" But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 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. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." ( 2 Peter 3:8-10 ).

Questions to answer from what the Lord had Peter write to us who have believed on His Son:

Long-suffering to who?
Not willing that any of who should perish, but that all of who should come to repentance?


Is it not God's beloved?